I Want To
How many prayers? How many times had he begged God to heal him? Add to that the prayers of his family and friends who saw a man lose it all, through no fault of his own. It was a disease - leprosy - that changed everything.

He had lost the companionship of his wife and children, as he had to be shut out of the village and to live among others like him.

He could no longer choose what to wear, being required to wear the lepers black, torn clothing.

He could no longer look people in the eye, having to cover his face and call out "Leper, Unclean" upon a chance meeting and even then he might be stoned.

And bit by bit, day by day, he was losing his ability to function - to live. That loss brought with it two new companions that seemed to never leave - fear and hopelessness.

But he had heard about a man who could heal.

If he could only get close enough, and if the man only would - could - maybe...

1 Large crowds followed Jesus as He came down the mountainside.
2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. He knelt before him, worshiping. "Lord," the man said, "if you want to, you can make me well again." Matt 8:1-2 (NLT)

How he got close enough, I don't know. Maybe he hid in some bushes and sprang out as Jesus passed. The shouts of Leper! filled his ears. He knew he only had a moment before they would find the stones that would end his life. Running to Jesus and falling before Him in worship, he cried - he prayed "if you want to" - as simple a prayer as ever was spoken.

Jesus did the unthinkable - more than the man could have dreamed. In front of the crowds who had been amazed at His teaching, who had hung on every word..

He touched him, lifting him to his feet and then said..

"I want to. Be healed!"

Everything changed in an instant - all traces of the disease were gone. The man was whole, clean, cured!

Because Jesus wanted to.

I'm sitting here this morning trying to fathom what Jesus went through this week. And even before He came to earth, the conversation in heaven when God saw Adam and Eve fall into sin in the garden, and just how much pain all of mankind would suffer through sin.

"Who will go and make it right? Who will pay the price for their sins?"

And Jesus said, "I want to."

Friend, whatever you are facing this week, the clear message of Jesus can be summed up this way - "If you give me your life, I'll give you mine. I want to."

Do you want that? Do you want His love? Do you want freedom, wholeness, real life?

Then do whatever it takes to get to Him and fall before His feet asking Him to take over your life and make you whole.

He will. It's what He wants to do.

Grace!

David Wilson

This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.