The Power of Healing Prayer

Simple does not equal easy. I wrote last week that if we want to see healing in our land, then God’s people are called to four simple things:

  1. Humble ourselves
  2. Pray
  3. Seek God’s Face
  4. Turn from our wicked ways
Simple, right? Easy? Not so much. 


Humility


Each of us tends to have an unrealistic view of ourselves. In pride, we compare ourselves to others, patting ourselves on the back when feeling elevated and shamed when we don’t measure up. But a realistic view, a humble view, of ourselves acknowledges that we don’t measure up to the high standards of God’s righteousness. In humility, we remain grateful for His never-ending grace poured out in ever-lasting love. We are who we are, and by His grace we stumble less over time because we are changed in His Presence. It’s not because of our efforts, but because He gives us the strength to do what He has called us to do. 


Prayer


It is in that humility that we turn to God in prayer. It sometimes feels like you’re swimming upstream or speaking to an empty room, but make no mistake, there is power in prayer. In my life, I have seen sudden healing from prayer, and I’ve seen slow healing when persevering in prayer over time. It’s true, we don’t always get what we pray for, but that only makes sense when you consider that you are praying to the One True God and not calling upon some genie in a bottle. God is Sovereign, and we see Jesus modeling prayer in Gethsemane with the words “Thy will be done”. 

Still, in the past month I have prayed for 2 people with fever and upper respiratory sickness and they quickly recovered. I write this not in pride, but in gratitude and as an encouragement for all God’s people to boldly do the same! 

Whether in intercession or by actively reaching out to others, pray as God leads you. Wash your hands and wear a mask or pray across some electronic media. Just pray… because it’s not in helplessness that “all we can do is prayer”, it’s in the power of the Holy Spirit that we pray with authority as God’s Holy Ambassadors to this world. 


Seek God’s Face


You see, God wants you to spend time with Him, to find Him in the secret place, and to turn to Him as our Provider and our Protector. He wants to show us that He can be trusted, that He loves us and that He is very, very real. If God is for us, then who can be against us, right? (Romans 8:31) 

All this world’s terrors are washed away when we keep our eyes on Jesus. Honestly, I would rather live without fear than never truly live. Fear is crippling and destructive. It brings out the worst in people. Living without fear, represents a complete trust in Him. To live and represent Him well is anointed, and when we die, it is truly our gain. (Philippians 1:21) 


Turn from Wickedness


In pride, we may look at wickedness as something that other people do. We look at the arrow piercing the heart of a person and call that sin, but the arrow that missed the bullseye is a better illustration. It missed the mark, and anything that falls short of what God calls good is then not right, or unrighteous. So we must turn away from anything that doesn’t line up with God’s will. 

This includes fear. If we truly believe, why would we fear? Now feeling fear is one thing, and we all experience the emotion. But acting out of fear demonstrates that we don’t trust God, and it does not represent Him well. It indicates that we don’t believe in either His omniscience, omnipotence, or benevolence. So we calm our feelings of fear by reminding ourselves of the truth, boldly living in expectation of that truth made manifest. God will come through as He always does, and while it might involve some momentary suffering, it will work out better for us in the long-run. 

On the other end of the spectrum, masquerading as fearless, is being foolhardy. Testing God’s grace and disobeying the authority that God has put into place is rebellious and does not represent Him well. We were made for such a time as this and the authorities that He has placed over us are no accident either. Can we trust Him to work through us as well as the governments He has appointed? 

All the messaging around COVID-19 is scary, and the reality may be worse than the messaging. It may also be grossly exaggerated. Either way, our country is in need of healing. 

Do we really want to see that kind of healing in our country? Then four simple but not easy steps await us. 
However, if my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways,
then I will hear their prayer from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their country.
2 Chronicles 7:14
copyright ©2020 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)

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