Making Your Needs Known to the Lord

I believe that this “Lord, come and help us, for the one You love is sick” is a prototype of what prayer is. When we present our needs to the Lord, we confidently approach the Throne of Grace. God’s own Word invites us to draw near to the Lord. It is a throne of grace; it is a throne of goodness and mercy; it is a throne that is open to us. We do not have to come fearing that the Lord will reject us or that we will somehow be bothering Him; rather, the Lord wants us to let Him know our needs.

We are in the midst of this study concerning John chapter 11, the death and resurrection of Lazarus. In the last program, we were talking about the fact that Martha and Mary, at the moment of their crisis, when their brother is terribly ill, can appeal to the relationship they already have with Jesus Christ, which John himself makes clear to us: they were friends of Jesus; Mary was the one who had poured out the perfume and wiped the Lord with her hair, and so on, right?

Here we see this idea that, at the moment of crisis, these sisters can appeal to the Lord on the basis of their prior knowledge of and experience with Him—an experience of worship in Mary’s case, chiefly of service to the Lord in Martha’s case, and of hospitality toward the Spirit of the Lord when they welcome Him and His disciples into their home. All these things are important in our lives: when we serve the Lord, when we give Him our resources, when we have a dialogue with Him through prayer and the reading of His Word.

All these things gradually build up within us a foundation of faith and relationship with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus Christ, which then enables us, in times of need when we require wisdom, counsel, and strength, to draw upon that foundation that we have been building little by little throughout life. That is why it is so important that we never neglect the Lord and our devotional life during ordinary times, because those are the times in which to build the platform that then enables us to appeal to the Lord in times of need and crisis.

It is interesting that it says here that when they see their brother in this state of crisis, nearly dead, it says: “The sisters sent word to the Lord, saying, ‘Lord, behold, the one You love is sick.’” So, when I hear those words from Martha and Mary that they send to Jesus, informing Him about the situation they are going through, does that not resemble prayer? Is that not what we do when we appeal to the Lord Jesus Christ in a time of need?

We say to Him: Lord, I have this need; come and help me, come and help us. My son, my daughter, is in a crisis, is going through a difficult time in life; please come to our aid and extend Your Hand to us. That is prayer: letting the Father know our needs, small or great, and appealing to Him in the name of Jesus and from a posture of faith that comes through an ongoing relationship with the Lord. And then the Lord does what He promises to do: to be faithful, to bless us, to come to our aid, and to help us. Prayer.

The Word says that we should pray at all times. Pray without ceasing. Let the Lord know our needs. The apostle Paul says: be anxious for nothing, but make your needs known to the Lord with thanksgiving, and the Lord will keep your spirits in peace and will do what He says He must do, essentially, right? Philippians chapter 4.

The Bible also says that we do not receive because we do not ask. In this case, Martha and Mary find themselves in terrible need, and instead of saying, Oh, you know what? We do not want to bother the Master; we do not want Him to feel as though we are taking advantage of our friendship with Him—no. They appeal to the Lord; they say to Him: Lord, come to our aid; we have a need, and You have the answer to that need.

How good it is to know that there is no situation in our lives, however small or great it may be, in which the Lord cannot come to our aid. Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit are never too busy. The Lord will never reject us when we are in a situation of need. We have to appeal to the Lord and then surrender ourselves to His Sovereignty, to the wonderful plan He has for every situation in our lives, and let Him attend to our need in whatever way He knows is best.

Many times we appeal to the Lord and He has another plan; it is a complex, long-term plan, as in this case that we are going to see here. Many times He answers immediately. But the important thing is that we make our needs known to the Lord. We must let Him know what we need Him to do, and then we surrender ourselves to His wisdom, His Lordship, His Providence, His far-reaching plan for every situation in our lives.

I believe that this “Lord, come and help us, for the one You love is sick” is a prototype of what prayer is. When we present our needs to the Lord, when, as the Word says, we confidently approach the Throne of Grace. God’s own Word invites us to draw near to the Lord. It is a throne of grace; it is a throne of goodness and mercy; it is a throne that is open to us. We do not have to come fearing that the Lord will reject us or that we will somehow be bothering Him; rather, the Lord wants us to let Him know our needs.

Let us appeal to Him in times of crisis or need. The Lord invites us to a life of continual prayer. Pray without ceasing; let us make our petitions known before the Lord with all gratitude, with complete boldness and, many times, even daring, because He is willing to help us, as in the case of Martha and Mary.