Luke 9:1-2 One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
James 5:14-15 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
I don’t know what is going on at the moment but so many people I know have cancer. An uncle, a niece. Two neighbours. The daughter of someone we know at Port Ban. Three ladies in our church. In two cases, funeral arrangements are already being made, though death has not yet closed the final curtain. The very word “cancer” seems to strike fear into individuals, families, and the society in which we live. Those who are so afflicted generally don’t talk about it, as though they are ashamed of the diagnosis. Some, usually those without the illness, are quick to say that it is not the death sentence it used to be. And, statistically, it isn’t, but that can be small comfort to the recipients of bad news. The medical remedies are usually intrusive and debilitating. Lives are put on hold while treatment takes place. And when the hoped-for good news emerges, it can be tarnished by a nagging concern that the cancer has returned, when an ache or pain intrudes.
But as Christians what are we to make of this? How can we step back and watch, and let it happen, filling the silence with nervous and pious platitudes? Wringing our hands as the medics do what they can. In the Gospels, Jesus instructed His disciples to “heal the sick”. No qualifications. No prerequisites. And He didn’t say pray for the sick – they had authority to heal the sick. And no disease was exempt. (I can hear my son-in-law shout ‘Amen!’ as I write). Later on in the book of James, we read that the Elders in the church had the authority to pray over a sick person, accompanied by the annointing with oil, and the presence of faith, bringing about their healing. So rather than praying down a shopping list of sick people’s needs, should we be praying rather for healing authority to return to the church, starting with ourselves? O Lord! Please forgive us for our lack of faith, for our unbelief! Please bring revival to Your church.
Being a Pilgrim 
I am reading a fascinating book just now called Shifting Atmospheres by Dawna De Silva. She describes the negative spiritual atmospheres that we have allow to envelope our lives and our faith and our expectations. We all ķnow that a small flame brings warmth and light, but that it can easily be blown out if it is not protected from winds. We have all experience where the atmosphere at a party has been dramatically changed by someone’s inappropriate behaviour, or an insensitive or poorly timed comment.
The prayer of the righteous is a powerful tool against all works of the enemy. But they are being said from less than confident hearts and into an atmosphere polluted by demonic lies and influences. Furthermore we are not prepared in our hearts for the fights we pick, and therefore contribute to the atmosphere of dispondancy when our prayers are ignored, or our authority is not recognised by illnesses. Dear Christians, let us get back to our roots. Let us read our bibles and seek the presence of our Lord in our every day lives. Let our hearts sing his praises in both good times and bad, and give him thanks for all situations. Like a battery being recharged, aligning you heart and thoughts through praise with the creator of life, recharged our faith and the power that brings from God. Do you not know that we are the answer for every bad situation? God allows them to come against us so that together we and He can be victorious. Without that underpinning closes with God, our batteries are very low and we can become overwhelmed by the problem and forget we are the solution. God tells us what to say to address the cause and not just the symptoms. But we cannot hear him above the lying shouts from the enemy because we need our batteries charged. Seek God today. Remove yourself from the what distracts you. Praise your Lord and God and loving Father. Align your heart with his through thanks giving and enter into his courts. Then, like Jesus expect for us, we will be fully equipped to tackle illnes such as cancer head on, and see it flee before us. HALLELUJAH!!
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Amen!
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