Read John 9:13-34. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Digging Deeper
If someone was to ask you, “What percentage of your prayers does the Lord answer?” What would your answer be? Better yet, does God answer your prayers at all or is it just coincidence? What do you believe about your prayers to God?
This once blind man made an astute comment, “ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
This blind man believed that God listens to the godly man who does His will. That is an amazing statement. He believed his healing came from this man, Jesus, because He was godly and doing God’s will. This healing could not have happened to him unless God intervened into human history to perform this miracle on him. He believed that Jesus was not a sinner, but a godly person, even a prophet.
Do you and I believe that God listens and answers our prayers because we walked humbly before Him, seeking to do His will? God promised to the Jewish people that He will listen and respond to their prayers if they humbled themselves and walked in His ways. If that is true for the Jewish people, do you believe that He will hear and respond to our prayers when we walk humbly and righteously before Him?
I believe if a godly believer walks in the will of God, God listens and answers that believer’s prayer for s/he is doing the will of God. It’s not so much that God is acting based that person’s will but rather that person is praying in faith, seeking to do the will of the Father, not their own. Let me be clear, Jesus didn’t heal everyone based on one’s prayer, but whatever the Father was doing, He was doing that same work.
God has given us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to be with us, in us, and to guide us. If you and I walk in the Spirit, being filled with Spirit of God, I believe more and more of your prayers and my prayers will be answered by God. It’s not by chance that prayers are answered. It’s God actively working in your life and mine to do His good will and to participate with Him. Take a deeper, closer walk with God and see what happens to you and your prayers. God wants to answer our prayers, but our lives and our prayers must be in alignment with the will of God.
Ponder Romans 12:1-2. It’s worth the mediation and application. You may never be the same again.
-Kingston