This is one
of my favorite stories of Jesus healing people. His friends had such a strong
faith in Jesus that they climbed up on the roof of the home where Jesus was
teaching and healing, took out a section of the roof right above Jesus, and
lowered their friend on his mat right down into the room. Now there probably
were stairs up to the rooftop, since that is the way homes were designed during
those days. The rooftop was a good place for drying laundry and food, like
herbs. So there the friends were climbing up those stairs with their buddy on
his mat, then they opened up a section of the roof—taking the palm branches
away. As they lowered him down, people below had to make room for him. Jesus
must have looked up and smiled. The faith of those friends! The paralyzed young
man’s sins were forgiven, because of his friends’ faith. Jesus was so generous
with His healings. Faith made that young man well—can our faith do the same?
Yes. Yes, it can…and it does. With my prayers for friends and family members I’ve
seen people regain their sight, instantly have upset stomachs healed, regained
strength in hands, arm, legs and backs, and have renewed relationships. But
there are other times that the answer must be, “No” because there was no
healing. That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care. It just means that the trial
must continue a while longer—that God has another plan. We just don’t know. We
can only ask and trust Him to hear and answer our prayers. There is no “formula”
for getting what we want from God—we merely need to have a clean heart (confess
our sins), be obedient to follow His commandments, have faith that God
will hear and answer our prayers, and persistently pray in Jesus’ name. When we
pray in Jesus’ name, as He told us to do (see John 16:24), we come before God
the Father’s throne as representatives of Jesus—on His merit, not our own.
Jesus healed so many people…But
Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has
made you well." At once the woman was made well. ...Then He touched their
eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith." Matthew
9:22, 29 Immediately Jesus stretched out
His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why
did you doubt?" Matthew 14:31 Then
Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you
as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once. Matthew 15:28.
Faith comes from our hearts—as a gift from God. If you need more faith, ask—knowing
that Jesus will give you more faith.
Training Tip –…the goal of
our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere
faith. 1 Timothy 1:5. Teach your children FAITH by your example. Pray
believing—and keep a record of your prayers. Share with your family the joys of
answered prayers. That will encourage your children to pray, too. There is
power in prayers—even for small children.
Lord God, please continue to teach us to pray—and
give us the faith to believe in You and the miraculous answers that You
provide. Thank you for hearing and answering. You alone are worthy of all the
praise and glory. Be glorified, Lord. Be glorified.
Continued prayers for Michelle--heal her pancreas...and gallbladder. Blessings, Sweetie!
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
© 2013 by Mickey
M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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