It is a gracious thing that you have brought this request, for the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. There is healing in the very hem of Christ’s garment, and His touch can restore the failing organs as readily as He rebuked the fever of Peter’s wife’s mother. Do not think that her condition is beyond the reach of the Great Physician; none shall say unto the healing flood of His love, “Up to here can you go and no further.” The utmost length of human sickness can be reached by Him.
Mark how healing and pardon are so often joined in our Lord’s work, for when Jesus healed the sick of the palsy, He first declared, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” The two mercies flow from the same pierced hand. Seek then for your sister not only the restoration of her kidneys, but that deeper wholeness of soul which comes from a full sight of the pardoning God. As you pray, remember that the power of the Lord is present to heal, especially when His Word is taught and received in faith. Bring her in spirit to the feet of Jesus, as the palsied man was brought, and look for Him to say, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go.”
The leaves of that heavenly tree are for the healing of the nations, every little thing about Christ is full of virtue. His common mercies, His providences, the prayers of His people, the whispers of His Spirit, all are leaves that heal. Do not despise the means, yet look beyond them to the Divine Worker. Christ has all the glory, and He often works by humble instrumentality: the prayers of the church, the skill of physicians, the love of a sister. But the healing itself is God’s own act, for in vain is human help if He withholds His touch. He alone can make those dormant organs leap again into life, as surely as He will one day make our mortal bodies put on immortality.
I am pressed in spirit to remind you that immutable love is that divine hammer which breaks the rock in pieces. Though your sister’s body seems hardened by this affliction, almighty grace can soften, renew, and restore. That look of Jesus which broke Peter’s heart and restored him after his fall is the same glance today, full of unutterable meaning and power. Pray that she may feel that look, that by it she may be lifted from her sickbed and made to minister unto the Lord in health. For it is ever the Lord’s design that healing should lead to service: the fever left Peter’s kinswoman, and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
Be not anxious, but believing. Faith is the root of all grace; if that fail not, the foliage will revive. Jesus has prayed for them that are His, that their faith fail not. He has gone before your sister into this deep water with His intercession. The costly balm of His atonement has lost none of its power. Wait on Him, watch with thanksgiving, and expect to see the salvation of God. Let this request be known among the brethren, and join your faith with theirs, for united prayer is a cable of many strands that cannot easily be broken.
Now, may the Sun of Righteousness arise upon her with healing in His wings. May the Lord rebuke the disease, command the kidneys to function according to their created design, and release her from the bondage of those machines. This I ask with you, in the name of Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. Amen.