I continue to be amazed at the Lord’s timing. A couple of evenings ago, my husband was talking with me about some of his on-going health issues and some of his concerns. My Bible study yesterday was about the Lord healing us. The first question asked is: what disease has affected you or a loved one? Go ahead and think now about who you want to pray for healing. One of the first Scriptures we looked at is “He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.'” (Ex. 15:26) There’s a lot of pain and suffering in this sinful world, some physical suffering, but much of it is spiritual.

I remember a couple of decades ago hearing that disease is “dis-ease”, basically, the idea (apparently) is to choose not to empower health issues by focusing on a particular ailment. The premise is that “dis-ease” simply means lack of ease or harmony within the body. In the context which I heard that, the “cure” suggested to being in harmony with our bodies is to look to ourselves and our self-empowerment to bring about harmony within ourselves. I’ll go ahead and tell you now that it was based in “new age spirituality”, and is thus deception–so don’t believe it! But I do believe that many are out of harmony with our Lord, and the manifestations of being out of relationship with Him cause many of our ailments, be it physical, emotional or spiritual.

Just like we discussed yesterday, the Lord requires us to walk by faith and to abide by His Word: “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees...” As I sat down to write down what I will ask the Lord for in healing my husband, it began with physical ailments, then emotional, and finally spiritual. As I look back on that list, I see that I have it completely out of order with His Word.

It is clear that we must listen carefully to our Lord, do what is right in His eyes (that’s not what we think is right, but what His Word says), and that we must keep His commands and all His decrees. “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Prov. 21:12) When we walk by faith, knowing that we believe in Jesus, the Son of God, who came to redeem us of our sins, and live our lives obediently to His Word, then we will be at ease with Him; and then we will have the peace that surpasses all understanding. Peace with the Lord will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). Guarding our minds and hearts is imperative because “for as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

The Bible says that “Jesus healed many who had various diseases” (Mark 1:34). It does not say that He healed all. We sometimes question why the Lord chooses to heal some and not others. Jesus answered this question when He heard about Lazarus’s illness: “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’ When He heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’” (John 11:3-4) The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Is. 55:8-9).

Everything He does is for His purposes and His glory, and ultimately for our good (Rom. 8:28). In the case of Lazarus (John 11:1-43), Jesus chose to raise Lazarus from the dead when many had come to comfort Mary and Martha and were witnesses to the Lord’s power. “Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’” (vv 40-42) With this is mind, instead of first asking the Lord to heal my husband’s health issues, I am asking the following:

Father, You have said that we can ask anything in Your name that will glorify You, and You will do it. You don’t choose to heal everyone. Lord, know it is Your will I seek. Father, You sent Your Son to heal the brokenhearted and to bind our wounds. Lord, all of us who are not obedient to Your will are brokenhearted and ailing from a broken relationship with You. Lord, You are glorified when others see the changes in our hearts.

Lord, I ask that You send Your light and Your truth and lead my husband. Remove all spiritual blindness, deafness, and hardness of heart. Grant him eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that seeks You. I plead Your mercy and grace over all of his personal sin, failure, and family iniquities. Break through and heal his wounded spirit, and replace his calloused heart with a tender one so that he is receptive to the healing power of the Holy Spirit, who is within him. Lord, guide me in my steps and in my words, so that I am not an encumbrance to the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. And, Lord, as you are healing his wounded spirit, please either heal him or give him the strength to bear his depression, anxiety, diseased arteries, and diabetes so that he may live for You, and bring You glory. In the precious name of Jesus, amen.