HOPE FOR YOUR HEALING

by Ron Wood

My wife had been suffering with carpal tunnel syndrome plus painful arthritis in her hands. She couldn’t grip the steering wheel of the car to drive. She couldn’t type on the computer. Worst of all, she couldn’t play the piano, something she loved to do both for personal enjoyment and for worship to the Lord.

Then she received healing. It occurred suddenly, but only after she met certain conditions. She put herself in a position to be touched by God’s grace.

Healing, like all of God’s free gifts, is bestowed by grace. Jesus paid for your healing by His stripes on the cross. Jesus wants you well. Healing is not something you have to earn. You don’t need to be good enough to qualify. Like forgiveness of sins, it comes by grace, through faith, by asking God and trusting His Word. Healing was offered to people by Jesus as part of the good news of His kingdom.

Ultimately, sickness and suffering are due to Satan and the curse of sin on humanity. But your sickness may not have a cause you can identify, so don’t blame yourself for being sick.

Instead, take action to get well. Do everything in your power to obtain healing. It pleases God to undo the effects of sin or sickness and it glorifies God for you to be made well.

Learn about God’s plan for healing you. Permit God to heal you as a sign of His great love for you. Put yourself in a position to receive healing from God by learning to humbly trust Him.

If you need increased hope for your healing, this pamphlet was written especially for you. Read it thoughtfully. Prayerfully consider these ideas.I wanted to be a doctor before God called me to preach. I have been pastor to many dedicated physicians. I know that good medical care and the ministry of Christian healing complement one another. There is a natural alliance between medicine and prayer. Both are of God.

Healing from God can occur immediately through prayer by the Holy Spirit’s power. Or, healing may occur as a gradual process over time. Healing is certainly accelerated when we do those natural things that are in our power to promote wellness.

Some of these are proper rest and exercise, healthy lifestyle choices, and eating right. Good nutrition, neglected for years, causes sickness. A pill can’t undo what years of reckless eating has caused. Fruits and vegetables are better for you than foods loaded with fat and calories. Most people don’t drink enough water. These simple things increase our body’s immunity and well-being.

There are some other things you need to know if you want to improve the likelihood of your recovery through spiritual avenues, that is, by means of prayer or the laying on of hands. Let’s examine some aids to recovery–things, based on my opinion and my experience, that augment good medical care.

Cooperate with Doctors

Receive your medical treatments as instruments of mercy sent by a loving Heavenly Father. Remember Dr. Luke in the Bible? He wrote the gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. He traveled with the apostle Paul. Paul called him "the beloved physician."

God likes doctors! Doctors are servants of God. They hate sickness and give their lives fighting it. God may use your doctor or surgery or medicines they prescribe to help cure your disease. Be thankful for their help. Pray over your treatments. Expect to get well.

You can affect the outcome of your treatment. Often medical treatment depends on your cooperation. Use your will to choose positive thoughts and attitudes. Decide for life and against death.

Face your disease as an enemy. Ask God to help you get well. Don’t believe the evil thoughts that say you are not worth God’s love. Don’t believe the lie that you somehow deserve this sickness. Give yourself permission to recover.

You are valuable to God. Yes, you are! Jesus died for you. Your life matters to God. He has a plan for your life. Agree with the Bible about your case, that God wants you to have overflowing life.

Set the Stage for Healing

Check your emotional environment, your associations, and your expectations. Some people live in such a negative world that they seem to create their own bad luck. Don’t permit fear or despair to rule your thoughts. As a human being with dignity, you are a creation of great worth. Determine to influence your surroundings with words of peace, love, and blessing. Fill your time with happy people and good ideas that build you up. Embrace positive emotions and affirming relationships. Focus on good things. Laughter is beneficial. A positive attitude can’t hurt. Begin to expect the best every day. After all, you have the right to exercise hope. Why? Because you have God on your side, you have good medical care, and you have praying friends standing with you. Every day, say to yourself, "Today, I’m going to get better!" Hope says, "Why not me?" If you are actively seeking God for recovery, then such thoughts are not presumptuous but instead they are evidence of faith.

