Asking for Healing as Prayer

O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me. Psalm 30:2

The truth is that we are not well. We are full of fear and anxiety. We struggle with shame. We are caught up in obsessions and addictions. We are blind to our greed and pride. We are defensive, hard hearted and reactive. We are self centered. We fail to live as if we—and all others—are loved and valued beyond measure by our Maker.

Not only are we spiritually ill, we are unable to heal ourselves. We are powerless over our fears. Over our despair. Over our shame. Over our obsessions and addictions. Over our greed and pride. Over our reactivity. Over our defensiveness. Over our selfishness. We are powerless over our belief that we are worthless and unlovable. We are powerless over our blindness to other people’s worth in God’s eyes.
But God’s love is powerful enough to heal all our brokenness. God’s love is powerful enough to free us from our fear and shame and despair. God’s love is powerful enough to free us from our obsessions and addictions, from our greed and pride, from our reactivity and defensiveness and selfishness. God’s love is powerful enough to help us know ourselves and others as dearly loved and deeply valued.

It is only fair, however, to offer a warning about the process of experiencing God’s healing in our lives. When we begin to encounter our spiritual illness and turn to God for healing, we often encounter an experience similar to going to a medical doctor. When someone goes to a doctor with what seems like a minor complaint and finds out that they have cancer, things go from bad to terrible. The problem turns out to be worse than they thought. And the treatment designed to free them from a disease may create significant distress before it helps them feel better.

This is often the experience we have when we seek spiritual healing from God. God begins to shine a light on the problem so that we see it more clearly. This can be a disturbing and uncomfortable experience.

God’s healing may involve opening up our festering wounds to clean them out. During times like this things can feel like they are getting worse rather than better. We may be tempted to stop receiving this kind of help. We may decide we don’t want this healing. We may be tempted to believe that we are beyond hope. But, as with most treatments for life threatening illnesses, the pain is part of the process of receiving the deep healing we need.

Prayer is inviting God to heal us and free us. It is in the process of showing up for our Healer’s treatment, over and over and over again, that we can be set free and made whole.

I am powerless over my fears,
heal me, I pray.
I am powerless over my despair,
heal me, I pray.
I am powerless over my obsessions,
heal me I pray,
I am powerless over my self-centeredness,
heal me, I pray.
Oh Power far greater than myself,
Oh Healer of my soul,
come, heal me,
set me free.

Prayer suggestion:

Ask God to help you to make a list of the diseases of your mind and soul.

Bring each item on the list to God for healing. Invite God to heal you fully.
Entrust each area of brokenness to God’s loving care.

Spend some time in quiet in the presence of God, your Healer.