Articles
Healing
As a Christian, what does it mean when one of our wounds (whether they be emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical) are healed? How exactly does God heal us and others through prayer?
It is not always in the way we expect, but we know He can do it. This is because people would not have been praying for healing for over two thousand years if it did not work. But, more importantly, God has written that He will always be with us and be our God. And it is a well-known fact that God always keeps His word.
To be healed is not just feeling better overall or a sudden flip of a switch like Grandpa Joe does in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As humans, we will want to ignore, shy away from and even hide from our wounds. When this happens, we are given a false sense of security. We may say that we have accepted or faced our fear, when in fact the opposite is the case. If our wounds have actually been healed, we will receive not only a feeling of letting go, but also a feeling of admittance. We also begin to recognize that Christ died so that we can have this very opportunity with God. Both Christ and God see us worthy of love, healing, redemption, and much more.
Once we begin to realize that Christ and God deem us worthy, we can begin to fully face, communicate, and heal our wounds. This should be done through heartfelt prayer, by seeking deeper meaning behind the wound, and (once comfortable) by talking about it with someone you love and/or trust. Communicating and admitting the existence of our wounds is one of, if not the most, challenging steps. Which is why in this step we have to find the hope and courage we need from the Lord. His love is both unwavering and perfect; with Him redemption and hope are constant.
It is through a lens of God’s perfect love that we should try to see any consequences of our wounds. Whether we see them as good or bad consequences can feel so painful in the moment. But the Lord has plans for all of us and those plans will never be able to happen if we do not trust Him. Just look at the story of Job or the Israelite’s exile leading to the birth of Christ as two examples. If our wounds indeed stay as such, we will be creating an ever-growing gap between us and those that we love--but, more importantly, us and God as well.
Inspired by: Matthew 28:16-20, Isiah 41:10, Job, John 3:16
