This post is part of a 40-day journey following Jesus in his prayer life. We’ll explore virtually every reference in the Gospels to Jesus and prayer. For a more in-depth treatment, see my book Prayers from the Pit.
“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you’” (John 11:17-22 ESV).
Jesus’ reputation as a person of prayer precedes his arrival at Bethany. Martha has witnessed enough of Jesus’ prayers that she has no doubt—if this man prays for her brother to rise from the dead, her brother will rise from the dead! She believes that “whatever” Jesus asks “from God, God will give” to him.
Martha has the Mount Everest of prayer requests: raise Lazarus from the dead. And to whom does she bring the request? She brings it to Jesus, because Jesus is known as person of powerful prayer.
What “impossible” prayer request do you need to bring to Jesus? What’s your “whatever”? Perhaps you’ve withheld the request because it seems too much to ask. Now is the time to ask. Delay no longer.
When it comes to prayer, what’s your reputation? Are you known by others as a person of powerful prayer? If someone in your circle of influence had an unusually challenging request, would they bring it to you? Why? Why not?
