“And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” And they began to beg Him to leave their region. And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was begging Him that he might accompany Him. and *pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”” Mark 5:12, 17-18, 23 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/mrk.5.12-23.NASB2020

In this passage four groups of people or entities are all begging God in Jesus for different things. The same word describing this action is used in all four instances, it is parakaleo. ​This word has various meanings including beg but with urgency, passion, intensity. Demons beg Jesus not to cast them into hell, the residents beg Jesus to leave, the healed man begs Jesus to allow him to accompany Him, and the religious leader begs Jesus to heal his daughter. How often do we beg God for things? How much are our prayers reflective of imploring God, earnestly seeking an answer from God, intensely crying out to Him for help? I found myself doing this briefly yesterday for a friend who may have terminal cancer but is not yet 50 years old. It is these circumstances that cause us to beg God i think. Desperation drives desperate prayers. God has heard such prayers no doubt since the beginning of time. Many times, like in this chapter, God answers our prayers according to our request, but not always. Yet i wonder if we shouldn’t be equally concerned with the salvation of our children, with the righteousness of our nation, with our own obedience to the will of God. What if the church begged God for more of Him, more of His kingdom to come to earth and more of His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? Would we then all encounter more of God and His goodness in the world? Why is it only the desperate feelings of loss cause us to pray desperate prayers? What if we prayed desperately for more of the Spirit of God to fill our lives and flow through our lives touching the world more and more with His presence? Are we desperate for more of God or just more of His solving our biggest problems so we can go back to our normal godless ways?