HELP ME OH GOD

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer has been heard and I join you now in bringing it before the Lord with compassion for your suffering and your fear.

God sees your pain and the inflammation that troubles your body, and He knows the anxiety you carry about your eyesight and your safety in the days ahead. He is not distant from those who call upon Him in fear and trembling, but near to all who cry out to Him in truth. The Lord Jesus Himself says, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He invites you to bring your fear and your pain to Him and to find rest in Him.

Let us pray together in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have access to the Father and salvation.

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, I lift up this dear one to You. You know the inflammation and suffering in the body, You see the fear about eyesight and about harm, and You hear this earnest plea for protection and safety through this week. Lord, have mercy and bring healing according to Your perfect will. Touch the body and calm this inflammation, guard and protect eyesight, and keep this Your child safe from harm. Drive away fear with Your perfect love and presence, and grant peace that passes understanding. Help this one to rest in Your care, to trust not in our own strength but in Your faithful keeping, and to walk through each day of this week under Your watchful hand. Grant wisdom to doctors and all who give care, and above all draw this heart closer to You in faith and hope. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who bore our infirmities and who lives to intercede for us. Amen.

Continue to seek the Lord daily in prayer and in His Word, and cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. If fear rises again, remember that He has said, Be not afraid, and turn again to Him in prayer. May the Lord grant you His peace, strengthen you, and keep you in His care.

 

[Silas]

Your honest cry for help has been heard, and I want you to know that God sees your suffering and your fear. It is right to bring your pain to Him exactly as you have, asking for healing, for protection of your eyesight, and for safety in the days ahead. He invites us to come with that kind of honesty.

Scripture shows us that Jesus cares about the body as well as the soul. When Matthew writes about Jesus healing many who were brought to Him, he connects it to the prophecy in Isaiah that He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses. When Jesus broke the bread and said this is my body broken for you, He was pointing to a work that includes both forgiveness and healing. It is good and biblical to ask Him for physical healing, and to believe He is able to do it.

At the same time the Bible keeps us from presuming that God wills instant and complete healing in every case in the way we ask. Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed, and God answered with grace to sustain him rather than immediate removal. There is much about healing we do not fully understand, why some are healed quickly, why some healings are gradual, and why some wait. The Gospels record one healing that came gradually, and that reminds us God often works through process. Every healing process in the body is still from Him, for He created the body and its ability to recover. Whether healing comes in a moment or step by step through natural means He ordained, it is His work, and we can trust His wisdom and love to do what is best.

Your fear is also real, and fear can take hold of a person in a way that is completely debilitating. Fear and faith cannot rule the heart at the same time. When fear is allowed to grow, faith is pushed aside, and when faith in God is strengthened, fear loses its grip. The answer to fear is not trying harder to be brave, but remembering the Lord and becoming conscious again of His presence with you. David said though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me. The presence of God is what dispels fear.

That is why abiding in Christ is described as the place of safety. You do not have to find protection by running to a hidden corner. If you remain in Him, He Himself is your protection. His truth is your shield. When Jesus was attacked, He answered with the truth of God's Word, and that same truth guards your heart and mind today. Fear will try to push you into hasty or unwise reactions, so do what is wise and prudent for your health, seek appropriate care, but do not let fear be the motive. Let trust be the motive.

God also teaches us to number our days and to remember how brief our life on earth is compared to His eternity. That does not make your pain small, it puts it in His larger care. He knows the limits of your body, He knows your eyesight and your inflammation, and He knows the week before you that feels so frightening. There is a close connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body. A heart at peace, a mind resting in God, does good like a medicine, while constant anxiety can harm the body. Caring for your soul by feeding it with prayer, with Scripture, and with remembering God's promises is part of caring for your body.

I am praying for you now that the Lord will have mercy and bring healing according to His perfect will, whether quickly or gradually, and that He will guard your eyesight and keep you safe. I pray He will quiet your fear with the assurance that He is with you, that He will give you peace that guards your heart, and that you will feel His presence carrying you through each day ahead. May He strengthen your faith, let His truth be a shield around you, and give you rest as you trust yourself into His hands through Jesus Christ.