Mark 1:40-43

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

-Mark 1:40-43

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Have you ever asked God for something and He gave it to you, but then you just forgot about Him?  You got what you wanted and so you didn’t need to kiss up to God anymore.

That’s what’s happening in this passage.  This man with a contagious skin disease comes to beg Jesus to heal him and what’s weird was Jesus’ response was anger.  Notice how in verse 41 it says that Jesus was indignant—that means angry for those of you studying for the SATs.

Why would Jesus get angry at someone asking to be healed?  Maybe because Jesus being God, could see into the future and see how despite being healed, this man still had a heart of disobedience.  After he was healed, Jesus told the man to do something, but that man didn’t do it.  In fact, he did the EXACT OPPOSITE of what Jesus told him to do.

What this reveals is the man’s heart.  He didn’t really want Jesus, he only wanted what Jesus could do for him.  And this, my friends, is how we often treat and view God.  We see God only as a magical genie who does stuff for us.  Our relationship with God is still unhealthy in the sense that it’s still about us and not about Him.

Try something different today when you pray.  Instead of giving God your laundry list of prayer requests, today, try asking God what He wants you to do.  Take some time to listen to His Spirit.  It might surprise you where God wants to lead you.