How do I pray for healing?

Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. (Proverbs 16:24)

There is no magic formula that guarantees God will answer with a miraculous healing.  I am sharing the results of my research and experience.

First, allow me to define healing.

1. Healing means to mend something that’s broken.
2. Healing is to make whole again.
3. Healing means to overcome an unhealthy condition in the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and relational areas of our lives.

Second, there are four actions involved in healing prayer.

1. Celebrate Jesus. Worship Him. Rejoice in the victory He won with the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
2. Clarify your need. Ask specifically. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).
3. Commit your life to God. “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD (Psalm 37:3-5). Develop the attitude that declares, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8).
4. Confess your sins, needs, fears, hopes, and faith.

Third, look for God’s healing in one or more of the following ways.

1. People in the helping professions ( for example: social workers, addiction counselors) are a part of God’s healing team.
2. Medical treatments are a part of the miraculous healing God provides.
3. God created the healing health maintaining processes in our bodies.
4. God’s direct healing touch may bring instantaneous healing or he may use a series of touches over time.
5. Obedience to the Bible’s teachings can bring healing and health as well.

What would you add to these suggestions on how to pray for healing?

How can I cope when life is out of control?

Feeling out of control arises from a few inadequate assumptions about life. First of all, we tend to believe life ought to flow smoothly with little or no interference. Then, we suppose that if something is right everyone (or at least the majority) will feel good about it. And sometimes we’re inclined to think that having faith in God will remove all the obstacles in life. Finally, we would like to measure God’s love by our comfort. But life isn’t like that at all.

When your experiences prove these ideas wrong, your natural instinct is to hang on tight and not to let go.  We want to know how to cope and stay in control.  We have the desire to be comfortable and secure. This desire is a part of all humans, but some personalities are more inclined to have a place for everything and to keep everything in its place. Some childhood experiences, like the death of a parent, can amplify this desire for comfort and security. Even the disappointments and hurts you’ve experienced as an adult can drive you to seek more comfort and security. On top of all these things, the spiritual forces of evil can plant thoughts in your mind that might push you into fighting for control.

But the root cause of this problem is deeper still. You and I insist on being in control because we don’t really trust God.  The basic answer to our desire to cope is to listen to the Lord’s promise and His command.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

God promises to be with you when you stop clinging to your life and surrender to him.  You can learn to let go by giving God your desire for comfort, security and control.  Let Him replace it with the reality of His presence.

How can I keep my thoughts and sex life pure?

As Pure as the Driven Snow

Here a few tips on keeping pure in your thoughts and in your sex lives.  Let me share two personal observations.  First, this may be a struggle no matter how old you become..  Second, these temptations aren’t constant.  Once you are consistently victorious over them they will subside.  However, they will come back when you least expect it and often with a fierceness that can take your breath away.

 Confess any impure sexual thoughts as sin.  An impure thought is a thought that if acted out would be sin.  Remember what Jesus said about lust. “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28) 

Seek cleansing.  Deliverance comes from God in response to your faith and discipline.  Claim the Lord’s promise.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)  This will not be an easy victory to win but God can make more than a conqueror.

Demythologize sex.  In the movies, you seldom see the consequences of sex and lust.  Think through the results of impure thoughts.  You will get hooked.  They are addictive.  Lust will eventually lead to action.  It destroys families and persons.

Starve the sources of impure thoughts.  Trace the roots back and cut them off.  Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) He was describing the attitude to take toward impure thoughts.  Like a surgeon removing a cancerous tumor, cut it all out.  Each person is unique.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you identify the sources of temptation in your life.  Then be pitiless, hard-nosed and thorough.  Starve the sources.

Stop thinking of sex as entertainment.  Have you ever thought about how sick it is to watch people having sex as entertainment?  Would you call your married friends and ask to come over to watch them have sex?  Why?  Because it’s sick.  But we’ll turn on the TV or plop down our hard-earned money to watch a couple of actors go at it.  Sex is more than entertainment and recreation.

Read, study and memorize the Bible.  Fill your mind with God’s truth, especially verses that attack the world’s warped view of sex.  Write out the following verses on small cards or slips of paper to carry with you.  Read them several times a day.

• Matthew 5:27-30
• Proverbs 6:25-29
• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
• Philippians 4:8

Get accountability.  Develop a relationship with a same gender friend who will ask you hard questions and demand honest answers.  Meet with him or her regularly.

 Avoid a negative obsession.  Saying, “I will not think about sex” guarantees you will think about sex.

 Redirect your thoughts.  Use displacement to fill your mind with thoughts about something else.  Picture Jesus dying on the cross.  Imagine his pain.  Make it as real as possible.

 Turn temptation into spiritual power.  Use each temptation as a call to pray for others.  (I pray for other pastors.)  Pull out your Bible verses and read them.  If you pray and read the Bible every time you’re tempted, the devil will be less inclined to tempt you.

Never give up.  If you fall, get up, confess it, receive God’s forgiveness and start fighting to be pure again.  God will help you.

Why do I keep struggling with the same old sins?

If God has the power to create me, why He doesn’t have the power to remake me? Why do I keep struggling with the same sin? Why can’t God change me so I don’t want to do this?

Let’s begin with three simple words and how they relate to sin in a follower of Jesus. (I am in debt to my mentor, Keith Drury, for these concepts.)

• CAPACITY – every human being has a moral responsibility to choose obedience to God over sin. As long as you and I live in this world we will have the ability to sin. That’s why the recovering addict must constantly fight to remain sober. (Addicts are not the only ones who fight against sin. However, their struggles with addictive behaviors reveal sin’s power to control and to destroy a person’s life.)
  
• INCLINATION – each individual has a unique mix of sins that he or she is prone to do. God’s grace is strong enough to help us overcome even “the sin that so easily entangles” us (Hebrews 12:1 NIV). That’s why an addict who’s been sober for a long time does not want to go back to his or her addiction.
  
• PRACTICE – it’s the doing of sin that disrupts our relationships with God and each other. God’s grace is strong enough to forgive our sins and to deliver us from the practice of sin. That’s why an addict can recover and remain sober for years.
  

What do these three words have to do with your struggle with the old sins? I’m glad you asked. You will always struggle against temptation in this life. God will not release you from that battle until you follow Jesus into heaven. Your struggle against the sins you are prone to do will be even more intense. But you can win with God’s help. He can make you so sick of the sin it loses its appeal. Finally, God’s grace can keep you from sinning. His grace can help you keep on choosing to obey God.

Victory over sin and temptation is not instantaneous or automatic. It takes time and hard work on your part, just ask a recovering addict. So, confess your sins, your frustrations and your need for God’s help. Keep fighting and never give up. God’s grace is sufficient. You will overcome.