I was privileged to know Canon Jim Glennon, an Anglican clergyman from Australia who had an extraordinary gift and ministry of healing. We corresponded quite a bit before he died, and I invited him to lead a healing mission I organized at my church in New York. I will never forget his clear, simple teaching about God’s healing: plant the seed of faith, in Christ; give thanks for God’s activity, even before you see it (“first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn…” he’d quote); and don’t be afraid to test it.
To demonstrate his approach, he asked if someone with severe back pain would come up for prayer, and a man did. The process by which Jim prayed, then checked in, and responded to the information offered is an incredible story in itself, which included the man’s realization that he needed to forgive the person who’d caused his injury. But after that happened, and we prayed some more, Jim asked the man how his pain was now, and he said, “It’s gone! It’s been with me for 15 years, and it’s gone!” “Well, twist around,” Jim said. “Move your back. Try it out. Get up and walk.” One of the ways we accept the healing God offers us is by moving into it.
Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Sometimes we pray for healing or transformation, and then think God has not answered. And why do we think that? Because we haven’t moved! We’re still sitting in our dis-ease and sometimes despair and mistrust, still seeing the matter from the same angle, perhaps influenced by disappointments in the past. But when we get up and move around, we have to see it differently, for our position changes. (Not to mention the real physiological benefits for our brain chemistry of moving…).
We are invited to assume that God has heard our prayers, and assume that the God who loves and desires freedom and wholeness for us is indeed acting on our behalf. So we give thanks even before we see the fullness of the healing we desire. So we begin to walk, to move ourselves into the healing stream of God’s love and power. Maybe we limp at first; maybe we move cautiously; but we are to move toward that freedom and wholeness, our attention fixed not on our remaining symptoms but on the unwavering love of God in Jesus Christ.
I do believe God’s healing stream is that Living Water Jesus promised would well up inside us to eternal life. And God’s healing stream is that mighty river of Life that flows around us as we move in the Spirit. If the flow is impeded by anxiety or anger or unforgiveness or unhealed trauma, we invite the Spirit to help remove those obstacles. Yet it is remarkable how much healing can happen even as we’re getting free of some of those impediments.
Today, pray for healing in whatever area you’ve been considering this week. (Or pray with another – the faith of two is stronger than one). Believe that God desires wholeness for you, whatever that will look like. Give thanks for God's activity even before you see the fruits. And then begin to walk in faith, into healing. First the blade, then the ear, then the fullness of life!
If you are interested in exploring the ministry of healing, join me at the next Spa for the Spirit at Christ the Healer, Saturday, May 7, 8:30-12:30. Flyer here; register here.
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