Praying for what really ails us
David Powlison has written a spot-on evaluation of what's wrong with how churches pray for the sick:
The colon cancer in room 103 with uncertain prognosis… the lady in room 110 with a gall bladder that’s not yielding to treatment… the broken leg that’s mending well…As much as I've quoted here, this one's too good to pull out a money quote. The whole thing is worth reading (HT: The Christian Mind).
Such public prayers may be medically informative, but they are spiritually impoverished. They usually center on physical healing. And they typically amount to nothing more than requests for effective doctors, procedures, and medicines.
Visitors of many churches might be pardoned if they get the impression that God is chiefly interested in perking up our health, and that radiant physical fitness is our greatest need. They might also be pardoned for thinking that God can’t do what we ask, because so many chronic illnesses remain unhealed.
posted by Milton Stanley at 3:30 PM
2 Comments:
This article made some excellent points. I've saved excerpts so that I can always be prepared to check myself and my response to any illness I may have and to always remember that the spiritual aspect is most important in my prayers for others.
Glad you found it helpful!
Post a Comment
<< Home