Jesus healed people the way he thought fit to heal them. God was & is no follower of man’s instruction. At times I get this cocky attitude when I pray; how do I forget that He is my Creator, and I am his creation?! A lump of clay. Well, Francis Chan of Cornerstone Community Church reminded me of that last week. How the God of the heavens…answers a prayer…is stinkin’ up to him! Don’t get me wrong, I think you can still go boldly into the throne room of grace & pray for anything & if it aligns with his will, ask it in faith & believe it will be given. But there’s a fine line between having that expectant hope & almost demanding of God a certain response.; usually something semi-instant.
Well, if you hadn’t noticed yet, he isn’t a microwave-Savior. And with matters of healing, that’s important to grasp. There is no “quick minute” button to push. There is no formula, no measure of faith that if lacking, denies you. It boils down to trusting his ability, timing & decisions.
He may very well surpise you with an even better, unconventional answer to one of your prayers.
Example 1: Naaman’s skin disease, in II Kings 5. He expected God’s prophet, Elijah to persoanlly come & do some hand-swirling & poof!… his disease would be instant history (vs.11). But nope, Naaman had some pride & anger issues. He had to be talked into travelling to the Jordan River & then follow Elijah’s ridiculous instructions to dip under 7 times. Naaman had to look inside of himself at the ugliness & deal with it. The reason why he, such a noble , rich man would not want to be seen travelling to the Jordan. The reason for his disabling rage.
A group of lepers
When he made the choice to humble & calm himself & then obey, he was healed – of incurable leprosy. Somewhere between his 6th & 7th plunge underwater, his raw, eaten skin became “clean like that of a young boy” ~ new again, as did his faith (vs.15).
Example 2: Lifechurch.tv highlighted Mark 7:31-37 in their “One Prayer” series. This is the story of concerned friends who took a deaf & mute man to Jesus, pleading with him to lay hands on their friend for instant healing. But nope, Jesus chose not to follow that request. Instead, he looked at the individuals needs…this indvidual encompassed in silence and shame (just as he does today).
Jesus lead him away from everyone else, away from judgment, and in dignity and grace, had a short almost sign-language conversation with him.
He places his fingers in the man’s ears as if to say, “do not worry, today, I will heal you ears”. He spits on his fingers and places them on the man’s tongue as if to say, “it’s ok, today, you will be able to use your tongue to speak just like everyone else”. He looks to heaven as if to say, “this will happen because of the great power given me by my omnipotent Father, Jehovah Rafah, The God who heals”. And finally, Jesus speaks, “Be opened!”
His ears were opened to hear, and tongue was loosened to speak clearly. He probably even heard Jesus say the last part of that … “…ened!” What a glorious noise to a man who was trapped in a world of deafness! What wonderment he must’ve felt as he spoke so clearly…and then to hear his own voice! What an unspeakably miraculous moment of healing.
Healing His way.
Chelan 