Daily Devotions - Healing
Recently, my best friend Mike went in for open-heart surgery. I awoke at 6:04 AM and began interceding for him in prayer. There is an experience in prayer, where as you pray, your spiritual eyes are open to a vision in the spirit realm of God.
My grandmother's youngest sister, Vinnie Mae, lay awake in her bed. At 87-years-old, her once busy life of leading the choir, running an interior design business with her husband, and teaching high school had progressed into a slow decline of health and awareness from Alzheimer's disease.
I don't have any bad days, because every day is a gift from God to me. I am a bona fide miracle. Less than two years ago, I was dying after a brain aneurysm. By God's grace, I survived brain surgery, my memory has been restored, and my healing is nothing short of miraculous!
I think of how eloquently Jesus compared our physical lives to our spiritual bodies. Looking across at His listeners, Jesus declared, "It is not the well who need the doctor but the sick. Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy not sacrifice. For I have come not to call the righteous but sinners." Matthew 9:12-13
The point is that Jesus responded to the man's need without heaping unnecessary guilt on him. That is still where He meets us. He comes to us at the point of our need and isn't sidetracked by premature speculation. There is a time for analysis, but there is also a time to help. None of us would think of throwing a drowning man a book of instructions on how to swim.
Kristine, a vibrant 18-year-old, was involved in all the normal activities of a senior in high school when she became critically ill. She was admitted to the hospital and within a few days, she was diagnosed with a fatal disease.
When I left Ginger's house that day, I determined to pray for her healing. But God had a surprise up His sleeve.
"Do you want to be well?" The question pierced me. I pondered the past several years of my life, filled with exhaustion, pain, dizziness, and confusion; all the result of an accidental arsenic poisoning.
The pain was nearly unbearable because they couldn't give me pain medication due to the liver failure. I started reciting the Lord's Prayer that I had known since childhood. It was the first time I had prayed in years.
Suddenly, I realized this child was a survivor, even though he had been underwater for at least 20 minutes. No matter what condition we found him in, God had caused his mother to name him Jesse. Survivor!
My father is 83 and suffers from severe dementia. A pastor for over 50 years, Dad's audio sermons captured on cassette tapes fill several boxes. Today, those boxes are stored away in a bedroom closet.
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