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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“Can you pray for her?” my wife asked with a nasally voice.
It took me a moment to register the question.
It was Thursday morning, and between my burning throat, brain fog, and lack of sleep, I couldn’t have told you.
My daughter had been throwing up since Tuesday despite eating nearly nothing for the last 24 hours.
She had caught the same stomach bug my oldest son had recovered from a few days prior.
Meanwhile, our other two boys had come down with colds.
My wife was in just as bad of shape as the rest of us as she gathered her stuff to take our daughter to the doctor’s office.
I’d been praying for everyone all week.
“Can you pray for her?”
That stung.
What Am I Teaching Them?
When you’ve prayed for a loved one repeatedly and they remain sick, praying again can start to feel complicated.
You start wondering what they’re learning from the lack of results.
If you pray over and over and your family member stays sick, are they going to believe God can’t do it?
Worse, what if they start wondering if He even wants to heal them?
Just because you’re okay in that tension before results are seen doesn’t mean others are.
So you try to protect the people you care about most from more disappointment.
You pray a little more cautiously.
A little less confidently.
And when nothing changes, your hesitation starts to feel justified.
Let Them See You Build
Shielding someone from the tension of faith doesn’t help them.
Faith has always required trusting God before there was something visible to point to.
We can see this in Noah’s life.
Noah was warned by God about “things not yet seen.” So Noah built the ark in reverent obedience before the waters ever came. (Hebrews 11:7, Genesis 6:9-22).
Anyone watching could see the ark being built.
However, they couldn’t see the reason for it yet.
Noah had nothing “concrete” to point to as he worked.
But proving Yahweh right wasn’t Noah’s job.
His job was to trust God’s instruction and keep building.
A Prayer to Keep Building
Dear Father,
Thank You that You are trustworthy even when I can’t see what You’re doing yet.
Thank You that Your goodness does not change when what I see doesn’t match what You’ve said.
Jesus, thank You for showing me the Father’s heart toward the sick.
Thank You that by Your stripes we have been healed.
Holy Spirit, thank You for comforting and encouraging me when the results don’t look like I expected.
Thank You for continuing to teach me as I obey.
I release the responsibility to protect others from disappointment.
I reject the lie that silence is safer than obedience.
I will not let what I haven’t seen yet keep me from praying for others.
And I will keep building.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Until next time,
Addison
