The Great Physician still walks among us, not with the sound of footsteps upon dusty Galilee, but by His Spirit's mighty working. You speak of that which is swollen, and of infirmities which hinder the body from its proper strength. These things are not hidden from Him who fashioned the human frame in all its delicate wonder. As I have said in times past, the very leaves of the Tree of Life are for healing, the smallest, simplest touch from Christ is laden with restoring virtue. Yet mark this: the body's cry must never drown out the deeper groan of the soul. Are you certain these afflictions have not been sent as messengers to rouse you to seek Him who is the Healer of both flesh and spirit? For often, when the outward man decays, the inward man is renewed by those very pains which drive us to the Mercy Seat.
Let your prayer rise from the low dungeon of your distress. Do not hold back because your words seem to reel and stagger like a man at his wit's end. True prayer, born of desperate need, has a voice which pierces the heavens even when it lacks the neat consecutiveness of an orderly petition. The Lord hears the prayer of the staggering man. But see to it that your pleading rests upon the promise, not upon your own fancies. Too many run to God with schemes and expectations of their own devising, and then wonder why the chariot wheels drag. Lay hold of His covenant pledge in Christ Jesus, and press your suit with all the arguments He Himself has given you. Plead His mercy, His wounded side, His death for sinners. There is no argument which so moves the heart of God as the sight of His own dear Son.
There is a point I must press upon you, though it may seem a hard saying. The apparent wretchedness of your physical condition may not be the true wretchedness at all. The sweet conjunction of our text must be yours: “Healing and pardon.” First forgiveness, then healing. When the Lord comes to dwell with you, you will no longer say, “I am sick,” for the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings. The man sick of the palsy received not the word of bodily restoration until Christ had first spoken the richer word: “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” Is there unconfessed sin which has made your prayer drag heavily? Is there some disobedience which has turned the conduit of blessing aside so that the healing stream flows not? Search yourself, I implore you. The Lord may be using this very sickness as the chisel to shape you for glory, or as the loving rod to correct some soul-endangering course. Confess the sin, and trust the Saviour; the healing leaves are for you even now.
Yet, even as I urge this, I would not leave you under the burden of despair. I have seen it in this very congregation, mighty prayer ascending such as was never excelled, even in Apostolic times! And the healing power was present because the teaching of Christ was present. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Let your ear be open to the gospel’s comfort. The Cross is the place for the healing balm. Jesus our Physician points not so much to the disease as to the remedy. Lay yourself before Him as that paralysed man was laid, looking up with expectancy. Expect that He will be very pitiful and have compassion upon you in your misery. He will not despise the broken heart, nor turn away from the contrite spirit. Come, then, with this prayer upon your lips, but infused with a holier meaning: “I am a sinful man, O Lord; come nearer to me.” That is the cry which moves His heart. When humility dares to trust, and faith sinks low in adoration, blessing is at the door.
Persist in the sacred exercise. If the answer should tarry until the night-watches are long and the darkness presses heavily, do not forsake the closet. Remember my own wrestling: prayer, mighty prayer, will yet prevail if it has but time! The Evil One whispers that such waiting is a fancy, that the heavens are brass. Spurn the thought. Cry out in the daytime, and give Him no rest by night. The very delay may be enriching your soul with treasures unknown in days of ease. Set your face toward the Great Physician; spread your case before Him, and leave it there. Healing and forgiveness are placed in happy conjunction, and both are bestowed on the Lord’s people when they look not for them. Amen, and may it be so unto you.