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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen)
Sweetman
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Praying
For Healing
I'm 74 years old and have been legally blind since birth.
Every so-called Biblical formula for healing has been tried on me
with no success. I know Jesus
heals because He healed me of Juvenile Diabetes at the age of 6.
The doctors at Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto
admitted it was a miracle. They
just didn't attribute it to Jesus. Beyond
that healing, I've had many miracles in my life.
Some
say I don't have enough faith for Jesus to heal me.
Others say I need to persist daily in prayer, several times a day
if necessary. They remind me
of Jesus' parable about an unjust judge, who after a widow persisted in
bugging him, gave into her pestering pleas by granting her justice (Luke
18:1 - 8). With this parable
in mind Jesus asked, "Will God not bring about justice for his chosen
ones" (verse 7), suggesting to some that God will give into my
persistent pleading for healing. Is
this the meaning to this parable?
The
context of this parable goes back to Luke 17:20.
There, the Pharisees asked Jesus when God's kingdom would come.
They were very anxious for its arrival so they could be free from
centuries-long bondage to their enemies.
They needed justice. The
rest of Luke 17 concerns the coming of God's Kingdom at the end of this
age when God would finally grant the Jews, His chosen people, justice.
It's in this end-time prophetic context of the Jews finally finding
justice that forms the foundation to the parable's interpretation.
The
widow persisted. "Grant
me justice against my adversary" (Luke 18:3).
The judge reluctantly gave in.
"Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she
gets justice (verse 5). This
statement tells some that I need to keep bothering Jesus for my healing,
but justice, not divine healing is what this parable is about.
Jesus then asked, "Will not God bring
about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will
he keep putting them off? I
tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly" (verse 7 -
8). In context, the
"chosen ones" are the Jews who would be granted justice at the
coming of God's kingdom. Until
then they would suffer much, but when the day finally comes, justice will
be quick and swift. It's the
meaning to the parable.
Finally, Jesus asked, "When the Son
of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth" (verse 8)?
In other words, will Jesus find people trusting their lives with
Him when He returns to earth? Jesus
doesn't answer this question but I think the answer implies "not many
will have faith in Him", and why?
Unanswered prayer should not nullify our trust in God, but it often
does.
I
don't think this parable about justice for the Jews has anything to say
about my healing? I have faith
in Jesus. I trust my life,
including my blindness, with Him to do as He wills.
Unlike many who give up trusting Jesus due to unanswered pleadings,
my trust in Him without all of the persistent pleading remains constant.
It's a bit like Paul who only prayed three times to be delivered
from his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:8).
God said that His grace, His divine ability to keep Paul trusting
Him, is sufficient for him. So,
when I'm told I don't have sufficient faith to be healed, I say, "I
have sufficient grace to maintain my trust in Jesus".
If
you want to persist in daily pleadings, go ahead, but don't base it on the
Luke 18 parable. If I've
handed my blindness over to Jesus, might it show a lack of faith to keep
asking for something I've trusted Him to look after?
I live the Hebrews, chapter 4 rest in Jesus.
Faith, or trusting Jesus implies resting in His will.
Postscript
For
more insight in my legally blind life, you can buy my book entitled
"The Funny, Embarrassing, And Sad Stories Of Being Legally
Blind". You can also
purchase my book entitled "Clarifying Biblical Healing".
Both books can be found on all Amazon sites worldwide.
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