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The Ministry of Healing
in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
Psalm 66:18
. If we render
to Him only a partial, halfhearted obedience, His promises will not
be fulfilled to us.
In the word of God we have instruction relative to special prayer
for the recovery of the sick. But the offering of such prayer is a
most solemn act, and should not be entered upon without careful
consideration. In many cases of prayer for the healing of the sick,
that which is called faith is nothing less than presumption.
Many persons bring disease upon themselves by their self-
indulgence. They have not lived in accordance with natural law
or the principles of strict purity. Others have disregarded the laws of
health in their habits of eating and drinking, dressing, or working.
Often some form of vice is the cause of feebleness of mind or body.
Should these persons gain the blessing of health, many of them
would continue to pursue the same course of heedless transgression
of God’s natural and spiritual laws, reasoning that if God heals them
in answer to prayer, they are at liberty to continue their unhealthful
practices and to indulge perverted appetite without restraint. If God
were to work a miracle in restoring these persons to health, He would
be encouraging sin.
It is labor lost to teach people to look to God as a healer of
their infirmities, unless they are taught also to lay aside unhealthful
practices. In order to receive His blessing in answer to prayer, they
must cease to do evil and learn to do well. Their surroundings must
be sanitary, their habits of life correct. They must live in harmony
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with the law of God, both natural and spiritual.
Confession of Sin
To those who desire prayer for their restoration to health, it
should be made plain that the violation of God’s law, either natural
or spiritual, is sin, and that in order for them to receive His blessing,
sin must be confessed and forsaken.
The Scripture bids us, “Confess your faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that ye may be healed.”
James 5:16
. To the one
asking for prayer, let thoughts like these be presented: “We cannot
read the heart, or know the secrets of your life. These are known
only to yourself and to God. If you repent of your sins, it is your