I was sitting in my office chatting with a friend when he told me a story of his amazing healing.
He’d dropped by after golf and desperately needed cold water.
We got to talking about a mutual friend whose daughter is addicted to drugs. He’s known her since she was a little and said, “She’s a lost soul.”
He went on, “I know what that’s like. I’m a recovered alcoholic.”
Then he told me his story.
“I’d been sober for about 15 years. Then I retired and started playing golf a lot. Every day we’d smoke cigars on the course then come in and my buddies would have a few beers.”
“Pretty soon I found myself back smoking cigarettes and drinking.”
“My wife was not happy, shall we say. And frankly I was pretty disgusted. I’d gotten over it once and here I was back in it again.”
“My brother, who’s also a recovered alcoholic, asked me if I wanted to go to A. A. I told him, ‘No I can handle it.’”
“Well, this went on for a while until one day I thought, ‘What are you doing? You’re wrecking your life?’”
“So, like the old Kenny Rogers song, I just said, ‘Help me Jesus. This is enough.’”
Then he waved his hand like he was shooing a fly and said, “Pfft. Just like that I changed. I threw away the cigarettes and haven’t touched a drop in over 10 years.”
My friend is a pretty ordinary guy. You wouldn’t mistake him for a rock star. Just a nice, decent man who struggled with a problem and expected God to heal him.
To him it was no big deal. It just seemed logical so he asked.
Yet it was a huge deal.
Now, I’ll tell you I’ve prayed for people and seen miraculous healing that just can’t be explained medically.
I’ve also experienced miraculous healing personally as well.
But truthfully, before you call me, I’ve also prayed for people and seen them die.
Sometimes healing has taken a while. Sometimes it never came. Sometimes it came disguised.
So I’m perhaps not the most qualified to give you a fool proof formula.
But I do know what’s promised in the Bible, “Prayers offered in faith will make the sick person well and the Lord will raise him up.”
And from my experience, I’ve gathered some clues about why we see miraculous healing some times and at others we don’t.
First, getting well needs to be your priority.
I know that sounds odd but often sickness is a result of less than healthy lifestyle choices. And the healing comes by making life style changes.
Yet, often people want to be healed but not make the necessary changes. So they keep praying for healing and God keeps offering it. Yet, they keep choosing the life style they’re stuck in that leads to the sickness.
Second, be specific about what you want.
Don’t be nebulous. Pray specifically for the healing you want. My friend did and got it.
Third, pray for what’s promised in scripture.
In this case, God promises he will heal. Yet, he doesn’t promise how or when only that he will.
So pray specifically for what he does promise not for what he doesn’t.
Fourth, expect God to answer.
What he promised he’ll do. Look for it. Search for the answer.
Listen, trust his inner guidance and your instincts.
Fifth, when the answer comes follow it.
As Nike shoes says, “Just do it.”
Go where God guides. Trust his plan more than your desires. Want his healing more than your old life style.
Then, as my friend discovered, God will heal.
*James 5: 15
Photo Credit: Hartwig HKD, Creative Commons
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