Bible Archives - Called To Watch

Prayer, Chronic Illness and Healing (Part 2)

The Bible has some pretty in-your-face things to say about prayer and healing. Jesus, as He walked on this earth prayed some big prayers.
But where do these truths fit in my life when my loved ones are not healed however much I pray?

Prayer, Healing and Chronic Illness (Part 2)

I’m continuing my mission to make the resources on this website easier to find – so here is my second ’round up’ of prayer related posts. The first post included the articles:

{POST 1}

Prayer + Chronic Illness = ? (or why we need to make up our minds about prayer)

and

{POST 2}

Why you should pray for healing in Chronic Illness (and 3 reasons why it is so hard)

Prayer and Chronic Illness (Part 2):

{POST 3}

Why praying for healing is tricky (a look at those troublesome Bible passages I used to hate)

As I watch people in my life suffer yet cling to the knowledge that I serve a good God, I have struggled with the Bible’s teachings on prayer. I used to read the verses which seemed to promise immediate physical healing with great cynicism.

At last I decided it was time for me to look into them properly, and I was somewhat surprised at what I discovered when I left my pride and preconceived ideas at the door.

{POST 4}

How to pray for healing from Chronic Illnesses (Jesus prayed, I prayed, and neither of us were answered!)

It’s all very well for me to know that I OUGHT to pray – but how do I really go about praying for someone with an ‘incurable’ disease? I decided to look at the sort of prayers Jesus prayed – and also whether or not they were answered..

// What sort of struggles have you had with the idea of prayer? I’d love to hear about them!

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Why praying for healing is tricky (dealing with ‘troublesome’ Bible passages)

As I’ve wrestled with the concept of prayer and the reality of chronic illness in my life, I’ve discovered a Big Tricky Question.
I can’t ignore it any longer.

I’ve written about prayer in Why we need to make up our minds about prayer and Why we should pray for healing from chronic illness.

But the Big Tricky Question keeps niggling at me.

It’s this:
Not everyone who prays is healed.

So what do we do (as Christians and/or as Watchers) with the parts of the Bible that promise immediate healing?

Why do passages in the Bible promise healing but not deliver?

First disclaimer: I’m not a trained theologian.

Second disclaimer: context is important, but for the sake of a read-able blog post I haven’t included the surrounding chapters of each of these verses.

Third disclaimer (this is the most important!): I can’t promise a miracle. But I can offer you company as you look through theses verses and puzzle over them. I can offer you my thoughts, and a chance to put aside your assumptions and your aching heart to read these passages anew.

Will you join me?

Continue reading “Why praying for healing is tricky (dealing with ‘troublesome’ Bible passages)”

What does society say about sickness (PART 2)?

What does society say about healing, prayer, heaven and sacrificial giving?
Have you been duped?

What do we really think about chronic illness? In the depths of our hearts, in the stillness of our bedrooms… are we really as kind as we think?

Here’s my thoughts on what society is perhaps “really” saying (or thinking!) about chronic illness and care-giving.

If some of these observations seem a bit too harsh, let me reiterate my definitions of “society”:

ONE: secular, not-specifically-Bible-based, thought.

TWO: individual-focused, 21^st century, Western culture (because that’s where I live)

THREE: the ‘natural’ whispers of my heart when it is not focused on Jesus.

You see? If this post is harsh, it is harsh towards myself. If this post is judgemental, I am sitting in the dock as well as on the jury.

Let’s examine ourselves together, and not be afraid of what we might uncover.

This is Part 2 of “What does society say about sickness?”

What society says about prayer

Continue reading “What does society say about sickness (PART 2)?”

What does society say about chronic illness (PART 1)?

We know what the Bible says about sickness, but what does society say?
Perhaps it can provide another answer. Even a better answer.

We learnt that the Bible has some guidelines which can help us formulate an ‘answer’ to sickness.

But we can’t stop there.

I think it is important we look at the flip side.

What does society say about Chronic Illness?

A definition of ‘society’

Now, by ‘society’, I mean secular, not-specifically-Bible-based, thought.

I mean the individual-focused, 21^st century, Western culture in which I live.

I mean the ‘natural’ whispers of my heart when it is not focused on Jesus.

can you really define ‘society’ like this?

Wait! If at this point you have an objection, I am with you.

If your objection is: ‘We can unearth what the Bible says about sickness by reading it, but how can we discover what society says? It’s too subjective. There’s no manual.’ then I’m with you also.

There is no book for society. It is made up of so many ideologies and sympathies. ‘Society’ is different in different cultures and countries and times.

How on earth can we hope to pin down in one post the response of ‘society in general’ to chronic illness?

To even consider doing so seems pretentious on the largest scale.

Continue reading “What does society say about chronic illness (PART 1)?”

Sickness and the Bible (references, disappointments and questions)

Some things in life are opposites. They can’t coexist because they cancel each other out. Fire & Water. Tiny & Huge.

Sometimes I am tempted to add ‘Sickness & Christianity’ to this list.

Some people will state it blatantly: there can’t be a god, because if there was, there wouldn’t be suffering.

Ie. If God existed, sickness would not.

Others may not state it that way, but they will believe it just the same. The topic makes them uncomfortable, and they don’t want to talk about it.

They’re afraid to look into it too deeply, because they know sickness is a reality, and they want God to be a reality too, to make them feel better about life. They want to keep their crutch.

Christians, of course, believe in Christianity. They stake their lives on it. And yet… they have to believe in sickness as well. They would be fools not to.

We, as Christian Watchers, know only too well that sickness exists – yet we claim God does too.

Continue reading “Sickness and the Bible (references, disappointments and questions)”