Conversations with God

I have been feeling a lot of tension lately. By tension I don't mean stress; I mean the feeling of being the rubber band stretched tightly between the Truth I have staked my life on and the currently reality in front of me every day. I know with everything in me that God is Healer; yet every day I am faced with unhealed sickness, disease, disability, and emotional brokenness in the people around me. It's not a comfortable place. In fact, it is often profoundly uncomfortable to stand in the presence of two diametrically opposing realities without giving in to the one I can physically see. The strain is physical, emotional, and spiritual; and it can be hard to find others willing to stand with me in such an awkward place. Indeed, this is the place many instead falter and fall. Actually, I have fallen myself, many times. Over and over again, I have learned how deeply I must rely on the grace and goodness of God to reach down and help me back to my feet, over an...

"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them" (Acts 19:11,12). This is the desire that drives me. I face overwhelming needs every day; my fervent prayer has become that somehow enough of God will flow through me to change those lives forever. I am constantly seeking, thinking, and praying about how to bring the power and presence of God to the hurting people around me. There are so many theories and schools of thought regarding healing. Some focus on faith, some on the Word; some prescribe specific prayers, others an exact methodology. A person could spend years trying to figure out the "perfect" way to pray. There may not be a perfect answer, as much as we want one. But I did notice something new as I read this chapter in Acts today. Immediately after the verses about God healing through Paul, we are given the story ...