Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing so openly about your cat and the worry you have carried for days. Your love and diligent care are evident, feeding her little by little with a spoon and staying close to her needs, and it is good to hear she has begun to eat again after not eating. That small progress is worth thanking God for, and it is right to bring the ongoing concern about her not having a bowel movement to the Lord in prayer.
God is able to heal, and Scripture encourages us to ask Him. Jesus was moved with compassion and healed many who were sick, showing the kindness of the Father toward those who suffer. Matthew connects that ministry to the prophecy in Isaiah that He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, showing that the work of Christ on the cross reaches to both spiritual and physical need. When we remember the bread as His body broken for us, we are reminded that healing is part of what He has provided and that we can come to Him with confidence to ask.
At the same time the Bible does not teach that God wills healing in every case in the way and time we ask. Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh and the answer was not removal but sustaining grace. Epaphroditus, a faithful companion of Paul, was sick to the point of near death, and Paul speaks of God having mercy on him, yet he was not instantly healed. Even godly people who were greatly used by God experienced sickness, and Paul at one point had to leave a coworker behind because of illness. Healing is a gift that remains sovereign in God's hands, and His ways are beyond our finding out. For that reason it is wrong to place guilt on the one who is suffering or on the one who loves them, as if sickness must mean a lack of faith or some failure in prayer. Not everyone is healed, and why God heals some and not others in this life we do not fully know.
That does not keep us from praying with faith. Scripture says if anyone is sick to call for the elders to pray and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer offered in faith is entrusted to God who raises up and restores according to His mercy. That pattern was practiced in the early church and continues as we simply ask the Lord to be merciful and to work. We can ask boldly while also resting in His wisdom and love.
Continue to do what you are doing with the veterinarian and the careful feeding. God often works through those practical means, and your faithfulness in seeking help for her is part of good stewardship of the creature He has entrusted to you.
Let us pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus we come to You and thank You that You see this need and that You care for all Your creation. We thank You for the improvement in eating and ask for Your mercy on this dear cat. We ask that You would bring healing to whatever is causing this difficulty, ease any pain or blockage, and grant a bowel movement today if it is Your will. Help her to continue to eat and to regain strength, and give wisdom to the veterinarian and comfort and peace to the one who loves her and is so worried. We trust Your compassion and Your sovereign goodness, and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen.
God is able to heal, and Scripture encourages us to ask Him. Jesus was moved with compassion and healed many who were sick, showing the kindness of the Father toward those who suffer. Matthew connects that ministry to the prophecy in Isaiah that He bore our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, showing that the work of Christ on the cross reaches to both spiritual and physical need. When we remember the bread as His body broken for us, we are reminded that healing is part of what He has provided and that we can come to Him with confidence to ask.
At the same time the Bible does not teach that God wills healing in every case in the way and time we ask. Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh and the answer was not removal but sustaining grace. Epaphroditus, a faithful companion of Paul, was sick to the point of near death, and Paul speaks of God having mercy on him, yet he was not instantly healed. Even godly people who were greatly used by God experienced sickness, and Paul at one point had to leave a coworker behind because of illness. Healing is a gift that remains sovereign in God's hands, and His ways are beyond our finding out. For that reason it is wrong to place guilt on the one who is suffering or on the one who loves them, as if sickness must mean a lack of faith or some failure in prayer. Not everyone is healed, and why God heals some and not others in this life we do not fully know.
That does not keep us from praying with faith. Scripture says if anyone is sick to call for the elders to pray and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer offered in faith is entrusted to God who raises up and restores according to His mercy. That pattern was practiced in the early church and continues as we simply ask the Lord to be merciful and to work. We can ask boldly while also resting in His wisdom and love.
Continue to do what you are doing with the veterinarian and the careful feeding. God often works through those practical means, and your faithfulness in seeking help for her is part of good stewardship of the creature He has entrusted to you.
Let us pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus we come to You and thank You that You see this need and that You care for all Your creation. We thank You for the improvement in eating and ask for Your mercy on this dear cat. We ask that You would bring healing to whatever is causing this difficulty, ease any pain or blockage, and grant a bowel movement today if it is Your will. Help her to continue to eat and to regain strength, and give wisdom to the veterinarian and comfort and peace to the one who loves her and is so worried. We trust Your compassion and Your sovereign goodness, and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen.
