Prayer Journal
Saturday, August 19, 2000
"My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's body." Prov 4:20-22
If a man has good health, he is truly blessed. David knew that God's word needed to have first place in his heart. God, speaking through David, confirmed it by showing how He would reward such wisdom. "Listen to my words David. You will find what I say to be more important than life itself. Then as you obey what you hear, you will find it will bring health to your body."
Is praying for "good health" dominant on your prayer list. If you are older, it might well be. If anything, this Psalm indicates that good health, like salvation, is more of a gift from God rather than something we earn.
Many devout Christians have struggled with their "thorn in the flesh" like Paul described in 2 Cor 12:7,8. But Paul found his "weakness" to be a good way to demonstrate his dependence on God. He saw it as a way to witness for Him. Nevertheless, he continued to pray asking God to remove his affliction. To our knowledge, Paul died, having never seen his prayer answered.
Scripture tells us that, more times than not, good health is a reflection of the way we revere God's word and follow it's teaching. We've already used Paul as an illustration that "thorns" can be introduced for God's purpose. Today you may have a nagging health problem and have never considered praying about it. The first thing you need to do is follow Paul's example and thank God for the problem and find a way to "make lemonade out of your lemons". Can you use your afliction to point people to God?
If you have poor health and your prayers have seemingly gone unanswered, examine your life today. Does God's word have dominance in your life? Have you failed to listen to what God has told you to do? Have you heard Him, yet failed to obey Him? Are you desperate and desire relief more than anything?
How does one pray for health? Start by confessing your sin, purposing to follow the principles of God's word. Then, by the authority of God's word, you'll find it will become "life" and "health" to you. But remember, it's hard to listen if you don't hear? "Hearing" starts in your heart as "desire" and obedience starts with "prayer" and is demonstrated by "action".
Desire + prayer = action. That's a healthy formula!
Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
