He Laid His Hands Upon Her
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Matthew 26:26-28
26. Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." 27. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; 28. for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 13:10-13
10. Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11. And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." 13. And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God.
I never thought I’d live my life looking forward to Thursday so very much. Wednesday is the traditional “hump day” that refers to the fact that after that day, only two more days until the weekend. Friday is the popular, TGIF day of notoriety: the last day of the work week. Time for the weekend! Several months ago a dear friend invited my husband and me to attend a healing prayer conference at All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Richmond sponsored by the Order of St. Luke. It was amazing. It was inspiring. We were motivated and uplifted. It was, in short, life-changing. In March, I left the full-time work force to work part time as I pursue my writing and other ventures, so I am fortunate enough to be able to attend the Thursday morning Healing Service at All Saints Episcopal Church in Richmond.
I know . . . I have historically been one of those skeptics. Not really a skeptic – I just didn’t have much exposure to this type of thing growing up in the Catholic Church. For that matter, most Protestants don’t really have exposure to it either—not beyond the services seen on television where various individuals from the audience are healed by a (perhaps charlatan) preacher – and really, who knows if those are staged or not. Isn’t that what you wonder – or is it just me? Don’t get me wrong! I believed at least 85% that others could/had been healed. It was just never really on my radar as part of my own faith life.
But you know . . . it is real. I’ve experienced it myself! And I’ve listened to others who have experienced it as well. I was not healed of every ache and pain. I didn’t ask to be healed! I just showed up, with a willingness to see what would happen. I didn’t fall on the floor as if struck by a bolt of lightning. It was a small, gradual thing. I have begun to be healed of many of the emotional and spiritual scars that have held me back from growing into the true person I was created to be. As I released my body and my mind and my soul to the power of the healing love of Christ, I was healed in ways I didn’t even know were in need of healing! He was broken so I could be made whole.
Isn’t that amazing? I went to the first service, open yet not convinced. I left that service fully believing! God is so good. He knew I would talk about it. He knew I would write about it. He planned for me to be in that place, in that time so that I could tell you about it right now. I’m so glad God has all this planned out and manages it all so well!
My prayer today is that you offer up your brokenness to the God who heals all hurts. And that you tell someone today how wonderful is the savior who died to give you life.
Mary
