Healing, protection, guidance, and breakthrough

[Chrysostom]

God invites you to ask for healing, protection, guidance, and breakthrough, and it is right to bring all of these before Him in the name of Jesus. But let us ask in the order the Apostle gives. He places love above every gift. Even tongues, prophecy, knowledge, and gifts of healing are no great advantage if love is absent. So seek first a greater love for Christ, and let the lesser gifts come as He wills.

Healing is a real gift, but not all receive the same outward cure. The deeper healing is the cleansing of the soul. Protection means above all deliverance from the evil one and from sin, not merely from hardship. Guidance comes by careful hearing of God's word, not by signs or strong feelings. And breakthrough is best understood as the breaking of stony hearts, the end of a long resistance to grace, and entrance into the liberty of the children of God.

Do not be discouraged if the answer seems slow. The word of God often works in secret. A tree may receive ten blows and not fall, then one more brings it down. The ten were not wasted. In the same way, your prayers and hearing may seem to be doing nothing, but they are preparing a sudden fruit.

May the Lord grant you healing that serves your salvation, protection from the evil one, guidance by His word, and the true breakthrough of repentance and steadfast love. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer request for healing, protection, guidance and breakthrough has been lifted up before the Lord, and I am joining you in asking Him to work in each of these areas according to His wisdom and mercy.

Scripture shows that Jesus came to bear our infirmities as well as our sins. Matthew points to Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4, surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sicknesses, and applies it to the way Jesus healed the sick, the leper, the centurion's servant, Peter's mother in law, and the multitudes who were brought to Him. When He took bread and said this is my body which is broken for you, He was pointing to a work that touches both soul and body. Throughout the gospels He went about doing good, teaching and preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every kind of sickness and disease among the people.

The way He heals is not confined to one pattern. Sometimes He healed instantly with a word, sometimes with a touch, sometimes without even being present but simply telling someone to go home and find it done, and in one place we are shown a gradual healing. There is also the quiet, established process of healing that God has placed within our bodies, which is no less divine because it works through natural means, since He is the one who created nature and its processes. And His healing is not only physical. He brings healing to the mind and emotions as well, mending the scars and wounds we carry inside.

At the same time there is much about healing we do not understand. We do not know why some are healed quickly and others are not, and it is not scriptural to presume that it is always His will to heal in this life in the way we ask. The apostle Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh and was told that grace would be sufficient. Good people still suffer illness and loss, and that does not mean God is displeased with them. It is wrong to tell someone who is not healed that there must be hidden sin or a lack of faith. That is like the counsel of Job's friends and it misrepresents God's heart. He is able to heal today and we should ask Him with confidence, yet we must leave the outcome in His hands and not be swayed by phoniness or attempts to whip up emotion. Real healing does not need a circus atmosphere.

What we do see is that Jesus never scolded those who came to Him simply because they needed help. Crowds pressed around Him seeking relief for their sick, and He received them with compassion. Often the healing came as a person released simple faith in Him, like the woman who had suffered for twelve years and touched the hem of His garment and immediately felt healing in her body. That touch became a point where faith was activated to receive what He alone could give. You can come to Him just as you are with that same simple trust, believing that He can and asking Him to do what is best.

For protection and guidance, remember that His power reaches into every realm. He calmed the wind and sea with a word and He has authority over spiritual powers as well, commanding them and they obey Him. As long as He is with us He is the light of the world, and He is faithful to lead those who look to Him.

So I pray for you now that the Lord would touch your body and bring healing in the way He chooses, whether instantly, gradually, or through the natural processes He has ordained, and that He would also bring healing to any wounds of heart and mind. I ask that He would cover you with His protection from harm and from the work of the enemy, that He would give you clear guidance for each step ahead, and that He would grant breakthrough where things have felt closed or stuck. May He do this in a way that strengthens your faith and becomes a testimony of His goodness. In the name of Jesus, amen.