“That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick” (Matthew 8:16).

Our Lord is Lord of all.  Yes, even the demons are under His authority.  This exposes the lie of the devil.  Jesus is the One who has the power.  Yes, our Lord can heal, but that does not mean, in a worldly way, that He always will.  Does it fit within the will of the Father?  You and I do not know what needs to happen, but our Lord does.  Be directed by the Lord and do not attempt to direct Him.

Lord, You know that I often expect You to do what I want.  Help me to come to the place where, by faith, I trust You can do all things, but that You will do what is within the Father’s will.  Guide me to live by faith no matter the outcome of my expectations so that I may humbly walk with You and trust in all that You are doing.  You are the Master, and I am Your disciple.  Guide me in the way You guided the disciples while in Your earthly ministry.

Lord Jesus, You know the anxieties I have.  You know where I am led by my desires and where that desire contradicts what needs to happen.  Teach me to pray continuously for others while remaining humble to the truth that the Father’s will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Help me to pray expectantly today, not for the outcome, but for Your action as a response to my prayers.  Amen.

“When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him” (Matthew 8:14).

All power belongs to our Lord.  From this world’s perspective, He physically heals whom He heals.  The Lord is not capricious.  Sinners want Him to do what they want Him to do.  He who knows all things is doing what is needed for the sake of all.  Do not let your faith be contingent upon what you see, know, or understand, but let it trust in the One who has all things in His hands.

Guide me away from the conditional faith I often encounter in this world, Lord.  So many accuse You of not being God because You do not do what they think You ought to do.  There has always been sickness in this age.  You heal some and not others.  You are still God.  Even if I were a leaper, dying in isolation, let me come through it like Job and never curse You for my circumstances.

Lord Jesus, You came into this world as an innocent child and when You left, it was the wickedness of this world piled upon Your shoulders.  You did not exempt Yourself from the pain of sin even though You were without sin.  Help me to follow You, taking up my cross and living as You are calling me to live.  Guide me in Your goodness to know that in You I have hope.  Lead me today to look to You alone as the One who most certainly can heal, but more importantly as the One who has healed my soul.  Amen.

“And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour” (Matthew 8:13).

Speaking with one who understood authority, Jesus did not need to go the centurion’s house.  Jesus did not need to do some of the things he did but did them for our sake.  If we had believed at the beginning, these instructions would already be in us.  But Jesus has come to save us, and so He walks alongside us.  “Let it be done according to Your faith” may be how He does it for all of us.

Lord, my level of trust wavers.  The centurion turned and went home.  He believed because He understood that Jesus had the power and that the petition was granted.  How often I waver, my faith weak and not believing.  Yet, You still love me, and Your grace is still there.  It is by that grace that I have this life which You have given.  Mature me in faith to believe Your promises.

Lord Jesus, kindle Your Holy Spirit in me to deepen the faith You have given me.  In those moments of doubt, guide me to understand that You have already done all that is needed.  You spoke all things into existence.  Of course, You can say the word and it is done.  Yet Lord, even if You leave me immature in faith, I will still praise You.  Help me according to the Father’s will.  Let me be content and filled with joy and faithfulness.  Amen.

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:11-12).

“I’ve gone to church my whole life, so there’s nothing to worry about.”  In contrast, “Those heathens who have that devil religion, they are all going to hell.”  Those who follow Jesus are saved by grace through faith.  You do not know what anyone else truly believes, so focus on what the Lord is telling you.  There are, in the end, only two positions, pretending you are a god, or standing in the love of God in Christ.

You know I want to believe, Lord, that I am a true follower, but You know the number of times I fail and set myself up as the center of everything.  Lord, I too often act in the way of the authorities of this world.  Sometimes, I’ve received horrific lessons from the so-called religious people around me.  Guide me, Lord, to look to You alone for guidance.  You have revealed truth and You have called me to look to You alone.

Lord Jesus, You are not being mean, nor angry when You tell us the truth.  You are just telling us the truth.  Guide me in the way of living the life You have given me so that I go as You lead to be rid of the constant desire to be the center.  I am not.  You are!  You need to go deep in me and rid me of all this hellish thinking so that I walk as a lamb of Your own redeeming.  Guide me by the Holy Spirit to walk with You alone.  Amen.

“When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10).

What is faith?  Is it not absolutely trusting without even fully understanding how or why?  Faith and authority go together.  Do you trust the Lord?  I mean, really, absolutely, trust the Lord?  We are called to trust Him above all things, including our circumstances, understanding, or ability to know.  Have faith in Jesus such that you trust Him at His word.  If He says He will do something, He will do it.  You may not see the result, but that does not matter. The Lord is absolutely trustworthy.

Lord, I want to trust, but too often I do not.  Life’s circumstances get in the way, and I let the circumstances dictate my level of trust.  Help me to have true faith, not to trust the things of this world but trusting You above all things.  Guide me in Your goodness to know that in You alone is my hope.  You are trustworthy.  You who spoke all things into existence will accomplish all that You have promised.

