Prayer brings healing

God always speaks in Holy Scriptures, and sometimes I listen closely enough to hear what he says.

Today, I sat in my office praying Morning Prayer and reading from Matthew's gospel. God spoke to me clearly.

In Matthew 15.29 and following, Jesus is on a mountain in Galilee. Crowds bring him "the maimed, the lame, the blind, the dumb, and many others." They put them at his feet, and he heals them.

As a priest, I care spiritually for people who are struggling with illness, pain, loss, grief, and more. They seek help from God for themselves or for others.

The Good News is that God hears our pleas for help and comes to our aid in Jesus. In him, God ministers to human beings out of the abundance of his compassion. He does so in Galilee. He does so here and now.

When we pray for God to heal others, we're placing them at God's feet, and God heals them, today, just as he does that day on the mountain side through his son Jesus Christ.

And if there aren't instant results to your prayers for healing, don't despair and give up on God.

Prayer takes effort, just as it takes effort, and a lot of it, for those crowds carrying the ill and broken up the mountain and then laying them at Jesus' feet. So persevere.

God heals everyone we place at his feet.