And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said,“What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:30-34
And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Luke 18:36-43
Let us ask God for what we need! And then let us trust that he knows what is best.
Sometimes, God will give us something even better than what we ask for, like his grace and power in the midst of our suffering rather than lifting the suffering itself:
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
The Works of God 
John Knight, I just finished listening/watching John Piper’s interview of you concerning your dear son, Paul, and your discussion concerning part of the journey you, Diane, and your family have had with Paul’s physical issues. This post from me is simply a heart response to you from a fellow sufferer, journeyman, and God-glorifier (at least this is the desire of my heart). I am a pastor of 38 years, a part-time religion professor for 23 years, and my wife and I have an 18 year old son, Joel, who has both Down syndrome and a terminal disease called “moyamoya”, which cuts off blood flow to the brain resulting in strokes and one day will cause a brain hemorrhage terminating his life. I will not strain your patience with a long, drawn out description of emotions, experiences, struggles, discoveries painful and joyful, we’ve had. I simply wanted to say that I resonated (and do resonate) with what you said in the interview. Thank you for our candor,honest, and forthright openness and sharing. Christianity is not an anesthesia against life’s pain; it is radical and omnipotent victory anchored in the vortex of life’s pain by the sovereign God of the universe through the suffering, death, and exaltation of Christ Jesus. We walk with wide-eyed awareness of the tragic, sinful “now” with the joyful and satisfying hope of the “greater now and then” because of Christ. Somehow, by God’s will, grace, and power the eternal tomorrow will cause the pain of today to glisten with such a glory that it will take our hearts forever to enjoy it.
John E. Greever