Category: Prayer

Setting Expectations for Healing Prayers

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

This summer, a mile and a half into a trail race, I suddenly fell forward and landed on my right shoulder, dislocating it. Another runner made a sling out of her jacket and walked me back to the trail head. She then drove me to the nearest ER, 45 miles away.

The ER doctors had to put me under twice to get my shoulder back in place. When I followed up with an orthopedic doctor, I learned that I fractured the bone. The doctor didn’t think surgery would be successful at my age, so he had me wear a sling for a couple of weeks to see if the bone would stay in the right position. If the bones were displaced, I would have to have surgery, possibly even a shoulder replacement.

I rarely ask anyone to pray for me, but I added my name to my church’s weekly prayer list.

Two weeks later, x-rays showed that my bone fragment had moved. The physician’s assistant recommended that I have surgery two days later. The physician was out of town, so the PA referred me to a doctor at a different practice. That doctor had no concerns about my age. Post surgery, I am well on my way to recovery.

Although God didn’t intervene by keeping my bone from moving, I still believe He worked things out for my good, putting me in the hands of a well-respected surgeon.

In my experience, the overwhelming majority of prayer requests are related to physical health issues. Philip Yancey made a similar observation in his book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

Do prayers for healing make any difference? I believe they do, but I believe we should keep our expectations realistic.

Yancey has heard from many people who question why God did not answer prayers for healing. He wrote that although there have been accounts of miracles, miracles are rare.

Natural laws make our world predictable. For miracles to happen, natural laws must be reversed or suspended. God rarely intervenes in the physical world that way. We learn to adapt to natural laws like gravity, and if we don’t also adapt our prayers, we will surely be disappointed.

Prayer doesn’t stop the aging process. It doesn’t eliminate death, and it doesn’t reverse genetic defects. (In my case, it also didn’t keep bone fragments from moving.)

Prayer can help you deal with stress. It can give you comfort, hope, and peace. These positive feelings can impact your physical health “because the mind regulates the body’s natural healing systems.”

God created our bodies with amazing self-healing powers. He gave humans the intelligence to discover treatments for physical ailments. He gave doctors, nurses, and other professionals the skills to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate us.

How can we pray for people with health issues?

  • Praise God for the healing agents of the human body.
  • Pray for wisdom and guidance for medical professionals.
  • Pray for other caregivers.
  • Pray that the person will fully use the resources of their body, mind, and spirit.
  • Pray for relief from pain.
  • Pray for peace for those near the end of life and for their loved ones.

My heart goes out to those who suffer from chronic health issues. God loves you and hears your prayers. He will be with you in your suffering.

Just as I am

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Based on my notes on Philip Yancey’s book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

I am never 100% the real me around other people. I am afraid of being judged, so I hide my true thoughts and feelings. I do reveal more of myself to the people I trust. But even with close friends, I have secrets I’m too ashamed to share. I have hopes and fears I keep to myself.

Philip Yancey wrote that each of us has three selves. There’s the me I let others see, the me I share with the people I trust, and the me I never reveal to anyone.

I can’t hide any part of myself from God. He knows every corner of my mind and heart. When I am honest with God about my thoughts and feelings, I establish an intimate relationship with him. What do I have to lose? He already knows everything about me. He loves me just as I am.

How do I let down my defenses with God and establish an intimate relationship with him?

  1. I confess my sins. I come clean with God about my sins – sins of my body and of my heart. When I confess, I acknowledge the truth about where I stand relative to his holiness.
  2. I admit my helplessness. Although I try to be independent and self-reliant, the truth is I am not. I can’t do everything by myself. I can’t control everything. I am dependent on God for my safety and emotional well-being.
  3. I approach God with humility and gratefulness. God deserves the credit for my gifts and abilities. I have little control over who I am. I cannot take credit for my genetics, my personality, or for the circumstances of my birth.
  4. I admit my doubts. God understands. The Bible is full of stories of people who expressed doubts.
  5. I admit my vulnerabilities. God knows my weaknesses. He knows where it hurts.
  6. I expose myself fully to God. I bring my whole life into God’s presence. I trust God with all of me.

