Healing, anxiety

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer for healing and for deliverance from anxiety has been received with thanksgiving, and we join you in giving thanks to God for His blessings and for hearing our prayers.

Anxiety weighs heavily on the conscience and on the body, and sickness tries our fortitude. Yet the Lord does not leave us in that anxiety, but frees us from it and establishes us in thorough security and liberty when we look to Him. He is the true physician, and His healing treatment is not like the empty remedies of this world. He offers deliverance from evil and the supply of good through Jesus Christ alone, by whom we are adopted as sons and have confidence to call upon the Father. When we come to Him we need no other weapon and no other remedy but faith in Christ and the sign of His cross, trusting His power rather than any charm or human invention.

So we encourage you to continue in careful hearing of the word and continual recollection of it, with patience and fortitude. Do not neglect the rules of the great Physician. As a sick person is restored to health by medicine applied faithfully to the end, so the soul and body are restored as we keep close to Christ, obey His word, and cast our cares upon Him. The beauty and strength He gives is not like earthly beauty which disease and anxiety can wither, but it is ever blooming and abiding, because it is rooted in Him. Even when healing seems delayed, do not despair, for God is able to renew strength even at the gates of distress, and He often brings forth abundant fruit after many prayers.

We pray with you now: Father God, we thank You for Your mercies and for hearing us when we call. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask for Your healing hand upon this body and for deliverance from anxiety. Grant peace that guards heart and mind, thorough security in Your love, and health according to Your wise and gracious will. Teach us to walk in Your way, to trust Your promises, and to rest in the adoption we have received through Christ. Amen.

 

[Silas]

It is good to hear your thankfulness even as you bring these needs to the Lord, because He does hear our prayers and He invites us to bring both our bodies and our anxious thoughts to Him.

Scripture gives us strong ground for asking for physical healing. When Matthew describes Jesus healing all who were brought to Him, he says it was to fulfill what Isaiah had spoken, Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sicknesses. Isaiah chapter 53 is often thought of only for the forgiveness of sins, but Matthew applies it directly to sickness and infirmity. That is why when Jesus took bread and said, this is My body which is broken for you, we are reminded that His suffering was for the whole person, both spiritual and physical. God is still able to heal today, and He heals in many ways. Sometimes it is immediate, sometimes it is gradual, and sometimes it is through the natural processes He has already placed within our bodies, which are themselves from Him. He also brings healing to the mind and emotions, mending wounds and scars that are not visible.

At the same time the Bible keeps us from presuming that God will grant immediate physical healing in every case in the way we ask. Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed and the Lord did not remove it. The Scripture also asks, do all have gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, and the expected answer is no. There is much about healing we do not fully understand, and we do not know why some are healed quickly and others are not. What we can hold to is that God is compassionate, He is powerful, and He is wise, and we can trust His will even when the answer is not what we had hoped for, continuing to ask Him honestly for healing.

There is also a close connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body. The proverb says a merry heart does good like a medicine, and we now see how true that is. Anxiety and pressure in relationships, finances, and spiritual life can weigh heavily on the body. That is why the wish expressed for Gaius, that he would prosper and be in health even as his soul prospers, is so fitting. It is not presented as a guaranteed promise for perfect health, but it shows the real link between our inner life with God and our physical well being.

That link helps us with anxiety as well. The psalmist spoke to his own soul and asked, why are you cast down, why are you disquieted within me, and then he answered himself, hope in God. Often anxiety grows when we feel trapped and when, without realizing it, we have left God out of the equation and the situation looks impossible. The answer is to put Him back into the center of it. To hope in God does not mean the pressure disappears instantly, but it means we see the situation with Him in it, and what seemed impossible takes on a different light. Feeding the spiritual life through prayer and the Word strengthens us when the physical and emotional parts of us feel weak.

So continue to bring your body and your anxious thoughts to Jesus. Ask Him for healing, whether it comes in a moment or through a process over time, and ask Him to guard your heart and mind with His peace. It is right to care for your body with good habits and wise care, and it is also right to care for your soul by casting your cares on Him, remembering His past faithfulness, and resting in His presence.

May the Lord touch your body according to His wisdom and mercy, and may He lift the weight of anxiety and replace it with a steady hope in Him. May He heal what needs healing in body, mind, and spirit, and may you know His nearness and peace as you trust Him day by day in Jesus name, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf for healing over your body and deliverance from anxiety. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer and we have continued to lift you up before the Father with thanksgiving for His blessings and for hearing our prayers.

We pray in Jesus name that our Heavenly Father will touch your body with His healing hand and grant you restoration and strength and that He will deliver you from anxiety and fill your heart with His perfect peace as promised in Philippians 4:7 and Isaiah 41:10 and Psalm 34:18.

If your request was answered and you have experienced healing and peace, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.