What if things don’t get better? What if the pain, sickness, and brokenness you face is permanent? Hope is good, but what if the hope you have just doesn’t pan out?
It is good to encourage people to hold on in the midst of their struggles. Continue to be faithful in what you do in spite of the difficult circumstances you are in. Our hope is that one day, things will turn around for the good.
For some people, the only healing they’ll receive for their bodies is at the time of resurrection. Resurrected bodies will be free of sickness and pain.
Whatever struggles you face, there is a longing to be free from that pain. There is always that thought that maybe one day, the agony will go away. So we continue to pray for healing, and ultimately desire wholeness in every area of our lives.
Yet throughout the Bible, there are people who went through life never having received what they longed for. Abraham never reached his “destination” during his life. Moses missed the promised land. Although Job got back more than what he lost, his children were no more.
What if our pain is permanent? What if your loss is never to be recovered? I remember the words of Job: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”
Maybe it’s the end of your hope. Some things may never change. Maybe it’s the end of your life as you had wished it to be, with all its success and grandeur.
Jesus asked the Father to take away the “cup” of torture and agonizing death, but he submitted himself to the Father’s will. Although the pain was too much to bear, he loved his Father more than his desire to be free. And of course, He loved us too much to give up.
I am learning a new lesson. It’s an old one, and I’ve known it all along, but it is finally getting into my heart. This life is temporary. This is just “practice” for eternity with God. The fullness and true reality will come then. Today is the day to learn to be in relationship with God and to trust Jesus.
Your Turn
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We consider it an important value that everyone gets to play, but leadership is limited. They need to be tested first. Active involvement is open to all of God’s children. We are not to limit anyone because of their situation in life.
Once people are involved, they need to prove themselves faithful. When tasks are assigned, we observe their commitment to the task. Are they faithful? Are they committed?
Paul clearly expressed this important principle to Timothy. “And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless” (1 Tim 3:10).
Salvation is open to all people as God wants a personal relationship with everyone. Ministry involvement is open to all of God’s children without putting any limitations on people. But Leadership in the church is limited only to those who have proven themselves faithful to the tasks assigned to them. Likewise, they need to be people of character in their personal lives, family, and in society.
People’s reputation in the society is vital as the community sees the church through the people of the church, especially its leaders. So everyone gets to play, but church leadership is limited to the faithful.
Your Turn
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** For a list of books that I’ve recently read, here is my Reading List.
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Leaders are the key to have a peaceful and dignified society. As the leaders are, so are the rest of the people.
In every society, leaders are criticized and stereotyped as corrupt and power-hungry. In 1 Timothy 2:1-7, we are encouraged to pray for the leaders of our society.
Everyone desires a peaceful and dignified life. Paul says the way to get there is through prayer. When we pray for our leaders, God is pleased with our prayers.
But the ultimate key to that prayer is that our leaders may come to know Jesus. This is because Jesus is the one mediator between the true God and people.
When leaders have a genuine relationship with Jesus, the society can enjoy peace and live a dignified life. These qualities come as a result of having leaders who are committed to Christ and committed to governing with biblical values.
So, what about our complaints regarding the nation? Yes, they may be valid and accurate, but the instruction for us is to pray. Our prayers will transform them, and transformed leaders will transform our society.
Your Turn
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** For a list of books that I’ve recently read, here is my Reading List.
My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
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I didn’t do anything special. I simply looked His way. One look was all it took, and He was so gracious to me and filled me with faith and poured out his love to me.
This is clearly unique to the Christian faith, that our faith is based on God’s grace to us. It wasn’t a great set of sacrificial deeds on our part, but entirely on the grace of God.
The thief of the cross simply looked at Jesus and said “remember me.” Those words of desire was sufficient to Jesus for him to be accepted into his kingdom. Jesus clearly taught through parables that this acceptance was entirely God’s prerogative, and not based on our works or abilities.
As if that was not enough, he filled us with faith and love. Because of our sinful and broken condition, we don’t even have the ability to have faith in Him. He graciously provides that too, the faith to keep believing and trusting in Him.
Then, to top all of that of, he gives us his love. Of course, it was love that prompted the Father to send His Son to die for us in the first place. But now, he fills us with that kind of love. His kind.
So just as we did in the beginning, let’s keep looking in his direction…
Your Turn
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My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
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For a long time now, I have been on a quest to “move” people. The aim has been to move people towards God, and towards a better life.
