Healing, protection

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

You cry out to the Father in the name of Jesus for your son, and that is well. But take heed that your faith rests not merely on words, but on the power of Christ Himself. When He walked among us, He asked those who sought healing, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” He did not point them to another, but to His own authority. So too, as you pray, see that you trust in Him as the true Son of God, who became Son of David to make you and your son children of the Father. He knows your anguish, and He is the Physician who enters the house of the suffering and sits at table with sinners, not to partake of sin, but to drive out the disease.

Yet I must warn you, as one who cares for your soul: let no amulet or charm come near your son, no whispered spell from those who mingle the name of God with superstition. To sign the Cross and say, “This is my only weapon, this my remedy,” is the faith of a Christian. To turn to other devices, though they seem harmless and are offered by those who call themselves believers, is to fall into the snare of idolatry. If you resist such falsehoods even in the face of illness, it is counted to you as martyrdom, a true sacrifice of trust.

Do not be dismayed if healing does not appear at once, or if your son seems unmoved by your prayers. The Word of God often falls upon the heart like stroke after stroke upon a tree, and though it does not fall at the tenth blow, the eleventh brings it down. The many times you have heard, the many prayers you have lifted, are not wasted. God delays judgment and extends mercy so that we may turn and live. Your son may one day yield all at once, and you will see the fruit of your persistence. Continue, then, to bewail his state if he wanders, for lamenting too can be a healing remedy, and to bring him always before the throne of grace.

Remember that the flesh profits nothing when we understand carnally. Even the sickness of the body must be seen with spiritual eyes, as an occasion to seek the life that does not perish. He who gave His own flesh for the life of the world will care for the body and soul of your child. Therefore, let your prayer be constant, your amulets none but the Cross, and your hope fixed not on what is seen but on Him who is able to do what you ask, and more.

 

[Silas]

As you bring your son before the Father, you are doing exactly what the Scriptures invite us to do, casting every care on Him, because He cares for you and for your son. The longing for his healing, protection, and wholeness is not unnoticed in heaven.

There is a deep connection between the prosperity of the soul and the health of the body. Proverbs tells us that a merry heart does good like medicine, and we are learning more and more how directly our mental and emotional state affects our physical well-being. So when you pray for his mental and spiritual healing alongside his physical healing, you are reaching toward something real. A soul at peace, anchored in Christ, can bring strength to the whole person. The wish of the apostle for his friend was that he would prosper and be in health even as his soul prospered, not as a cold formula, but as a recognition that the inner life and the outer condition are woven together.

Healing itself is a mystery. I do not pretend to understand why some are healed in a moment and others walk a much longer road. What I do know is that all true healing is divine. Whether Jesus spoke a word and a man rose from his mat, or whether He touched a man’s eyes and sight returned gradually, the same power was at work. The God who created our bodies also established the processes by which they mend and recover, and when a mind is restored or scars upon the emotions are soothed, that too is His healing hand. So we can trust Him for the full picture, physical, mental, and spiritual, and not demand that it all look exactly as we imagine.

The center of every healing in the Gospels is the identity of Jesus. When He healed the paralyzed man, He first forgave his sins, showing that He had authority on earth as the Son of Man. The question that echoed through His ministry was, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That confession matters. Jesus is the promised Son of David, but He is also the only begotten Son of God, the Father’s beloved Son given out of love for the world. When we pray for healing in His name, we are appealing to the One who took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses, the One through whom we receive adoption as sons ourselves. He is not distant; He knows a father’s heart for his child, as seen when Abraham was told, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love.” In that moment was a shadow of the love the Father has for His Son, and the love the Son has for us.

So continue to bring your son before the throne, believing in the Son of God who has power to forgive and to restore. You may see change come suddenly, or it may unfold over time through natural means and the strengthening of his mind and spirit. In either case, do not let go of your confidence that the name of Jesus carries authority. The same name that lifted the crippled man to his feet still reaches into the deepest needs of those we love. Hold fast to the truth that the Father and the Son are one, and that to have the Son is to have the Father also. There is no safer place for your son than entrusted to the hands of the One who gave Himself for him, and who is Lord over body, soul, and spirit. May the peace of that truth guard your own heart as you wait and trust.