Today is the 25th day of Lent. 
 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”    
   
Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9.

 
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” they replied. 
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 
While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 
 

Consider that these two men had likely been blind for many years, perhaps their whole lives. And consider that they were outcasts because of it, marginalized in their society. And consider that maybe they had prayed over and over again that their condition would change, but it hadn’t. What do you think that did to their faith?  
 
Yet Jesus asks them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” What do you think it was about Jesus, about this moment, that allowed them to say, “Yes, Lord”? As you hear the passage again, call to mind one area of your life that you’ve given up praying about. You don’t think change is possible. Imagine that Jesus is addressing you with the question, “Do you believe.”  
   
As you go through your day today, continue to bring to God that thing in your life that you’ve given up on. Ask him to increase your faith, to stir up in you what you don’t have in yourself—faith that he truly is able to do all things.  
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 
Music - Expectation - Vineyard Soul - (YouTube)