Prayer Needs to be More Specific

Mark 10:46-52 – “And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”

  In this account we very plainly see a blind man request of Jesus that he receive his sight. In this specific request Jesus specifically and quickly answers that request.

  I do believe that often we are too general in our prayer requests to the Lord. We do this for several reasons. It may be we don’t want to be presumptuous, or we fear that if we ask too specifically we will not see an answer to that which we are praying. It could also be that deep down we may think it is an unanswerable request, or we are afraid on how selfish the request may sound if we ask it. When we ask for things in such a general manner it often allows us to view any answer as the fulfillment of our request.

  I do believe there is a time for general requests, but too often I believe we are so general that we leave the Lord asking us, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?”

  When our prayers are a distinct expression of a definite need or want, and not a vague appeal to God, we will start to see the power of prayer more readily.

 I believe God desires definite prayer for our own sakes because it teaches us to know our own needs better. When we spend time, thought, and self-scrutiny that is required to pray for something specifically; our desires will be put to the test to see whether they are honest, real and according to God’s Word.

  Specific prayer will force us to consider whether we really believe we will receive the things we are asking for. Specific prayer will teach us patience as we wait for the special answer for our specific request. Specific prayer will grow your faith, cause you to know the will of God more clearly, and let you know more readily if you are asking for things within the will of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

  What a great feeling when you specifically ask for things from the Lord, and you specifically see Him answer those requests with no doubts about the matter. A confident prayer life will develop out of such actions, and a greater relationship will grow between you and the Lord.