Faithful Prayer
A famous country and western singer (Garth Brooks) has a popular hit that deals with unanswered prayers. If you listen or know the lyrics you know that the song is dealing with God knowing the future so the prayer was answered with no answer at all. The prayer was for a certain love but in the delay the real husband or wife was found later.
Recently there was a young, very sick woman in our congregation that had cancer. She wasn’t that old and there were many prayers uttered on her behalf for healing. Her healing is complete as she is now in heaven. She passed away because of the cancer but as a Christian she is now in the presence of Jesus.
There was a pastor who had cancer. He was on his death bed and was breathing his last breaths. An acquaintance (not a close friend) was jogging and praying for the man. He had an out of body experience where he was carried along in the spirit and was informed the man was going to get well. The pastor did get well and was effective in the Lords work for several years and then died of cancer.
A young man who works for me got leukemia after playing four years of collegiate basketball. We prayed for him as he underwent chemo and he is in remission.
One of my best friends 24 year old son was recently diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. We prayed for him as he went through chemo and he is currentlly in remission.
James 5: 15 – 16 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
I don’t even begin to understand the reason why some are healed and some are not. I have prayer requests that are answered without delay and at other times it seems my head is wrapped in plastic and God isn’t hearing me. The fact is however that He hears and answers. I might not always like the answer, but He is answering. The answer comes with a: Yes / No / or Wait.
Regarding healing, I think there are three elements recognizable by which God operates. (I’m sure there are more but these three stand out to me today:
- Mercy (The action shows Gods love, compassion and mercy for all mankind regardless to their relationship to Him.)
- Message (Answered prayer sends a clear picture of Gods power and might. A look at the majestic mountains or creation will do the same.)
- Purpose (of which there are two elements 1. personal healing and 2. Gods spiritual purpose.)
A question came to mind as I was pondering all this. “Does the depth of the prayer effect the power of the prayer?”
In my view our faith is expressed in our sincere prayer. It isn’t the form or format as much the faith under which the prayer is uttered. Sincerity isn’t a guarantee of result. Faith in prayer allows for any answer without personal expectation as to the result.
When God visits us in healing, anything can happen. Anything!
Let’s encourage one another to have child like sincere faith in our prayers. We know our Father God loves each one of us. I want to rest in this truth.
