So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
—Mark 8:23
In Mark 8:23, Jesus had a purpose in leading the blind man out of the town. Bethsaida was among the cities that drew Jesus’ strongest censure; the citizens’ stubborn disbelief had hardened their hearts (Matthew 11:20–22). The unbelief of others can hinder the manifestation of God’s will. Matthew 13:58 notes that Jesus was unable to perform mighty works in Nazareth due to their unbelief. In Luke 8:54, Jesus had to remove those mourning over Jairus’ daughter to perform a miracle. Many miracles have never happened, not from unwillingness on God’s part, but because the person expecting a miracle overlooked how others’ doubt could affect their belief.
It was very unusual for Jesus to minister healing and then ask what the results were. We can rule out the possibility that Jesus didn’t know what the will of the Father was (John 5:19). In asking this man if he could see anything, Jesus didn’t doubt God. He knew that manifestations of God’s power could be hindered by the unbelief of others. Jesus knew that his man could have unbelief, just as the town had unbelief. Rather than release His Father’s power into this man and then leave him struggling to receive healing, Jesus helped this man with his unbelief until his healing was complete (Mark 8:25).
This reveals that not all healings (or any other answers to prayers) are instant. Satan can hinder God’s power even after it has been released. In Daniel 10:1–13, Daniel persevered in prayer for twenty-four days. The angel told Daniel that God had answered his prayer right away, yet it took twenty-four days for him to receive the answer because the prince of Persia (a demonic entity) had fought against him. God answers many prayers (Matthew 7:7–8) that are never received because those praying failed to persevere (Mark 11:24, Galatians 6:9).
“And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly” (Mark 8:24–25).
It was uncommon for Jesus to inquire if someone had received their miracle; it was more unexpected for Jesus to lay hands on someone a second time. In the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha prayed more than once to see the result of their prayers (1 Kings 17:21–22, 18:42–45; 2 Kings 4:32–35), but this is the only instance in the New Testament where Jesus needed to minister more than once for a healing to be complete.
In Mark 8:24, the Greek term “anablepo,” translated as “looked up,” suggests spiritual sight or the exercise of faith. Instead of “looking up” to Jesus and relying on faith, many of us ask God for things and then examine our circumstances to judge whether our prayers were answered. That is walking by sight and not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). If we can’t “see” God’s answer, then we pray again, asking for the same thing. This is not the way Jesus taught us to pray and receive (Mark 11:22–24), and we can be certain that Jesus didn’t lay hands on this man a second time because He thought His Father hadn’t heard Him the first time. Since the man received partial sight, it’s evident that God’s healing power was at work in him. Jesus wasn’t asking His Father again to heal this man. Jesus knew that unbelief was hindering God’s healing in this man, and He simply gave him another touch of the anointing power of God.
Satan may hinder but cannot overcome someone who continues to resist him (James 4:7). We should petition God for a need and then believe that we receive (Mark 11:24). If we beg God again and again, then we didn’t really believe the first time we asked. We should continue to pray in faith until we receive our answer, just as Jesus did with this blind man.
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).
There is more to prayer than simply petitioning God for something. We should keep resisting the devil’s interference through intercession and praise, with prayers of agreement and prayers of binding and loosing (Matthew 18:18–19).
Often, instead of believing, we ask for God’s power to change a situation or heal us, and we do one of two things. We either give up or we ignore any evidence to the contrary. The best thing to do is exactly what Jesus did in Mark 8:23–26. We should trust that we received what we prayed for, enough to face any evidence to the contrary and continue to apply God’s power. God doesn’t hinder our answer. Just as Daniel’s example reveals, perseverance in prayer overcomes Satan.
“Then He sent him away to his house, saying, ‘Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town’” (Mark 8:26).
Jesus said this to the man for the same reason that He took him out of Bethsaida. Jesus had to separate him from the unbelief of the people in the town.
How many times do we allow others to talk us out of what we believe the Word has revealed to us? We’ve looked to Jesus in faith, and yet somehow we have allowed others to speak unbelief into our lives. We’ve allowed them to weaken our faith, steal our perseverance, and kill our promise.
“As a man thinks in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
What do I believe in my heart? Do I believe God hears my prayer and answers? I’ll persevere, believing. It may take a while, but I’ll never give up. God is faithful. The second time I’ll see.
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