“Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’ Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.” (Acts 3:4-7 NLT)
There may be those of you who read these posts who believe the “age of miracles” was for the first century and the power of God to heal is no longer an option. I choose to believe being born again of the Spirit is a miracle. New life in Christ is a nature defying act of God, apart from whom no one will ever see heaven.
Others may believe that Peter “had the gift of healing,” but they/we don’t, therefore, believing for miraculous physical healing is not for us. My son, at age 16, had leukemia. He was pumped full of chemo, radiation, and other treatments that the doctors told us would likely disqualify him from ever fathering a child. Today my only granddaughter is eight, and he is her father. Coincidence or miracle? I choose to believe she is a miracle.
Nothing is impossible with God for those who believe. Sometimes we pray and pray asking God to do something He’s waiting for us to do. Are we praying for God to heal someone that He’s waiting for us to declare their healing in His name? I’ve prayed for many people to be healed, but without exception I’ve always prayed that God would touch and heal them. But that’s not what Peter and John did.
What if there’s someone the Lord is prompting me or you to reach out our hand and invite to rise from whatever crippling situation they have – in body, mind, or soul – and declare victory on their behalf in Jesus’ name and to His glory. To me this is a very sacred and personal issue. I want to get a clear word from the Lord before I set out on my healing tour (smile).
For the couple of years I’ve been praying for my neighbors I’ve always prayed some version of: “Lord, touch their lives, open their hearts and minds to You. Lord, put someone in their lives who loves You and can speak to them on Your behalf.” Recently, He said to me: “I have. It’s you!” So, now my mission is more personal. If God has appointed me, He’s given me authority to do what needs to be done to help everyone in my neighborhood yield their life and allegiance to Him.
But the same principle applies to physical, spiritual, relational, financial, mental, emotional, and every other type of issue we face. Jesus didn’t pray: “Father, don’t allow this fig tree to ever bear fruit again!” The Bible clearly says: “He said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’” Please hear my heart, this has been a journey for me, so if you’re not there yet, I get it. But last month a young believer in my Men’s Group “commanded my Manières to leave my body.”
There’s hardly been a day in the last year or more that I haven’t had some symptom of Manières, but I haven’t had any since he prayed a few weeks ago. I’m tempted to give you words of caution, but the best advice I can offer is seek God’s wisdom and pray in a manner that will honor and glorify Him. If He chooses not to heal, He has His reasons that we may not understand until we get to the other side, but to me the better question is – what if He does!
What if we’ve been living with disease, spiritual or otherwise, for years – like the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years who was healed by touching His robe. Or the man who laid by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years, but at the word of Jesus he was healed. Jesus has given us authority to ask “anything in My name!” Let’s take Him at His word, ask, then leave the results to Him.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 