Yesterday it was announced by one of our dear members that she has received a diagnosis of cancer. The cancer was described as “aggressive.” If you were there yesterday morning then you know who I am talking about. If you weren’t, but would like to know, just drop me an email. I say this because I wanted to encourage all of you to spend a little more time in prayer for our sister and for her family.
I hope and believe that we pray for each other as a church and I know that many of you take the prayer list with you to pray over in your own time. God encourages us to pray, to take our needs to him, for he is the God who hears and answers our prayers. He even calls himself by that name in Psalm 65:2, where it says,
O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come
For the believer, prayer should be as natural as breathing. We believe God. We trust him. We know that he is the one who supplies all our need. We are taught to petition him for our daily needs. We are also taught to pray for each other. Does God always heal? Yes. And no. Yes, God has promised to save all his people from their enemies. Those enemies include sin and the curse. Disease is part and parcel of the curse. The fulfillment of that promise, though, is in the resurrection. All temporal healings point forward to the eternal healing of all God’s people in the resurrection. But we all die of something, don’t we? We all have a date with death. It is coming for every one of us. When that happens is in God’s hand.
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? We know there is a better world that awaits. We know that to depart is to be with Christ which is far better. We also know, though, that to remain here in this life means useful service for Christ for those we love and we desire to remain for that reason. Brothers and sisters we have good reason to ask God to heal our sister. We need her. Our church needs her. Her husband needs her. Most importantly, her children need her. She is useful in the cause of Christ. She has work left to be done for the kingdom.
So let us pray and pray earnestly that our God will show himself mighty on her behalf and on behalf of her family and on our behalf as well. Let us pray for her healing. God has encouraged us to bring these petitions to him and if we are faithful to God and to each other we will do so.
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.—James 5:13-16
It is an easy thing to confess to each other that we have not prayed for one another as we should. I confess it to you. This week, as you go throughout your day, each time you think about our sister and her family I want you to say a prayer for her and for them. Set aside a special time with your family just to say a special prayer for them. Skip a meal and pray instead. Remember them in your prayers constantly. We have been reminded of how much we need God and we have opportunity to show our faith in our obedience and more importantly we have opportunity to show our love for our sister and her family. Let us do this and see the hand of our faithful God at work. Soli Deo Gloria