I put my hand on their shoulder, back, or arm and tell each patient that physicians and medications don’t heal; only God heals.  I tell them that doctors, medicines, nurses, etc are but instruments, and the power to give life and to resolve illness rests only in our Father.  I then ask them if I could request God to touch them.  None refuse.  I then simply ask our Father to touch them and resolve their illness, to encourage them, to bring them close to Him, to reveal to them His purpose for their life, and to convince them again that He is real and that He loves them dearly.  It is done in a couple brief moments and our Father is faithful to touch them and to continue to faithfully pursue them, always, because of His priority on love and honor, allowing for the patient to respond, listen, follow, etc.

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Most allow me to pray (most have never been prayed for in this manner previously) and most people are not immediately healed (over many years and thousands of times, there have been but a handful of dramatic responses).  Though most are healed (most!), every now and then a person will return with a story, giving God glory for the “miracle” that they witnessed after.

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This week, we had a 12 year old boy arrive gravely ill, with malaria and swelling in the area of his left kidney.  With ultrasound, we diagnosed an abscess and with a needle puncture, we aspirated pus.  We then incised the area and drained more than a liter of pus from this little boy’s back and abdomen.  We treated his malaria, began antibiotics, and continued to remove pus with a drain (standard care).

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Initially, I told the boy’s father that his son’s survival was doubtful and then I prayed for this boy, with his father, in my above manner, asking God to touch him; that only He could heal him.  This man and his son bought it.

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The following day, the boy had improved dramatically, from barely responsive and unable to lie or sit up except in a twisted, fitful, painful manner, to smiling, eating, speaking, moving and sleeping without pain.  This father was beaming.  He was recognizing that he had a Father who cared.  He believed that His Father had intervened and that his son was touched by a God who loved him and had a purpose for him.  He went on and on, telling everyone in the hospital what God had done for his son, how good God was, that “the doctor prayed, and God responded”.  Something had happened in this father and the coolest thing was that he was not full of praise for the doctor or the medicine, but for the Healer, the Giver of life.  The son, as well, was telling everyone who would listen that God was his doctor and that he was so much better.

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This generates a few thoughts:

The eye of the beholder…  So many people are healed every day, around the world, by our loving and caring Father, using various instruments of His choosing, and if any praise is given, it is usually for the tools rather than for the carpenter, the created rather than the Creator.  Most of the instruments, as well, don’t acknowledge the One who creates, molds, trains, directs and holds them, allowing them the incredible privilege of participating in his life-giving works by serving those He loves.  There are so many “intelligent” people in this world who believe that hammers (not carpenters) build houses.

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This man’s heart had been prepared over time and circumstance…  This father came to his son’s life-threatening illness carrying many seeds, previously planted by his loving Father that would help his soil produce God-honoring fruit after this storm.  So often the storms that we fear bring the rain that allows all of the Spirit-planted seeds in us to germinate and bring forth beautiful fruit following the storm.  Our Father’s Spirit is pursuing each and every man, woman and child through circumstances, people, thoughts, words, successes, failures, etc.  His love is so patient, is never discouraged or offended by all our rejections, endures and bears all of our indifference and distraction, continually hopes for us to respond in love to Him,  and rejoices greatly when we do.  Relationship with Him (life) is by invitation and our lives are an accumulation of innumerable subtle and direct invitations, offered in every conceivable manner, to guide us to Him, in whom is life, beauty, goodness and all treasure.