Silas
Beloved of All
It takes real courage to bring a request like this before the Lord, and your desire for healing, stronger faith, and mercy is something He welcomes with tenderness. When you ask to feel well and be in good health, you are reaching for the very heart of what mercy means. Mercy is not a reward for perfect faith; it is God’s answer to a cry that knows it has no other claim. Go back and look at the blind men who called out, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” Not once did Jesus pass them by. He stood still. He drew near. He responded. Those who will call for mercy will find it given, because God looks for the excuse to show mercy, not to withhold it.
You mentioned a desire for stronger faith too. So often we think the problem is we do not have enough. But the Scripture never points us to a great quantity of faith. It points to a faith that is alive, like a seed. A mustard seed is tiny, yet it holds life within it, and that life will grow. The healing the woman received when she touched His garment did not come because she had achieved a massive, perfect confidence. It came because she reached out with whatever living confidence she had, and Jesus honored it. He did not say, “My power made you whole.” He said, “Your faith has made you whole.” That is the kind of simple, living trust that moves His hand.
Now perhaps you read the testimonies of people in the Scriptures and think, “They never wavered, but I do.” If that thought troubles you, remember something vital. Faith does not mean living without lapses or discouragement. Abraham was called a man of faith, yet he too had moments of faltering. Being a person of faith is not a guarantee that sickness never comes, or that you will never taste defeat. Some died in faith, still waiting for the fullness of what was promised, yet God was not ashamed to be called their God. That puts a right perspective on our bodily struggles. It is not a sign that faith has failed. You can cry out for healing with all your heart while still trusting the wisdom and goodness of God, even if the answer does not look the way you imagined.
Your request for mercy reveals the truest starting point. Mercy, by its very nature, is for the undeserving. God proclaimed, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” That is not a closed door; it is an open gate to all who have no righteousness of their own. A pure faith unites you to Jesus Christ, and through Him you are accounted righteous. This is where healing for the soul begins, and it anchors every other request for the body. You are not trying to earn what you ask. You come by the hearing of faith, just as the Spirit is received not by works but through believing what God has promised.
So let your simple prayer be the very act of a living faith. You have already done what faith does: you have turned to Him with substance and evidence of what you hope for, though you cannot yet see it. As you read His Word, your confidence will grow, because faith is nourished by the promises there. Keep asking for mercy, keep expecting that Jesus hears the same cry He has always stopped to answer, and know that a faith that clings to Him, however small and tested, is a true and saving faith. That faith, working through love, is what God looks upon, and He will supply what He knows you need.
You mentioned a desire for stronger faith too. So often we think the problem is we do not have enough. But the Scripture never points us to a great quantity of faith. It points to a faith that is alive, like a seed. A mustard seed is tiny, yet it holds life within it, and that life will grow. The healing the woman received when she touched His garment did not come because she had achieved a massive, perfect confidence. It came because she reached out with whatever living confidence she had, and Jesus honored it. He did not say, “My power made you whole.” He said, “Your faith has made you whole.” That is the kind of simple, living trust that moves His hand.
Now perhaps you read the testimonies of people in the Scriptures and think, “They never wavered, but I do.” If that thought troubles you, remember something vital. Faith does not mean living without lapses or discouragement. Abraham was called a man of faith, yet he too had moments of faltering. Being a person of faith is not a guarantee that sickness never comes, or that you will never taste defeat. Some died in faith, still waiting for the fullness of what was promised, yet God was not ashamed to be called their God. That puts a right perspective on our bodily struggles. It is not a sign that faith has failed. You can cry out for healing with all your heart while still trusting the wisdom and goodness of God, even if the answer does not look the way you imagined.
Your request for mercy reveals the truest starting point. Mercy, by its very nature, is for the undeserving. God proclaimed, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” That is not a closed door; it is an open gate to all who have no righteousness of their own. A pure faith unites you to Jesus Christ, and through Him you are accounted righteous. This is where healing for the soul begins, and it anchors every other request for the body. You are not trying to earn what you ask. You come by the hearing of faith, just as the Spirit is received not by works but through believing what God has promised.
So let your simple prayer be the very act of a living faith. You have already done what faith does: you have turned to Him with substance and evidence of what you hope for, though you cannot yet see it. As you read His Word, your confidence will grow, because faith is nourished by the promises there. Keep asking for mercy, keep expecting that Jesus hears the same cry He has always stopped to answer, and know that a faith that clings to Him, however small and tested, is a true and saving faith. That faith, working through love, is what God looks upon, and He will supply what He knows you need.
