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Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion
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WHO not HOW
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Interesting concepts told back to back on the subject of healing in 2 Kings Chapt. 4 today in our reading. The first story of a woman who was given a child through her faith in God only to watch him die as a young boy. She didn’t presume HOW the child would be brought back to life, but only knew that the Elisha would have something to say or do about it. Not even Elisha knew the HOW but he knew the WHO - God. Elisha’s first attempt by sending someone in his place failed! But dramatically, God tells Elisha the HOW and Elisha obeyed by laying over the boy face to face.
The next story of Naman demonstrates what happens when we put faith in the process and not the WHO - God. Naman has the process of healing all figured out. When Elisha offers a different, even more simpler, solution of faith in God, Namen resists! As the story unfolds, we see Naman finally puts his faith in the method that God choose. I see a pattern!
Looking forward in the Gospels we see accounts of healing by faith throughout. I believe another example to consider is the story of Lazerus’s death and subsequent resuscitation. The sisters thought Jesus should have come sooner. That was their presumed theory of HOW their brother would be healed. When Jesus showed up late, He was saddened to see that they were grief stricken, but perhaps he was also sad to see the sister’s faith was in their own limited understanding of the “HOW” and not completely in the “WHO” - Jesus. We know the rest of the story and see again that God knows HOW.
So many times I read prayer request that offers God our own ideas, methods and “the best way” towards a specific outcome. From time to time a prayer comes that matches a the Biblical principal of prayer... THY WILL BE DONE. Faith in God involves listening for God’s method. Hear God’s method through the scriptures and through His Spirit. I am learning this lesson as well as most of you. Today’s scripture reading was profound to me. I will begin to evaluate my prayers from today on.
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Craig from Illinois 06/23/2011 10:00 |
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Tammy
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07/08/2011 20:44 |
Making me think about how I pray. Thanks, Craig.
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Randy Riesenberger
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09/13/2011 22:12 |
I totally agree with the approach to prayer of Thy will be done. Why would I ever want to try to limit God with only the solutions I can think up? He has way better things in store for me than I can dream up.
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Craig from Illinois
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09/14/2011 17:17 |
I have to admit that I haven't thought about this in a while. I see that I wrote it 3 weeks prior to my own mothers death from cancer. I still think it's true that the important part of a prayer for healing is the "WHO" and not the "HOW". It's interested to read this on the other side of sorrow. Thanks for the comments.
Craig
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Ray
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09/14/2011 20:14 |
Craig, great observation. I missed it in June. I guess in a way the whole of the Word is a who.
Sorry about your mom. Mine passed this past year, also. Words fail.
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mrtray
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09/23/2011 10:01 |
Great insght Craig, Thanks
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