Opening Prayer: Heal us, O God, in a deep and beautiful way. For it is healing that we need and only you can offer it. Heal our hearts, heal our lives, and heal our world. Our wounds are the source of most of our conflicts and issues and dysfunctions, so touch us with your healing hands of love and make us alive and whole and free. Amen.
Scripture: Mark 2:1-12
Journal: Where are you in need of healing? What are the deeper issues? Will you let Jesus touch and heal you in those deeper places?
Reflection: Jesus always sees beyond the presenting problem to the core. He doesn’t just want to touch the surface, but the deeper places. Touching those deep places within us is the only way we can experience real healing and wholeness.
Thus, Jesus knew that the
problem with the paralytic wasn’t merely his legs, it was so much more than
that. The real problem was his heart, so
healing just his legs would stop far short of the healing that was most
desperately needed. If Jesus would have healed the paralyzed man's legs, without healing his heart, the man still wouldn't have been whole.
Maybe you have prayed for
years for God’s intervention in some area of your life, and yet, for the most
part, those prayers have seemingly gone unanswered. That area of your life remains
unchanged. Here’s a thought: maybe it’s
because you are praying for the wrong thing.
Maybe you too, are praying for your legs, when there is a much
deeper issue that must be addressed. God
wants to get his hands on that place. He
wants to heal you at your deepest levels, but in order to do that he needs you
to recognize exactly what the problem is.
Are you willing to go there with him?
Prayer
Closing Prayer: O Jesus, I need healing—deep, deep healing; and you are the only one who can give it. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.
