Why does Jesus Heal People now ?

My wife and I were at a market stall buying dried fish from a vendor in her 80’s, when she asked us if we remembered her. She had attended a talk my wife gave on healing prayer the night before in the church in the remote mountain town we visited. We had given out small bottles of blessed oil (a sacramental) and then Eppie gave her talk instructing the participants on how to approach the Lord for their healing. 

The conditions being , purity of heart and purity of intention. So firstly repentance of our sins and being reconciled with God and others; then purity of intention, or the ‘why’ you want to be healed, because you are needed, by family or others who rely on you. The lady from the market had been troubled by shoulder pain for some time, often being unable to sleep properly, and having placed blessed oil on herself, and prayed for her healing had made an instant recovery. We later learned of another group of friends who had gone to the hospital the next morning to pray for a sister who had dreadful skin problem (possibly leprosy) for some time and she too was healed  within a few days all the sores and puss dried up and her skin returned to normal. 

In the Gospels and Acts of the apostles healing is seen to be a very common and normal thing for Jesus and his followers to do; to restore His children to health; but something much deeper is taking place too. 

There is a turning to God in repentance, the restoration of health follows, an awareness of His living presence within us and in the world, and finally intimacy and union with Him in our prayer. This is the objective, a much closer, more vital dynamic and intimate walk with the living God.

“Does Prayer Work?”

Unanswered prayer is something that everyone struggles with at times, but it may not be that mysterious after all. Particularly with hindsight, when I consider life backwards I am rather relieved that He didn’t answer some prayers and even more relieved that He didn’t answer prayers said for me by others or I may have been peppered with lightning bolts and drenched in lashings of Greek Fire long ago! Fortunately He is irritatingly patient with sinners. 

Our Prayer life goes hand in hand with our evolving or developing relationship with God. From follower to disciple to servant to friend and then to son (or daughter) and at each point there is a different attitude to prayer, a different level of intimacy with God and often a quite different result as our hearts are brought into closer harmony with His. 

Sadly, many stop praying when they discover that God is not Santa Claus and not there to cater to our whims or often selfish demands. He has so much more to offer than mere trifles. Perseverance is certainly a part of the training in prayer and some things can take months or years of prayer but listening is also crucial, asking the right questions in order to refine your prayer until it becomes in line with His desires. As C.S. Lewis noted ‘prayer does not change Him, it changes me.’ 

Perhaps this underlines too the usefulness of seeking the intercession of the saints, as when we pray the Rosary for example, as we offer our prayer through Mary who is uniquely related to God as daughter, mother and spouse, she can ‘correct the grammar’ and perfect the prayer as she would be aware of what is needed more precisely than we would. 

With time, practice and an open heart, prayer will become a joy, a dynamic two-way street and as He changes our hearts more and more, we will be more attuned to know the right things to pray for and answered prayer will become as normal as breathing. 

We have a tradition in our prayer group where at the end of the year, we have a prayer of thanksgiving for the year that passed and petitions for the next, which we record and review. There are very few unanswered or delayed, nowadays.