Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
Lillian is asking, can I ask about prayer and fasting for healing for our body when we have pain? I have a hernia which the Lord healed, but it came back again. I wanted to know if I fast and pray, would that help?
Speaker 2
Lillian, I’m so sorry to hear about that. That’s got to be horrible feeling and definitely our privilege well with you. And we’ll try and make sure we pray for you at the end. First I want to say talk about Matthew 912, and this may be a verse we touched on earlier. Jesus says, those who are will have no need of a physician. And I think the reverse of that, but those who are sick that have the need of a physician. So if you haven’t already, I mean, God might use physicians to help bring you healing. I don’t know your situation. Maybe you don’t have the money. Maybe you’ve tried all the physicians. There was the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She tried all the physicians, they took all our money and she wasn’t healed. That can happen too. But if you’re talking about you also have the flip side too, where in two Chronicles 1612 to 13, it’s talking about King ACA and now he had a disease foot and how he solely relied on physicians. And it says he never went to the Lord about getting healing. So it’s good you’re thinking in terms of going to God too.
Speaker 2
But I want to point you to fasting. You talked about it and there’s a verse that’s really on point about it. And it actually also goes with, I think, the repentance we’re talking about earlier. And that’s Isaiah 58. And let’s look at verse five, starting at verse five. And God is talking about fasting. He says, Is it a fast that I’ve chosen just a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to just bow down his head like a bulb rush and spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast and acceptable day to the Lord? And let’s go into verse six. Is this not the fast that I have chosen to lose the bonds of wickedness, to do the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? And then what happens if we do these things, verse seven or more things he wants us to do? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked, that you cover him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Speaker 2
So this is a fast. And during this fast, where is God wanting your attention to be?
Speaker 1
I’m caring for those who are less fortunate.
Speaker 2
Yeah, I would really be working on helping other people. But if we’re doing this, then on verse eight, god has a special promise for us. Interesting. We’ve been talking about the first day, right? Yes. Then your light shall break forth like the morning. Your healing shall break forth, spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you. And then the glory of the Lord should be your real guard. So if you’re going to do fasting, I would say this is really the type of fast to look at doing the true fast of Isaiah 58, putting others first, praying for others. Yes, pray for yourself to have other people pray for you. But this concept of just denying yourself, just to deny yourself is missing the point. Are you denying yourself to help others, to bless others because you’re being other focused as opposed to the Pharisees who just fasted to exalt themselves? It’s just look how humble I am in the irony of it actually being proud about how much they humble themselves.
Speaker 1
Although I think it’s important also, I think it’s a great point that you make, but it’s also important that we recognize when there are health issues, significant health issues going on, and stress can exacerbate these, that we aren’t sacrificing our we’re not neglecting to care for our body in the way it needs to be cared for. While we are caring for the people that we are, we should be caring for others. The Bible is telling us to do that and it gives some very clear guide, some very specific things about what our efforts should be doing there and how it should be helping.
Speaker 2
And I’ll actually be talking about that for a later question.
Speaker 1
Okay. But it’s very important that we don’t some people go into this mode of serving others so much that they completely neglect their own health and well being. And that can’t that can be a problem as well.
Speaker 2
Jesus took special time out to even take care of his spiritual needs and his health. Yes, absolutely.
