Breaking the Miracle BarrierSample

 It Has Nothing to Do with Begging

Jesus does not move because we beg—no matter how much we beg. Jesus stops and listens when we release the sound of now. Indeed, Scripture gives an account of how the sound of now caused Jesus to stop dead in His tracks and take notice—then take action.

Jesus went out with His disciples and a large crowd. Surely, it was noisy. Where there is a great multitude, there are many sounds that accompany it.

Bartimaeus was there, sitting by the road, begging. Again, we can beg God all day long, but begging does not necessarily spur God to action. Bartimaeus was likely barely getting by with his begging—and he certainly was not finding any healing power in it. Begging shows desperation, but it does not necessarily demonstrate faith that produces the sound of now. There was something, though, about the sound of the blind man’s cry that got Jesus’ attention. Before we explore that, notice something else.

When Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, his buddies tried to shut him up. You can expect this reaction from some of your friends and family when you get desperate enough to release the sound of now. Some translations of the Bible reveal that people scolded him and even rebuked him for crying out to Jesus. You may get rebuked for your fervent faith on your way to breaking the miracle barrier, but take a page from the story of blind Bartimaeus and keep crying aloud anyway.

I know Bartimaeus was glad he did. What happens next is astounding. Jesus heard Bartimaeus’s cry above all the other noise on the road. Jesus heard the sound of now—and He stopped. Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted, which seems like an obvious question. God does not ask what we want or what we need because He does not know what we want or what we need. God knows everything. God wants us to verbalize it because with the sound of our petition we release our “now faith” in the only One who can deliver the breakthrough.

Bartimaeus’s cry was a passionate, loud cry that entreated the Lord of the Breakthrough to break in now. Crying out in Scripture speaks of a strong, loud emotion. It is like putting an exclamation mark at the beginning and end of your prayer.