Thoughts on Healing … remembering to say, “Thank you”.

“As they went, they were healed.” - Luke 17:14b

 

Perhaps you may be familiar with the story of the 10 lepers. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem along the Samarian / Galilean border. The Jews had a serious hate for Samaritans ⁽¹⁾, whom they considered half-breeds and very unspiritual. 

It just so happened that on his way he came across 10 lepers on the side of the road. They were each crying out for Jesus to have mercy on them.  “Leprosy is a horrendous illness that affects the skin, eyes, nose, and peripheral nerves. Highly contagious, those who were diagnosed with leprosy were quarantined and isolated from the rest of society. Jewish law required that those with leprosy shout, “Unclean, unclean” when people approached, to avoid contaminating others. At the time of Jesus, there was no known cure which left those with leprosy without hope.” ⁽²⁾

Even though Jesus was moved with compassion for the plight of these men, instead of healing them right away he simply responded by telling them to go show themselves to the priests. As the men went the were healed. Whether it was gradual or instantaneous is not known, for scripture does not say, but regardless, they were healed on the way to follow Jesus’ instructions. Once they had completed that which they had been told to do only one man came back to Jesus, “praising God in a loud voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus to thank him” ^{(Luke 17:15-16)} The kicker is that this lone man was none other than a Samaritan. How about that. A foreigner was the only one to take the time to come back an undeclared distance by foot to praise God and thank Jesus.

We pray so often for healings, yet how many of us actually take the time to lift up the name of God in praise and thank him for his answer to our fervent prayers. Many of us do just that, but this post today is to remind us not to be like the 9 men who got healed from a very contagious, horrible disease, only to go on about their lives as if nothing significant had just taken place in their lives. It’s part of the healing process … being humble enough to thank God for all he has done for you.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

⁽¹⁾ “The Samaritans were half-Jew, half-Gentile. The race came about after the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. Certain people from the nation of Israel stayed behind. These people intermarried with the Assyrians producing the Samaritans. They Had No Dealings with The Jews.” - taken from the Blue Letter Bible; contributor - Don Stewart

⁽²⁾  Taken from article titled 5 Lessons on Gratitude from Jesus Healing the 10 Lepers, authored by Becky Harling, who has published 11 books and is a popular Christian speaker. 

 

Resource: www.crosswalk.com

Word for the Day

 

Thoughts on Healing ... Persistent Prayer

 

            Yesterday I mentioned that prayer is the lifeblood of Christianity. It can also be one of the most difficult parts of being a believer. It’s easy to give up after you pray once or twice about something. The difficult part is continuously praying for something until you see the answer manifest itself. 

            When we pray for healing for ourselves or someone else, we must remain steadfast with our prayers until the mission is complete. I had been of the mind that praying once or twice about something on behalf of yourself or another was sufficient because God already knows our wants and needs, therefore, I was praying to bring the topic up to our all-knowing God … period. I was aware of the parable (story) of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. Luke 18:1-8 tells the story. A widow sought justice against an adversary of hers from a judge who “neither feared God, not cared what people thought”. The widow came to him repeatedly until the unjust judge meted out justice on her behalf due to her persistence which had become an annoyance to the judge. Now the judge doesn’t represent God, for God is never annoyed with his children. The story is nothing more than an illustration of how we are to “always pray and not give up”. 

The lesson to be learned here is that “God may be pleased to answer a prayer very soon after the believer sends his request heavenward. But God may be just as pleased to withhold an answer for an extended time and require that the believer continue praying.” ⁽¹⁾ God already knows the outcome because he is the one who will bring it about. The prayers aren’t for him. The prayers are for us, to encourage us and give us something to trust God for and when the answer comes our faith shall be bolstered and our persistence shall be rewarded. 

 

“Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.”- Psalm 55:17

Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

⁽¹⁾  www.freesundayschoollessons.org

Thoughts on Healing ... when it doesn't come.

