Your Faith Has Healed You

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.

38 He called out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me!

40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 What do you want me to do for you?

Lord, I want to see, he replied.

42 Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has healed you. 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Luke 18:35-43

In Verse 42, Jesus said, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Jesus did not touch him or even say you are healed, only that his faith healed him. How powerful is faith that the Son of God does not need to intervene? Looking at this from Jesus’ perspective, he knew what the man wanted. It was obvious but Jesus still made him ask. In addition, Jesus likely knew, or saw, this man when he first passed by yet did not stop to heal him. When he first started yelling, Jesus initially ignores him, to the point where others were telling him to be quiet because it became bothersome. I believe this was intentional on the part of Jesus. He wanted to see his determination and will to want to be healed.

When the Disciples told him to be quiet, the Scriptures say he shouted all the more! This man would not be deterred. He knew Jesus could hear him. He had heard the stories others had spread about Jesus and now this was his chance. He was not going to let it slip by. What if he had given up? What if this man decided Jesus had no intention of healing him? He may have figured Jesus heard him but didn’t care and could of had a defeated spirit.

But, instead, he believed beyond just believing. His faith drove him to action and his persistence paid off. Jesus stopped and recognized his faith.

This isn’t the first time Jesus pointed out true faith. There was the faith of the Centurion who knew Jesus had to only speak and healing would be done. What is the difference between these two individuals and the other healings that Jesus performed? There were many others that came to Jesus for healing, even one who was lowered down from a roof to see him. Yet, none of them had faith like this. A simple yet determined faith that heals.

Could this relate to our own prayer life? Could God be waiting for our prayers to become persistent, willful, and never ceasing? Do we give up to soon due to our lack of faith? Perhaps this is why we never see results we expect.

When I was younger, I was taught by some that if you have enough faith, your answer to prayer will be instantaneous. The greater the faith, the faster the result. But this is not what I see when I read the life of Jesus. I see that not giving up has more value than mustering up some sort of feeling or verbal repetition. Consistent knocking at the door is what will make the door open. There are no formulas or short cuts to answered prayer. Formulas do not produce a contrite heart.

God wants to answer but he will not do so without some sort of sacrifice on our part. There are many in the Bible who had to wait for God’s answer. Yet, this waiting was never because of their lack of faith. Instead, God was waiting for their fulfillment of their sacrifice. Abraham, David, and the Apostle Paul, all waited for their realization of God’s promise through sacrifice, just to name a few.

Faith is all about action, not muster. It is not a fabricated feeling or such an intense concentration that your facial blood vessels pop. No, it is much simpler than we have made it out to be. James put it like this: without works, faith is dead. You can’t boil it down any simpler than that. If you are thinking you lack faith then all you have to do is begin with action. As soon as you begin to act, you have faith.