Holy Spirit, confront me in my lack of trust today.  Help me to see where I am not trusting.  Lead me away from trusting things of the world more than You.  Guide me in goodness to understand and live out the first commandment where I trust You above all things.  Lead me this day to live by the justifying faith You give by grace to do those things You give me to do.  May I be faithful to Your call this day.  Amen.

“For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it” (Matthew 8:9).

Scripture is filled with the truth of our need for authority.  The sinner believes they are an authority unto themselves.  Granted authority, you do what you are commanded  under the authority granted you.  We are also to respect the granted authority.  “When I say do this, the slave does it.”  We too are under the authority of Christ.  We are to do what He tells us to do.  When He says, “Go,” we are to go.

Lord, in contemporary culture, I too believe that I can do as I please.  Help me to understand that You are the only One with all power and authority.  You grant it to whom You grant it.  Bring me to the place where I respect authority such that I submit, even when I do not agree with what is being done.  I’m not talking about wanton sinfulness, but whether I would do things in a different way.

Lord Jesus, throughout Your earthly ministry, You demonstrated that You were absolutely under the authority of the Father.  You did not waver.  Help me to realize today that I am absolutely under Your authority.  Teach me to not question You, but to do what You ask me to do.  Teach me true obedience so that in my daily life, I respect all granted authority and learn how to be an obedient citizen under legitimate authority.  Amen.

“And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.”  The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:7-8).

There are two things to note here: first, this Roman Captain is humble; and second, he understands authority.  We can learn from this.  How much grief in the church would be avoided if we members simply lived humbly and respected authority.  Of course, the word of the Lord is all-powerful.  He spoke all things into existence.  This verse reminds us of the attitude with which we are to approach the Lord.

Lord, You know how often I come to You expecting that You will do as I say.  Humble me, for You alone are the God of all creation.  Yes, I may make requests, but let the requests be from my heart and always with an attitude of humility.  Help me to learn, no matter from whom or how, so that I may be faithful in this call You have given me to be Your disciple.

Holy Spirit, correct me when I make petitions so that I remain humble and trust that every answer will be good, right, and salutary.  Guide me in the way of truth in order that I may learn to live in this righteousness You give by grace and through faith.  May I pray this day, knowing that all things are in the Father’s hands.  May I know that even things I do not ask for are provided so that Thy heavenly will shall be done.  Amen.

“When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him  and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress” (Matthew 8:5-6).        

A captain in the Roman army approached Jesus.  The Romans were hated in Israel.  It would be the same as an SS officer coming into the Jewish quarter during WWII.  He came and asked Jesus for something.  How dare someone like that approach Jesus!?  But Our Lord loves us all, even those we consider an enemy.  Let your heart be transformed so that you see others as the Lord sees them. Jesus showed us the way.

Lord, it does seem outrageous that You would entertain the petitions of what I believe to be your enemy because they are my enemy.  But then, am I not your enemy every time I sin?  Transform our hearts so that we see Your image in the other, for You have created us all in Your image.  Guide my heart to see others as You see them.  Move me from this world’s way of seeing things to see things as they truly are.

Lord Jesus, You did not join in what I can only imagine was the attitude of those who followed You.  You allowed this Roman captain to come and make His request.  Lead me to meet all whom I may encounter treating them with the same human decency I would like to be treated with if I were approaching You in a similar circumstance.  Help me to see reality through Your eyes in all that I do.  Amen.

“Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” (Matthew 8:4).

At first you may wonder why Jesus did not want this known.  Jesus was humble while walking on the earth, but this was something between Jesus and the leper.  It was personal healing.  Do what you have been commanded to do and give a testimony to what God has already established, lest you forget humility and slide into pride.  How often do we make public what should remain private?

Lord, help me to obey all that You command even when I do not understand.  If you grant the desire of my petition, let me praise You.  If You do not grant my petition, let me praise You.  As the hymn says, “This is our Father’s world.”  Moving from the prideful notion of God being under our direction to the place where we are under God’s direction is the challenge before us when we pray.

Holy Spirit, You know the way I pray.  Lead me away from prayers that demand to prayers that look to You for guidance.  Guide me in Your goodness to learn how to pray without ceasing, seeking the Father’s will in all I say and do.  Teach me the way to pray and bring me to remembrance of the Lord’s Prayer.  In all my prayers, help me to see Your loving hand of guidance.  Amen.

“He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:3).

Healing is the Lord’s choice.  Mind you, in grace, all who believe are healed with salvation.  We pray to be healed, and it is the Lord’s choice as to whether this is going to be done.  Of course, the Lord can heal.  He knows the chain of events for everything.  He does all things with great purpose, and this is His creation.

Too many approach the Lord expecting that because they are lifting up a prayer, the Lord will do what we ask.  Of course He can do it; that is not the question.  Is what you are asking something that will trigger off a sequence of events contrary to God’s will?  You do not know, but He foreknows.  We are given the promise that for those who love Him all things work together for good

Lord God, I have lifted many prayers to You with the expectation that You would do what I say instead of what You say.  When You said “No,” I was disappointed.  Help my heart to shift so that when praying I know that the Father’s will shall be done.  Teach me to pray in humility so that I am thankful for the privilege of coming to You in prayer, trusting that You love all who walk in the Spirit and will do what is best for all of Your creation.  Amen.