Pray for Healing?
Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
I was reproved in my spirit recently after I prayed for an unsaved person who has cancer. I think my underlying thought was along the lines of “If this person has not honored God with his life, why should I ask God to extend it?” While I confidently prayed for him to receive a clear witness of the gospel and to receive Christ by faith, I was hesitant about asking for total healing. (God is still working on me. Ok?!)
Physical healing or financial help or deliverance from a hard place can be a wonderful ‘kindness of God leading to repentance’. Is God willing to heal?
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
As Creator, God, Giver of Life, He can speak a word or with a touch heal any disease. But He had to die for sins to be forgiven and offer eternal life. He did that while we were enemies.
Matthew 4:24 …they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.
I want to pray help and healing and blessing on the unsaved while asking that each person is made clearly aware that it is God who is doing it. But at the same time I ask for His direction in how/what to pray, knowing the He is very willing to sacrifice the temporal for the eternal.
II Tim. 2:25-26 …perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
Regarding unbelievers with terminal illnesses, what I do is pray first of all for their salvation of their souls, but I also pray for their complete healing so that God may use them as a witness of the greatness of His salvation as well as His miraculous healing.
Extremely grateful that we can pray that God will lead us to repentance… for ourselves and others! Oh how He loves us!
Thank you for your helpful messages Lauris!
Please pray for our 9 year old grandson Luke. For the past 6 months he has been dealing with very low platelets in his blood. He has had frequent nose bleeds, bleeding gums, and terrible bruising. Plus his energy is low. So far none of the treatments they have tried are working. 1 1/2 years ago he prayed the wonderful prayer of salvation and we rejoiced! But the past several months he hasn’t been coming with us to church. He knows so many people are praying for him and my biggest prayer, even before total healing is that he knows that God is with him and God is the One that will answer our prayers!!!
Thank you for sharing, Linda. I will be praying with you for Luke.
Thank you so much Lauris! God answered our prayers and the insurance company has approved a medication that we are hopeful will raise his platelets. He will start it in a week or two. Prayers for the side effects to be few or none!
Yes! Thank You, Jesus!