Recently I visited a brother in the Lord who’s spent more than two months in the hospital. “That’s way too long!” I told myself. “Enough is enough! This can’t be God’s will!”
When I met him, I expressed my feelings and he felt the same way. Though his body was weak, his faith remained strong.
I’d brought along a communion kit so we could share the Lord’s Supper together, and I turned around to set up the elements. It took less than a minute, but when I turned back, he was out!
“Boy, that was fast! Kind of reminds me of my preaching!”
I prayed for him anyway because I believed that the Lord wanted him well.
Nothing happened; he continued to sleep. Did my prayer not work? Was God uninterested?
A few days later at the Sunday church service, I prayed for a sister in Christ who’d had non-stop back pain for three years. After we prayed, I asked her what the problem had prevented her from doing. “Anything,” she replied. So I asked her to do “anything” that she couldn’t do before. “Try touching your toes!” She complied and got more than halfway down.
“How do you feel?”
“Better!”
So we talked to God again. And she reached down a little lower. Progress!
It was getting late, so we prayed one last time. Greater improvement; she could touch the top of her feet! Praise the Lord!
Why did I minister this way?
First, during a mission trip to the tiny south African country of Lesotho, our street teams were instructed that after we pray for people, we should ask them to do something that they couldn’t do before. Their behavior would either confirm that they’d been healed or that we needed to intercede again. We didn’t regard the latter as a failure; instead, it motivated us to press in for a breakthrough.
Second, Jesus modeled this behavior. According to Mark 8:22-26, He and His disciples “came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.’ Once more Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Don’t even go into the village.’”
Christ had the power to heal this blind man instantly, but on this occasion, He stretched things out. While speculations abound as to why Jesus chose this method, don’t lose sight of the main point.
Sometimes, God works in processes. Every so often, we have to revisit issues. But let’s not fear repetition. Persist for God’s glory and human need – they’re worth it!
So what about the brother in the hospital? I looked in on him again because I believe in Christ’s will and power to heal. I could speak only briefly before he once again nodded off.
But whether he slumbered or was awake, I was determined to pray for him again. I told him so and that woke him up sufficiently that he joined in the prayer. And I’ll keep at it until the Spirit tells me to quit.
If you see no difference in a situation, pray again. If you witness a partial change, pray again. Keep praying until you see the blessing of the Lord unleashed!
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