LEARNING DAILY

John 11: 21-22, Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

After reading the writings of some great writers from the past, I am learning to pay closer attention to detail in the Bible. That means to not read too fast, thinking I have read something many times before or heard messages given about certain passages. In the last page of the blog, I wrote about Charles Spurgeon’s writing on the sickness/death of Lazarus being for the glory of God and the Son of God. In his writing, he also emphasized the words “even now” in the verses above.

Jesus took two days longer than needed to get there. Lazarus has died. It is important to remember that when Lazarus became sick, Martha and Mary reached out, sent word to Jesus about his condition. That would be similar to Believers today praying, going to Jesus, to answer prayer requests when needs arise. They must also believe that Jesus will come at the right time. With Lazarus, He chose to arrive when He did in order that God and the Son of God would be glorified. Martha’s statement to Jesus, if read quickly, might be thought of as saying Lazarus would not have died if He had been there. Was she indicating that his death was Jesus’ fault? Or was her statement mixed with frustration, mourning and hope? She does not ask Jesus to bring back her brother, but she seems to be willing to trust God to do something. “Even now”.

“But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Spurgeon writes, “Since the omnipotence of God could be claimed, she felt no anxiety as to the greatness of the request. Whatever was asked could easily be gained if it was only asked by Him who was never denied.” Martha knew that the Father in heaven would grant to the Son what He asked. She believed that Lazarus could be resurrected if Jesus would only ask! Spurgeon continues, “Certainly we can have great faith in whom never wearies and never fails. We can trust Him who lives for no other purpose than to plead for those who trust in His dying love and in His living power”. “Even now”.

Be encouraged today as you read the statement by Martha to the Lord Jesus. You may have been praying for your son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter or someone regarding their spiritual condition or the need in their life and your heart is heavy regarding that person. Can you believe with Martha that “even now” the Lord Jesus can answer your prayer and the delay you have experienced will be made up to you (Spurgeon)? The encouragement for you is to not give up! Your answer may have been delayed but know “even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Martha must have done all she knew to help Lazarus get better; nothing helped. You may have done all you know to do for the person you are praying for, and nothing has changed. Do not give up. Do not stop praying! Continue to believe and trust that Jesus hears your prayer and is able to meet Your need. He is able to speak to that lost person, the person who is living under deception, and the person who needs to be healed by Him.

Martha was bold in stating what she did. She was confident in Jesus because she knew of His love for her and Lazarus. The more time we spend with Jesus the more we grow to know He loves us, regardless of our situation. He hears our prayer and knows exactly how to answer it and when. He knows how to speak to the one(s) we are praying for. Even in the most difficult situation, the Believer’s trust and faith is in Him, knowing that “even now God gives to Him whatever He asks of Him”.

“Even now” He asks you to put your faith and trust in Him for your need!