Sunday 25 May 2008 Healing Kim

Healing

‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10)

We all long for that, but how do we achieve it? Some people put their trust in something like the lottery – fullness of life, they say, will be possible when we can pay off our debts and buy all we want. But those who pray for healing acknowledge that there are deeper needs than those for which money can provide. Good though it might be to be out of debt, able to do what we want without having to go without something else, deep down we know that we have other needs.
The ministry of prayer for healing and wholeness is a way of addressing those needs which the Church has encouraged right from the early days. James 5:13-16 indicates that this ministry was a part of church practice from an early stage. It sprang out of a realisation that healing lay at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, as he healed physical and emotional pain, eased strained relationships with forgiveness, and encouraged people to realise that God’s love is stronger than whatever may be disturbing us.
But what is healing? It is probably helpful to recognise that it is not necessarily the same as a cure. In some Christian traditions, you would expect to find a heap of crutches or hearing aids left behind after a service of prayer for healing, because they were no longer necessary. That may happen, but if it doesn’t, it will not mean that healing has not taken place.
I learnt most about the difference between healing and cure when my sister was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. At first I prayed very hard that she would get better. But her cancer was too far advanced for that, and however hard I prayed, it soon became obvious that she was going to die – and the longer she lived, the more she would suffer. Gradually my prayer changed, as I began to realise that for her, healing would only come through death. And perhaps that is always the truth, that only death will give us the freedom to be truly whole. It was not easy to accept. I often felt very angry. And part of my healing was to realise that it is all right to be angry with God. God is big enough to take it – that’s part of what the cross is about.
God was at work then, changing my sister, changing me, changing the family, leading us all on to something new. Although there was no cure (my sister died), I’m sure there was healing. It showed in my sister’s courage in facing pain and death; it showed in the way we as a family were drawn closer together and began to be able to express our love for each other more openly; it showed in the way we were set free from fear and anxiety. That doesn’t mean that her death didn’t hurt – it was a painful letting go all round. But it led on to something new. Healing does not mean going back to what one was before, it is a growing on to a new stage. It can be painful and costly as the growth takes us through many deaths and resurrections on our way to life.
Healing may take us by surprise – after one healing service I attended, a woman who was going blind said, ‘I know I’m going blind, but after tonight, I’m not afraid.’ Prayer for healing means opening ourselves up to God’s love, asking God to give us what God knows we need, rather than putting a lot of energy into asking for what we want. We might do well to remember those four men who brought their paralysed friend to Jesus, with energy that let nothing stand in their way (Mark 2:1-12). No doubt they wanted their friend to walk again but, wisely, they did not restrict Jesus’ actions by saying so. They let Jesus deal with what lay at the root of the man’s illness, and Jesus set him free from whatever it was that had left him helpless, literally without a leg to stand on for so long.
So, we come asking for healing, perhaps knowing our need, perhaps with a sense of need we can not put into words. Or we might come because, like those four men, we want to bring someone else to Jesus for his healing touch. We might come in gratitude that we are being healed, with a longing that our spiritual life will be strengthened and deepened.
The result of our prayer will be an expression of God’s love for us. It may be the disappearance of whatever is troubling us, it may be a new appreciation of our own worth; it may be a new determination to work for social changes that will bring wholeness to others; it may be fresh courage to face an old situation. We may not be aware that anything has happened until later. But God will respond with his healing gifts at whatever level we can receive them. And then we can go out to offer his healing to those around us, for healing is not just for individuals. ‘I can not be whole while my brothers and sisters in the world are in need’. Part of the healing we must pray for is that society, ours and others’, and our church communities too, will change so that all people will be free to find their wholeness. Part of our wholeness will come as we work for the peace, freedom and justice, which are God’s will for us all.
Does God heal today? I believe he does. What about you? Another question – ‘Do you want to be healed?’ That I might sound like a silly question but think about it. Prayer for healing whatever it might be; will bring a change – in the situation, individual, community. A change for the better and for some people that might be too much to cope with – maybe the prayer here should be for courage to be changed.
There are times when God’s healing gets hampered because we haven’t done something – like Norma, a friend of mine who had a knee problem. On one visit I asked her if she prayed for herself. Norma said that Don her husband and Mark her son had, and that was sufficient. ‘There are plenty of others in much greater need than I and of course I pray for them’. ‘Do you not think that you are just as important to God as all the others you pray for?’ I asked. ‘Yes’ she replied. Then ‘pray for yourself;’ I said. She did, and the next day she got up and the pain had gone and she was walking around as if nothing had happen. We can sometimes get caught up in the busyness of praying for others or we feel that others are more important that we forget or don’t feel we should ask God for ourselves. We are just as loved and important to him as the next person.
In the Gospel reading, the four friends dug through the roof of Jesus’ house to get their friend to see Jesus so it is quite possible for us to understand why Jesus said what he said to the paralysed man. How would you feel if someone made a big hole in your roof? But Jesus looks down and with a smile; says ‘All right – I forgive you!’ Of course Jesus was referring to something wrong in this man’s life – something deep rooted – something only Jesus knew. Sin can sometimes stand in the way of God doing his very best for us. It is good that we can confess our sins before God. It is also necessary for us to forgive ourselves, and I often find that difficult to do. Sometimes we find ourselves a victim of circumstance and are hurt, we know we should forgive but we can’t – maybe that’s the time to ask God to bring you to a time when you are able to forgive. You may need help with this – ask a trusted friend or a member of the pastoral team or clergy. Un-forgiveness, stress, over work can lead to physical, mental and emotional problems – even death.
A prayer for healing can be for anything. Often people think healing and forgiveness is impossible. They find God distant or uncaring or feel they are not worth God bothering with. The Gospel story is a picture of prayer. Don’t stay on the edge of the crowd. Dig through God’s roof and find yourself in his presence. You will get more than you are bargained for. It’s not pleasant if you’re helpless on a stretcher, but you do not have many responsibilities. BUT once you have met the living, forgiving, loving God in Jesus, you will find yourself on your feet, going out into the world in the power of God’s love.

Questions:
1. What are your feelings about praying for healing?
2. Have you ever had prayer for healing before? If you are able, could you explain what happened?
3. What concerns, feelings, if any, do you have in asking for prayer for healing?
4. Would you, possibly with a church friend, go to pray with a sick person?