Determined To Have Mercy

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“And behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.” (Matt. 20:30-31)

When a woman of Canaan sought help for her daughter she cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David.” (Read Matt. 15:21-28) Jesus did not respond, the disciples said send her away, and Jesus said He came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but the woman persisted and worshipped Him. Jesus responded by saying it is not right for Him to take “the children’s bread, and cast it to dogs.” The woman with great humility of heart and determination said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” The woman was not about to give up and Jesus knew it, so with heavenly compassion Jesus replied, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”

Too often our prayers are shallow with very little substance and are detached from any real commitment. We receive not because there is no solidness to our petitions before God. It seems as if the common attitude in prayer is, “if we get it ok and if not that is ok too,” then it is washed with “but not my will but thine be done.” There is a tremendous absence of absolute determination to be heard and to have mercy from the Lord. As a result, we are not receiving the mercy we so desperately need, all because of the lack of humble determination. The Lord responds to those who are determined to “have mercy.” How determined are you in your prayers?

The Scripture say, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) When is prayer powerfully effective? It is when the righteous have a passionate determination to receive mercy from the Lord. Weak ill-conceived prayers have no power to draw the attention of the Father and the Son. Yes, we may be as unworthy as dogs, but even a mangy dog can receive compassion and mercy if he touches the Master’s heart with his worship and persistent pleading. Pant after the Lord with humility and passionate determination – He may yet grant you His mercy!!!