A few weeks ago, my nine-year-old son was invited to a year-round swimming facility. When he asked me if I would take him, he also asked, "Would you like to go swimming with me?"

I was surprised and touched by his question. He didn't just ask if I would drive him to the pool. He invited me to be there with him.

In today's Gospel reading, a leper approaches Jesus and asks him a similar question. "If you wish, you can make me clean," the leper says to Jesus. The leper doesn't have any doubt that Jesus can heal him. He wants to know if Jesus wants to heal him.

I can relate to the leper and the question he asks. I don't really doubt that God has the power to perform miracles and change lives. Sometimes I'm not sure that God wants to direct this power and love to me.

These days, a lot of people are asking this type of question of God. Many of us are experiencing some of the greatest challenges of our lives. People are losing homes, jobs, savings accounts and retirement accounts. We may feel that Jesus can help us or protect us, but we may not be sure that he wants to.

"I do will it. Be made clean," Jesus tells the leper. The leprosy left him immediately, says the Gospel, "and he was made clean." Jesus' answer to the leper is swift and emphatic. Of course he wants the man to be whole, and he lets him know immediately.

The same is true for all of us. Jesus wants us to be whole and happy. Perhaps we need to approach him with the same honesty and vulnerability that the leper does. I don't know about you, but when I am desperate for assistance, if I pray at all I usually simply beg for relief from whatever challenges I face. Today's reading suggests that if we are wondering whether God wants to help us, it might be a good idea to ask.

It seems completely understandable that, when we are faced with difficulties in our lives, we might wonder if God is with us or if God wants to help us. While this might be considered a sign of doubt or a lack of faith, Jesus doesn't seem to see it that way. Jesus doesn't criticize or condemn the leper for asking whether Jesus wants to heal him. Rather, Jesus answers the man swiftly and decisively. Jesus wants the man to know that he does indeed want to heal him.

Jesus wants to heal all of us. This is good news for those of us who may not always feel this way. It doesn't always feel like God wants to heal us, and we may believe that we lack faith if we are unsure of God's desire to heal us. But is it faith we lack, or assurance?

If we are unsure of God's desire to heal us of our afflictions, we may be well served to ask.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.