Luke 18:35-43 In the surrounding Scripture of today's text are mentioned various people who were seeking answers to their problems. The little children came with their childlike faith and were not turned away. The rich ruler came seeking salvation, but he let his wealth stand in the way of it. Following our selection is the account of Zacchaeus who did what was necessary to get where Jesus was, and he got his answer. Blind Bartimaeus was setting at the roadside begging just outside of Jericho. We aren't told whether he had blind from birth or lost his sight later in life; but when he inquired as to what the commotion was that was passing by and was told that it was Jesus of Nazareth, there was no shutting him up. He was blind. He wanted to see. Jesus was the answer and he was going to get His attention, whatever it took. This man passing by may have been Jesus of Nazareth to everyone else, but to him He was Jesus, Son of David, the Messiah who was passing by. Here was a chance in a lifetime and he wasn't going to let it pass him by. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!", he shouted until he got Jesus' attention. When he was brought before Jesus, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"; i.e., What kind of mercy did you have in mind? At first thought one might say, "That's a dumb question, he's blind, of course he wants his sight." I'm sure that both Jesus and Bartimaeus, knew of many other issues that he might need mercy with. It may have been that the man just needed to express specifically what he wanted. Perhaps there are a couple of things we can learn from this miracle. We need to recognize that Jesus can and will respond to us. We need to be specific as to what we are seeking. And finally, we need to be persistent. If you need it and you know that God can and is willing to deliver it, don't let go until you receive it. The man responded by praising God. Not a bad idea!

How Do You Get What You Need?