Amazed!  Jesus was amazed at the man’s faith.  I’ve never seen such “great faith,” He remarked to the crowd of onlookers.  What was it about this man, a Roman army officer and an outsider, that inspired Jesus to marvel at his faith?  This centurion happens to be one of my favorite characters in the entire New Testament.  As I reflect on Luke’s version of the story, three things stand out: 

First, the centurion was compassionate.  Servants in that day were regarded as personal property and often mistreated.  Yet the centurion truly cared for his worker as a human being.  The servant was “highly valued” by his master.

Second, he was humble.  The centurion had such high regard for Jesus that he didn’t count himself “worthy” of His presence.  He even sent some Jewish elders to speak to Jesus on his behalf.  His friends “pleaded earnestly” for Jesus to come to this man who “loves our nation.” Notice the humility reflected in these verses:

So Jesus went with them.  He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.  That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed”  (Luke 7:6,7).

Third, he understood authority.  Centurions, though powerful in rank,  were often from common stock.  They were usually promoted from within ranks because of great bravery or military skill.  The centurion was a fighting man who understood chain of command.  He got the concept of authority. “I myself am a man under authority, with with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:8).

Somehow, he discerned that Jesus operated with supernatural authority.  I can imagine him saying, “You don’t even need to come to my house, Jesus.  All you need to do is say the word and my servant will be healed.”

Jesus stopped in His tracks.  None of His followers in Israel had quite grasped the full extent of His heavenly authority…until now.  Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s insight, calling it “great faith.”  The friends who brought his message to Jesus returned to the house and found the servant healed.

Now THAT is real faith.  The kind of faith that amazes our Lord.  To pray…then walk away.  Not in defeat but in absolute confidence in Jesus’s authority to show up and heal…even from a distance.

Lord, I don’t even know the centurion’s name.  Yet his compassion and humility inspire me.  Help me grasp Your authority, confident that all of heaven and earth is under Your control.  Just one Word from You can change any situation.  I pray to have the kind of faith that amazes You and gives birth to bold and daring prayers for a broken world so desperate for Your healing touch.  -Amen. 

Wilderness.  Wandering in desolate places. Wilderness requires waiting.   Forty years in the desert.  Nothing about the word wilderness sounds appealing. Rather…empty, lonely, barren.   Yet Jesus found the wilderness to be full of fruit–spiritual fruit.  He withdrew often to talk with His father in the wilderness.  The Son of God, with divinity downloaded into every gene, still felt the need to separate Himself often from the world around Him to pray.   I wonder what this means for you and me?

For one thing, it took real effort to be alone back in those days.  Families were big.  Homes were tiny.  Rooms were shared.  Can you imagine the noise and chaos?  Jesus had to make an effort to get away.  He arose early.  It was his custom, we’re told. The wilderness was the place where He got away from distractions.  It’s where He spent the night in prayer over  the selection of the twelve disciples.  It’s where He prayed for power.  It’s where He met God.

The wilderness is also where Jesus met the devil and wrestled over His calling and purpose on earth.  For Jesus, the wilderness was full of defining moments in His ministry.

Do you suppose He had a favorite spot?  A place under a tree, with a view over Jerusalem.  Oh Jerusalem….He wept as he prayed over the city.   Imagine how the wilderness reverberated with the voice of the Son of God as He cried out to His father for the needs of a broken world.

Jesus knew that wilderness time is crucial to a powerful prayer life. Take a minute to meditate on this prayer tip to His disciples about the importance of getting alone with God.  Click here to read the entire passage.

 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:6 NLT).

For Reflection:  Where do you go to feel close to God?  Your room?  A favorite chair?  Your car?  When surrounded by nature?   “I encounter God in places where I feel small,” a friend once said.  Does that describe you?

I encourage you to find a secret place where you can go in and  ”shut the door” to the outside world.  Go there to meet with God daily.  Early.  Spend time in God’s Word and prayer.  And don’t hurry through this “morning launch.”  If Jesus required time to listen to the Father’s Words and interact with Him through prayer, how much more  do we?

Lord, draw me to times of wilderness with You.  Help me carve out the first fruit of my day to seek You.  I want to be like the Psalmist (5:3) who said, “Morning by morning I lay my requests before you and eagerly watch for the answers.”  I commit to lay my requests before You this morning and keep watch for signs of Your work all day long.  -Amen.

