DECEMBER 4 Holiness & Health
Reading: Isaiah 53:1-12
“He who raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your bodies
by His Spirit which dwells in you” (Rom 8:11)
All the three Persons of the Godhead are interested in our health.
(Psa 35:27). God the Father bound Himself to His people with a
promise, “I am the Lord who heals you” (Ex 15:26). God the Son bore
our sicknesses on the Cross (Mt 8:17). God the Holy Spirit bestows gifts
of healing and gives life to our mortal bodies (1 Cor 12:9; Rom 8:11).
Though healing is a free gift from God, there are several conditions
to receive healing. There was no sickness prior to the fall of Adam
and Eve. Therefore it is proper to seek healing of the soul before the
healing of the body. To the paralytic, Jesus first said, “Your sins are
forgiven you” and then, “Arise, take up your bed and go to your house”
(Mt 9:1-7). While listing the benefits God bestows on us, David put
them in proper order. First, forgiveness and then healing (Psa
103:2,3). Prophet Isaiah also indicated the same order when he was
describing Calvary (Isa 53:5).
Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God before healing the people
(Mt 4:23). Healing is a Kingdom blessing for the Kingdom citizens.
One must be born again into this Kingdom to enjoy the privileges of
citizenship. This does not mean that God never heals a person unless
he surrenders his life to Him. God is love. He gives rain and shine
both to the good and the bad. In calling us as His own children, His
love towards us is intensified (1 Jn 3:10).
If we fall sick, taking stock of our lives is a must. Physical health
and spiritual well-being are entwined (3 Jn 2). Though all sickness is
not divine discipline, it is certainly one of the rods God uses to correct
His people (Dt 28:58,59). God struck Miriam with leprosy for the sin
of backbiting. She was healed after seven days of repentance (Num
12). The physical suffering of Job deepened his repentance and
heightened his knowledge of the Holy (Job 42:5,6). After healing the
man at Bethesda who had been sick for 38 years, Jesus warned him,
“Sin no more, lest a worse thing comes on you” (Jn 5:14). As long as
David was covering his sin, he could not enjoy health and vitality
(Psa 32:3,4; 38:3). This relationship of spiritual well-being to physical
health is rediscovered by modern medicine. The human immune
system is inhibited by bad moral choices. Earlier we repent, sooner
will we recover.
Be Thou our great Deliverer still, Thou Lord of life and death;
Restore and quicken, soothe and bless, with Thine almighty breath!
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DECEMBER 4 PRAYER Subject: Suffering
Reading: Isa 53:1-12 Memorising: Rom 8:11
O God of Heaven and Earth, we worship You as our Healer. Thank You for
Your promise, “I am the Lord who heals You.” Thank You for Jesus who bore
our sicknesses alongwith our sins on the Cross. Thank You for His healing
stripes. Thank You for the Holy Spirit who quickens our mortal bodies. Thank
You for the gifts of healing He has bestowed on the Church. Thank You, O God,
for Your unchanging love and power. Thank You for the abundant life You
have provided for our body, soul and spirit. We worship You as a Father who
desires the wholeness and wellbeing of His children.
Thank You, O God, for Your words which are health to our body. Our
disobedience to Your commandments has made not only our soul but also the
body sick. Forgive us our sins and heal our diseases. While we thank You for
the medical facilities, we confess their limitations too. Help us glorify You
through our body also which is the temple of Your Spirit. Deliver us from
abominable deeds which destroy our health. Free us from addictive habits. Let
there be no works of darkness in our life. Have mercy, Lord, on those suffering
from sexually transmitted diseases. We pray specially for the innocent victims
of AIDS. May Your protection be on those who work among these sufferers. We
also pray for those affected by plagues and pandemics. Be gracious on this
planet earth, O Lord. Turn away Your anger from us.
Father God, we thank You for Your compassion that Jesus showed on the
sick. Why, O Lord, don’t we witness such miracles in our times? Theological
explanations don’t satisfy us. Is not Christ the same yesterday, today and
forever? Father, our need is not explanations but manifestation of Your healing
power. Lord, we feel miserable at times. The attesting signs for Gospel preaching
are also on the decline. Let apostolic days return! O arm of the Lord, rise up as
in the days of old! Stretch forth Your hand to heal people and work signs and
wonders. Visit us again to restore all that we have lost.
Dear Lord, we thank You for our miracle-healing ministries. Forgive us for
attaching price tags to healing prayers. Forgive us for projecting ourselves and
stealing Your glory. Forgive us for exaggerating the reports. Forgive us for using
testimonies of healing as promotional material. Forgive us for diluting the
Gospel message by overemphasizing physical health and material prosperity.
Forgive us all unscriptural practices in our ministries. Help us follow Jesus of
Nazareth in all that we do. Amen!
(Ex 15:26; Isa 51:9; 53:4-6; Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 6:20; 12:7-10; Jn 10:10; Psa 107:20;
Js 5:14-16; Mt 14:14; Heb 13:8; Mk 16:17,18; Acts 4:30)
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