Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest cry has been heard and I want to stand with you in prayer. I hear how much you are suffering with inflammation, how concerned you are for your eyesight, and how scared you feel as you ask God to keep you safe and to bring you through these days.
Fear is a heavy burden and it grows when our eyes are fixed on the problem in front of us. Scripture teaches that fear and faith cannot occupy the same place. When fear is allowed to take over, faith is driven away, and when faith is strong, fear must leave. The cure for fear is to remember the Lord and to lift your eyes back to Him. When Peter looked at the wind and the waves instead of Jesus he began to sink, and he learned that looking at the problem brings fear while looking at the Lord brings faith. David said that even though he walked through the valley of death he would fear no evil because the Lord was with him. That nearness of God is what steadies the heart. The enemy often tries to use fear to push us into wrong reactions, but we are called to remember that the One who is with us is greater than anything that is against us.
God does not despise the affliction of the afflicted. When the afflicted cries out, He hears. Jesus showed tender compassion again and again as He healed the sick who were brought to Him. The prophet Isaiah said He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, and the Gospels show His power over every kind of sickness, sometimes with a touch, sometimes with a word, sometimes instantly and sometimes gradually. Any true healing is from Him, whether it comes in a moment or through the natural processes He has built into our bodies. We do not always understand why healing comes in one way for one person and another way for another, but we can trust His love and bring every need to Him. We also do what is wise and prudent for our health, not because we are driven by fear, but because we trust Him to guard us as we walk through daily life. He can protect you out on the wall of ordinary life as surely as in any shelter, because your safety is in Him.
The Bible also speaks of another kind of fear, the fear of the Lord, which is not a dread or phobia but a reverent awe before God. It is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. It means to love what He loves and to turn from what He hates, to stand in wonder at His greatness and power. When that reverence fills our hearts we find wisdom, and He becomes our confidence and keeps our feet from slipping. He promises that those who live in that reverence will lack no good thing, and that in times of trouble He hides and sustains His own. You do not need to be afraid of sudden fear or of what may come, for the Lord is your light and your salvation. Whom shall you fear. He is the strength of your life, of whom shall you be afraid.
So I pray for you now. Father, in the name of Jesus, I bring this suffering before You. You see this inflammation and the pain it causes. I ask You to bring healing, complete and lasting according to Your will, whether quickly or gradually, and to use every good means You have provided. Protect eyesight and guard the body from harm. Drive out fear and fill this heart with faith as eyes are kept on You. Let Your presence be felt as near and real, greater than any threat. Keep this dear one safe in the days ahead, give peace that quiets the heart, and let reverent trust in You grow deeper each day. We trust You to hear when we cry and to act in love. Amen.
Fear is a heavy burden and it grows when our eyes are fixed on the problem in front of us. Scripture teaches that fear and faith cannot occupy the same place. When fear is allowed to take over, faith is driven away, and when faith is strong, fear must leave. The cure for fear is to remember the Lord and to lift your eyes back to Him. When Peter looked at the wind and the waves instead of Jesus he began to sink, and he learned that looking at the problem brings fear while looking at the Lord brings faith. David said that even though he walked through the valley of death he would fear no evil because the Lord was with him. That nearness of God is what steadies the heart. The enemy often tries to use fear to push us into wrong reactions, but we are called to remember that the One who is with us is greater than anything that is against us.
God does not despise the affliction of the afflicted. When the afflicted cries out, He hears. Jesus showed tender compassion again and again as He healed the sick who were brought to Him. The prophet Isaiah said He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, and the Gospels show His power over every kind of sickness, sometimes with a touch, sometimes with a word, sometimes instantly and sometimes gradually. Any true healing is from Him, whether it comes in a moment or through the natural processes He has built into our bodies. We do not always understand why healing comes in one way for one person and another way for another, but we can trust His love and bring every need to Him. We also do what is wise and prudent for our health, not because we are driven by fear, but because we trust Him to guard us as we walk through daily life. He can protect you out on the wall of ordinary life as surely as in any shelter, because your safety is in Him.
The Bible also speaks of another kind of fear, the fear of the Lord, which is not a dread or phobia but a reverent awe before God. It is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. It means to love what He loves and to turn from what He hates, to stand in wonder at His greatness and power. When that reverence fills our hearts we find wisdom, and He becomes our confidence and keeps our feet from slipping. He promises that those who live in that reverence will lack no good thing, and that in times of trouble He hides and sustains His own. You do not need to be afraid of sudden fear or of what may come, for the Lord is your light and your salvation. Whom shall you fear. He is the strength of your life, of whom shall you be afraid.
So I pray for you now. Father, in the name of Jesus, I bring this suffering before You. You see this inflammation and the pain it causes. I ask You to bring healing, complete and lasting according to Your will, whether quickly or gradually, and to use every good means You have provided. Protect eyesight and guard the body from harm. Drive out fear and fill this heart with faith as eyes are kept on You. Let Your presence be felt as near and real, greater than any threat. Keep this dear one safe in the days ahead, give peace that quiets the heart, and let reverent trust in You grow deeper each day. We trust You to hear when we cry and to act in love. Amen.
