I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had just finished teaching at a conference and asked people who needed healing to come up for prayer. A middle-aged woman was there in obvious pain. She moved stiffly using a walker and her hands were twisted.
Through tears, she explained she had suffered from arthritis for many years, seen many specialists and tried many medications, but the arthritis only got worse. She voiced conviction that God's healing power was available to her through Jesus Christ. I put my hands on her shoulders, began praying and immediately felt the power of God being released. But just as quickly, I felt it return to me. It was as if it hit a brick wall and bounced back.
I was puzzled. Here was a woman who obviously wanted to be healed and voiced a belief in healing. Why wasn't the power of God penetrating her? Sometimes I feel led to ask people details about their illness. I was curious, so I asked: “When did the arthritis first begin?
Her expression immediately changed from sadness to anger. “It was 12 years ago. The worst year of my life! I found out that my husband had been having a long-term affair with his secretary and shortly after that I got the arthritis.”
Through clenched teeth she started to tell me about confronting her husband and the extreme hurt she had felt. Her anger was so intense that I asked her, “Have the two of you been able to resolve that situation?”
“Heavens no!” she replied. “He died 8 years ago of heart disease and good riddance! I hate what he did to me and I hate him!”
Suddenly the mystery was solved. She was encased in a wall of anger and bitterness that now held her prisoner. There was no doubt in my mind it was blocking her healing and may have even been instrumental in causing the arthritis to begin with. I briefly explained to her the need for forgiveness and how to renounce her anger and bitterness.
I led her in a short prayer of forgiveness and she relinquished the anger she had held against her husband for so many years. I prayed again for her healing and she began smiling. “There is less pain!” she told me. During the next few days her condition continued to improve. By the end of the conference she was walking confidently unassisted.
That encounter has remained a vivid one for me, but it is not isolated. In praying for the sick over many years I have learned that negative emotions like anger, resentment, and bitterness can actually hinder healing. The feelings may be connected to very real wrongs we have suffered, but we don't have the luxury to indulge in them. When it comes to healing, feelings (negative ones) are not free. They carry a high price tag often paid in physical suffering. This is equally true of negative feelings we have about ourselves such as guilt, shame, self-pity, self-condemnation, etc.
If you are suffering from a long-term illness, or have sought prayer for healing and have not had a breakthrough, ask yourself if you are holding negative feelings against anyone, including yourself. If you are, I invite you to forgive the other person (or yourself) and release the negative emotions. You can do this on your own or you do it with a friend who can agree with you in prayer. Don't wait a day longer to free yourself from costly negative feelings!
Please join us at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM this Sunday when my good friend Cindy Jacobs will be our guest speaker. Please remember our 2:30 PM healing service every Sunday.
Pastor Che
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