THE PROMISE OF HEALING

Within the last year, more than a few of my family members and friends have survived serious medical conditions.  This prayer is dedicated to them and all people seeking physical healing.

IN THOSE days Hezekiah became deadly ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, I beseech You, O Lord, [earnestly] remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You] and have done what is good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: Turn back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your [forefather]: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. I will add to your life fifteen years and deliver you and this city [Jerusalem] out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake. And Isaiah said, Bring a cake of figs. Let them lay it on the burning inflammation, that he may recover. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord on the third day? And Isaiah said, This is the sign to you from the Lord that He will do the thing He has promised: shall the shadow [denoting the time of day] go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? Hezekiah answered, It is an easy matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps; so let the shadow go back ten steps. So Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and He brought the shadow the ten steps backward by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. (2 Kings 20:1-11, AMP). 

Dear God:

I give thanks that You hear the cries of Your people.  I praise You for being a healer!  I exalt You for being a promise-keeper! 

God, I confess not all that I do, say and think is holy.  Help me to "never tire of doing what is good."  (2 Thessalonians 3:13, NIV).  I have a willingness to devote my heart to You, O God, so please increase my desire to live in a manner that is exemplary of Your gracious character. 

Today, I pray for those in need of physical healing.  I know from personal experience how You can heal instantly and over an extended period of time.  Regardless of the duration, You are in control!  Regardless of the physical condition, You have the remedy! 

O Sovereign God, someone is in need of Your diagnosis today.  Touch them with Your curative hands.  When a terminal illness is detected, move them to a posture of prayer.  Open their mouths to recite Hezekiah’s request of You.  Let the tears they weep serve as release from all pain, grief and bitterness they are experiencing.  Visit their locale and speak Your assurance to them, O God: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you.  (2 Kings 20:5, AMP). 

I ask that your Holy Spirit permeate the atmosphere at all medical care facilities and places of restoration.  Bless all doctors, nurses, technicians, rehabilitation therapists, and caregivers with Your power—let them be willing instruments of healing and prompt them to apply their expertise to perform miracles, O God.

Life is challenging because sometimes we are afflicted with diseases.  Life is good because You hear our prayers, see our tears, and deliver us from maladies.  Life is abundant because by Jesus' stripes we are healed and made whole. (Isaiah 53:5, AMP).

You are Yahweh Rophe (The Lord Who Heals) and I extend my sincere gratitude for the healings of the past and the present!  I give thanks to You for remission in the future.  Continue to strengthen my faith, so I “just believe” in Your health report.  (Mark 5:36, NIV).

In the life-sustaining, life-extending name of Jesus, I pray…AMEN.

So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, "He healed our diseases and made us well."  (Matthew 8:17, CEV).

FRIENDSHIP VOWED

Jonathan said, "Go in peace! The two of us have vowed friendship in God's name, saying, 'God will be the bond between me and you, and between my children and your children forever!'" (1 Samuel 20:42, MSG).

God meets me in my powder room routinely. Just as the water flowed from the showerhead, tears flowed from my eyes. Without warning, I started sobbing about how much I will miss E.M. once he graduates.

Every time I think about my friendships, the fullness of my heart prompts me to cry gleeful tears.

O Sovereign God, I thank You for being the engineer of my friendships. I exalt You because You have created bonds that will last beyond my lifetime.

Forgive me for the times when I don't appreciate Your friendship. I confess that loneliness can be so distressing that I forget that You are my closest companion. "Nevertheless I am continually with You; You do hold my right hand." (Psalm 73:23, AMP). Lord, give me the proactive faith of Abraham, so that You too will call me friend.

O God, please continue to bless the bond between my friends and me. Though short and long distances separate us, draw us close as we pray for one another. Let the Holy Spirit connect us when we're needed most. Your Word says that I'm unprotected when I'm by myself; however, with a friend I can face the worst. (Ecclesiastes 4:12, MSG). I thank You for loyal friends I can depend on during tragic and triumphant times. I thank You for the ability to distinguish an artificial friend from an authentic friend.

Life is challenging because I've had to terminate some relationships because the friendship was shady. Life is good because You help me to establish new, positive friendships. Life is abundant because You will forever be the bond between my friends and me! (1 Samuel 20:42, MSG).

O Sovereign God, I praise You for the wonderful friends You have placed in my life! I intercede for those who are lonely and don't know the meaning of genuine friendship. I ask that You would place people in their lives that will demonstrate a friendship similar to that of Jonathan and David. Lord, thank You for being my Best Friend!

In the friendship-vowing name of Jesus Christ, I pray...AMEN.

And [so] the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God's will in thought and deed), and he was called God's friend.  (James 2:23, AMP).

PURIFY WITHIN

And He called the people to [Him] again and said to them, Listen to Me, all of you, and understand [what I say]. There is not [even] one thing outside a man which by going into him can pollute and defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him and make him unhallowed and unclean. (Mark 7:14-15, AMP).

PURIFY WITHIN

(haiku)

I pray for people

struggling with addictions;

deliver them LORD.

And He said, What comes out of a (wo)man is what makes a (wo)man unclean and renders [her/him] unhallowed. For from with, [that is] out of the hearts of (wo)men, come base and wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, coveting (a greedy desire to have more wealth), dangerous and destructive wickedness, deceit; unrestrained (indecent) conduct; an evil eye (envy), slander (evil speaking, malicious misrepresentation, abusiveness), pride (the sin of an uplifted heart against God and man), foolishness (folly, lack of sense, recklessness, thoughtlessness). All these evil [purposes and desires] come from within, and they make the (wo)man unclean and render her/him unhallowed. (Mark 7:20-23, AMP).