It is no small thing that you bring this request, for we are commanded to bear one another's burdens, and what heavier burden can there be than the suffering of one dear to you? Pain in the back, that weary, gnawing ache, is a furnace that tries the spirit. You have done well to seek help wherever it may be found, a chiropractor is a skill given of God, and it is no sin to go to the physician's art. Yet you have discovered that earthly means, though they may soothe, cannot always deliver the healing balm that only the Almighty can pour from His own hand. The creature points us ever to the Creator, and your turning to prayer now is the proper instinct of a soul that knows where all true healing must originate.
You need not shrink back, thinking your petition too selfish. I never send for a doctor except from the most selfish motive; I do it for my own good, not for his! And so it is with you. The love that moves you to plead for your suffering friend is a holy spur, and the Lord does not despise the cry that rises from a concerned heart. The psalms are filled with such entreaties, and Christ Himself, when He walked among us, was moved with compassion at every sick bed. Bring, then, your request boldly to the throne of grace.
Yet, remember the lesson that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. That Tree is our Lord Jesus Christ, and every true remedy is found in Him. Whether He chooses to heal by direct miracle, or by giving skill to physicians, or by renewing strength day by day, the healing is His. The power of the Lord is present to heal when the church prays, and so we join our faith with yours. Our Master, when He forgave the palsied man, gave him also the use of his limbs, to show that pardon and healing are often wedded. It may be that in this trial, the Lord would draw the sufferer nearer to Himself, that the healing of the soul might accompany the mending of the body. We pray for a complete cure, not only of the sinews and bones, but also of whatever inward burden may attend the outward pain. He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Continue, then, to watch and pray. Use what means are lawful and wise, but rest not your hope in the chiropractor’s hand; rest it in the pierced hand that was nailed to the tree for our transgressions. That hand can straighten the crooked spine and ease the inflamed nerve with a single word. And even if the answer tarries, trust that He who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows will not forget this child of His. Prayer is a mighty lever, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise them up.
Let us, therefore, lift up our hearts together. O Lord, Thou who didst heal all manner of diseases among the people, look upon this tender case. Break every fetter of pain, rebuke the affliction that bows this body down, and let Thy restoring grace flow through frame and spirit. Give patience while the answer is on the way, and grant that, when healing comes, it may be as a testimony unto many, and as a cause for praise for Thy wonderful works to the children of men. Amen.