Moved Any Mountains Lately?
Preaching
Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees
And 149 Other Sermon Ideas
Purpose Statement: Should we be able to heal people with prayer, and if so what can we heal?
We've heard of various faith healers, some of whom are even on television. Should we believe in them? Some Christians (Christian Scientists) believe so much in prayer that they disapprove of any medical practice. How do we feel about healing prayer? Do we expect it to happen? Has it happened for us? A mother of a very sick boy read about a tree where the face of Jesus was purported to have been seen. She was taking him to the tree, believing that if he touched the tree, he would be healed. We realistically know that a great many of our prayers for healing have not been efficacious. We ask why. Luke 9:1-6 records Jesus having given the disciples the power to heal. Shouldn't we be able to heal like them?
a. Some healing prayers have worked. We know that. Whether psychosomatic or God's healing, or at different times both, we believe that prayer will heal.
b. Most of us believe that we can't heal everything. Since biblical days no prayer has raised the dead, the ultimate healing. Prayer does not grow back an arm that has been lost. The best faith healers and Christians Scientists have failures. And we know of so many incidents where prayer didn't heal. So sometimes we can and sometimes we can't.
c. When we fail, is it the sick person's fault? Mark 10:46-52 tells the story of blind Bartimaeus being healed because he had faith. Should we assume that when prayer doesn't heal it is because the sick one did not believe? That may be beyond our power to know. However, we must remember we cannot heal all diseases or injuries.
d. Could it all hinge on our faith? Mark 11:22-25 is a remarkable statement by Jesus. We are told that, if we believe, anything we pray for we will receive. By prayer, we can move mountains into the sea. Again we are confronted by Jesus' style of exaggeration in order to make a point. Just believing is not enough; Jesus would also add that it must be in harmony with God's will. The concept of needing to believe if it is to happen has its tricky side also. How are we able to believe it will happen if we know that not everything we pray for is going to happen or can happen? And, supposedly, if we don't believe and have faith, it won't happen. Perhaps someone else has an answer to this conundrum. If so, please write.
e. Finally, God's will must take precedence. Even Jesus in the garden during the closing moments of his life prayed not to have to go to the cross, but acquiesced to God's will. We believe in prayer, that it is answered sometimes, and that God wants us to be whole and healthy. We can ask for no more.
We've heard of various faith healers, some of whom are even on television. Should we believe in them? Some Christians (Christian Scientists) believe so much in prayer that they disapprove of any medical practice. How do we feel about healing prayer? Do we expect it to happen? Has it happened for us? A mother of a very sick boy read about a tree where the face of Jesus was purported to have been seen. She was taking him to the tree, believing that if he touched the tree, he would be healed. We realistically know that a great many of our prayers for healing have not been efficacious. We ask why. Luke 9:1-6 records Jesus having given the disciples the power to heal. Shouldn't we be able to heal like them?
a. Some healing prayers have worked. We know that. Whether psychosomatic or God's healing, or at different times both, we believe that prayer will heal.
b. Most of us believe that we can't heal everything. Since biblical days no prayer has raised the dead, the ultimate healing. Prayer does not grow back an arm that has been lost. The best faith healers and Christians Scientists have failures. And we know of so many incidents where prayer didn't heal. So sometimes we can and sometimes we can't.
c. When we fail, is it the sick person's fault? Mark 10:46-52 tells the story of blind Bartimaeus being healed because he had faith. Should we assume that when prayer doesn't heal it is because the sick one did not believe? That may be beyond our power to know. However, we must remember we cannot heal all diseases or injuries.
d. Could it all hinge on our faith? Mark 11:22-25 is a remarkable statement by Jesus. We are told that, if we believe, anything we pray for we will receive. By prayer, we can move mountains into the sea. Again we are confronted by Jesus' style of exaggeration in order to make a point. Just believing is not enough; Jesus would also add that it must be in harmony with God's will. The concept of needing to believe if it is to happen has its tricky side also. How are we able to believe it will happen if we know that not everything we pray for is going to happen or can happen? And, supposedly, if we don't believe and have faith, it won't happen. Perhaps someone else has an answer to this conundrum. If so, please write.
e. Finally, God's will must take precedence. Even Jesus in the garden during the closing moments of his life prayed not to have to go to the cross, but acquiesced to God's will. We believe in prayer, that it is answered sometimes, and that God wants us to be whole and healthy. We can ask for no more.
