Worthy of mercy

CALL TO PRAYER

Date: 22/01/22

By: Owusu Clifford S.

Title – Worthy of mercy

Luke 7:4-5 – And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5  for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.

During Jesus Christ’s ministry, He did many wonderful things. He healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, made the blind see, and many more. One thing that runs through all these is that, He showed mercy to them all, for God says I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy (Romans 9:15). We can also recall the plea of blind Bartimaeus, “have mercy on me, son of David” (Mark 10:47). Jesus Christ was moved with compassion and showed mercy to them all.

However, there is one account where mercy was merited, strangely, or I should say, people believed it was merited. From our text for today, we read that when the elders of the church came to Jesus on behalf of the centurion, they claimed he is “worthy” of the mercy of God. Hence, they pleaded earnestly with Jesus to come and heal the servant of the centurion (Luke 7:1-10). What made them believe he is worthy of mercy?

As the elders rightly pointed out, the centurion was the one who built their synagogue. They also made reference to his support towards the country. The fact that Jesus did not rebuke their statement meant that He was pleased with the work the centurion had done.  When Jesus started His ministry, the synagogue in Capernaum (the one the centurion built) was the first temple where He taught the people (Mark 1:21). The man’s work to the Kingdom became beneficial to the ministry of Jesus Christ, hence Jesus did not hesitate in following the elders to the man’s house.

As I was meditating on this word, the Holy Spirit reminded me also of Hezekiah’s prayer for extended life (2nd Kings 20:3). In his petition, he laid out the things he has done for the kingdom of God. Today, the point I want to put across is, God can decide to be merciful to whoever He wishes. However, in instances where the person has sacrificed massively for the advancement of the work of the kingdom, by the grace of God, God will hardly overlook such a person. In times of trouble, what can you stand on to plead your case before God? Let us put in the work and God will surely remember us in times of need. God bless you!

Prayer:

Let us thank God for His word and the gift of a new day. Let us pray for the grace and enablement to do the work set ahead of us in Jesus’ name.

To be part of the school of prayer and demonstration ministry, a place for the raising of Kingdom judges, please visit: