Prayer & Healing
February 9, 2003
Mark 1:29-39
5th Sunday after the Epiphany
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
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Mark 1:29-34
Jesus Heals Many
29As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home
of Simon and Andrew. 30Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they
told Jesus about her. 31So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The
fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and
demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many
who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let
the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Jesus is the great physician.
He heals the sick.
The Gospels record twenty three
different healing miracles
that were performed by Jesus.
When you look at all the miracles in the Gospels,
and stack them up side by side,
there are more miracles of healing
than any other kind.
Jesus is the great physician.
He shows compassion and kindness
to every person he heals.
He listens to them.
He cares.
He reaches out his hand
and heals people like you and me.
Only God can do that.
We can listen, and we can care,
but only God has the authority and the power to heal.
Jesus healed Peter’s wife’s mother.
This particular miracle
is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home
of Simon and Andrew.
30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.
31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and
she began to wait on them.
What was wrong with Peter’s mother-in-law?
She had a fever. We don’t know what caused it.
It could have been any number of problems.
Jesus reached out
and took the woman’s hand.
He wasn’t uncertain. He wasn’t shy.
And he wasn’t afraid of getting sick.
Jesus knew he had this power.
Does Jesus still have that power today?
Yes he does.
Does he still heal?
Yes?
The next question is logical.
If God can heal
why doesn’t he heal everyone today?
The best answer I can give you,
is this:
I don’t know.
I know God has the power,
and if he wanted to,
he could heal every sick person in this world
with just a word.
In the final analysis,
this is the truth,
God is God. We are not God.
God makes those decisions, not us.
God does have the power to heal.
In fact,
he encourages us to pray for healing.
James 5:14-18 says,
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will
raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins
to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and
it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Is this Scripture a guarantee
that God will heal those we pray for?
Well, yes actually.
But maybe not in the way you expect.
The Bible promises that the prayer for healing
offered in faith
“will make the sick person well.”
We need to be very careful here
and define what it means to be healed.
The Bible describes five different ways
for God to heal.
1) instantly and directly
just as Peter’s mother-in-law was healed
2) gradually through the processes of nature
over time, ailments can be resolved, leaving us healthy & well
3) through medical science
doctors, hospitals, and medications can be used by God
4) giving grace to suffer redemptively
by healing our attitudes
Mental healing. Attitude healing.
Forgiveness of self and others.
Breaking out of destructive habits.
Overcoming blame and anger.
Resolving fractured relationships.
These are key parts of health,
and Jesus has the power to help us
in these areas, just as he does
in all the other parts of our lives.
5) in the resurrection
On the day of the 2nd Coming
we will changed, and the bodies we have now
will be replaced with something eternal and perfect.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says,
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ
will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever.
God heals. That is a promise that he always
keeps.
How he heals, and when he heals is up to him.
It is good for us to pray.
But remember what prayer is.
It is not an order.
God is not our waiter.
God is not our vending machine.
God is our sovereign ruler.
When we ask God to heal,
it is a request, a petition, a prayer.
God always listens, and he hears our prayers.
Our job is to trust,
and part of what it means to trust,
is to let God answer in the way he thinks best.
Right now, I’d like to open up the communion rail
and invite the congregation
to a season of prayer.
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will
raise him up.
PRAYER
Thank you Lord for your healing power in our lives.
There are many times that you have healed us, physically, spiritually, and
emotionally. For that, we praise your name, and give you glory! Thank you for
your healing touch! Thank you for helping us.
Thank you for our ministry of prayer and healing.
Help us to be faithful prayer warriors, and show us your power today.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.