Get to Know Jesus

Jesus is the Son of God. He is our Savior who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He was raised from the dead and has all power. He loved people and cured them. He is still the Great Physician. The Bible is filled with accounts of suffering people whom Jesus healed. It seemed that Christ delighted in taking away pain and infirmity. Believe in Him and receive His Spirit into your heart. Trust Him to save you from your sins and give you eternal life. Simply talk to Him in prayer.

Meditate on Truth

The Bible is God’s Word to mankind. It is reliable and trustworthy. It not only tells us the story of God’s Son, but it also gives us lessons on how to live. It tells us how to overcome our failures and how to resist the attacks of our enemy, the devil, and his forces that hurt us.

Let the Bible’s ideas feed your faith and inspire your hope. Faith based on God’s Word releases power to overcome impossible situations. Faith isn’t magic or new age nonsense. It is heartfelt trust in God’s love and truth.

Let God speak to you through the pages of your Bible. Consider its truth. Take its words seriously. As you read it, pray to Jesus and ask Him to speak to you. You’ll be surprised at how the Scriptures will come alive.

There are many Christians who will pray for you in a spirit of love. You will know these kinds of believers because they seem to exude mercy and humility. Ask them to pray frequently and fervently for you. It is not a bother to them. Many Christians have a charisma of the Holy Spirit, a gift of grace, that gives them great satisfaction in praying for someone who is suffering. These are called "soaking prayers" in that they are unhurried. Surprising results happen as Christians pray in faith, persistently.

A simple way to receive prayer is for someone to take your hand or gently touch you while they ask the Lord to give you the gift of healing. A restful, trusting attitude is helpful. Sometimes you can sense God’s peace or feel God’s power through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Ban Negative Feelings

It is important that any hindrances to healing be completely removed. The greatest barrier to healing is unforgiveness. This is usually manifested in bitterness and anger. Do you know someone whom you need to forgive? There is often an invisible connection between ailments and attitudes. We don’t understand it completely, but it is so common that it is worth studying. Examine your heart. Do you have a wounded spirit, that is, a deep offense toward someone? Or, as you think of someone who hurt you in the past, do you still feel anger? It is important that you get rid of these emotional poisons. Make a decision to be free. Tell God you forgive them. Give the person who wronged you something they don’t deserve, your forgiveness. When you do that, God will give you His undeserved favor as well. He’ll give you the gift of Jesus’ healing love and power.

What if Sickness Lingers?

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we are forced to live with physical limitations. Even if you do not experience complete recovery from your physical problems, you can certainly experience an inner healing that will be permanent and life-changing. You can come to know lasting joy, satisfying peace, and quiet confidence born out of your new relationship with Christ. Bitterness, loneliness, and resentment can be cured 100% of the time! Our physical life is temporary, but eternal life is forever!

I urge you to make the most important decision of your life and choose Jesus Christ as your Savior. When you do, God will begin the healing of your soul–the greatest miracle of all!

Want to Stay Well?

After your recovery, change your lifestyle so that harmful actions are dropped off. It is foolish to revert to negative attitudes or hurtful addictions that destroy your peace. It’s not worth it! Turn away from sin and unbelief and learn to love and follow the Lord.

Once you start understanding God’s Word, you can choose happiness and things that make for wholeness. In fact, you may very well become a channel of God’s healing love to other people. Won’t that be wonderful? The fact is, people who walk in God’s love and give it away to other people are healthier, live longer, have better relationships, and have a richer life than those who choose to live apart from God’s love.

© 1997 by Ron Wood. Ron and his wife, Lana, have been pastors more than 30 years. He has served as a State Coordinator for the U. S. Strategic Prayer Network. Ron is best known for his prophetic writing ministry. Ron & Lana are a ministry team. They are members of Reconciliation Ministries International led by Bishop Joseph Garlington. Ron & Lana were sent to Africa to help equip emerging apostolic leaders in the developing church. If you wish to copy this article for free distribution, permission is hereby granted to duplicate it provided there are no changes or omissions made to this article and this byline is included. The author asserts his moral rights of ownership. For more information or helpful literature, visit our web site at touchedbygrace.org, or e-mail us at ron@touchedbygrace.org.