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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(Unsure if modern healing is something the Bible actually teaches? Start here.)
My phone buzzed.
It was Sarah.
"Heads up: I hope I didn't bring sickness to your house today. I'm not feeling good. I'm nauseous with pain."
I was in the middle of bathing my one- and three-year-olds.
Of course I wasn't just going to text back.
So I gave her a call.
From what she described, it sounded like an upset stomach.
While trying to keep my one-year-old from splashing half the bathtub onto the floor, I commanded the pain and nausea to leave in Jesus' name.
We talked for another minute, hung up, and I finished bath time.
About an hour later, my phone buzzed again.
Sarah had texted:
"It was a kidney stone!”
“I felt it pass without more pain. The pain and nausea before were just from it bouncing around. Everything is gone! I’m good!”
The Prayer Pill
Without realizing it, I think many of us treat healing prayer like medicine.
Medicine depends on an accurate diagnosis.
Different problems require different treatments.
So we quietly assume healing prayer must work the same way.
If it's a stomach bug, we pray for a stomach bug.
If it's a migraine, we pray for a migraine.
If it's a kidney stone...well, we'd better know it's a kidney stone first.
The One Cure
Healing prayer doesn't work like medicine.
When we pray for someone, we aren't releasing a different kind of God's life for stomach bugs than we are for kidney stones.
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
The life that defeated sin, sickness, and death doesn't change depending on what's wrong with someone.
That's why we can command healing with confidence, even when we don't know exactly what's causing the pain.
A Prayer for Confidence Without Certainty
Original graphic by Bryan Arcebal
Dear Father,
Thank You for sending Your Son.
Thank You for being the power and authority in my life.
Jesus, thank You for defeating sin, sickness, and death once and for all.
Thank You for being the life that sustains me every day.
Holy Spirit, thank You for living within me.
Thank You for speaking and moving through me.
I renounce every lie that says I need a perfect diagnosis before I can help others.
I reject the belief that You aren't enough for every sickness and disease.
I will not hesitate because I don't know exactly what's causing someone's pain.
I will bring You wherever I go.
I will trust that Your life is enough.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Until next time,
Addison
