April 1

Make me Clean

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” — Luke 5:12 BSB

This prayer shows a beautiful faith. The leper had no doubt at all about Christ’s ability to heal him. The only question in his mind was whether Jesus would be willing to do it. There might be some reason why the Lord wouldn’t want to answer his request. It would be an indescribable blessing to have this awful disease taken away. Jesus could do it if he wanted to, and he would do it if it was best. So, in the leper’s brief prayer, we see both acceptance and humility.

This wasn’t a prayer for spiritual help, but for physical healing, and in matters like these, we can never truly know what’s best for us. A mother may lean over her dying child and plead desperately for the child’s life. God won’t blame her for her heart-wrenching prayers, but she can’t pray in a demanding way. She must end her most heartfelt plea with the words Jesus prayed in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done.” It might not be what’s best for her or her family to have the child live.

A man may face the loss of his property. He turns to Christ for help, saying, “If you’re willing, you can save me from this loss.” There’s no doubt that Christ can do it. But will he?

He will if it’s best, because he only allows hardships for the good of his people. But would it really be a blessing to avoid this loss? The man can’t know. It might be necessary for him to face this loss in order to not lose his eternal inheritance.

Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” is a good example. He wanted it gone, but it was necessary to keep him from becoming proud and self-important. Prayer should be submissive as well as sincere. We don’t always know what we should be asking for, or if what we want is actually best for us.