The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" – Matthew 20:31

Today's Scripture Reading (January 24, 2024): Matthew 20

American poet Maya Angelou said, "Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." We need the courage that comes from holding deep convictions, convictions that we refuse to allow to be tossed aside by the pressures of the day. My greatest fear for our culture is that we have stopped believing in anything deeply. We only know our wants and desires, and nothing that happens around us can shake us to the foundations of our souls.

The two blind men in this passage knew two things were true in their lives. The first was that they had a problem that was affecting their entire existence; the men were blind. No other issues in their lives had a solution as long as that dominant problem remained unsolved. The second thing that was true in the lives of these men is that they believed that Jesus was the solution to their shared first problem. The blind men weren't sure that Jesus would solve their pain, but they were convinced that he could. This belief, the blind men held deeply within them; it was a belief of which they refused to let go.

As a result, these blind men had made a decision. They would do whatever they could to get their request for healing to Jesus. Armed with nothing but courage and a firmly held belief that Jesus was the solution to their primary problem, they had come to make their request. It didn't matter that they had no one to take them to Jesus; they would take themselves. It didn't matter if all those blessed with the miracle of sight stood in their way and discouraged their actions; these men would not be discouraged. The men planned on knocking on the door and making their requests until Jesus answered them with a yes or a no.

The blind men's response to Jesus passing by has often been recommended as a model for our prayers. To paraphrase Charles Spurgeon, we need to;

Take hold of the gates of heaven and shake them with all of your strength, as though you could pull them up by their foundations. Stand at Mercy's door, and take no denial. Knock, and knock, and knock again, demanding that you would obtain an answer to your cries. Cold prayers never win God's ear. Pull back your bow, and with every ounce of your strength, send your prayers like arrows up so that they can reach the height of God's heaven (A rephrasing of the words of Charles Spurgeon).

This was precisely what these men planned to do and what they hoped to accomplish. And because of their courage, they received their answer and, more importantly, their sight.

Note: Charles Spurgeon's actual quote:

Take the gates of heaven and shake them with thy vehemence, as though thou wouldst pull them up post and bar and all. Stand at Mercy's door, and take no denial. Knock, and knock, and knock again, as though thou wouldst shake the very spheres, but what thou wouldst obtain an answer to thy cries. 'The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.' Cold prayers never win God's ear. Draw thy bow with thy full strength, if thou wouldst send thy arrow up so high as heaven. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Mark 10

See also Mark 10:48