Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.
Have you ever wondered why we should pray for one another? Why can’t people just pray for themselves? I’m not trying to be calloused, but doesn’t it make sense that if a person become sick that they could just ask God for healing themselves?
In the story of the healing of the centurion’s servant, we see several amazing things to glean that should inform our lives. The one that we will focus on today is this simple but profound observation: it wasn’t the faith of the boy that released healing, but the faith of the centurion.*
Sometimes we need someone to have faith for us. The sickness of the boy was such that the words used in the Greek imply that he could not even move.* In the case of the little boy, he didn’t have the physical strength to even cry out to Jesus, much less go to Him.
There are times in our lives that sickness robs us of the strength to cry out. There are times in our lives that our emotional brokenness, our disappointment, and our heaviness make it too difficult to lift words to the ears of a loving Father and a compassionate Savior. Sometimes we do not have what it takes to ask for the power of the Spirit. This is one reason we need one another.
My wife went through a long health journey that spanned years. Like so many of us, she got to a place where she lacked the strength to pray a prayer of faith. She needed those around her to pray for her. By the grace and power of God, and the goodness of God to surround us with Jesus-people, my wife received healing.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to pray for someone you know. Perhaps God wants you to find Jesus-people who will cry out on your behalf when needed. Maybe the healing that someone needs is just one prayer away from today, and you are the one to pray it.
Need prayer? We are happy to pray for you (ask for prayer here).
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 191-196, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 8:5-12) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).