Illness, Healing & Faith

The Bible is full of accounts of healing, particularly in the Gospels. There is no doubt for the Christian that God can heal, and hopefully there is no doubt that He can still do this today. In the Bible, Jesus often said to those who came to Him: “Your faith has healed you” (e.g. Luke 8:48). He required people to have faith. You need to recognise that Jesus is able to heal.


        I do have to say that sometimes it does not seem quite as straight forward as merely having faith - dare I say this. Excuse me if I offend anyone with this angle, but sometimes, even a lot of the time, God seems to allow us to suffer. If we are faithful, and have prayed, we have to trust God that He knows what He is doing, if He leaves us unhealed. Having said this, I acknowledge and want the kind of faith with which big-name healers are anointed (and other gifted Christians also); those Christians who go to large meetings, placing hands on many people and seeing hundreds and thousands of miracle physical healings.


Perhaps I am saying that there are in a sense two levels. One is that God can and may heal in a certain situation, but you are not certain whether He will, based on your experience that not everyone is healed. It is possible that you may have a lot of faith that healing will occur and it still doesn’t happen. Also, of course, there might only be a little faith present, yet the person does get healed! Perhaps all that we can conclude from this is that God is sovereign; we cannot fully understand Him. The other level is one of certainty where there is such a strong level of the Holy Spirit present that those praying know healing will occur.


I also believe that God can bring miracle healing to those who have hearts bound up with hurt. Although emotional healing such as this is often gradual, the Spirit can come in power and bring total, or a great amount of restoration, at one time. I pray that this site would be part of such miracle healings, wherever we have the opportunity to encourage people.

Help from Above

There are varying degrees of bullying severity. Whatever the degree that you are experiencing, we want to offer some hope and encouragement to you. We believe that GodJesus, the Lord might inspire or help you in many ways. When you pray to him, and really call on him, you may experience a deep peace, and a spiritual empowerment. Fear can be a powerful force, and it is a normal reaction when you are bullied. However, with your faith in God, fear can be confronted. can help us in many ways when we suffer. It is also prudent to get support from others. In your relationship with

As I have said, the risk of loosing your job if you complain or stand up for yourself is often a real one. We cannot give any specific advice about the wisdom of proactively countering bullying, as obviously every situation is different. None the less, what is clear is this: if you believe in Jesus, then you are a child of God, and you are saved. No bully can take this away, and this can be a real comfort. Looking at the Bible, we read;

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

We can know that these words are of encouragement to us. We are forgiven by God for our sin, so the power of fear itself is broken in our lives. We do not have to be overwhelmed or controlled by fear. The context of the passage is of having boldness to preach the Gospel and hold to the truth. If you are being unfairly victimised and treated badly, the reality is that God is in support of you. He is on your side: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

We are all important to God, and your suffering is before his eyes. May you have hope in your suffering, as it says: “...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose....We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:28, 37). Not only do we have freedom from the death that our own sin has caused, we also have hope now and in the future to enjoy life with God. May you sense this hope in your difficult situation.

Jesus says in the Gospels, “Do not fear those who kill the Body, but then can do nothing to you.” Bullies can seem to threaten our whole lives, including perhaps our future financial security. They can rob us of happiness, just by their attitude towards us. But, don’t be afraid. Know Jesus is there with you.

Use the Bible, and the truth you know about God and how good he feels about you, to combat fear. The reasons why bullies do what they do are perhaps less important. They may be inadequate, they may have very empty lives, they may have a sinful enjoyment of abusing their power. On top of this, the enemy can use victimisation to bring us down spiritually, threatening our faith and hope in God.

Many or most work places can be stressful environments. Some work colleagues might seem unreasonable or harsh to us, but the reality is that they are not doing so deliberately or maliciously. It is important to make the distinction between true work bullies and people like this. Work colleagues might be so stressed by work pressure that they off load this stress on to us. This is not nice to experience, but should be seen in perspective, and can be got used to and tolerated.

Loneliness

Most of us experience loneliness at some point in our lives. It can creep up on you gradually over time. It may be a familiar feeling that seems to have hung over you for most of your life. Loneliness is serious. It gnaws at our sense of reality and it can draw us towards depression and a sense of hopelessness. It makes you feel empty and sad. There may have been a specific incident which happened to you to make you lonely, such as a divorce and you are now faced with the stark reality of your own company. We are not meant to be alone. In Genesis 2:18, we read God's own statement that "It is not good for the man to be alone". This hangs so true. The company of God Himself is not enough as Adam had permanent access to God's presence in a perfect world. We need to interact with people to stay sane and, more than that, to enjoy life properly. We need friends.

Practical steps:

Loneliness itself is a painful and deadening feeling; it is daunting. For lack of friendship, a need has been denied, and you feel a deep emptiness. One thing that may help to combat loneliness is to deal with inactivity and boredom. Positive action, such as a hobby or voluntary work, can help. However, this is obviously not enough. Unless your activities involve other people, then you are still on your own. Even if you are spending time with other people, unless this includes some genuine friends with whom you can relate in a meaningful way, again you are missing out on the human stimulation that you need. Assuming that you are a Christian, you might consider changing church, or even moving area to go to a better and more friendly church. It may be worth investing some time in researching different churches and finding one which will bring you some genuine friends - just test the water by seeing who will be friendly to you. Bear in mind, however, that it takes time and effort to build friendships. Another idea is to find, or set up, a Christian community. Living in this way can be very beneficial, particularly for a time, as it can enable self-confidence and peace of mind to be restored. Hopefully, you can develop some new, healthy friendships. It is important to be very cautious before joining any Christian community or group. Discover a full picture of what the group' s values are and how they operate. Some groups require members to give all of their money and possessions up, or to declare some sort of exclusive allegiance to that group, so beware.

A Prayer For Strength

O Lord,

In this time of need, strengthen me. You are my strength and my shield; You are my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 


I know, Father, that Your eyes go to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts long for You. The body grows weary, but my hope is in You to renew my strength.

I do not fear, for You are with me.

I am not dismayed or overwhelmed, for You are my God. I know You will strengthen me and help me; that You will uphold me with Your righteous hand. Even as the shadows of illness cover me, I feel the comfort of Your strength, Or Lord.

Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father

Who Art In Heaven

Hollowed Be Thy Name

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Will Be Done

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Give Us This Day

Our Daily Bread

And Forgive Us Our Sins

As We Forgive Those Who Sins Againsts Us

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

But Deliver Us From Evil

Amen...

Prayer For a Patient Facing the Birth of a Child

Heavenly Father,
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I thank You that the God powerful enough to create heaven and earth cared enough to create this new life within me. Thank You for this special gift of love. Please keep my baby and me healthy and strong as the time for delivery draws near. Give strength to my body so that I can bring up my child in this busy world. Give strength to my soul so that I may teach my child to know what is right or wrong. Give strength to my spirit so that I may lead my child to know Your love for himself or herself. I pray all of these things in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen.

A Prayer For Fear

Heavenly Father,

As we kneel before Your throne of grace, we ask a special blessing and benediction upon us, Your people. We particularly pray that You will shield and defend us from the ravages of fear and anxiety. Place Your protective mantle around us and our loved ones that we will be fearful of nothing. Help us, Father, to change these times of fear and apprehension into trust and assurance. Keep us steadfast and resolute of purpose in serving You and in doing Your will. Forgive our weakness and shortcomings. Lord, hear our prayer, for we give You praise, honor, glory and thanks.

Amen.