                  How do you explain the death of a woman’s husband to her when he was her whole life? If they’re not a Christian, how to you tell them about God when God heals yet didn’t choose to heal him? That same question applies to those who know Christ. What do you say? What can you say? Let’s face it, there is nothing that you say that will be a salve on the wound. At least not at first. Prayerfully approaching them is a must. Sometimes just sitting with them, holding their hand can be a comfort. Being Jesus to them in their hour of incredible need. 

                  The loss of a loved one can be devastating depending on how close you were to that individual. A sense of deep loss, combined with the fact that you will never see them again on this earth has the potential to drive you into a very deep depression if you let it. Those in that position often don’t have what it takes to mentally, emotionally or spiritually combat depression. A sense of despondency arrives on the heels of the depression. The closer the person was to you the worst it can be. I know some folks who have lost a spouse and simply put never get over the loss. The memory of them lingers, which can be a good thing to a point, but some folks allow that loss to stunt their life to the point where they never feel ready to move on. How do you minister to these folks? Praying for them without them being present can be helpful because prayer is a life blood for the Christian. I say without them being present because depending how fresh the wound is, it only reopens the wound and causes renewed pain when reminded of the loss even through prayer. In person prayer can come at a later date. Be led by the Holy Spirit in that regard.

                  I remember clearly when my mom passed away way too early in her life. She died of pancreatic cancer at 53 years old. I wasn’t a believer at the time and wasn’t at all prepared for it. Quite frankly, you never know when a life will end so we should always try to make the most of our time with loved ones. I take comfort in the fact that I believe she received Christ before she died. But she died before I received Christ for myself and so when my sister told me I would see her in heaven I flew into a bit of a rage saying I wanted to be with her now. At 24 years of age, I was disillusioned and mad at a God who would take my mother away from me. I had been away at college and not spent all that much time with her. I still miss her but being saved 2 years after her death has helped bring me comfort. 

                  So even when we have no words to say to those who have suffered loss, our presence shows that we care and that can be more than enough. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts on Healing ...

                  Scripture clearly tells us thru Paul’s own words that he had been afflicted with a “thorn in the flesh”. ^{(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)} What this was is not stated, however, it was something that bothered him enough to plead for God to remove it 3x ^{(2 Cor. 12:8)}. “Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job ^{(Job 1:1-12)}, God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.” ⁽¹⁾ Was it an illness, a literal thorn, a serious injury that hampered his physical abilities, some sort of spiritual problem or a temptation? Speculation abounds, but the reality is we shall never know for sure. Suffice it to say it was a bother to the great Apostle, something he had to learn to live with.

                  When we pray for healing and don’t receive it isn’t it possible that we may be expected to live with it until our healing comes, understanding that death may be that which brings us relief. I hate to put it that way, for it even sounds to me like a defeatist attitude, but that may just be the reality of it. There is no doubt we will be completely well in glory land for the Bible tells us we shall suffer no pain or sorrow in heaven. ^{(Revelation 21:4)} You see, God sees what we are unable to see. He sees how our attitude toward an unanswered prayer can speak volumes to someone outside God’s family. Are we to carry with us a case of the mulligrubs, complaining about our affliction until even WE grow tired of hearing us complain? Or knowing God is merciful and compassionate, are we to seek the lesson to be learned and pray for patience and fortitude to carry on in spite of the issue at hand. 

                  Paul stated his problem, yet I don’t see anywhere in scripture where he constantly complained about his “thorn”. Now don’t get me wrong, complaining is a natural human response for mortals who do not like the situation they are in, and I believe it is only our Lord who can lift us out of the mulligrubs. There are times when we are in considerable and constant pain, and we wonder where on earth the answer to our request for healing is. It is on the way yet may not be for some time. It’s a matter of trust. We know God heals and we know He does not show favorites. What He has done in the past He still does today, yet our impatience can be our undoing. 

                  Physically healing can be a frustrating deal. We may know someone who has been healed. My ex-mother-in-law received a brand-new heart, as evidenced but those exact words coming from the surgeon who was planning to perform triple by-pass surgery on her that very morning. Even he stated it was a miracle. So where is my miracle … where is yours?  I’m afraid I do not have the answer to that question. But I go with what I know. That God is good, and God is fair, and God is just and God does heal in His time, in His way, for reasons known to Him alone. We can rest in that knowledge or not, it’s our choice. But God DOES still heal today. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: www.gotquestions.org, www.crossway.org

Thoughts on Healing ...

