2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Here we see outlined some components of the nature of God - He offers forgiveness to us and we can be confident to call upon Him and pray for healing. He is our healer and restorer, and because He loves us, He wants us to share in the blessings of knowing Him. His ways lead to life and to restoration and He is the giver of good gifts. So, we can give honor and glory to God, Who wants to make us completely whole in Him.
In Exodus chapter 15, verse 26, Moses gives insight into the nature of God, the One Whom we can
call our healer:
"If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you."
At Faith Radio, we are devoted to praying for our listeners. Each weekday, staff members gather to intercede about the various needs about which we have become aware.
The category of prayer requests that has the largest number is no doubt the area of medical needs. I would theorize that prayers for people who are experiencing illness or other medical situations is a quite common occurrence in churches and prayer groups. And, a recently-released study conducted by Baylor University in partnership with the Gallup organization from 2010 bears that out. The findings were published in the Journal of Religion and Health.
This is the National Day of Prayer, and it's also a Survey Thursday, so I wanted to concentrate on a prayer study. So here are some of the findings from this Baylor survey.
Dr. Jeff Levin, an epidemiology professor at the university, states that, "Outside of belief in God, there may be no more ubiquitous religious expression in the U.S. than use of healing prayer." He contends that the findings suggest, among other things, that prayer may be among the most widely used forms of treatment for medical problems, rather than a “fringe activity” as many people might believe.
Levin says that more than three-fourths of Americans have prayed for their own healing, and nearly a third do so often. Nearly 90 percent have prayed for the healing of others, and more than half report doing so often. More than half of Americans have asked for healing prayer and have taken part in prayer groups.
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In Exodus chapter 15, verse 26, Moses gives insight into the nature of God, the One Whom we can
call our healer:
"If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you."
At Faith Radio, we are devoted to praying for our listeners. Each weekday, staff members gather to intercede about the various needs about which we have become aware.
The category of prayer requests that has the largest number is no doubt the area of medical needs. I would theorize that prayers for people who are experiencing illness or other medical situations is a quite common occurrence in churches and prayer groups. And, a recently-released study conducted by Baylor University in partnership with the Gallup organization from 2010 bears that out. The findings were published in the Journal of Religion and Health.
This is the National Day of Prayer, and it's also a Survey Thursday, so I wanted to concentrate on a prayer study. So here are some of the findings from this Baylor survey.
Dr. Jeff Levin, an epidemiology professor at the university, states that, "Outside of belief in God, there may be no more ubiquitous religious expression in the U.S. than use of healing prayer." He contends that the findings suggest, among other things, that prayer may be among the most widely used forms of treatment for medical problems, rather than a “fringe activity” as many people might believe.
Levin says that more than three-fourths of Americans have prayed for their own healing, and nearly a third do so often. Nearly 90 percent have prayed for the healing of others, and more than half report doing so often. More than half of Americans have asked for healing prayer and have taken part in prayer groups.
And, as the professor notes, “The most surprising finding is that more than a quarter of all Americans have practiced laying on of hands — and nearly one in five has done so on multiple occasions.”
The survey data also points out that, "While certain factors, such as frequent religious attendance, reading Scripture or meditation, were predictive of at least one form of healing prayer, the one most consistent predictor was a loving relationship with God." Levin said, "People who feel a close connection to God, who love God and feel loved by God, are the very people most likely to pray for healing: for themselves or others, alone or in a group, and verbally or through laying on of hands."
So, here's the deal: it is apparent that Americans do actually spend time in prayer for medical matters. I think one of the challenges that we have as believers in Christ is to actually come to the Lord in prayer for healing. I am thankful for talented members of the medical community to take care of us, but are we more prone to call the doctor first or go the Great Physician first?
But, I am sure that you know of at least one and maybe multiple instances where someone has experienced healing, even miraculous, as the result of dedicated prayer. Ultimately, we can certainly trust in God to be our healer, and He will use doctors in that process. Or, there may be one of those sovereign acts of the Lord that He performs that can bring Him glory and build our faith.
Finally, I want to mention the connection between our spiritual nature and what we experience in the physical. There may be sickness that occurs because of sin in our lives - not always, but I think you can surmise that not taking care of our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit, or allowing ourselves to be consumed with stress or worry, can result in medical conditions. So, we have to make sure that we take the preventive spiritual steps to resist the physical challenges that may ensue. But, just as there can be a causal relationship between the spiritual and the physical, so there can be spiritual solutions that can make us whole - through surrender to God's direction for our lives and through prayers for healing.
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