The Prayer of the Leper

On Mark 1:40-45

“A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.”

The leper’s prayer is a good model for our own prayer: “If you wish, you can (fill in the blank). While the leper was saying a prayer of petition, it was in essence a statement rather than a question. I think this encapsulates two great things. Firstly, it is a great profession of faith. We make the statement, rather than an explicit question, in the confidence that God is who He is and we know that He can do what He says He can. Secondly, it is a great act of submission to the will of God. The leper made his desire known while simultaneously acknowledging that it would be, only if God wishes it to be. In essence- that he wants it, and is implicitly asking for it, but only if it is God’s will.

This short and simple prayer is so powerful: I know that can, and I love Your Will above my own so I want it only if You will.

This brings me to another tangential thought, however. In a certain way, it begs the question, why pray? If God’s will is going to happen regardless, and we truly want whatever His will is, what’s the point of asking Him for anything? What’s the point of petitionary prayer (asking God for things for ourselves), or intercessory prayer (asking God for things for other people)?

Well to this, I will close with Father Mike Schmitz, who says it much better than I can:

Next time we reach out to God and ask Him to grant us some desire, let us use this prayer of great faith and surrender:

“If you wish, you can …”