After re-reading my last post, I feel the need to redeem myself as a semi-intelligent, thoughtful, non-shallow person.
Genesis 20:17 - Abraham prayed for Abimelech = God healed him.
Genesis 25:21 - Isaac prayed because Rebekah was barren = Jacob & Esau.
Exodus 32:14 - "So the Lord changed his mind."
2 Kings 20:5 - God (to Hezekiah) - "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you."
Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything present your requests to God.
James 5:14,15 - Sick? Call elders to pray...the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.
3 John 1:2 - I pray that you may enjoy good health.
My friend, CB, had anal cancer and underwent treatment. We prayed. Her last PET scan was all clear. Then "something" was found on her hip bone. We prayed. The biopsy was negative.
My friend, MN, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 2 weeks ago today. He was rushed to the hospital two days later with kidney failure, suspicious spots on his lungs and lesions on nearly every bone in his body. Sixty percent of his bone marrow is malignant. I spent the night at St. Francis a week and a half ago. We almost lost him. We prayed. Not just the talking kind of prayer. The gut-wrenching, sobbing, pleading, nose-running, eye-swelling kind. He came home from the hospital yesterday. Doctors are amazed at his improvement. Yes, I know it's not over. This disease will likely kill him, if a bus doesn't run over him first. But he has a little more time to spend with his wife, and experience the love of his church family.
Although I really believe...want to really believe...that prayer changes things, I battle the doubt. When MN started showing signs of improvement, my first thought was, "maybe we blew everything out of proportion," "maybe he wasn't as bad as we thought he was,""maybe it was just the medication that made him not know where he was or who I was."
Why wasn't my first thought, "Thank God!"?
I was THERE that Friday night that the doctors and nurses had "that look" in their eyes. When his breathing was erratic. When they transferred him to ICU. I KNOW how bad he was.
I also know that God has a better plan than any of us, and He doesn't always heal. Because of the events in the Garden, death will get us all eventually, and quite often, it will be an illness.
Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing. Why would we do that if it doesn't make a difference?
I think it does.
6 comments:
I like hearing your thoughts on the matter and that you have been able to see positives from your prayers. Sadly I have seen to many times the gut wrenching, sobbing prayers answered with a no. I still have faith God hears my prayers and I see that He is able to get the big picture as I am only allowed to see a segment. Sometimes I have no words to pray and am thankful for the Holy Spirit to "speak" for me.
My poor mother has had many phone calls from me the past couple of weeks with deep thought questions. Good thing she likes to talk :)
Prayer does make a difference sometimes in ways I never asked for.
"...and He doesn't always heal." This discussion can go on forever, but I think our life experiences form our beliefs. We KNOW that we don't get everything we ask for.
After watching a mother die from early-onset Alzheimer's, I ask, why do pray for healing of cancer or other "curable" diseases, but not for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's or MS?
I believe in asking for strength and comfort, but when I do pray for healing, I'm not completely convinced I should. Healing through medicine and doctors, but from miracles? I wished I believed differently. But it doesn't affect from belief in God; it's just those darn laws of nature he put into place.
If time means nothing to God and today is like 100 years from now, does he not already know who he will heal and who he doesn't?
Does pray without ceasing me "don't stop asking me for things?" or does it mean I just want to communicate with you always?
Still learning to live in his grace, and learning to live loved.
Sandra, it also means that He knows ahead of time that we will or won't pray. Just sayin'.
awesome blog, do you have twitter or facebook? i will bookmark this page thanks. peace maria
This is such a blesing to be able to go back in time and read your blogs. It is part of my healing process. God did answer our prayers then. He gave me 4 precious months to say all the things I needed to say to the love of my life. Now he is with God forever.
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