Willing?  Jesus, are you willing to heal me?  The guy was desperate.  He was covered with leprosy–a terminal case.  His condition was hopeless.  Lepers were untouchables.  So he was ostracized.   An outcast.  Jesus was his last ditch effort.  Face in the dirt, he crushes any remnant of pride…and begs.  The plea is to the point. Just ten words. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus answers in half as many words and ignites a miracle.  ”I am willing.  Be clean!”

Let’s take a minute to meditate on this short passage in a different translation:

While he was in one of the towns, Jesus came upon a man who was a mass of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he prostrated himself before him and begged, “If you want to, Lord, you can make me clean.”

Jesus stretched out his hand, placed it on the leper, saying, “Certainly I want to. Be clean!”  (Luke 5:12, 13  J.B. Phillips).

Notice that Phillips uses the word “want” instead of “willing.”  The  word in the Greek, thelo can mean “want, will, desire,” or even “wish”  Thelo also indicates a “pressing on to action.”  Jesus not only wanted to and was willing to heal the guy. He executed.  Without hesitation.

The leper’s plea can be considered a prayer.   The word, “beg,” or deomai, describes a specific, urgent prayer.  The answer came swiftly.  His desperate cry for healing was consistent with the will of God for that man in that moment.  Alignment with God’s will is a vital component of prayer, as Jesus taught His disciples in”The Lord’s Prayer:”

Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.  Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10).

In the original language, this prayer is more of a demand than a request .  It is better translated:  ”Kingdom come! Your will be done on earth as in heaven!”  God’s will is done perfectly in heaven–so heaven becomes the model for our earthly prayers. It’s as if Jesus wants us to shake our fist and shout a bit as we claim God’s will to be done on an earth still crawling with enemies.

My short answer on how to know God’s will is this: Read His Word.  Saturate your heart daily. Grow so close to your Good Shepherd that you know His will, obey His will, pray His will.  This is called abiding and is the secret to a power-filled prayer life.  Are you willing?

Full!  To be full is ”to hold as much or as many as possible; having no empty space.”  The Greek word for full, pleres, can  mean “abounding in or complete.”  When we are full, we don’t have much appetite for food.  In a similar way, we have less hunger for God when we’re satisfied with the things of this world.  Yet Peter surrendered to Jesus when he was full.  An overflowing catch of fish had left his nets full to the breaking point.  It’s then that the passionate, impetuous fisherman leaves fishing behind to follow Jesus. 

Let’s spend a minute reflecting on  Luke 5:1-11.  Peter was washing his nets, resigned to going home empty-handed.  Jesus tells him to put out the nets again to try one more time for a catch.

Peter reminds Jesus that he had toiled all night long without  a single fish.  ”But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5).  The results left Peter and the other fishermen “astonished at the catch of fish” (verse 9).

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.  So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:6-8). 

What was it about the overwhelming catch of fish that drove the Peter to his knees?  Perhaps, when he came face-to-face with the glory of God, he felt shame at his own inadequacy.  Or maybe he was stricken with fear when he realized he still had an emptiness which the things of this world–even a crazy catch of fish–could never fill.

Whatever the reason, Jesus looks straight into Peter’s soul and utters ten words that would forever change his life:  ”Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”  Peter immediately pulled up his boat, left his fishing and followed Jesus.

Just like that?  A full boat of fish…his biggest catch ever?  Yet he drops it all to follow Jesus. Something happened to Peter in those few minutes that caused him to lay down the very thing that had given his life purpose.

It’s as if Jesus invited Peter to a new life and a renewed calling all at the same time.  ”Peter, don’t worry. We can clean up your act as you follow me,” I can hear Jesus saying.  ”And if you think fishing is fun, you haven’t seen anything yet.  From now, on, you’ll be helping me to catch men….to rescue their very souls from destruction!”

What does it mean to lay your “fishing” at the feet of Jesus?  To use your gifts and talents to win others for eternity?  What wild and glorious adventure is Jesus calling you to?  He speaks the language of a rugged fisherman.  He surely speaks yours.  Simply be still and listen.  Then dare to obey.