"To beg God to heal someone is to assume that you have more compassion than He does" - Randy Clark
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
(Acts 3:1-7 ESV)
The above quote and verse from Acts have been challenging me lately, and changing the way I think. The vast majority of Christians believe in praying for the sick in some capacity, yet for reasons that escape me it is often reduced to an uncertain plea to God. Often in our near certainty that no healing will take place, we throw in the anti-prayer contingency "If its not your will to heal them, then give them strength, peace, perseverance etc". I've prayed like that in the past, but I don't really know why, perhaps it's learned behavior? As Randy Clark points out above, to pray like that is to totally disregard the nature of the Father. Furthermore I'm unaware of a instance in the NT of someone praying for someone in this manner.
So if praying for the sick is not a petition to God what is it? Whats been getting to me the most is where Peter and John say to the lame man "I have not silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!". What is it they had? What do we have to give in a situation like that? We're called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and His power, and that is a significant factor for sure but as I've mulled over it I've realized there is more.
I've occasionally fallen into the error of praying for a miracle just because it works, with no tangible love for the person I'm praying for. Sometimes because the Father love the person more than I do He heals them. But as Bill Johnson aptly says, "If our prayers don't move us they aren't going to move Him". I've realized that power or anointing alone isn't how the kingdom works. I need to walk in greater love for the people I minister to, I need Jesus to give me supernatural love for them.
I also feel that as temples of the Holy Spirit we carry the presence of God with us wherever we go. The more time we spend in His presence, when our cup is overflowing, the more of Him spills out around us without us even trying to do anything. We can walk into the darkest places we can find and actually bring the presence of God with us. Sometimes His presence in us is all thats necessary to change the atmosphere around us. I believe that's what happened when people were healed when peter walked by them. It wasn't His shadow, he was so filled with the Glory of the Lord that it gave life to all around him.
While this is all partial revelation I do know that is changing the way I approach the "impossible".
-kyle
