Praying for healing will always be challenging. It demands our trust – no matter the outcome.
Without a doubt, there is healing which can be received through prayer.
The problem occurs that not every prayer results in healing. The decision lies in the hands, wisdom, and purposes of our sovereign God.
There are times we pray and God responds with a quick and miraculous healing. Other times, He permits us to go through the guidance of the medical profession, directing through doctors and medicine. It may be a journey which takes time and results in health.
And other times, the answer is not on this side of eternity.
But it is an answer, none the less.
When praying for healing, or other answers from God, I often think of the three Hebrew boys whose faith was tested in the fires of a furnace.
When facing the decision to bow down before the golden image and worship, they refused to do so even though they knew they faced death. Their response was:
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18, NASB)
They knew without a shadow of doubt that God is able to deliver, but chose to be faithful to Him even if He should not.
Scripture tells us:
“If
you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will
be impossible to you.”
(Matthew 17:20, NASB)
There are times that little seed of faith is all we have and we hold onto that small measure of faith. Should the mountain remain, we can still choose to hold onto the little faith we have and trust Him to bring us through.
We trust Him.
We believe Him.
We hold onto Him.
For He has been faithful.
He alone is our hope.
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
(Psalm 27:13-14, NASB)
“The teaching of the Bible is for me the last word. I accept it whether I can understand or not … When evolution and revelation seem to be at variance, faith banks with revelation.”
(from The Path of Prayer, Samuel Chadwick, page 81)
Photo by Joshua Lanzarini on Unsplash
I love your balance and focus here, Joanne. Healing is in God's hands, whether immediate, drawn-out, or nor granted until heaven. He wants us to trust Him, no matter what. I'm not familiar with much of Mercy Me's music besides I Can Only Imagine, but I did stumble across this song one day and thought it was so profound.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Barbara. It was a hard post to write but one which was on my heart at this time. We all have known those God granted healing and those He did not. But may we remain faithful to the Lord even when it is hard.
DeleteWhen my husband needed to have his heart valve replaced (critical at this point), they found a nodule in his lung. He never prayed that it wouldn't be cancer. He prayed in faith that all would be well - that God would take care of whatever it was and him. His faith so guided our family during this time - not to dictate to God but to let God be God! Thanks for addressing the tough parts of how God answers prayers different than our expectations but always for our best.
ReplyDeleteMaryleigh, I so appreciate what you have shared. May we trust God with all our tough parts of our prayers, letting God be God. Grateful you took time to share and may God bless your husband as he continues to lead your family.
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