Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for opening your heart and sharing this burden for your best friend's mother. Her long suffering with cancer and the way it has grown worse is deeply moving, and your love for her and your desire to see her healed is beautiful. It is also beautiful to hear how her life has shown the love of Jesus to others, how being near her helps people feel closer to God because she speaks of Him and praises Him so faithfully.
We join you in prayer for her healing, and we do believe that God heals. When we look at the life of Jesus in the gospels, a large part of what He did was to touch and heal those who were sick and afflicted, showing His compassion and power over sickness. The prophet Isaiah foretold that He would bear our griefs and infirmities, and that prophecy is applied to the physical healings Jesus performed. God still works in that way today and we have seen Him touch and heal people, even of cancers, in ways that can only be called His gift.
At the same time Scripture helps us understand healing in a broader way. There is one recorded miracle where Jesus healed a blind man gradually. After the first touch the man saw only partially, as men like trees walking, and after Jesus touched him again his sight was fully restored. That reminds us that sometimes healing is instant and sometimes it is a process. God has also built healing processes into our bodies themselves, and that natural process is no less divine, because He is the one who created nature and its ways of mending. And sometimes His healing work is first in the mind and heart, bringing peace and strength even while the body is still weak.
We also have to be honest that there is much about healing we do not understand. We do not know why some are healed and others are not, though we pray with faith for all. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for what he called a thorn in the flesh, and the Lord did not remove it but answered that His grace was sufficient and His strength would be made perfect in weakness. To assume that God wills physical healing in every single case is not what Scripture teaches. The greatest miracle He does in any life is not the healing of the body but the salvation of the soul, the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, and that remains the greatest gift even when we long for physical restoration.
What Scripture does promise with certainty is strength for His people. One psalm calls us to ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, to remember His greatness and His reign over all things. When we do that, we begin to see our problems in the light of His power rather than in the light of our own weakness. Because God reigns on His throne, it is meaningful that He will give strength to His people. Another psalm says blessed is the person whose strength is in the Lord. That person, passing through the valley of weeping, finds that God turns that dry and sorrowful place into a well of refreshment, and goes from strength to strength. That is our prayer for this dear mother and for you and your friend as you walk with her.
So we pray now for her. Lord, we lift this precious woman to You. You know her love for You and her long suffering. We ask in the name of Jesus that You would touch her body and bring healing according to Your mercy and will, whether in a moment or through a gradual process. Use every means You have provided, and let Your healing power be known. If it is Your will to allow this trial to continue, we ask that You pour out Your strength upon her, calm her heart, ease her weakness, and heal her in mind and spirit with Your peace that passes understanding. Draw her even closer to You, and let her life continue to be a testimony of Your grace. Give wisdom and strength to those who care for her, and comfort to her family and friends who love her so much. Above all we thank You for the gift of salvation through Jesus, and we rest her life fully in Your loving hands. Amen.
We join you in prayer for her healing, and we do believe that God heals. When we look at the life of Jesus in the gospels, a large part of what He did was to touch and heal those who were sick and afflicted, showing His compassion and power over sickness. The prophet Isaiah foretold that He would bear our griefs and infirmities, and that prophecy is applied to the physical healings Jesus performed. God still works in that way today and we have seen Him touch and heal people, even of cancers, in ways that can only be called His gift.
At the same time Scripture helps us understand healing in a broader way. There is one recorded miracle where Jesus healed a blind man gradually. After the first touch the man saw only partially, as men like trees walking, and after Jesus touched him again his sight was fully restored. That reminds us that sometimes healing is instant and sometimes it is a process. God has also built healing processes into our bodies themselves, and that natural process is no less divine, because He is the one who created nature and its ways of mending. And sometimes His healing work is first in the mind and heart, bringing peace and strength even while the body is still weak.
We also have to be honest that there is much about healing we do not understand. We do not know why some are healed and others are not, though we pray with faith for all. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for what he called a thorn in the flesh, and the Lord did not remove it but answered that His grace was sufficient and His strength would be made perfect in weakness. To assume that God wills physical healing in every single case is not what Scripture teaches. The greatest miracle He does in any life is not the healing of the body but the salvation of the soul, the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, and that remains the greatest gift even when we long for physical restoration.
What Scripture does promise with certainty is strength for His people. One psalm calls us to ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, to remember His greatness and His reign over all things. When we do that, we begin to see our problems in the light of His power rather than in the light of our own weakness. Because God reigns on His throne, it is meaningful that He will give strength to His people. Another psalm says blessed is the person whose strength is in the Lord. That person, passing through the valley of weeping, finds that God turns that dry and sorrowful place into a well of refreshment, and goes from strength to strength. That is our prayer for this dear mother and for you and your friend as you walk with her.
So we pray now for her. Lord, we lift this precious woman to You. You know her love for You and her long suffering. We ask in the name of Jesus that You would touch her body and bring healing according to Your mercy and will, whether in a moment or through a gradual process. Use every means You have provided, and let Your healing power be known. If it is Your will to allow this trial to continue, we ask that You pour out Your strength upon her, calm her heart, ease her weakness, and heal her in mind and spirit with Your peace that passes understanding. Draw her even closer to You, and let her life continue to be a testimony of Your grace. Give wisdom and strength to those who care for her, and comfort to her family and friends who love her so much. Above all we thank You for the gift of salvation through Jesus, and we rest her life fully in Your loving hands. Amen.
