Do you believe John 3:16? Then why isn’t Mark 16:17–18 your daily life?
Hi, I’m Addison. You’re reading (or listening to) Bigger Than Me—a weekly guide devoted to removing the fears, doubts, and misconceptions that keep believers from healing the sick in everyday life.
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“You might want to look for a back up for tomorrow. I’ve been sick since Friday morning. Flu maybe. I have a terrible headache now too. If I’m better in the morning, I’ll come but I don’t want to bring anything to your house.”
It was Saturday night. My friend Anne was supposed to watch our younger kids the next day while my wife and I took our oldest son to his baseball game. Now she was sick, and our plans were up in the air.
I started typing a reply, then stopped.
Decided to leave her a voice message instead.
I told her I was sorry she was feeling so lousy. Then I prayed, commanding the flu and its symptoms to leave her body in Jesus' name.
Before ending the recording, I added one more thing.
"Hey, don't feel like you still need to babysit or anything like that after you're feeling better tomorrow. Take some time to relax and catch up on other stuff; we'll be good with the kids."
With that, I ended the message.
Who Is This Really For?
When someone we care about gets sick, we naturally want them well again.
If we're being honest, sometimes it's about us, too.
Maybe a coworker being sick for the day doubles our workload.
Maybe a friend coming down with the flu disrupts a long-planned group vacation.
Maybe our child's diagnosis leaves us so anxious that we need them to get better just to feel at peace again.
Sometimes our desire for life to get back to normal can create expectations for the person we're praying for.
If we pray together and they recover, will they feel obligated to "return the favor"? To do something they might not want to do or don't have the energy for yet?
Even when nobody says it aloud, healing prayer can start to feel like a transaction.
Freely Given
“Thank you for your prayer! I feel much better than yesterday but I think I will stay home today. 😊”
Jesus told His disciples:
“Freely you have received; freely give.”
Before I sent my message to Anne, I'd caught myself thinking about how nice it would be if she recovered in time to babysit after all. I genuinely wanted Anne healed because she's a good friend, of course, but I also recognized the temptation to let my own plans become part of why I was praying.
That’s why I recorded the voice message and made it a point to Anne she didn't need to babysit, even after feeling better.
Healing is a gift Jesus paid for, and nobody owes us anything for sharing it.
We don't have to pretend we don't have our own hopes and plans. But we can choose to pray for someone out of love without making their healing about what we might gain from it.
A Prayer for Giving Freely
Dear Father,
Thank You for making me Your child.
Thank You that Your goodness toward me isn't something I could ever earn or repay.
Jesus, thank You for paying the price for my healing.
Thank You for giving me the privilege of sharing what You've freely given me with others.
Holy Spirit, thank You for helping me recognize when my own desires get in the way of loving others.
Thank You for guiding me to put others' needs before my own.
I repent for the times I've treated prayer as a way to get something I wanted, even when my desire to help was genuine.
I reject the lie that someone owes me anything for my help.
I release every expectation of repayment, gratitude, or personal benefit from someone else's healing.
The next time someone needs prayer, I will pray for them out of love, without expecting anything in return.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Until next time,
Addison
