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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Peter's mother-in-law was stuck in bed with a fever.
As Jesus stepped into the house, Peter and the others began telling Him about her.
Jesus went straight to her.
As he approached she was laying down, clearly sick.
Jesus reached for her hand.
Took hold of her.
And lifted her up.
The fever left immediately.
Without wasting time, she got up and began serving Him and the rest of the disciples, completely well.
What If God Is Using The Sickness?
Praying for the sick can feel presumptuous.
Of course we hate seeing someone suffer. We want to help.
Who are we to get in the way of God’s bigger plan?
Maybe God is slowing them down so they don’t make a terrible mistake?
Maybe He is teaching them to depend on Him over their motor functions.
Maybe God is using this diagnosis to finally get their attention.
If any of that is true, praying for sickness to leave might mean praying against what God wants.
So the prayer changes.
Instead of telling the sickness to go, we ask God what He’s trying to teach.
We leave room for the possibility that maybe the illness needs to stay.
Jesus Didn’t Hesitate
When we look at all three Gospel accounts, we get a complete picture of what happened at Peter’s house:
Simon Peter’s mother-in-law had a high fever.
Jesus went to her, stood over her, and rebuked the fever.
He took her by the hand, lifted her, and the fever left immediately.
Nobody had to establish whether the fever had a purpose.
Nobody stopped to ask the Father if He was teaching Peter’s mother-in-law something through the sickness.
Jesus treated the sickness as something to remove.
Then He removed it.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
You don’t have to understand why someone is sick before you pray.
You just have to know God doesn’t accept it.
The Prayer
Dear Father,
Thank You for making me Your child.
Thank You that Your will toward sickness does not change.
Jesus, thank You for showing me exactly what the Father is like.
Thank You for showing me how to respond when sickness is in front of me.
Holy Spirit, thank You for living in me and leading me.
Thank You that I don’t need every explanation before I can obey.
I reject the lie that I should leave sickness alone because You might be using it to teach us a lesson.
I release my need to understand why someone is sick before I pray.
When sickness is in front of me, I will not hesitate.
I will move toward the person in love, pray against the sickness, and trust You with everything I don’t understand.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Until next time,
Addison