Normally this should be an easy task. Who wouldn’t want a better life and a better future? Unfortunately, many are not able to stay focused on a life set in that direction. People want the end result, but they waver in their commitment and focus.
Paul the apostle wanted people in the Thessalonian church to remain faithful to the call of God on their lives. Here is what he said to them: “And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness [patient endurance – NLT] of Christ” (2 Thes 3:4,5 ESV).
Since Jesus patiently endured so many things in his life, we know that we can too. We are being formed into the likeness of Jesus. That is why Paul’s confidence was “in the Lord,” about them. He had confidence that they would endure, because of Jesus.
So, will you make it in the Christian walk? Will you be fruitful? Paul would be confident in Christ about you — that you will endure.
Your Turn
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** For a list of books that I’ve recently read, here is my Reading List.
My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
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When we see people suffering due to sickness or other reasons, it’s good to remember how Jesus was moved with compassion. But as much as we think on those positive examples in Jesus’ life, we tend to struggle with fear. Although we’ve seen God’s work of healing in us and through us, fear is a great hindrance for us to pray for others.
There are several fears that people most commonly struggle with. Here some ways to handle those fears.
Fear of Failure
One of the greatest fears is that of failure. What if the person is not healed as a result of my prayer? What if, after all my efforts and focus, the person remains the same? Am I simply setting myself up for failure?
It seems this fear is present every time I’ve prayed for a sick person. If the person is not healed, I remember the words of Jesus in John 5, that the Father is always doing His work, and that Jesus is also working. I clearly understand that God the Father is working in this person’s life at this very moment.
If the healing is not done, I believe that God has begun His work on this person’s mind, heart, and body. The work needs to continue and requires more time. I don’t have a clear idea of the time, but that is in God’s hands. Some are healed immediately, others take time, even days or months to heal. Even others may need to wait till the resurrection when they are given a new, glorified body.
Fear of Disappointing the Sick Person
Sometimes I worry about the emotional and mental condition of the sick person. The person is already distressed due to their agony. Maybe for years they have experienced the physical and emotional struggle of their illness. If my prayer does not result in their healing, will that become an additional disappointment for them?
The concern is genuine, and certainly for the benefit of the person who is sick. The common tendency for me is to not promise them much, so that if they are not healed, they won’t feel so bad. But I’ve noticed that by doing that, I reduce the level of their faith. Instead, I want to encourage them to focus on Jesus and what He can and wants to do in their bodies. This increases expectation and faith in Jesus’ healing power.
If they are not healed, I give them encouragement to continue to seek healing through prayer. I don’t ask them to stop taking the medications. That decision should be in consultation with their doctor.
Fear of the Opinion of Onlookers
When praying for the sick, others in the room can be a great asset, or they can become the greatest hinderance as well. We need to know the difference and know the people in the room.
Jesus felt the need to put some people out of the room before he healed some people. But during other times, he healed people while many onlookers were present. Their opinions or their level of faith may be quite different, but that did not deter Jesus and the work he was doing.
Doubters in the room can influence the person receiving healing and can certainly have a negative effect. I was in a hospital ward where a patient’s family and friends were present when I asked the person if they would like prayer. The person answered with a resounding “yes” with a desire to be healed. But the others were hostile and said that sufficient medication is being given under the doctor’s care. They objected to my offer for prayer. I walked away from that bed without praying. I felt at that moment that even if I was allowed to pray, the healing may not have occurred.
When the room is full of people who believe that healing can occur, and the person being prayed for has faith, the chances are greater. But I have experienced such a variety of situations, and each has been different. One thing that has been most common is that when the person being prayed for is urgently in need of healing with a great desire to be healed, I am almost certain that the person will receive healing.
Fear of Satan/Demons
When praying for healing, am I stepping into the territory of the demonic? Some are clearly afraid of praying for healing for fear of a demonic backlash. In our country, this type of fear is common. Here, the demonic/spiritual realm is quite overt, and commonly accepted by the general public.
Even in Christian communities, this fear is common and can have a detrimental effect on the healing process. Many will not pray or will pray with fear and not faith. Either way, fear wins.
As children of the Kingdom, we can be bold in praying for healing. Will there be trouble for us? There certainly can be an attempted “backlash” from the opposing forces in the spiritual realm, but I believe we don’t need to dwell in fear. There is victory for us in Jesus’ name.
