Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer with thanksgiving is precious to the Lord, and it is good that you begin by acknowledging His blessings and that He hears when you call on Him in Jesus name.
Scripture shows that Jesus not only bore our sins but also our sicknesses. Matthew, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, points to the healings Jesus did in Peter's home and among the multitudes that evening and says this was to fulfill what Isaiah spoke, that He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. When Jesus broke the bread and said this is My body which is broken for you, He was inviting us to remember that His suffering was for the whole person. That is why we can confidently bring our bodies to Him and ask for healing. We believe He still heals today, and that He heals in many ways. Sometimes it is immediate, sometimes it is gradual as in the one case where a man was healed in stages, and sometimes it is through the ordinary processes He placed within our bodies. Any true healing is from Him, for He created nature and all of its processes, and He also heals wounds of the mind and emotions.
At the same time the Bible keeps us from presuming that He must heal in every case in the way or timing we expect. Paul prayed three times for what he called a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, and the Lord did not remove it but gave him grace and purpose in it. Not every member of the body has the same gift, and the gifts of healing are distributed as the Spirit wills. There is much about healing that we do not understand, why some are healed quickly and others are not, but we can trust His wisdom and love even as we continue to ask.
There is also a close connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body. The proverb says a joyful heart is good like a medicine, and we now see how true that is. Anxiety, pressure from relationships, finances and spiritual struggles can weigh heavily on the body. The psalmist knew this feeling and spoke to his own soul, asking why are you cast down and disquieted within me, and then he answered himself, hope in God. That is the turning point for anxiety. When God seems left out of the equation, everything feels impossible and trapped. When we put Him back in, when we hope in Him and bring our requests to Him, we see the situation differently and His peace can guard our hearts.
So continue to feed the spiritual person as faithfully as you feed the physical person. Prayer, the Word, and quiet trust in Christ strengthen the inner life, and that strength helps the whole person. Bring your body and your anxious thoughts to Him honestly each day, ask for His healing touch according to His will, and ask Him to replace fear with confidence in His presence and care. Avoid looking for a show or a spectacle, and instead rest in the steady, faithful work He does, whether through a sudden touch or through gradual restoration.
May the Lord grant you His healing as He wills, and may He give you deep deliverance from anxiety as you hope in Him. Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this dear one before You. You know the needs of this body and the weight of these anxious thoughts. You bore our infirmities and our sorrows, and You invite us to cast all our care on You. We ask for Your healing hand and for Your peace that passes understanding to guard heart and mind. Help this one to hope in You daily and to rest in Your perfect love and wisdom. Amen.
Scripture shows that Jesus not only bore our sins but also our sicknesses. Matthew, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, points to the healings Jesus did in Peter's home and among the multitudes that evening and says this was to fulfill what Isaiah spoke, that He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. When Jesus broke the bread and said this is My body which is broken for you, He was inviting us to remember that His suffering was for the whole person. That is why we can confidently bring our bodies to Him and ask for healing. We believe He still heals today, and that He heals in many ways. Sometimes it is immediate, sometimes it is gradual as in the one case where a man was healed in stages, and sometimes it is through the ordinary processes He placed within our bodies. Any true healing is from Him, for He created nature and all of its processes, and He also heals wounds of the mind and emotions.
At the same time the Bible keeps us from presuming that He must heal in every case in the way or timing we expect. Paul prayed three times for what he called a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, and the Lord did not remove it but gave him grace and purpose in it. Not every member of the body has the same gift, and the gifts of healing are distributed as the Spirit wills. There is much about healing that we do not understand, why some are healed quickly and others are not, but we can trust His wisdom and love even as we continue to ask.
There is also a close connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body. The proverb says a joyful heart is good like a medicine, and we now see how true that is. Anxiety, pressure from relationships, finances and spiritual struggles can weigh heavily on the body. The psalmist knew this feeling and spoke to his own soul, asking why are you cast down and disquieted within me, and then he answered himself, hope in God. That is the turning point for anxiety. When God seems left out of the equation, everything feels impossible and trapped. When we put Him back in, when we hope in Him and bring our requests to Him, we see the situation differently and His peace can guard our hearts.
So continue to feed the spiritual person as faithfully as you feed the physical person. Prayer, the Word, and quiet trust in Christ strengthen the inner life, and that strength helps the whole person. Bring your body and your anxious thoughts to Him honestly each day, ask for His healing touch according to His will, and ask Him to replace fear with confidence in His presence and care. Avoid looking for a show or a spectacle, and instead rest in the steady, faithful work He does, whether through a sudden touch or through gradual restoration.
May the Lord grant you His healing as He wills, and may He give you deep deliverance from anxiety as you hope in Him. Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this dear one before You. You know the needs of this body and the weight of these anxious thoughts. You bore our infirmities and our sorrows, and You invite us to cast all our care on You. We ask for Your healing hand and for Your peace that passes understanding to guard heart and mind. Help this one to hope in You daily and to rest in Your perfect love and wisdom. Amen.