I know that I can approach God in prayer just as I am because God knows me inside and out. I can let down my usual defenses and be my true self.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:1-6

Prayer Corrects Myopia

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Why pray if God already knows what is on your mind? Does prayer change God, or does prayer change you? Philip Yancey addressed these questions and many more in Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

As Yancey noted, we often act as if we expect God to serve us. We tell God what we want him to do for us. We are disappointed in God when God does not answer our prayers.

Prayer helps correct myopia.

Philip Yancey

I close my eyes and talk to the invisible God. My mind is incapable of grasping his magnificense, though I see glimpses in the beauty of creation. I hear glimpses of his glory in the sounds of music and birds singing. I consider all of his works, and I am awed by his Almighty power and intelligence.

I see life from my own limited point of view. When I pray to the Creator of the universe, I realize how small and insignificant I am in the grand scheme of things. I am one of countless creatures on his planet, and there is so much I can not see and do not know.

I am humbled.

I am relatively old in human terms, but my life is just a blip on God’s timeline. I live in the moment. I can’t see the future. I can’t see how things will work out. Prayer teaches me to trust God’s plans and his timing.

I trust God to work things out for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

2 Peter 3:8

And yet, I still pray as if God needs me to bring the world’s problems to his attention. Like David, the psalmist, I complain to God about evil people who seem to get away with cruelty, lies, and other wrongdoing. I pray about injustice and ask him to intervene and to make things right.

I talk to God about issues in my own life. The stresses of work. The heartache of rejection. Concerns that seem trivial when compared to the problems others have. And yet, I know God cares about everything that affects me.

With other prayer warriors, I pray for people in need of healing, comfort, or protection. The needs are never-ending. Broken bodies, broken hearts.

Prayer corrects my near-sightedness. Prayer gives me the right perspective. Prayer helps me see other people as souls made in the image of God. Prayer aligns my heart with the heart of God.

Philip Yancey wrote that we are God’s agents on earth. Instead of just asking God to do something, ask what you can do for God.

Whom shall I fear?

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

Lord, I seek your face. My heart has heard you say, ‘Come talk with me,’ and my heart responds, ‘Lord, here I am.’

Father, you light the way in a world that is dark and bewildering. I am safe and secure with you as my refuge. You rescued me from the bondage of sin and I am forever yours.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalm 86:11

Nations are in uproar; kingdoms fall. Though the world shows signs of falling apart, I rest assured. You are my ever-present help in times of trouble. The Lord Almighty is with me. Of whom shall I be afraid?

You will be exalted among the nations. You will be exalted on the earth. You lift your voice and the earth melts. Whom shall I fear?

I will not fear the future, for you are with me. I will not be distressed about current events, for you are my God. You will strengthen me. You will help me. You will uphold me with your righteous right hand.

No matter what happens, I am still sure of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Your perfect love drives out my fears. I praise your holy name.

Lord, my light and my salvation, I pray that the horrific events around the globe will lead people to seek your light. Comfort those who mourn senseless violence. Fill your people with wisdom, courage, and hope.

Amen

♡♡♡♡♡

Based on Psalm 27, Psalm 46, Isaiah 41:10, 1 John 4:18

Praying for Another Country

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

I’ve prayed for my country, the United States of America, as it has become increasingly divided over the past decade or so. In January, I joined other Christians in praying for our country for fifty days, using readings from the Psalms as inspiration. Now another country is in my prayers every day and my worries about my own country have receded into the background.

While I was praying for my own country’s democracy, the people of Ukraine had even more reason to worry as Russia prepared to invade their country.

A friend of mine, a journalist in North Carolina, knows a woman from Ukraine, Maia Mikhaluk. When the war began, he started sharing her Facebook posts and I follow her now. She shares her faith, her fears, her joy at the birth of her granddaughter. And interestingly, she also uses the Psalms as prayers for her country.

The war in Ukraine reminds me to put my own country’s challenges in perspective. The U.S. is not the center of the universe! The U.S. shakes and rattles from internal rumblings but the whole world groans!

He’s got the whole world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

Lord, your praise will always be on my lips. From heaven, You look down and see the struggles of all mankind. I pray that the people of Ukraine will continue to be strong and courageous. You are our hope and shield. Father, you love righteousness and justice! Stop the evils of war. Foil the plans of the wicked. Comfort the suffering. Amen.

https://www.facebook.com/maia.mikhaluk