Category: I Am Your Healer

James 5:14-16 (NIV) – “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

“I guess I had thought that I had reached the extent of God’s healing for me. But, that wasn’t what God had in mind. The campus pastors led us through a time to pray for each of the students, asking us what we specifically needed prayer for. Reluctantly, and feeling very vulnerable, I asked for prayer for healing of my mind. After that meeting, I felt like a completely new person. I was filled with a joy that I could not explain, that I had not felt in a very long time.” [excerpt from Hannah Rapp’s testimony video]

We are God’s church, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and built upon Christ, our Cornerstone. We are commanded to pray for healing over one another, with powerful and effective prayers!

Let’s worship to the song, “Miracles” by Jesus Culture.

Prayer: Lord, increase my faith today! I ask for your healing and power in my home, in my ministry, and in my church. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– NB

Exodus 15:26 (NIV) – “He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

“I had gone up [during a college conference ministry time] with the hope of being healed from my migraines, and after the time of prayer, I felt the Spirit telling me that God was starting to heal me. Looking back, I know God started healing me that night, it just wasn’t what I thought it was for: instead of receiving healing over my headaches, the Lord was beginning to heal my mind.” [excerpt from Hannah Rapp’s testimony video]

There are times when we seek healing for what seem like obvious problems – a headache, an illness, an emergency medical situation, etc. However, as we see in Exodus 15 and in Hannah’s testimony, the Lord our healer often works through these situations to reveal his healing in deeper, specific areas of our lives that were unknown to us.

 Let’s worship to the song “Every Little Thing” by Hillsong Y&F, and closing with the prayer below.

 Prayer: Lord, show me what you want to heal in my life. I trust that you are at work even now, and I place my life in your hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– NB

Mark 2:9-11 (NIV) – “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

“Healing and forgiveness are both-and, not either-or. Healing and forgiveness are a combination that we are to experience from the Lord our healer. God heals AND forgives us, redeems us AND crowns us, from the lowest low to the highest height, he satisfies AND renews us. We must seek and desire both healing and forgiveness.” – [paraphrased from N. Briggs’ message]

This healing moment in Mark 2 illustrates God’s desire to release us from the effects of both sin and sickness. Jesus healed the paralyzed man so that he could get up and go home as a whole, healed person. Jesus has the authority to forgive all of your sins and heal all of your diseases today.

Are there areas in your life where you need to experience the release of Jesus’ healing power and forgiveness?

Prayer: Lord, without your healing and forgiveness, I am powerless to move in my life. I ask you to forgive the sins that keep me stuck. Create in me a clean heart! I ask for you to heal the areas in my life that need your power and strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– NB

Mark 5:24b-29 (NIV) – A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

“Time after time, God led Israel into impossible circumstances, so that he could lead them out of impossible circumstances… In Exodus 15, he leads them to the undrinkable water of their ‘blood sweat and tears,’ making it sweet for them to drink. There was only one solution to this equation, and that was for the Lord to intervene.” [paraphrased from N. Briggs’ message]

Sometimes God leads us into “tight spaces” in our lives, where there is only one way out. We can exhaust all our options trying to find a solution. But NOW is the time to touch the edge of Jesus’ cloak in faith.

Do you (or someone you know) need this kind of healing moment in your life?

Prayer: Lord, give me the faith to approach Jesus as my only option. Jesus, I thank you that by your stripes I am healed! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– NB

Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV)

Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Life moves at a fast pace, and our minds have learned to quickly move onward from one thing to the next. In this frenzy, we often forget, lose track, or overlook the wonderful things that the Lord IS DOING (present tense!) in our lives. We must intentionally take worship breaks, prayer breaks and Word breaks to remember who the Lord is and what he does for us.

In Psalm 103, we are commanded to not forget the benefits that the Lord bestows on his people – forgiveness, healing, redemption, lovingkindness, provision, and renewed strength.

How has the I AM, the Lord our healer, poured these things into your life recently?

Take a break today to remember and celebrate his blessings on us! With this heart, let’s worship to the song “The Anthem” by Planetshakers.

Prayer: Lord, today I remember and proclaim the boundless riches of your grace in my life. I thank you for the benefits you have generously poured into me. I praise you with all my inmost being! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

– NB