“While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him
and said,
‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hands on
her and she will live.’”
I found myself caught off guard when I found the above
passage. In the story, I notice that the ruler knelt before Jesus. Now, I find that unusual. This man was the
ruler of the synagogue, an authority figure, and yet he knew to humble himself
before the Lord. Had he heard of this itinerant preacher? He must have. Did he believe
in Him? He seems to. Did the ruler have faith in what Jesus could do? (heal
people.) Yes he did.
The books of Mark and Luke say this was Jairus. Mark tells
us ‘He pleaded earnestly.’
Do we sometimes go out on a limb and insist that Jesus do
something for us rather than approach His throne with humility?
~~
“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to
Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor.”
Matthew 20:20 (NIV)
This passage intrigues me. As I understand it, James and
John were cousins of Jesus. Their mother was his aunt. And she comes with her
sons to ask a favor of the Lord. She kneels before Him and requests her sons
have a place of honor. She had enough respect for the Master to approach him in
a humble manner. But He told her she asked of Him something that wasn't His to
do; this fell under God’s decision. Sometimes we ask God for something that He
will not do because that task is a job we can do it for ourselves. I am guilty
of this; is anyone else?
In our 21st Century lifestyles, do we forget to
kneel in adoration or when we request something from God? In a lot of churches
we see an altar rail with places for kneeling. In one church of which I was a
part, some of the members knelt between the pews, using the seat part as a
resting place for their arms while they prayed. The building I worked in on an
Army post had folding chairs in its auditorium that had kneelers attached to
the back legs. If they were being used, the padded shelves were popped down but
most of the time they were flipped up and out of the way.
In the early 1970’s, I was in a cottage prayer meeting prior
to a revival series at my then church. As we were getting ready to pray, the
leader of the group all at once stood, turned around, and knelt at his chair,
using it as an altar, before he started to pray. The rest of us followed his
lead and knelt where we were.
I have noticed how people talk to others. We might need to
take a lesson in humility before our peers as well as before the Lord.
Unplugged
I will be going unplugged until Monday June 3rd.
My intent is to do as thorough a job of Spring Cleaning as I
can in preparation of our son visiting us the last week of this month.
It is my hope to be able to unplug completely from the cyber world.
I agree! kneeling is humble adoration...
ReplyDeleteenjoy your spring cleaning!!!!
I have to do it in order to get ready for him to come home and to get my closet changed over and it *really* needs to be done.
DeleteOops, you probably won't see my comment until after June 3rd...but know that I appreciated the words of this post...Kneeling before the Lord in prayer is becoming a lost "art" in most churches and homes. I believe it is something we need to bring back, into our own personal time of prayer and worship, and then perhaps it will happen again in our churches. One day "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10)
ReplyDeleteHave a good visit with your son! What a blessing...and yes, he needs your undivided attention! We will miss you, but you will be in a happy place!
Thank you Pamela, for your kind words. My email processor seems to be uncooperative. Our son called and Hubby said, "Just email it to me and Mom can print it off for me." I hadn't told Hubby of my plan to be offline for two weeks. So, I am seeing this(5/19). I hope to enjoy our time with our son.
DeleteI hope you accomplish everything on your to-do list. Have a wonderful visit with your son!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Susan :)
Thank you, Susan. Last night(Monday) I couldn't sleep until 5:00 A. M. So, today's been a wash out,as far as work has gone. I still have this afternoon and evening to redeem the day.
DeleteDitto to what Susan said. I hope it's a wonderful, exciting, relaxing time for you and your family.
ReplyDeleteWaving,
Rhonda
Rhonda, thank you. As I said to Susan, today has been non-productive,so far. The weather has been gorgeous here today.
DeleteI thought your words were poignant when you wrote, "Do we sometimes go out on a limb and insist that Jesus do something for us rather than approach His throne with humility?" So true. We have to ask for the right things, in the right way and for the right reasons.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a wonderful visit with your son! Be well.
Janette: Thank you for your kind words. We had a very good time with our son visiting. We went and saw close friends of ours from Hubby's school days in the southern part of our state. Yesterday afternoon, Son and I went to visit two local lady friends of mine. They have been concerned about him when the weather gets bad where he is. One of them was his babysitter for a few years. We have gone to the same churches with them since 1985. One is in poor health. He left here this morning shortly after 6:00 and drove the 10 hours to his place. He made it all right. Praise the Lord.
DeleteI agree. I think a general reverence and humbleness of spirit is lacking in so many ways, myself included. Thank you for this gentle and wise reminder.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good visit with your son!
Blessings,
Karen
Karen; Thank you for your kind thought. We also need to exercise humility when we deal with others who are searching for answers.
DeleteWe have to approach others with a humble attitude.