Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." (John 20:27 NAS95)
The morning felt like a dream. The world had undergone an incomprehensible change: Jesus had risen. The women who visited the grave had seen Him and touched Him. They shared with Jesus' disciples their excitement and bewilderment at what seemed so surreal. That evening, Jesus paid a surprise visit to the disciples, with the exception of Thomas because he was not with the room. Whether Thomas felt left out or whether envy had entered his bones, he announced he would not believe unless he could see and touch the wounds of Jesus after his friends told him of their excitement at seeing their Lord. Jesus took note, even though only the disciples were present to hear Thomas's words.
Jesus heard Thomas. Who knows why Jesus waited eight days to respond to Thomas's unprayed prayer? Jesus popped into the room in the exact way He had done the previous week, but this time He went directly and specifically to Thomas. I am sure it shocked Thomas to hear the very words of his statements coming out of Jesus' mouth. Jesus had heard a request in Thomas's unprayed prayer. The Lord knew Thomas wanted the full experience of seeing Him. Jesus wanted Thomas to have it too. I don't know whether Thomas touched the wounds, but I do know He experienced something more than special. He couldn't help but excitedly exclaim Jesus as his Lord and God! For Thomas the world had changed, so fundamentally so, that he could not but continue to proclaim this truth. He knew Jesus was with him and he knew Jesus cared — even when Thomas couldn't see Him. That's the miracle of the unprayed prayer.
For Reflection:
"You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me..." (Psalms 139:5 NAS95)
- Have you ever experienced a time when you just thought, "It would be nice if....," and you experienced an answer in such a way that you knew it was God? What was that like?
- In what other unique ways have you noticed God paying attention to you in the past?
