Healing

Many of you know that I was diagnosed with diabetes last winter and struggled with the reality of dealing daily with an illness. I never felt bad, but altering my eating and exercise habits – along with the thought that it may get worse and more difficult to deal with over time – was depressing. Very soon after hearing this news, I made some changes and quickly achieved normal, regulated blood sugar readings. Those changes became habits, and it has really not been at the forefront of my conciousness as it was months ago.

This past Wednesday I went to a new doctor to get the results of extensive tests that had been done to determine what really is going on internally. He (and everyone else) seemed puzzled as to why I had this disease since I do not fit the mold of the typical diabetic (overweight and sedentary). Well, to my amazement and his, everything was extremely good and normal! I am not versed in medical knowledge, – and there were a TON of tests done – but basically only a few items were slightly off. The doctor actually told me that he would not classify me as a diabetic any more! Praise God for that news!

Of course, I will not go out and eat a bowl of sugar (not that I ever did), but it is so great to get news like this – news that I was not expecting! The doctor said that I have a genetic tendency to be carbohydrate-intolerant, but that my lifestyle changes were so filtering this tendency that it was not expressing itself as diabetes any more!

Now for the lesson part of this story…..

I had talked to a friend Tuesday night before my doctor’s appointment the next morning, and the thought specifically crossed my mind to ask him to pray for healing. I conciously chose not to ask for prayer. God reminded me of this after I got the good news. I do not believe He was condemning me for it, but that He wanted me to see some things in this interaction – or lack of it.

Why did I not ask a friend to pray for my healing?

I think there are several reasons, none of which are good or right. They are reasonable to a point. All of these are descriptive of where my heart is or has been, and I believe the Lord wanted me to see this and repent! Again, I did not feel condemned at the Spirit’s revelation, but I was encouraged to look into it. Hence, I am writing this now and hopeful others can benefit from it as well.

Reasons I have seen:

• It’s really not that big of a problem now – you’ve learned how to deal with it and control it on your own. It sounds petty to ask for healing of such a “minor” issue.
• People are tired of hearing about your problems. It’s really not that big of a deal – at least it’s not cancer!
• What if you ask for healing and don’t get it? What does that say about God? I mean, healing sure is good, so if you ask for it and don’t get it, does that mean God isn’t good?
• Why would God give this gift to you?  You really don’t deserve it.

Graciously, God gave me this gift when I did not specifically pray for it or ask others to do so. But what was missed by not asking for prayer? Well, for one, at least one friend missed an opportunity to be involved in praying for me. How many answers to prayer are never heard of by others because they never knew of the issue? We deprive others of the joy of entering into our lives and using their gifts/faith in our struggles when we refuse to ask for prayer.

I myself almost missed the power of God in this! I really had not felt bad or been too limited by the disease, so hearing the news wasn’t life-altering like someone being healed of blindness. How many answers to prayer do I miss because they are not “dramatic” like that?

Do I shrink back from asking for prayer or praying for others because I fear that God will not answer the way I want? He commands us to “pray for one another” and tells us that the “prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective”. Why do I hesitate and doubt? It really shows me how little my faith is and how much I question the goodness of God.

Probably most alarming to me is why I would doubt that God would do something so wonderful for me. For some reason or reasons, I’ve often thought of myself as a “red-headed stepchild” in God’s family. Yes, I was His son, but He wasn’t too thrilled about that fact. Sort of like a slave instead of a son.

I just finished reading a great book by Henri Nouwen titled The Return of the Prodigal Son. I found myself identifying very much with the older son who stayed home and dutifully did his work around the house. He was ticked off when his father rejoiced at his younger brother’s return after “living high on the hog” and complained that his father never gave him a feast like that. The father replies that the son is always with him and “all I have is yours”. I was so struck by this truth! How many blessings have I missed because I really haven’t believed that my Father would be so good to me? And yet He has been and is!

Why do I not pray boldly or ask for prayer boldly? How many things have I missed in life because of this? It is not humble or pious to be hesitant to ask for prayer!

So, what about you? What are you withholding asking others to pray for? Why?

The answer to that last question should keep us all busy for awhile!