Let these groaning prayers rise as incense. When the body cries out with ###, with ###, with ###, and when ###, it is the very time to fly to Him who heals all our diseases. The poor ###, as you say, especially ###, and ###; but remember that the leaves of the Tree of Life are for healing. The least thing about Christ, a touch, a word, a whisper of His name, has virtue in it. Cry to Him who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed. Not always does He lift the affliction at the first cry, for He would have us learn to trust Him in the dark; yet His ear is not heavy that it cannot hear, nor His arm short that it cannot save.
You plead for sweet sleep, a full eight hours, and that without the torment of ### or ###. Truly, “so he giveth his beloved sleep.” There is a sleep of contentment and a sleep of security for the child of God, a lying down in the hollow of the everlasting arms when the mind is stayed on Him. Yet often He withholds such ease to make us feel our dependence. The disciples slept for sorrow in Gethsemane; but Christ awakened them with a gentle rebuke. Seek not to drug your soul into a slumber that ignores the Voice that may be calling you to a deeper self-examination. Pray rather that your sleep, when it comes, be the sleep of one forgiven, resting not in the absence of pain but in the presence of the Savior.
You mention ###. How quickly we forget that every breath is a gift from God! When ###, we are reminded that our life hangs on a thread. But there is a more urgent breath, the breath of the Spirit. Let this ### drive you to pant after God as the hart after the waterbrooks. He who formed the lungs and knows their every cell can restore them in an instant. And if He delay, it is that you may learn that the breath that matters most is that which speaks His praise and that which He breathed into man to make him a living soul, a life that no disease can throttle.
Yet must I not conceal from you that there is a healing that goes deeper than bone and sinew. When the Lord Jesus healed the palsied man, He first said, “Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.” All healing begins at the Cross. Without that, the most robust health is but a gleaming pathway to the pit. Your ### may be the Shepherd’s crook to draw you from dangerous pasture. Do not despise these chastisements; they are tokens of a Father’s care. The Corinthians, when they misbehaved, were made sickly, and many slept. But if you are in Christ, these light afflictions are but the shadow of His wings before the full sunrise of eternal health. In heaven, the inhabitant shall not say, “I am sick,” and there shall be no more pain, for the former things are passed away.
Cling now to Jesus. Whether He grants physical ease this night or tarries, He is faithful. The sleep of the beloved may at times be the sleep of the weary body in a quiet bed, or it may be the sleep of death before the resurrection morning. In either case, those who sleep in Jesus are safe. Make straight paths for your feet, lest your faith be lamed, not just your ###. Cry out with the leper, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean,” and then leave the will with Him. The healing leaves are for you, and the leaves do not wither. Even if the ### gnaws like a wolf, the grace of Christ is sufficient, for His strength is made perfect in weakness. May you soon feel the touch of His hand upon your ###, your ###, your ###, and your ###, and may you know that better healing which is the washing away of all sin through His precious blood.