Ps 6:1-2 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. ESV
In the midst of his pain David lifted his heart to the Lord and prayed for deliverance from his sickness of both body and soul. When we cry out in our pain we have so much more confidence in that prayer because of our salvation. When Jesus died on the Cross He not only delivered us from sin, He restored the fallen creation, and that means physical healing as well. What a blessing. Our salvation has given us hope of a future in heaven that David didn’t see.
In our mortal state we know that gripping terror caused by sickness and sin, but in our faith in Jesus we can know His power to restore us. Our prayers are wrapped in God’s promise that when Jesus died He took our sickness upon Himself:
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. ESV
We are healed is a statement of fact, but when our healing doesn’t come we so often turn to God and cry out… but Your Word says! Does that mean that we are only healed “spiritually?” I have wrestled with that question long into many nights when I have prayed for someone and their healing never came. Yes, it definitely means that we are spiritually healed but it also speaks to our physical condition.
One time the Lord answered that question for me and the logic of His answer set me back; why hadn’t I seen it that way? He said that some are healed instantly, some are healed by the restorative powers of the human body that He created, some are healed by medicine, and some are not healed until He calls them home… but “all” are healed.
We often lose sight of that fact and like David we think only in terms of the here and now. We live in a fallen world and death and decay are a real part of that world. That is why God exhorts us to pray for His Kingdom to come; a kingdom where there is no sickness and suffering. And therein is yet another reason for us to ensure that we don’t miss any opportunity to share the good news of the gospel that holds both a spiritual and physical healing.
That’s where we need to be in our prayers for healing. We need to stand in faith on the promise of our healer, even if we don’t see any immediate change. Our spirit needs to remind our soul that no matter what the circumstances are, they are subject to change because in the end we have the “blessed hope” to hold onto. In the midst of our pain, depression, worry, and concern we have an eternal promise for a new body that will no longer suffer. However, greater than that we have the promise of eternity with our bridegroom, when we will exchange our betrothal for our wedding day and become His wife forever.
In the meantime we can be encouraged in the fact that God is still in the healing and restoring business here on earth. We see it happening all the time and as the day of His return draws closer we are going to see His healing hand like never before. We need to stand on His promise that those who believe (have faith and trust) will lay hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:18). And that means that we need to step out in faith and stand firm on His Word. God is in the business of showing Himself strong on behalf of His people; we have His promise … Do we have the faith to stand on it?