ODJ: bold, faithful friends
May 9, 2011
They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus (v.4).
READ: Mark 2:1-12
Jesus had returned to His base in Capernaum after a preaching trip. When the locals heard that He was back, they ran to where He was staying (probably Peter’s house) and swarmed around it. So many people crowded into the house that there was no way a paralyzed man, brought to the door by his concerned friends, could get in. But his friends would not be hindered! They hatched a dangerous, unconventional plan.
They picked up their paralyzed friend, hauled him up the side staircase to Peter’s roof, broke through the mud seal, ripped up the straw thatching, and made a hole large enough to lower the man through. They vandalized Peter’s home! When Jesus saw their radical faith, He gave them more than what they’d come for: He met the man’s spiritual needs first and then healed him physically (Mark 2:5,11-12).
Sometimes we simply can’t go any further in life or deeper into faith on our own. Seasons come when we need others to boldly carry us to Jesus.
“I remember when I wrote my book on prayer,” author Richard Foster once told me during a radio interview. “When I finished it, I didn’t want to pray. In fact, I didn’t even like prayer!” He was burned out and spiritually dry. Richard’s weekly prayer group soon came around and he shared his predicament with them. He revealed his prayerlessness to his four friends and waited for their response. “We don’t think you should pray right now,” they told him, “so we will become your prayer for you.” It wasn’t long before Richard was praying again for himself.
Just like the paralytic man and like Richard Foster, we all need bold, faithful friends. I thank God for those who carry me to Jesus and pray the prayer I can’t pray myself. —Sheridan Voysey
Which faithful friends carry you to Jesus when you’re weak? Who could you be such a friend to today?
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