A 2nd Look at Prayer/Healing

As I started on my three mile run yesterday, it dawned on me that my injured right foot was healed! This past weekend, I must have done something to hurt it. On Monday, I could hardly put any weight on it but thankfully that was my sermon/worship planning day so I was at a computer most of the day.

On Tuesday, my foot wasn't any better. I had a district meeting and began to notice throughout the day, that my knee was beginning to give out on me because of my foot problem. That night was the Impact World Tour at the High School and because the gym was packed, I had to stand for two hours against a wall on the gym floor level. I tried to relieve the pressure on my foot by resting it on my other foot, but you can only do that for so long.

Wednesday was another tough day for the foot. I made hospital calls in Dayton which meant a lot of walking (3 different hospitals.) We had the 2nd and final night of the Impact World Tour that night and I was wondering if I should go since my foot wasn't getting any better.

That night, one of the Impact World Tour leaders invited people to come to the front of the stage to make a commitment to Jesus Christ. As one of the local links, I came forward with my bum foot. While we were all standing together, the speaker slipped in this little comment, "Maybe you need to be healed from something tonight. We've heard stories of how God can heal us physically...if you are in need of healing, I pray that God would take away your pain..."

Now, I realize that being at the Impact World Tour wasn't primarily about me. It was about having a small part in how God was reaching younger generations for Jesus Christ. But when the leader made the comment about how God brings healing and as my foot was throbbing with pain at that moment, I decided to move my injured foot about 6 inches closer to the stage. After the prayer, I went about my business not thinking any more about that prayer.

On Thursday, I went about my morning with a meeting and a bible study at the church. Later that afternoon, I went for my three mile run, and that's when it dawned on me that for the entire day, I didn't have any more pain in my foot whatsoever. During my run, I thought about that prayer for healing the night before and how I had moved my foot closer to the stage.

Now, I'm not one that is particularly drawn to healing ministries, although, in my years of pastoring, there have been circumstances in which prayer and God's healing touch, were the only ways in which doctors and church members could make sense of certain situations.

A couple of reasons why I'm on the cautious side of not making a huge deal of physical healings is because of Christians who have misused or exploited this gift of God not to mention that there are a number of faithful Christians who for whatever reasons have not experienced healings and and have had to live with an ailment and with pain that comes with it. As a pastor, that raises a number of theological and pastoral questions.

All I know is that I hurt my foot pretty badly. I didn't let it rest or do anything to help it heal. Somebody prayed. And I was able to run 3 miles without any pain whatsoever yesterday.

Thanks be to God!