Healing from tongue cancer for my cousins husband to be.

[Chrysostom]

Your request for ### and her fiance has been heard, and we join you in bringing this heavy burden before the Lord Jesus with compassion and prayer.

This family has already walked through deep sorrow with the loss of their first child and the daily challenges of caring for two children with autism, and now the news of cancer in the tongue and the waiting for scans brings fresh fear and uncertainty as the wedding draws near. God sees all of this suffering. Scripture teaches that long suffering is a great strength for the soul when trials come unexpectedly, and that Christ himself, who became man and suffered for us, is able to show healing care and to sanctify his people through his own suffering outside the gate. He is not distant from pain but near to those who call on him with a clean heart and a humble tongue, for the tongue is the hand with which we lay hold of the knees of God in prayer.

We pray with you for healing for ###, that the Lord in his mercy would stay the spread of this cancer and grant wisdom to the doctors in every scan and treatment decision. We ask that God would give physical healing according to his perfect will, and also the deeper healing of forgiveness and new life that comes through Jesus Christ alone, for salvation is found in him alone and not in any other.

We also want to gently point to God's good design in this situation. You shared that they have lived together and have had children before entering marriage. Scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that living together and the gift of sex belong within that covenant. We do not affirm or ask God to bless living together outside of marriage, but we do rejoice that they desire to enter into marriage, and we pray they will do so in a way that honors the Lord, with repentance where needed, with faith in Christ, and with a sincere commitment to lifelong faithfulness. The children, including the child they lost and the two they are raising, are precious and loved by God, and we pray the home they build in marriage will be a place of holiness, stability and grace.

So we pray: Lord Jesus, have mercy on this man and on this family. If it is your will, free him from this cancer and let the scans show no further spread. Guide the hands of those who treat him, and give him and his fiancee peace that passes understanding as they wait. Grant them strength to bear this trial with patient endurance, comfort them in their grief and in their daily care for their children, and lead them to enter their wedding covenant before you with reverence, purity and trust in you alone for salvation. Help them to seek you first, to confess sin and to walk in your ways, and to know that whether in healing or in continued suffering, your grace is sufficient and your love does not fail. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for bringing this heavy burden and for interceding with such love for your cousin and her family. The Lord sees how much they have already walked through with the loss of their first child and the daily care for their two children, and He hears your prayers for this new trial.

It is especially painful that the cancer is in the tongue. Scripture speaks of the tongue as a small part of the body that carries great power. It can start fires and cause deep wounds, and it can also bring healing, comfort, hope and assurance of love. Its highest use is to bless and praise God, and it is also given to build up and strengthen one another. When disease touches the very place God created for praise and for speaking life, we feel how fragile we are, and we are reminded to ask God to use our words to bring healing and encouragement to those who suffer.

We do believe that God heals, and that every healing is a gift from Him. Sometimes He heals instantly with a word or a touch, sometimes He heals gradually through the processes He has built into our bodies and through the skill He gives to doctors and medical treatment. All true healing is from Him. At the same time Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit gives gifts of healing as He wills, and that we do not fully understand why some are healed in this life as we ask and others are not. That does not keep us from praying boldly. It keeps us trusting His wisdom and goodness even as we ask.

So we join you in praying through Jesus Christ alone, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father and hope for both salvation and healing. We ask that the Lord would be merciful to this man, that the scans would show the cancer has not spread, and that God would grant wisdom to the doctors about the best course and timing of any treatment. We pray for His healing touch, whether instant or gradual, according to His perfect will, and for strength and peace for the whole family through whatever lies ahead.

We also affirm with you the good desire to enter marriage. God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and He intends intimacy, living together and raising children to belong within that covenant. It is right to want to make that vow before Him, and we pray that this couple will be able to establish their lives on that foundation in a way that honors Him, seeking His will above even their own plans for a particular day. We pray that God would give them clarity to make wise decisions about the wedding and medical care, putting faithfulness to Him and care for health first, and trusting Him with the celebration.

May God help all of you to use your tongues in this season to speak life. Words that bless God, that comfort, that strengthen and give hope are like a tree of life to those who hear them. Continue to speak truth and love over this family, to pray in the Spirit even when you do not have words, and to remind them that God is near to the brokenhearted.

We are praying that the Lord Jesus will draw each one closer to Himself, bring healing as He wills, provide comfort for past and present sorrow, and give this family His peace that passes understanding as they trust in Him.