                     We’ve been talking about when our prayers for healing don’t get answered, but perhaps we should have started with the most basic question that needs to be answered first … how do we know God hears our prayers? On the heels of the question “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” needs to be “Does God care for me?” or “Does God see my needs?”. Scripture is very clear regarding that topic: “… your (Heavenly) Father knows what you need before you ask him.” ^{(Matthew 6:8)} Therefore God knows your needs without question. But does He care for you? "Cast your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you." ^{(1 Peter 5:7)} “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”^{(Nahum 1:7)} “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” ^{(Psalm 55:22)} So if you ever think to yourself that God must not care about you or your needs, whether they be physical, financial, or material, know that is an attack from the enemy for the scriptures above tell you something very different. 

                  If the answer to your prayers happens to be “No”, you must understand that God sees the big picture, something we are incapable of doing. God can see the negative things that will come with that which you are asking for. If could also mean He has something better in store. God looks at everything from an eternal perspective. We look at the here and now. God has no time or space restraints. He is ubiquitous, in that He is all places at the same time by His Spirit. This what being Omnipresent means and it is one of His key attributes, along with Omnipotence (all-powerful) and Omniscience (knowing all that can be known).

                  God is never late or early, but always on time. We are easily bored, discouraged, frustrated and impatient, which makes the wait all that more painful. At times such as those our faith is being stretched. There are many things we don’t know and yet God knows it all. We need to trust that His way is the right way, and we must stop thinking and fretting about the answer that has the potential of never coming. There could be a variety of reasons known only to God as to why you aren’t receiving an answer to your prayer(s).  You must remember, without a definitive date to hang your hat on, we can never know when or even if we will receive an answer to our prayers. To know is to not exercise our faith, for faith is believing what you cannot see as if you can. And if your answer doesn’t come this side of heaven, it will come on the other side. You only think you need your answer instantly, but in reality, God knows exactly when it is needed and as said earlier, is ALWAYS on time. So chase from your mind His lack of love or understanding regarding any part of your life and / or immediate situation. He knows us far better than we will ever know ourselves. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: https://www.hopeforthebrokenhearted.com/when-your-prayers-arent-answered/

Thoughts on Healing ...

In my 2^nd installment on Healing, I am pulling info from Paul Balius’ site, ‘He Has You’. I encourage you to visit Paul’s blog (link at the bottom) when you get the chance.

There is no doubt that we can grow tired of praying for the same thing over and over, but as I pointed out in the 1^stwriting, scripture says He WILL heal you, but He never says WHEN. We pray for healing, not in the form of a command, but a request, expecting He will do it, but knowing without a shadow of a doubt that He is able to. We have the easy part in that we simply must ask for that which we wish to manifest before us or within us. We pray and leave the rest to God. One of two outcomes will take place; 1) our faith will be lifted or 2) our faith will be tested. Make no mistake about it, God never fails even when He doesn’t happen to answer with an instantaneous healing. Now instantaneous means “without any perceptible delay”. So it should be pretty obvious if it is or isn’t going to happen right away.

                  Now there are a few things we know about God. He’s not deaf, He never makes a mistake, and He will never fail to do for us that which will be for our greatest benefit and His greatest glory. God wishes to see in us a faith that believes in Him to do whatever we need done and trusts Him with His decisions, whenever they happen to materialize. “We can either worry about it or trust God with it”. ⁽¹⁾

 

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ^{(Psalm 56:3-4 NASB)}

 

Pray in faith for the best possible outcome and go about your business believing that the wheels in heaven have begun to turn on your behalf. And don’t ever become tired of laying the same request before God each time you pray. “Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers and remember to be thankful when they come.” ^{(Colossians 4:2 TLB)}

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ^{(Psalm 56:3-4 NASB)}.  

I will write about persistence in prayer next time. Until then, walk with the King today and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.hehasyou.org

(1) Paul Balius.