Bible passage:
Faith of the friends of the paralytic - Mark 2:3-5, 10-12 And they came, bringing to him [Jesus] a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”... But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Faith of Elijah - Parts of 1 Kings 17: 17-24 After this the son of the woman [widow of Zarephath], became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.”... And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Isaiah 53: 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Be encouraged, there are so many examples in the Bible of God hearing the prayer of a family member or friend and healing the sick. I am reminded of Jairus praying for his daughter, of a Syrophoenician woman praying for her daughter, of Mary and Martha sending word to Jesus about Lazarus, and of the Centurion interceding for his servant. In the two stories given above, we see a paralytic man who can't go to Jesus by himself; and an angry mother who doesn't seem to have the right relationship with God, and needs a prophet to intercede for her. There are many around us who are physically and mentally so tired due to their sickness, that they need us to carry them to God's throne of grace. Or, there are others who don't have a relationship with God, whom we could intercede for. Shall we pray for them?
We've all often prayed for the healing of many around us, and we would have experienced God saying a 'no' to our prayers for someone. It might be natural to get discouraged. But, let's just think of it this way. Let's say your infant daughter needs IV fluids and when injected is crying to you, asking you to remove that from her hand. As a parent, you know that the child needs that IV. The child might not understand why you've said no to her and might continue crying in pain. But, as a parent wouldn't you find all other possible ways in which you could comfort the child and relieve her pain? Isn't that what our Father would do for us? Be 100% sure that God would answer your prayers for your friends/ family - either through direct and complete healing or through some other ways that we might not be able to appreciate. But He sure will answer. For He is just too loving!
Prayer points:
Thank God that by Jesus' stripes we are healed - spiritually. Thank God that He went through all that pain for us.
Pray with faith knowing that God is able to heal your friend/ family member of any sickness.
Pray that the friend/ family member will have the strength and the resources to go through this tough time. Pray that they will persevere.
Pray that there would be healing, which brings all the glory to God, bringing your loved one closer to God.
If you can, try memorizing Isaiah 53:5
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