May 17 2025

Saturday May 17

Luke 18:35–43 - The Prayer of a Desperate Man

35 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.

36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. 37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." 42 Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Today, we're looking at Luke chapter 18, specifically verses 35-43, the last verses of the chapter. Jesus began this chapter by teaching about prayer, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. He gave us several stories about prayer. In these last verses Jesus teaches us that the prayer that always turns the ear of God to see our need, and give us the miracle that we need, is the “desperate prayer”. Now, as Luke ends this chapter, he points out a certain man who was a beggar and blind, who came to Jesus.

In this chapter, we've seen contrasts between different people and situations. Here, we see the contrast between this beggar who was blind and the rich man who came to Jesus. Matthew's and Mark's gospels tell us there were two beggars, but in the Gospel of Luke, it appears Luke loves to point out how Jesus is interested in the individual. It didn't matter if there were a hundred sheep; he's interested in one. If there are ten pieces of silver, there's one. If there are two sons, there's one. If there are two beggars, here in Luke's Gospel, there's one. God is interested in you. He knows your need. He wants you to cry out to him.

If there's anything we learn about prayer in this chapter, it's that men ought always to pray. We're not to pray like the Pharisee, but we come desperately to Jesus. The rich young ruler came, thought well of himself, and bragged about his goodness. This beggar wouldn't be quiet when he heard Jesus was passing by. He was desperate for his need to be healed and would cry out, even when people told him to be quiet. That's another thing you learn from this chapter: the widow in the first verses of the chapter kept crying out, even though the judge wouldn't listen. The beggar, even though people told him to be quiet, cried out anyway.

I love the contrast here, and we're encouraged to cry out in desperation. The Scripture says, "You shall seek me and find me when you have searched for me with all your heart." That's how you come to Jesus; that's how you come in faith, believing. This man was blind and acknowledged it. He had no special merits to cry out and say, "Oh, I've been good; I've done this." He had nothing. He came empty and went away rich. The rich man came very rich and left eternally poor.

My friend, there's so much we learn from this. I encourage you today: you might feel like you have nothing, no merits to come to Christ, or that you've lived a life that merits none of his grace. But you can come in your desperation. If I know and have learned one thing from my years of ministry it is that God hears the prayers of desperate people. Honestly, I don't know if we really pray until we get desperate. The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much because we meet Jesus where He is, and we cry out to Him.

The "human stories” we have "read" in this chapter should also encourage us to put our faith in Jesus Christ, no matter what others may say or do. The widow was not discouraged by the indifferent attitude of the judge, nor the publican by the hypocritical attitude of the Pharisee. The parents brought their little ones to Jesus in spite of the selfish attitude of the Apostles, and the blind men came to Jesus even though the crowd told them to keep quiet and stay put. Jesus always responds to faith and rewards those who believe.

What a wonderful story to end this chapter. This poor blind beggar left rejoicing, and the people were praising God. Remember, the rich man left very sad and sorrowful. Don't leave that way, my friend. Come to Jesus, meet Him, have your life changed, and let Hm give you your sight.

Jesus asked this blind man, "What do you want Me to do for you?"? The man said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." God made him point out his need, and Jesus met that need right where he was. I trust that you'll trust the Lord today to meet your need. Jesus is always ready to answer the prayer of a desperate person!

God bless!