CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 688

“Press In”

Mark 5:21-34 (ESV) … And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” …
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A word we do not often hear or use is ‘hypocenter’. With respect to earthquake activity we commonly refer to the epicenter of the quake whereas the hypocenter is the actual focal point from which the energy was first released. The hypocenter focal point is below the epicenter on the surface. Another term for hypocenter is ‘ground zero’ which is used to refer to the center of energy release from an atomic explosion.

If you take a bird’s eye view of the scene recorded by Mark in our reference Scripture, you see Jesus at the hypocenter of activity. Almost in concentric circles we see His disciples immediately surrounding Him. Surrounding His disciples is layer upon layer of people – the crowd that thronged and jostled and pushed as they walked along. Note the following characteristics of the circles of relationship to Jesus:

Disciples – Closest to Jesus. Acted to protect Him from the crowd and from being bothered by little children. They were curiously committed to their perception of His cause. They had religion. When Jesus was taken to be crucified they scattered. They went from fellowship to falling away because of fear of the authorities. Are you a ‘card carrying’ church member? Are you active in various ministry efforts in your church? These are all well and good but ask yourself if your relationship is with a church and its causes or with Jesus Christ? Is your faith only a religious veneer that is easily damaged by the abrasion of life?

Crowd – Some close and some at the distant fringes of the throng. Many were there to see signs and wonders. Still others were there because they were seeking to fill a void in their hearts that they could not quite explain but they dared not get too close. Many of these went from singing ‘Hosanna’ upon Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to crying out ‘Crucify Him’ and ‘Give us Barabbas’. Are you in a church fringe circle? Are you a church ‘skimmer’ – attending several, yet remaining on the fringes reluctant to make a commitment and plug in solidly to the Body of Christ?

Make note in our reference scripture of all the people who followed and touched Jesus, only one person was changed by that touch. This was the one person of whom Jesus asked ‘Who touched Me?’ all the while He was being virtually mauled by the crowd. Jesus recognized the woman’s touch because it was a faith touch.

Recognize that it is possible to be in Jesus’ presence, even to touch Him, and yet receive nothing from Him. How many times have we gone to church in body, while our minds and spirits were elsewhere, planning a fishing trip, or mulling over some engineering or work related problem, etc.? Perhaps we have a sin issue in our life that we stubbornly refuse to let go of. So there we stand in Jesus’ presence, at a distance, watching and rationalizing that our presence there is enough.

Contrast the crowd with the totally abandoned and vulnerable woman who, with singularity of purpose, pressed forward in faith toward Jesus expecting to be healed. If you hunger and thirst spiritually, let go of all that hinders – repent of any sin issues and be vulnerable before God and with total abandonment reach out and touch Him. Press in to the hypocenter where Jesus is … Be the one in the crowd of whom Jesus asks ‘Who touched me?’

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God.