July 20, 2008

What do we do with our hands when we pray? We fold them, lift them up, hold hands with one another in a group or dinner table. Healing prayer Prayer is an extension of healing. Jesus begins his ministry with healing and then later he teaches the disciples how to pray. In this manner, it can be seen that prayer flows from the power of healing. The larger view of what healing is can be found in Romans 8: When we cry, ‘Abba!* Father!’ 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness* with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Social suffering in the first century is much like what it is in the Middle Eastern countries today. It is not the short lived physical suffering, but the suffering of a shamed reputation. A shameful reputation reflects on the person and families of that person and can last centuries. The futility in Romans 8 comes form sin and death as seen in Genesis 3. Creation is ours to nurture and care for, but if we waste it then it is all futile. There were three curses in Genesis 3: 1) curse of women pain in childbirth and being subject to their husbands. Thank God for Jesus Christ who removed that curse when he said that marriage is a covenant not a business relationship. 2) The ground was cursed with thorns and thistles and man had to work the ground by the sweat of his brow. Jesus shows how this curse is removed in his parable of the sower when 100 fold yield is produced. This is a miracle just as Laban's yield in Genesis. 3) snakes were cursed--too bad for snakes. All these curses will be fully lifted. These curses do not say that this is the way the universe is and too bad for us. This point of view either makes us the victims or the greedy who horde everything. With the curses lifted we can live without fear, greed and hatred and live with forgiveness, healing and peace. The resurrection to come is foreshadowed in the healing ministry that Jesus began. It is a beam of light, a beacon to the future that reflects the great healing to come. This is not a removal of death. In fact, Jesus never prevents anyone from dying. Jesus never avoids death. He even dallied to let people like Jarius' daughter and Lazarus to die so he could show that death is like sleep. Prayers for healing are not a talisman or magic bullet to protect us from suffering and death. Healing prayer is a foreshadow of the complete healing to come.