Mark 2:1-12 describes four men who carry their paralyzed friend up a flight of stairs, make a hole in the roof, and lower him down to see Jesus. Obstacles were in their way, but their love and faith inspired them to color outside the lines and even destroy property to help their friend. The scripture says: “When Jesus saw their faith,” he healed their friend.
You can have faith on behalf of someone else. You can believe in them, pray for them, imagine them in God’s healing light, and support them. Your prayer and faith can be the tipping point between health and illness for another person.
Think a moment. For whom are you called to pray. Who needs your support and encouragement? Who needs your simple presence and hope in the future to get them through today?
In an interdependent universe, our prayers create a healing field of force around those for whom we pray. They add energy and open possibilities at an unconscious level. Our prayers may even open the door for a greater influx of God’s presence, enabling God to be active in ways that would not have been possible without our prayers.
Take time today to surround specific persons in prayer…reach out to someone who is struggling in life…share realistic yet life-changing words of hope.
For today, live with the following affirmations:
My faith can be a medium of healing for others.
My prayers add love and energy to the universe and in those for whom I pray.
My life makes a creative and healing difference to others.
Bruce Epperly is a theologian, spiritual guide, healing companion, retreat leader and lecturer, and author of nineteen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living; God’s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus; and Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry. He has taught at Georgetown University, Wesley Theological Seminary, Claremont School of Theology, and Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is currently theologian in residence at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His most recent book Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed will be released in May 2011. He can be reached for lectures, seminars, and retreats at bruceepperly@gmail.com
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