Prayer and Healing: Is it Important to the Believer?
I know that we have all heard the cliche "stuff happens" but how many times in our lives when stuff happens do we respond by praying and seeking God for an answer to our discomfort? As Christians, sometimes I wonder how often our first response is to call someone else for an answer to what is going on in our lives rather than call on God in prayer. I believe that prayer is an essential part of why some of us receive our healing. Is.53:5 states, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed".BibleGateway.com. Sometimes I believe that it is difficult for us to understand this concept; however, understanding this concept raises our level of faith and helps us in our discomfort. Hebrews 11:1 states that "now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen"; verse 6 also states that ....it is impossible to please God without faith BibleGateway.com So therefore, it takes faith to believe for healing when we are praying. 
According to research, prayer has played a vital role in healing for various cultures throughout history. The word "prayer"s derived from the Latin "precari", which means, "to entreat". Prayer may also be defined as an intimate conversation with a higher being for the purpose of imploring or petitioning for something or someone Lorentz, (2004). Additionally, one of the first actual research investigations on the usefulness of prayer as a spiritual intervention for healing was conducted in 1951. It was shown that cardiovascular disease and AIDS had positive results in prayer and healing Lorentz (2004). Different people have different beliefs about prayer and healing and how the two work together. Dr Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School was one of the first medical researchers to study the health benefits of prayer and meditation. Additionally, his research proved that a person's belief system, is responsible for producing healing Lorentz (2004). Prayer has been proved to decrease heart and respiration rates. I am a firm believer that prayer, faith, and healing work together. I am reminded of a few years ago, I was in a tragic car accident, which took the lives of two people who I loved very much. My friends and I was on our way to church and we were hit by a drunk driver. The accident left two people dead and myself and the other two young girls fighting for our lives. No matter what the doctors said to my family, prayers were being prayed for us. People were praying that God would heal us and God did exactly what His word said that He would do. Although I was in a coma for seven days, God still healed my body. I know there were people praying for me who I did not know; however I believe because of those prayers, God moved for me in a miraculously way. I am a firm believer that prayer can and will have a positive effect on us when we pray and believe or when someone else is praying for us and believing. Healing belongs to us and by the stripes of Jesus we are healed. We must pray to God for what we want and pray in faith. There is nothing to hard for God. I believe whatever we need we can find it in God. I believe God can heal us from the inside out, but we must believe that he can do it. I also believe the more time we spent in the word of God the more we know and understand who God is and how praying to Him helps us understand the power of prayer and healing.
Be Blessed,
Bridget
Bridget,
ReplyDeleteI am very thankful that you survived that unfortunate accident that took loved ones lives and I believe prayer does truly work. I believe that faith and prayer are necessary in the lives of Christians but I also believe that ultimately the will of God will prevail. I remember my little cousin slowly dying of poisoning and I remember everyone praying for him. His father was a pastor and his mother was very active in the church and strong in her faith. They prayed without ceasing and so did the extended family and church, yet their precious son, my cousin, died a traumatic death. One will wonder, did they pray hard enough, did they not have enough faith to save their son? My Aunt's faith was shaken by the loss of her son because she believed she trusted fully in God to save her son but that was not the case. I believe that as Christians we ought to pray and have faith but we should also keep in mind that God's will is the ultimate determinant for the outcome of our situation.
Thank you Vicky for such a heartfelt response. Although, I survived, the faith of my family was shaken. The family members of the girl who died, wondered also why did their daughter have to die and they struggled and are still struggling with the loss. I am sure the family also wondered did they pray hard enough? You are absolutely right, God has the final say for the outcome of our situations
DeleteBe blessed,
Bridget, you are a testament to the true power that prayer holds. I think it can be an encouragement to others that even prayers on behalf of another are answered. Our default setting, I think, is to become proactive when "stuff happens". For some, I think it is not easy to "just pray", but you have given a good reminder that praying is an active participation in God's plan for us. It is so hard though to understand and remain strong in our faith in the Lord when they are not answered in the way that we would like. I think that it is in the moments that we feel the Lord is not answering our prayers that we need it most.
ReplyDeleteBridget, what an amazing story! Prayer is so powerful. It is also brings comfort and peace when we are going through hardships. Wow. Your testimony is such an encouragement. I can not imagine how hard it is for the family who lost a loved wondered why their prayers were not answered with safety and healing. However, ultimately the Lord has complete control over each of our lives and he has wonderful plans for each of His children.
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