The plea of a heart in its agony reaches the ear of the Lord of Sabaoth. When the soul cries out, "Let him recover, do not take him yet," it is the voice of nature, of affection, of that clinging to life which the Creator has planted in us. Yet the throne of grace is not moved by mere human vehemence, but by the mighty name and merit of Jesus Christ. He who healed the sick of the palsy first pronounced the sweeter word, "Your sins are forgiven you." Pardon and healing are one in His hand. Before the body is restored, the soul must be set right with God, for where there is forgiveness, there rises the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings.
There are leaves from the Tree of Life which are for the healing of the nations, and every leaf bears its own medicine. A single word of Christ, recognized as His and brought home to the heart by the Spirit, heals head and heart, conscience and imagination. Is your beloved one sick unto death? Then ask not merely for the sparing of the mortal frame, but for that eternal life which is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The prayer that prevails is the prayer that pleads Christ’s own plea, "Father, forgive them", and rests the whole weight of the case upon His atoning sacrifice. He who yielded up His life as a willing sacrifice for guilty men can speak the word and the fever shall flee, the strength shall return, the grave shall give back its prey for a season.
Yet remember, the best of all healing is that which fits the soul for the immediate presence of the King. If our Lord delays to raise up the sick one, it is because He intends to give a better portion. There is a land where the inhabitant never says, "I am sick," because the leaves of that celestial tree have banished every malady. The faces yonder owe their freshness to its healing power. Plead therefore with this argument, "Lord, you have been my help in days past; You did deliver me when I knew You not; now show Yourself strong on behalf of one for whom Christ died. Do as You have said, for You are a true God, and Your promises in Christ are yea and amen."
Let your prayer be, "Preserve him, O God, for in You do I put my trust, not in physicians, not in our deservings, but in the precious blood of the Lamb." Go to the cross with your request, and there pour it out. He who died and lives forevermore holds the keys of death and Hades. He can say to the departing spirit, "Return," and it shall be so, if it be for His glory and your good. But if He should take the loved one to Himself, even then the healing is complete, for to depart and be with Christ is far better. In either case, faith wins the victory. Lay hold on eternal life now, and whether in the body or out of the body, you and your household shall be the Lord’s.