"Endure." "Submit." "Be brave." "We're doing all we can." There's no real comfort in these words when someone is ill. People have good intentions when they say these things, of course, but sickness sometimes seems like a prison in which one has been sentenced to suffer for the rest of one's life. Many, unfortunately, have resigned themselves to that. But deep down, others rebel because they know such a sentence is unjust, that there has to be an answer, a way to freedom.
A short while ago, I was talking with some friends about prayer and healing. A growing number of people of all beliefs and faiths are reexamining the role of prayer, and prayer-based treatment, in healing long-standing ills. After we had been talking together for a while, one person said, "Let's face it, the days when prayer had any effect on healing are over. Medicine and surgery," he said, "do the job now."
I don't share his opinion, although I recognize that people have different points of view on this. Everyone is free to seek out whatever method of care he or she feels will help. In reply, I shared the fact that there have been several times in my life when I have been unwell, sometimes acutely, sometimes for a long time—and in each instance my reliance on prayer alone resulted in complete healing.
