“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” (Numb. 6:24-26)
These three verses are perhaps the most wonderful blessing that you can give to someone who is your brother or sister in Christ when it comes time to leave their presence and you know you will not be communicating with them for a very long time, perhaps not until you meet in heaven.
They are heartfelt, they express a sincerity that is concerned only with the one receiving that blessing. They are a prayer to the Almighty.
I usually do not pray for people to be healed, perhaps to my shame, but instead I pray that they will find peace in the pain, that they will realize that the Lord stands beside them, and that whatever they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus Christ is going through it with them.
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)
I believe wholeheartedly that there is a time for prayers in the temporal, but I tend to believe more that eternal prayers matter more, that the brother who is in a trial would be able to say, “Thy will be done,” that a woman who is grieving unconsolably will know without a doubt that there is One who loves her above all others, and that He will never leave her or forsake her.
Pain, both physical and of the heart, comes and goes, and if we pray only that those who are experiencing them would be healed immediately, the blessing that comes with that trial may be missed.
Perhaps I may be wrong here, but those appropriate prayers should include “after they have learned what it is you are trying to teach them Lord.”
I have noticed a change in these letters over the last three months now, something that I had not considered at length, that when they began to change is when my own personal physical pain began. To those of you who have prayed for me I give you thanks from the bottom of my heart, especially to my loving wife who has witnessed this latest battle of my flesh rebelling, for her prayers reflect the heart of God. But I also see the reason why that pain was brought upon me, at least in part.
“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” (Romans 12:15)
Our prayers should always include “Thy will be done” when we are praying for ourselves, and we should honestly mean those words, but when praying for someone else, no matter what the circumstances are, our prayers should include, “Help them to see your will in this Father.”
These are prayers that are concerned with their soul, the health of their soul, their walk with the Lord, not so much the temporary relief of the pain of the flesh or the mind, but of the desire that in the midst of it, before it is removed, they can just as honestly say in the fulness of their heart “Thy will be done,”
I believe that Lazarus as he sat at the rich man’s gate in pain said those words, Job said it like this. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:” (Job 13:15a)
That they would recognize and accept the will of the Living God in their lives, then even if the pain never subsides, they will still love Him just as much as they have on all those sunny days of their life.
Pray for them to be healed, yes, of course, but the better part is for the servant to accept whatever the Master places before him.
I leave you with truth, in context.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5)