Your Turn
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—————- Book recommendations on various topics I write on are available at my Resources Page.
** For a list of books that I’ve recently read, here is my Reading List.
My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
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In the midst of all we face in life, we are in a great struggle just to make it from one day to the next. But I keep bumping into verses of Scripture that tell me that we are to live with another perspective.
When Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, he told them they were called to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory? But that word seems to imply great honor, praise, value, and other amazing things.
So God is calling me to something great, but I am stuck here with my limitations. What are we to do to move in the direction God has for us?
We clearly know that Jesus experienced all the struggles of life that are common to us. But he lived with a higher purpose and perspective. While people all around him struggled with living their daily lives, Jesus focused on how he could please his Father in heaven. He wanted to do the works of his Father and speak the words of the one who sent him.
He lived a life of glory and a life of greatness because he lived with a purpose that was greater than a common purpose. It was a glorious life lived among common people, but in an uncommon way.
What is God’s higher purpose for your life? What will it take to move you toward greatness? Get ready to switch over to a life of glory that Jesus has for you.
Your Turn
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* Book recommendations on various topics I write on are available at my Resources Page.
** For a list of books that I’ve recently read, here is my Reading List.
My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
- FREE – Facilitating discussions, leading small groups, and more. Read Tips For Effective Ministry
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Praying for healing can be an awesome and rewarding task. But when we are riddled with doubt, the task becomes one of fear confusion, and failure. The best way to handle doubt is with a little shot of truth. Here are some areas of doubt and ways to combat them when we pray for healing.
About Self
When Jesus was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, it was clearly a temptation of self identity. “If you are the son of God…” was the question posed to Jesus. Although Jesus clearly knew His identity, Satan wanted to test him during one of his weakest and most vulnerable times. After fasting for forty days and nights, it is an understatement to say that Jesus was hungry. This was possibly one of the most vulnerable times during his life here on earth.
When praying for healing, we are certainly putting ourselves in a vulnerable situation. During such times, we are most certainly vulnerable before others. Being vulnerable is difficult because of the fear of being judged by others. If we proceed without putting ourselves in a situation of vulnerability, we feel safe.
The greatest difficulty is that we know ourselves and our weaknesses. We forget the fact that God has adopted us and taken us as his own children. It is that position of being His child that qualifies us to do the works of the Father. Our weaknesses are a secondary matter. God is in the process of transforming us into the image of His son Jesus.
About the Past
We know that our past is behind us and forgiven by Jesus. But the memories and the pain continue to impact us. When our memory about the past is revived, doubts arise much beyond what is warranted. We begin to doubt if we are qualified to heal the sick.
The work of grace in our lives specifically dealing with the past is an important factor for our faith for healing. When we begin to doubt about our past, we need to remind ourselves that the grace of God was sufficient to forgive us, heal us and restore us.
It is that grace which allows us access to the throne of God where we can petition God for healing. But more than that, this grace has allowed us to become children of God and thus children of His kingdom. It is because of this that we are qualified to heal the sick in our midst.
When doubts about the past begin to trouble you, handle it skillfully. Use it as leverage to boost your faith and bless others. Remind yourself of the work of God in your life and that same work will bring healing to the person you are about to pray for.
About God
Is God too distant from people’s troubles and pain? This misunderstanding will cause us to doubt God more than anything else. Does God understand or care about my situation?
We forget that in Jesus, God came down and dwelt among us. As you pray for someone, imagine Jesus kneeling next to that person experiencing that same level of pain and agony. Imagine Him with tears of agony over what this person is experiencing.
This is exactly what we need to think about God in this situation. He knows. He understands. He feels the pain along with you. God is not too distant. He is right here.
Your Turn
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**Book recommendations on various topics I write on are available at my Resources Page
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As we grow in our faith toward God, there is a clear expectation that our love for one another must also grow. We may have a clear and valid right to hold grudges and not love each other, but our faith in Christ cancels that right and leads us to love.
The church in Thessalonica struggled under the pressure of persecution. They looked forward to the return of Jesus Christ. As they increased their focus on Jesus and His return, their love for each other grew. Surely they faced similar relational struggles as we do. But I believe their focus on Jesus and the desire for His quick return changed their focus.
