Say The Word
“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:8
I have always loved the story of the centurion who had such deep faith in Jesus. Our prayers to God can be modeled after the way this man approached Jesus. First, he asked for help simply by stating a fact: “Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” This Roman army commander was very straightforward in expressing his need to Jesus. Our prayers to Jesus don’t need to be fancy or formulaic, they come from our heart.
Second, the centurion trusted in Jesus’ power to respond. Even though Jesus offered to come in person and heal the servant, the centurion replied, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” The centurion knew that Jesus was so powerful that He could heal people even if He was not physically present. We too can trust that Jesus will answer our prayers. Sometimes Jesus heals us physically, and other times Jesus heals us emotionally or spiritually. Sometimes Jesus promises us future healing and asks us to wait until the right time. No matter what, Jesus’ words are powerful enough to heal in ways that we may not even understand.
Jesus healed the centurion’s servant and praised the faith of the centurion. We are invited to trust in Jesus, just as this man did. Jesus will listen to our prayers with love and answer our prayers with power, even when He does not heal in the way in which we have prayed.
God of healing power, help us to trust in the power of Jesus’ words, especially when His healing is not in the way we had wanted. May our faith be like the centurion’s.
Inspired by a Today Devotion