This week I have had the opportunity to meet a sweet young woman who is battling cancer. She is a single mom with three children under the age of 10. We are partnering with her work family to take her meals, to visit with her, and pray. Needless to say, she has been a primary topic of conversation with the Father this week. A couple days ago as I was praying, the story of Jesus healing a woman with a chronic bleeding disorder came to mind. The story is found in both Mark and Luke’s gospels. Here it is from Luke.
“Luke 8:42a As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.””
I have prayed for healing for many people. There have been miraculous healings. There have been healings in other areas of lives than the physical malady we had begun praying for. There have been healings that have transpired through the efficacy of modern medicine which I take on faith the prayer helped to be effective. There have been terminally ill patients who in prayer it became clear that ending this life well was the appropriate prayer. And there has been a very small percentage of times when the results were not what I had hoped for.
Through today’s scripture the Lord showed me a new and crucial element of prayer for people who are ill. Notice that the woman didn’t ask Jesus for healing. She didn’t come to him with an elaborate petition for healing or a list of reasons she should be healed. There was not an elaborate process followed to gain his attention and favor. No, there was really only one thing she felt essential to be made whole. She needed to get close to Jesus. Close enough to touch the fringe of His clothing. Her faith was in Jesus and proximity to Jesus brought about the flow of His healing power.
That’s it. It is as simple as that – draw close to Jesus and let Him do what He will do. Jesus is in the “making whole” business. But be aware, to be made whole by Jesus will encompass much more than just healing from an illness. He who created us body, soul, and spirit is interested in the totality of our lives. He wants to perform a transformation in us in it’s entirety, not just on the surface.
This is liberating to me as an intercessor. I have always known it was Jesus who heals, but I have at times taken on a degree of responsibility that I had to pray it through, that I needed to fast and intercede sufficiently, that I needed to have the right faith to see the healing happen.
I remember a fairly long season of prayer for a 20 year old son of a work friend who was diagnosed with leukemia. We surrounded the family and prayed and he went into remission. “Yeah God!” It was but about 2 years later that it returned. This time they determined he required a bone marrow transplant. No match was found so he went through the auto marrow transplant where his own bone marrow was removed, it was radiated to kill all cancer, and then put back into his body. He seemed to be doing fine and then he picked up an infection. With no white blood cells to fight off the infection he slipped into a coma. I felt guilty because I had not kept this young man high on my prayer list. When he slipped into a coma I joined the prayer team interceding for his healing. I remember getting daily updates and praying each and every day. This went on for 40 days. Amazingly he hung on in that coma. He did not seem to deteriorate, but as the doctors began telling us, he wasn’t improving and he had to improve.
The break-through came about day 40. I remember crying out to the Lord from my hotel room in Montreal. It was in the evening and I looked up at the ceiling because that about how far it felt my prayers for Chase’s healing were going, bouncing off the ceiling and coming back to me. As I looked up, spiritually worn out, I asked a different question, “Lord, what would you have me pray?” “Pray for Chase’s mom, that she will release Chase to come home.” Suddenly the whole prayer changed. Instead of feeling like I was pushing against a wall, I had a real sense of being aligned with the will of the Father. Joy and peace filled me and prayer flowed.
It was only a day or two later and the Mom’s prayer request suddenly changed. Apparently she to had heard from the Lord because instead of the fervent plea to intercede for his healing, she asked us to pray for the Lord’s will to be done and for peace and strength for the family. Chase passed a day or two after that.
I know the Lord heals. The story above is one where the healing was Chase going home to be in the closer presence of the Lord. For others He will touch them with healing as evidence of His love and power on this side of the veil. In either case, the goal is the same, to draw us closer to Jesus and cause us to grow in our relationship with Him.
Closer to Jesus – it has become the cornerstone of my prayer for healing.
Closer to Jesus – it is the ultimate goal.
Closer to Jesus – where we live and move and have our being.
Closer to Jesus – it’s who we were created to be.
Closer to Jesus. Close enough to touch Him. Close enough to be touched by Him.
Be blessed today my friend.
areliablefaith 