SOON Online Magazine
Bible Meditations
 | by Elaine Hardt |
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The human body is an awesome work of creation. When one little thing goes wrong and we complain we should also realize how much of the time the entire body works adequately. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, Creator of Heaven and earth. Sickness, injury, physical problems of any kind call for attention. What is a Christian supposed to do? Hold on and patiently accept whatever happens? Or, pray for healing? Prayer can be part of the problem. A person of faith prayed aloud over me. Hearing his words I realized that was not exactly what I asked for, that was not the real issue, that's not the way I wanted God to answer. The longer he prayed the more annoyed I became. Without realizing it I blocked my healing when doubt stirred up. When he finally concluded I mentally took inventory of my body. I didn't feel anything. There had been no instant healing. It was discouraging to think that this highly rated man of God did not bring the healing that I needed. Why does healing elude us? God wants to use us in His Kingdom and here we are, AWOL. Perhaps the spirit is willing, but the body is stubbornly weak. And, how often do we do this to each other? Perhaps we didn't clearly comprehend what the person's prayer request was, and we put our own interpretation to it. Perhaps we prayed over him/her with flowing, eloquent words that took on a life of their own. You know the feeling; you find yourself making a loop back in your verbal prayers, enjoying the sound of your voice, and then having to scramble to find an "exit" so you can gracefully and properly complete your prayer. Why bother? Asking God for healing- asking God to heal someone else. Why bother? It's not a sure thing. We can't guarantee an instant improvement. We can't be sure of all God has in mind. Our reputation may take a "hit." And, what about God's reputation? So, why ask for healing? 1. God said we can have it. 2. God said we can do it. 3. God said we should do it. 4. God said the Holy Spirit empowers us to do it. 5. If He said it then I can do it. 6. If He is truthful and He said I should do it, then I ought to do it. 7. If this is a test of the measure of my obedience to my wonderful Savior then I WILL do it. Do our prayers hinder the healing? As we are learning to minister the healing power of God to ourselves and to others we need to take a new look at what is going on. Jesus did not pray aloud over the person He was healing. He had already prayed to His Father beforehand, and now He just spoke words of authority, "Be healed." Jesus did not talk on and on while He was healing someone. He said just a few powerful words. How, then, should we do it? Minister to the hurting person by yourself, with another person standing by in silent intercession. Don't make this a group project. This leads to confusion. The more people in the group the less likely there is agreement on what is being asked. Let God use YOU. Speak briefly to the person who requests healing. Get to the crux of the matter. 1. What do you want? 2. Do you deserve it? 3. Does God want to do it? 4. If you knew it was simple and easy could you receive it? 5.If you didn't have to worry about having enough faith could you receive it? 6. Can you imagine yourself being well? 7. If God asks you to do one little thing first what do you think He'd want? Silently ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and words. Praise God for what He is doing. See what the person's answers uncover. Give Scriptural response. Then, together, thank God for His tremendous promises, His amazing grace, His wonderful mercy. Come into agreement. Take note of Jesus' words in Matthew 18:19, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven." Now: no long prayer! Pronounce the healing aloud. Next, spend a few minutes with the person to review some vital points. Remind him not to question how God is going to do this. The timing is in God's hands. God is Sovereign. To receive they must take. This takes a childlike boldness. Recklessly dare to take it. Don't try to figure it all out. Then spend a few minutes teaching the person to command his body to line up with God's Word. If they begin to doubt or struggle with it they need to start over. To doubt is sin. Sin calls for repentance. Bring the matter to God, confess it, and declare your decision to obey God. When the sick and hurting person is you . . . When you're the one who needs healing and you're taking the matter to God yourself, run through those questions and listen to your answers. Take time to listen to God. Open the Word and find the Scripture that the Holy Spirit leads you to stand on. Boldly speak healing to your body. If the situation has slipped away from you and you're already physically and emotionally weakened and weary ask for a bold believer to minister to you. Be careful not to be critical of his words. Just receive like a thirsty child. Take and thank God. Why is this such a struggle? Healing of the physical body I S part of God's plan for us. If we questioned the validity of healing we wouldn't run to the doctors, the medicine chest, and the health food store. Healing fits right into His design for teaching us to believe Him, trust Him, and obey Him. It's part of our lessons to be learned. If we ignore this part of God's instructions in the Word now, then we're prolonging and probably intensifying the lessons we'll need to learn later. If we obey God in the little things He will bring us opportunity to believe and obey in larger things. Yes, physical problems challenge our comfort level. This might jolt us out of complacency. It might make us run to the Word. Do we believe God? The question is: can we trust God, or not? Can we trust Him with our physical bodies? Can we trust Him with our eternal souls? Is His Word true or not? We are warned in James 1:8, "A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways." Unbelief robs us of blessing. God made us spirit & soul & body. Our born-again spirit comes into agreement with His Holy Spirit. Our soul, which is our mind, will, and emotion is the classroom. It's where we learn to submit to God. The mind needs to be retrained in its thinking. The will needs to be redirected in its energies and determination. The emotions need to be reined in. Our born again spirit has a job cut out for it - get that soul in line. The soul is questioning, checking things out, perhaps being argumentative. The soul has its job cut out for it - get that body in line. The body is the troublesome little student. The body lags behind. Being flesh it is set up to work by moving things around - the blood, lymph, nutrients, toxins, etc. The flesh has a cycle, an orderly system, a clock of events and chemistries. If we took an aspirin it would take some time for it to dissolve and begin to get to the arena. Can we give God some time to work in our bodies? What's keeping us from our healing? Our own thinking. Do we really want to be healed? Can we handle being well, instead of a sick person deserving of special attention? Can we let go of the insurance money? Can we picture ourselves well and serving others in an inconspicuous manner? Do we want to be rid of the anger, rejections. unhappiness, fears, and struggles that led up to this trouble? Do we want to let go? Our negative, complaining words go against us.
Doubt is a mighty strong fan. If the flame of faith is small then doubt can easily extinguish that faith. Even if others have faith on our behalf and minister to us we still come to that solitary point of having to receive it. What if things get worse first? Can we trust God? What if we can't hold out, when the devil inevitably comes to test our healing? What if we cave in to the body's cries for attention? How long are we expected to put on a brave front? Being judgmental. When the person you minister to does not get an instant "fix" watch your attitude and guard your words. God may be wanting to teach them something; God may be needing to teach you something. Do what God says to do, and leave the results to Him. We cannot afford to be harsh with the sick person who is not yet well. We cannot afford to be harsh with ourselves if we have offered our obedience to Jesus. He has some wonderful way to resolve the whole thing, and we must be careful to thank Him and give Him glory. In an emergency. If the situation has progressed to the place where instant intervention is needed, get it. Pray for wisdom, get help where it can be found. Pray for doctors, pray as you take the medicine. Don't let the devil beat you up physically or emotionally. As soon as you are stronger get back in control over your body, your life decisions. Be bold, be brave, be obedient. It's not easy; it's not automatic. Healing is part of life. Others are waiting for the help you can minister - healing, encouragement, love. Let the Lord use you to bring His blessing.
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