Devotionals for October 3, 2023
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READ
Philippians 4:6-8
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Acts 28:8-9
8 As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed.
James 5:14-16
14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Acts 28:8-9
8 As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed.
James 5:14-16
14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
REFLECT
Throughout the Bible, the power of prayer is spoken of and demonstrated repeatedly. In Acts 28, Paul, an ordinary man, like you and I, upon encountering a sick man’s home, went to him, laid his hands upon him, and prayed for God to heal him. The next thing Paul knew, people heard, believed, and came to Paul asking him to pray for God to heal them. Praying in faith for supernatural healing isn’t just a private matter. James urges us to call upon the elders of the church when we are sick, asking them to pray over us, to anoint us with oil. (Sidenote: Anointing with oil in Biblical times symbolized the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon someone in need of supernatural healing).
We also see here that the confession of sin goes hand in hand with the prayer of healing. Is it comfortable? No. Is it vital? Yes. Why? Sin breaks us but God’s primary desire for us is to be made free, to be forgiven, and to be made whole through Jesus Christ.
We also see here that the confession of sin goes hand in hand with the prayer of healing. Is it comfortable? No. Is it vital? Yes. Why? Sin breaks us but God’s primary desire for us is to be made free, to be forgiven, and to be made whole through Jesus Christ.
APPLY
Q: What is the repeated practice in today’s shared Bible verses? Why do you think God tells us to pray for healing?
Q: Is there any illness, pain, disease, anxiety, sin, or worry you have kept to yourself? What action step will you take in faith this week to ask for prayer?
Q: Will you be a Paul as you go about life by stopping and praying over those you encounter who are physically, mentally, or emotionally suffering?
Q: Is there any illness, pain, disease, anxiety, sin, or worry you have kept to yourself? What action step will you take in faith this week to ask for prayer?
Q: Will you be a Paul as you go about life by stopping and praying over those you encounter who are physically, mentally, or emotionally suffering?
SING
PRAY
"May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed. My praises are for you alone! I praise You as the one true God who is mighty to save. I praise you as Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. Come to me now and give peace to my mind and healing to my bones.
O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed. My praises are for you alone! I praise You as the one true God who is mighty to save. I praise you as Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. Come to me now and give peace to my mind and healing to my bones.