Pro Tips for Prayer

If you have a child or grandchild, you probably realize that they know how to ask, who to ask, and even when to ask for whatever it is they may need. If you think about people who are beggars in the best complexion of the word, the children that I love are, quite honestly, professional beggars. They make a profession of it.

In Mark 10 we come face to face, not just with a beggar, a man in need, but with a man who was in many ways a professional beggar. Mark 10:46 says, “And they [Jesus and His disciples] came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.” Begging is what he did. It is all he could do.

This is in stark contrast to all the other characters we have met in Mark 10. In verse 1 you meet the Pharisees who were not begging for anything. They thought they were better than everyone else. They did not think they needed anything, not even God’s Messiah. Verse 1 says that the Pharisees came to ask Jesus a question and this question was really an excuse to tempt or test Him. There is a difference between asking for an answer and asking for an argument. These men were clearly asking for an argument. They were not asking because they wished to learn something from the Lord Jesus. They didn’t think they could learn anything from Him.

Then, in verse 17 you find a man who is described elsewhere as a rich young ruler. His question for Jesus was, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Basically he had everything anyone thinks he must have or do in order to make God owe him heaven. He was religious, a hard worker, a man of means and influence, and he asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life? And I’ll do it because I am that kind of a person.”

In verse 35 and following Jesus told His disciples time and again about His coming death, burial, and resurrection, and they were totally out of sync. The second time in as many chapters the disciples argued about who was the most important and who would have the privileged place in heaven.

The people in these examples are in stark contrast to blind Bartimaeus. He was a man who knew he wasn’t capable or virtuous. He knew he needed Jesus and asked Jesus for help. He was a professional at asking. He sat by the highway side begging. Jesus was physically in the presence of Bartimaeus and what Bartimaeus did is best described as asking or praying. Can you imagine how much differently we would pray if the Lord were not just literally, because that is the case now, but physically in the room with you? I think we would be clearer and more reverent. “Lord, I need you,” and just tell Him. That was the ethic of Bartimaeus.

So, I have two pro tips for prayer you can learn from a professional beggar. First, there is the premise of prayer. This man was called blind Bartimaeus. He was blind. He heard that Jesus was near. Why did he hear? It was because he couldn’t see. He exercised the one sense that he had. Blind Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus is kind of redundant. Timaeus was his father’s name and Bar just means “son of.” Timaeus is literally “filthy.” So, he was blind, the son of filthy.

But notice what he did. He asked for mercy. Everyone needs mercy, but most people don’t know it. They think that they can earn God’s favor and deserve God’s ear. Prayer is always under the premise of “He is God and I am needy.” Bartimaeus acknowledged that. He said, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” He called Jesus the Son of David. He recognized, unlike the Pharisees and most of the other people you find around Jesus, that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s anointed one, the son of David. You are never going to pray as you should until you have the proper premise. “I’m blind. I’m unclean. I need mercy. Jesus is God’s Son the Son of David.” What a wonderful premise. You learn this from professional blind Bartimaeus.

Second, we can learn the point of prayer. When you are blind, you can’t afford to be clever, vague, or general. If you have a need, just out with it. “I’m nothing. You are God’s Son. I need help. Here it is.” I do think it was interesting that this man was persistent. Everyone around him told him to be quiet when he was crying out for Jesus to come, but he cried the more. Wonderfully, Jesus stood still and commanded that Bartimaeus be called. The people then told him, “Be of good comfort, rise; he called thee,” and Bartimaeus went to Jesus.

Jesus asked him, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” Why was Jesus asking this? Wasn’t His attention drawn to this man precisely because he had asked for something? He said, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” So, why is Jesus asking him what he wants Him to do? It is because everyone needs mercy, but Jesus is simply asking him what kind of mercy he needs. Be specific.

Bartimaeus was specific. In verse 51 he said “Lord, that I might receive my sight.” That is obvious, isn’t it? Only the blind receive their sight, and only those who ask receive. Bartimaeus asked, received his sight, and followed Jesus. The premise was “I am needy. Jesus is God.” The point of the prayer was specifically the kind of mercy for which Bartimaeus was asking. He was specific and Jesus was merciful.

I live in a cluster of twenty other houses on the Bill Rice Ranch. My house is among the first that you come to as you are driving up the road on the way to the actual camp ground. Because of my proximity I have had a number of people through the years who have just shown up at my door looking for help of some kind. On one occasion there was a needy person, a beggar. He came to my door asking for things. Well, I pivoted, walked back toward my kitchen and realized he was behind me matching me step for step. He had the gall to say as we are standing in my kitchen, “Hey, I’m thirsty, Can I have a glass of water?” Before I could finish with that question, he said, “I’m hungry. Do you have anything to eat?” Before I could answer that question, he said, “I’m bored, could you amuse me and keep me occupied.” You know what I did for that beggar, that kid, my grandson? I gave him what he needed because he may be a beggar, but that beggar is my grandson and that makes all the difference.

When I come to God, I am no better or worse than any person seeking money on the street corner. The difference is I am not a nameless stranger to God. I am a child of God, not by my merits, but by the merit of Christ. You can learn how to pray from someone who knows about need, the station of the Lord Jesus, and asking. So, two pro tips from a beggar who knew how to ask are the premise of prayer, the Lord’s power and my need, and the point of prayer, making clear to myself and to the Lord as best I can exactly what it is I need.