Act 3:1-10 (Revised Standard Version)[1]
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
[2] And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple.
[3] Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.
[4] And Peter directed his gaze at him, with John, and said, "Look at us."
[5] And he fixed his attention upon them, expecting to receive something from them.
[6] But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."
[7] And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
[8] And leaping up he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
[9] And all the people saw him walking and praising God,
[10] and recognized him as the one who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
~ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he (the man lame from birth) asked for alms.
When we ask God for the desire of our prayer, do we need to pray ‘correctly’?
This man, who was lame, spent every day at the gate called Beautiful at the temple of God. He wasn’t sitting near the Pool of Siloam waiting for a miracle, he wasn’t being carried on a pallet by friends to see Jesus, and instead he was trying to earn a living by begging from the Jews going to the Temple. He didn’t pursue Jesus.
Luke 6:19
and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Apparently, the lame man missed hearing the good news from Jesus and missed the biblical era proclaiming the lame would walk. But he was expecting Paul and John to answer his request for alms.
Many people think the lame man had never entered the Temple to worship God because of his disability, but only priests weren’t allowed to be blemished in any way. As long as the man had followed ritual cleansing, he would be allowed to worship in the Temple (I looked it up). This man knew about worship and he knew giving was a large part of Jewish responsibility. He was more interested in the here and now practicality, more than possibility of God’s spiritual or physical presence. But he was interested in asking people following God for help.
Unlike the woman grasping Jesus’ garment in faith to be made well, not like the people in the gospels who cried out for more faith to be healed; the man begging at the gate was healed only because he had need. We do not receive healing because we are worthy, but because we are needy. In great mercy, the will and love of Father God reached out and came to the man going about his daily ‘work’ at the temple.
The lame man was living what Paul wrote about in the eighth chapter of Romans:
Romans 8:26,27
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
The lame man ran straight to the temple to walking and leaping and praising God. Jesus tells us about what he knew of the formerly lame man’s heart:
Luke 17:15-17
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
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