The mercy of God never ceases to amaze me.  Many people pray asking God to do something for them, yet seem to think they must try to pry a blessing from God with a crowbar, and nothing could be farther from the truth.  In Mark chapter 10, we see a prime example of the mercy of God.
Mar 10:45  For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Mar 10:46  And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
Mar 10:47  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Mar 10:48  And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Mar 10:49  And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
Mar 10:50  And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
Mar 10:51  And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Mar 10:52  And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
 
 Actually, the process was quite simple.  Blind Bartimaeus had a need, but it wasn’t the fact that he had a need that got his need met.  If simply having a need was enough to move God, there would be no needs on earth at all.  There would be no sick people, no hunger, or poverty.  So it has to be something else that moves God to do something for you.  What could that be?
When Bartimaeus heard Jesus was coming, he knew it was his chance to be healed once and for all.  Obviously Bartimaeus had heard of others being healed, and there was no doubt in his mind that Jesus was merciful and that He would grant his request.  So he cried out to Jesus for mercy when He came near.  And isn’t it just like a lot of religious people to tell you Jesus is merciful, and when you’re crying out for that mercy, they tell you to shut up.  But I like Bartimaeus’ attitude.  He just wouldn’t shut up, but cried out all the louder.  You see, many people miss out on the blessing of God because they give up too easily or let people talk them out of it.  Bartimaeus wasn’t about to let anyone talk him out of his blessing.  He had his fill of being blind, and wanted relief, and he wanted it right NOW. 
Suddenly, Bartimaeus got Jesus’ attention, and Jesus stopped what He was doing and called for him.  I like this part, Bartimaeus threw away his garment, his beggar clothes.  Why?  Because He knew once he had the Lord’s attention, help was a done deal and his beggar days were over!   Some people might call that “presumption”, but God saw it as faith.
Jesus asked, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?  And Bartimaeus said,  Lord, that I might receive my sight.   We need to look at what Jesus DIDN’T say as much as what He DID say. He didn’t say, “Hey, I’m to busy to help you right now.”  He didn’t say, “Have you paid your tithe?”  He didn’t say, “Have you repented of your sins?”  And He didn’t say, “Have you forgiven those who have sinned against you?”

Have you ever noticed how religion tries to make people jump through hoops to receive their healing?  I see it every time I minister.  People want to get healed every way but God’s way.  And I call it a “Burger King” mentality.  Let me explain: you can go to Burger King and get a hamburger any way you want it.  If you want onions, or no onions, or if you want the burger on the outside and the bun on the inside, your way is always right no matter what.  So people think they can go to God and get His help their way.
 Instead, we need to follow the example of blind Bartimaeus.  Why?  Because he got what he asked for, so we can clearly see he did it God’s way.  Let’s break it down and make it simple.  Yes, he had a need.  Nothing new, we all have needs.  He cried out for Jesus for mercy.  Ok, many do that and still get no results, why is that?  Here’s why.  Bartimaeus added FAITH to his request.  You see, faith is just like a postage stamp on a letter.  You can write a letter, and even take it to the post office and drop it in the mailbox. You can desire your letter to go on its way and be delivered.  But if you don’t add the postage, your letter will be returned to you. 
And getting your need met is the same way.  Hebrews 4:2 says, For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.  If you want the Word of God to work for you, it MUST be mixed with faith, otherwise it’s coming back “postage due” and won’t work for you. 
Like I said, Jesus didn’t ask Bartimaeus if he had paid his tithe, or repented of his sins, or forgiven all who sinned against him.  That’s all well and good, and there is a time and place for all that, but faith must come FIRST.  In fact, you can’t get anything from the Lord without faith.  Bartimaeus had that faith, and Jesus knew it.  But not to worry, you need not “come up” with your own faith.  It is written in Romans 12:3, For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealth to every man the measure of faith.  That measure of faith comes from God himself, and is given unto YOU, so you can be sure it will work for you, just like it does for God.
The faith of Bartimaeus met face to face with the compassion of Jesus that day on the road from Jericho, and Jesus said to him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.  I like that:  IMMEDIATELY he received his sight.  We don’t see that he “recovered” or gradually got better over a period of time.  The words “faith” and “immediately” can indeed be used in the same sentence, unlike what many have come to settle for today.  When we don’t see the “immediately” we try to blame the Lord, when the fault is clearly our own. 
Repeating Mark 10:45, For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.  Jesus came to show mercy to you in whatever area you need.  He isn’t saying NO to you, nor is he putting you off.  He showed all through his earthly ministry the compassion and mercy of God.  And all those who came in faith, believing, had their need met.  He never, ever, refused to heal anyone.  And He won’t refuse you, if you come in faith like blind Bartimaeus did. 
Jesus came to minister to your need.  Why not let the compassion of Jesus meet your faith today?  It’s a match made in heaven.