Do you believe John 3:16? Then why isn’t Mark 16:17–18 your daily life?
Hi, I’m Addison. You’re reading (or listening to) Bigger Than Me—a weekly guide devoted to removing the fears, doubts, and misconceptions that keep believers from healing the sick in everyday life.
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“Have you got any dirt?”
“...no. I’m on the second floor…” a gravelly voice replied.
John’s throat had been burning so badly that day he could barely talk. He’d called us on Discord from work, and for the last ten minutes Huy and I had been praying for him, commanding the burning and whatever was behind it to leave.
Now he was sitting on a bucket in the half-finished office structure he was helping build, exhausted and barely audible.
“...I can go downstairs for it…” John finished.
“Good. Go spit in it, make some mud, and rub it on your throat,” Huy said.
Huy and I waited. John’s camera was off, so all we could hear were heavy work boots thumping down the concrete stairs and cargo pants rustling as he went.
“Okay, now what?” John squeaked out in his dry voice.
We commanded the burning to leave again.
Then we had him wash the mud off.
Almost gone.
We prayed one more time.
Gone.
That’s Weird
Asking someone to put mud on themselves is already a bit strange.
While at work, with all your co-workers around? When everyone else would be telling you to drive to urgent care at this point?
That’s nuts.
Those are the ideas you usually ignore as they pop into your head while praying for people:
“Get loud right now!”
“Tell them to start jumping.”
“Tug on his ear.”
“Blow air on her face.”
“Ask them about horses.”
What? That’s weird.
Then you shake it off without a second thought.
God doesn’t want me to look stupid here.
Jesus Was “Weird”
Jesus did some weird stuff.
He rubbed mud on people’s faces, spit in their eyes, stuck fingers in their ears, and more that people found odd and taboo.
For Jesus, looking strange was never the deciding factor.
He did what He saw His Father doing.
When you are praying and suddenly feel that you should put your hand somewhere specific, ask a strange question, tell the person to do something that sounds silly, or pray in a way you normally wouldn’t, don’t dismiss it just because it feels silly.
Jesus didn’t let “Will this make me look stupid?” decide whether something was from His Father.
You don’t have to either.
A Prayer to Stop Filtering God
Dear Father,
Thank You for making me Your child.
Thank You that I don’t have to understand everything before I can trust You.
Jesus, thank You for showing me what obedience looks like.
Thank You for showing me that looking foolish is never a reason to stop following the Father.
Holy Spirit, thank You for living in me and leading me.
Thank You that I know Your voice and can trust You when You speak to me.
I repent for the times I’ve ignored Your direction because I was afraid of looking stupid or foolish.
I reject the lie that You would never ask me to do something that looks strange.
I release my need to look like I know what I’m doing.
When I pray for someone, I will listen.
And when You lead me, I will obey, even if it looks weird to others.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Until next time,
Addison