Conflicts arise when we are overly concerned about our rights. In the midst of persecution, they experienced a situation where all their “rights” were stripped away.
Once their “rights” have been removed, their focus was completely altered. Conflicts are reduced to a minimum. Their focus is on survival, not the guarding of their rights as individuals.
The only hope they found in their difficult situation was the return of Jesus. That hope refocused their minds in a proper way.
As we grow in faith, let us grow in our focus on Jesus. This focus allows us to love one another without all the hindrances that are normally prevalent in relationships. Thus faith without love is no faith at all.
Your Turn
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**Book recommendations on various topics I write on are available at my Resources Page
My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
- FREE – Facilitating discussions, leading small groups, and more. Read Tips For Effective Ministry
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Jesus said “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible” (Matthew 17:20 NLT). Faith is indispensable for healing. Jesus clearly expects us to believe that something will happen when we pray.
This truth has been misapplied by some and has been the reason for confusion for so many. The “hyper-faith” approach has put undue pressure on the person receiving prayer. If the person was not healed, they were told their faith was insufficient. While that may be true, they have failed to acknowledge that there may be many reasons why people do not receive healing.
The items below are factors that are important for healing to occur. Sometimes only one or several of these factors are active. But God in His mercy provides healing in spite of our low or lack of faith.
Faith of the one who prays
Jesus told the disciples that if they had faith even as small as a mustard seed, they could see the miraculous happen. This is clear that the people who pray need to believe that something will happen as a result of their prayer.
When the disciples took a paralyzed man and let him down by ropes through an opening in the roof so Jesus could heal him, there is no indication about the faith of the man being prayed for. But the people who took him and Jesus certainly had faith and believed that something will happen.
Faith of the one who receives prayer
When two blind men came to Jesus to be healed, Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do” (Matthew 9:28 NLT). Then Jesus touched their eyes and said “It shall be done according to your faith.”
The above conversation implies a direct link between the faith of the two men and their healing. When the one who receives prayer has faith within them, I have observed that the healing happens quicker and is more complete. But when the person does not have faith, the chances for healing are much less.
But this does not imply that everyone who is not healed does not have faith. There are many factors that can be a hindrance to healing, including God’s desire to wait or not heal for some other unknown reason.
Faith of others in the room
When people in the room who are mere observers lack faith, this may also have an impact on healing. In Matthew 9:24-25, Jesus went to the home of the synagogue ruler because his daughter had just died. But when he went there, he told the mourners to step outside. Once they were outside, he took the girl by her hand and she rose up.
The people he removed from the home were probably professional “mourners” who were hired to mourn for the dead. They just laughed at the thought of someone coming to raise the dead, especially when Jesus said that she is only sleeping.
There were times when Jesus could not do any miracles because of their lack of faith. It is clear that he performed some healings, but it was severely limited. Mark says: “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them” (Mark 6:5 NLT).
It is hard to imagine that such an impact is possible in Jesus’ ministry, but since he was operating with the same parameters that are available to us, this was his reality. The lack of faith of those in the room may have a direct effect on the possibility for healing.
Faith present in the environment
During times of prayer for healing, I have observed a greater flow of healing when there is an environment of faith. This is best seen where people are open and expectant of God’s work. If the people have an expectation that God will hear our prayer, and that He is about to do something, there will be more results.
Of course, we have the knowledge that God heals people and that all things are possible with God. But in this situation, the hearts of the people are open, and in their minds, there is an expectation that God is about to do something. Or at least, there is a question in the minds of the people: What is God about to do here? I see this as the presence of faith in the environment.
As we look at the various factors above, know that each has an impact on the healing process. But ultimately, this is not a formula. Healing is a work of God and He is the one who acts on our behalf. Our task is to be faithful to pray for healing and believe that God is faithful to work.—————
In the following weeks, I hope to present more posts with this theme of healing, and the various dimensions for healing. Please look for the weekly posts on this topic. On the website barnabas.in, you can click on the “healing” category on the right hand column, and all of my posts on healing will show up as a list.
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Your Turn
Join the discussion and add your thoughts. What have you learned?
Please share briefly in the comments.
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**Book recommendations on various topics I write on are available at my Resources Page
My Books:- Considering your goals? Wondering where your life is headed? Read Living Your Potential
- FREE – Facilitating discussions, leading small groups, and more. Read Tips For Effective Ministry
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