Sunday Firesides: To Get What You Want, You Must Know What You Want

The Gospels contain a fascinating dynamic.

Before Jesus can heal or bless anyone, he will ask them a simple question: "What are you looking for?"

It's true when someone wants to ask something that isn’t immediately obvious, like when Jesus is approached the mother of James or John. Or when two disciples of John Baptist begin following him. It's also true if the person's request is clear and doesn't require omnipotence, such as when Jesus meets a blind man. Jesus asks a man who has been ill for nearly 40 years to confirm his intention before he helps him: "Do You Want to Get Well?"

This may point to a pattern of prayer. There are many purposes for this practice, but one is to help a person articulate what they really want.

This pattern is also applicable to other areas of life.

Many people are unhappy with their current lives. When asked what a better lifestyle would be like, many people are unable to answer. They want something but don't know what it is. They dislike what they are doing, but they don't have a clear idea of what they would like to do. They want a change but cannot articulate how that change should be.

They want to change, but they can't imagine what they need to do to make it happen.

Faith is said to precede miracles. To bring about any kind of transformation, whether it's supernatural or ordinary, there must be something that comes before that: the crystallization desire.

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