And He arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever; and they made request of Him on her behalf. (Luke 4:38 NASB)
Isn't that a nice phrase? "They made request of Him on her behalf"? More "modern" translations say, "they asked Him to help her." She was burning up with fever, possibly in deadly peril from her illness, and her guests had just arrived. She was not at the synagogue that day, and had not seen Jesus cast out the demon. She may not have heard Jesus speak nor seen Him do miracles, but it is likely she knew He was coming. We don't know whether she believed He was the Messiah nor whether she thought He could heal her. She may not have believed in Him at all. What we know is that, in the throes of an acute but severe illness, she did not ask Him to help her. It was "they" who intercedes for her that eventful day and it was in response to their request that Jesus brought healing.
That is a great comfort and encouragement to me as we pray. It is not necessary for the ones for whom we pray to ask Jesus to help nor for them to believe in Him in order to receive His help. He will move in response to our request.
Today, pray boldly that our Lord will take note of our loved ones and their current situation and "make request of Him on their behalf". Be assured that, when we ask Him to help, He will.
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