Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing your request and allowing us to pray with you for healing, protection, and provision. We have brought these needs before the Lord and we continue to hold you up in prayer in Jesus name.
Concerning healing, we want to encourage you with what Scripture shows and also keep a balanced biblical perspective. One verse that is often quoted about health is the greeting John wrote to Gaius, where he expressed his personal wish that Gaius would be healthy and prosper as his soul was prospering. That was a loving wish from one believer to another, not a blanket promise that God guarantees perfect health to everyone who claims it. Yet it does show something beautiful, that there is a connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body, and that God cares about both. We are learning more and more how attitudes and inner peace can affect even our physical chemistry, and how important it is to walk in spiritual health.
The Bible clearly presents Jesus as having power over every kind of need. In His ministry He healed the leper, He healed the servant of the centurion from a distance, He healed Peter's mother in law, and in the evenings multitudes came with sickness and oppression and He ministered to them. Matthew connects this to Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4, that He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses. The bread of communion also reminds us that His body was broken for us. This shows that physical healing is included in what Christ has done, not only forgiveness of sin. He has authority in the physical realm, in the material realm as when He calmed the wind and sea, and in the spiritual realm over evil powers.
At the same time there is much about healing we do not fully understand. Sometimes Jesus healed instantly with a touch, sometimes with only a word from a distance, and once there was a gradual healing that happened in stages. All true healing is from God, whether it comes instantly or gradually through the natural processes He has built into our bodies. Those natural processes are divine as well, because God created them. We also see in Scripture that God does not will healing in the same way in every case. Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it. Not everyone is healed, and when that happens it is wrong to say it must be because of hidden sin or lack of faith. That is like the error of Job's comforters. God is able to heal today and we believe He does heal today, without the frenzy or show that sometimes is attached to healing meetings. We simply bring the sick before Him in faith, as the early church did when the elders prayed for those who were ill, and we trust His wisdom and love for the outcome.
God is also interested in how we steward our bodies day by day. In the Old Testament the laws about food and cleanliness had real health reasons behind them, to protect the people from disease. While we are not under that law now and the New Testament teaches that all foods are lawful, we are still taught that not all things are helpful or build us up. The Lord cares about what we eat, about cleanliness, and about caring for the body He has given us. Asking God for a strong body goes together with seeking to live wisely in these practical areas.
For protection, we rest in the same power of Christ. He who has authority to heal sickness also has authority over the seen and unseen dangers around us. He can guard you physically and spiritually, and we pray for His covering over you from harm and from the work of the enemy.
Concerning finances, we know that need in this area can bring great pressure. The early believers in Jerusalem knew real poverty, and other churches who were themselves poor still gave joyfully to help them. The Bible does not teach that God will make every believer wealthy, and it warns against using spiritual leadership to pressure people for money or to make promises in exchange for gifts. Instead it teaches us to trust the Father who knows our needs, to work faithfully, to give generously as we are able with joy, and to look to Him for daily provision. We pray that God will provide for your needs, give you wisdom in stewardship, open doors for work and provision, and give you peace as you trust Him.
So we pray for you now, that the Lord would touch your body according to His will, whether instantly or gradually, and bring healing to what is wounded physically, emotionally and mentally. We ask for His protection over you and your household, and for His provision and guidance in your finances, that you would see His hand and know His care. We pray that above all your soul would prosper as you walk close to Jesus, and that in that fellowship you would experience His strength, comfort and hope each day. We trust you to His grace and love, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Concerning healing, we want to encourage you with what Scripture shows and also keep a balanced biblical perspective. One verse that is often quoted about health is the greeting John wrote to Gaius, where he expressed his personal wish that Gaius would be healthy and prosper as his soul was prospering. That was a loving wish from one believer to another, not a blanket promise that God guarantees perfect health to everyone who claims it. Yet it does show something beautiful, that there is a connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body, and that God cares about both. We are learning more and more how attitudes and inner peace can affect even our physical chemistry, and how important it is to walk in spiritual health.
The Bible clearly presents Jesus as having power over every kind of need. In His ministry He healed the leper, He healed the servant of the centurion from a distance, He healed Peter's mother in law, and in the evenings multitudes came with sickness and oppression and He ministered to them. Matthew connects this to Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4, that He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses. The bread of communion also reminds us that His body was broken for us. This shows that physical healing is included in what Christ has done, not only forgiveness of sin. He has authority in the physical realm, in the material realm as when He calmed the wind and sea, and in the spiritual realm over evil powers.
At the same time there is much about healing we do not fully understand. Sometimes Jesus healed instantly with a touch, sometimes with only a word from a distance, and once there was a gradual healing that happened in stages. All true healing is from God, whether it comes instantly or gradually through the natural processes He has built into our bodies. Those natural processes are divine as well, because God created them. We also see in Scripture that God does not will healing in the same way in every case. Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it. Not everyone is healed, and when that happens it is wrong to say it must be because of hidden sin or lack of faith. That is like the error of Job's comforters. God is able to heal today and we believe He does heal today, without the frenzy or show that sometimes is attached to healing meetings. We simply bring the sick before Him in faith, as the early church did when the elders prayed for those who were ill, and we trust His wisdom and love for the outcome.
God is also interested in how we steward our bodies day by day. In the Old Testament the laws about food and cleanliness had real health reasons behind them, to protect the people from disease. While we are not under that law now and the New Testament teaches that all foods are lawful, we are still taught that not all things are helpful or build us up. The Lord cares about what we eat, about cleanliness, and about caring for the body He has given us. Asking God for a strong body goes together with seeking to live wisely in these practical areas.
For protection, we rest in the same power of Christ. He who has authority to heal sickness also has authority over the seen and unseen dangers around us. He can guard you physically and spiritually, and we pray for His covering over you from harm and from the work of the enemy.
Concerning finances, we know that need in this area can bring great pressure. The early believers in Jerusalem knew real poverty, and other churches who were themselves poor still gave joyfully to help them. The Bible does not teach that God will make every believer wealthy, and it warns against using spiritual leadership to pressure people for money or to make promises in exchange for gifts. Instead it teaches us to trust the Father who knows our needs, to work faithfully, to give generously as we are able with joy, and to look to Him for daily provision. We pray that God will provide for your needs, give you wisdom in stewardship, open doors for work and provision, and give you peace as you trust Him.
So we pray for you now, that the Lord would touch your body according to His will, whether instantly or gradually, and bring healing to what is wounded physically, emotionally and mentally. We ask for His protection over you and your household, and for His provision and guidance in your finances, that you would see His hand and know His care. We pray that above all your soul would prosper as you walk close to Jesus, and that in that fellowship you would experience His strength, comfort and hope each day. We trust you to His grace and love, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
