WHILE WE ARE leaving the topic of prayer to the last chapter, that doesn’t mean it is the least significant method of strengthening your immune system. Because modern medicine was not available in biblical times, treating a sick person in that era involved making them as comfortable as possible and praying to God for healing. Today’s medical advances mean doctors can do much more for patients than in days of old. Yet good doctors know the powerful role that faith and prayer still play in modern-day medical miracles. Even physicians who do not personally believe in prayer have to admit that people of faith often experience swifter healing and sustain longer-term recoveries than those without faith.
Indeed, prayer should be the first tool in your arsenal when infectious disease strikes. Most diseases have strong spiritual roots. Although traditional medicine often sees the body, mind, and spirit as separate, they are not. This is one reason prayer is a good method of preventing infectious diseases from even attacking you; for example, when it comes to recognizing signs of stress that can weaken your immune system, taking action early on to address the problem can include prayer, exercise, relaxation, and dietary changes.
MIRACLE HEALING
Prayer and healing are topics that provoke many myths and misunderstandings. The fact that God does heal some people instantaneously does not mean He does this every time. You should never limit God by placing expectations on Him of how He should, or will, heal you. Approach prayer with an open mind and heart. If you limit God by placing expectations on Him, you may completely miss what He wants to do in your situation.
The important thing is not to allow others who go to extremes sour you on the idea of miraculous healing. Dr. Richard Cherry, a renowned doctor in Houston, recalls how he learned about this soon after making a decision to follow Jesus. At the time, he was attending a small church that believed in God’s healing power and praying for the sick. He observed people being supernaturally healed, including a woman with severe back problems. After people gathered around her, laid hands on her, and prayed, her pain suddenly disappeared. Dr. Cherry chalked it up to emotion that would quickly fade. Yet as the months rolled by and she remained healed, it confirmed God does indeed do this.
Later, at another church a man walked in one evening on crutches. No one laid hands on him or prayed for him, but the pastor said that God was healing someone with back pain and if he accepted that, he would be healed immediately. Then, as Dr. Cherry watched in amazement, the man on the crutches put them under his arms, ran down the aisle, and climbed up the steps to the platform. His family joined him and confirmed his disability, sharing how for years he had never been able to walk more than a few steps without excruciating pain.
“The man who had been crippled was now running all over the platform to demonstrate to everyone that God had really healed him,” Dr. Cherry says. “I witnessed the awesome healing power of God. I agree with Jack Deere in Surprised by the Power of the Spirit when he contends that the real reason so many Christians do not believe in the healing power of God is ‘simply because they have not seen miracles in their present experience.’1 Before I witnessed these healings, I knew that Jesus healed in the Gospels, but I had not experienced His healing power today. But undeniable testimony of God’s healing power happened right in front of me.”
PRAY AND ASK
This experience helped Dr. Cherry formulate principles for finding healing, including praying and asking God for your healing. After all, if God can heal cancer, crippling conditions, and back problems, He is quite able to take care of cold and flu viruses.
One way to pray is to speak to the mountain obstructing your health. Pray specifically about the virus that has attacked you. Instead of praying, “God, heal my body,” say, “God, I am praying that the infectious germs that have invaded my body be turned away. I know that You have created within my body an immune system with cells You designed and created to attack and destroy these viruses. Therefore, Father, I ask that You reactivate my immune system. In addition, Father, I ask that the Holy Spirit continue to guide me to truth as to everything I need to do in the natural to enhance and strengthen my immune system.”
Once you have prayed this way, stand firm and have faith in God. If you check the tenth chapter of Daniel, you will see how this Old Testament prophet did just that. In Daniel’s case he had to wait twenty-one days while God sent the archangel Michael to battle the forces of darkness to secure the answer Daniel’s prayer. Now, a cold or flu that hung around for three weeks would be pretty serious stuff, but the principles you need to grasp hold of are patience and faith.
Also, realize that righteousness before God does not make you immune from attacks. The Bible says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Ps. 34:19). Yet you can rest assured that, even when you get attacked, God can help you overcome it. As John wrote, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
DEVELOP PRAYER LIFE
Hearing, reading, and meditating on the Word of God and assembling with other believers in fellowship are all practices that will help develop your prayer life. In doing so, you will develop a closer relationship with God by learning about Him through His Word. You must become familiar with His will for your life, since it will enable you to pray and ask for His will to be done. You can pray for good health for yourself and loved ones in faith, believing—as Mark 11:24 says—you will receive what you ask.
Prayer is simply asking God to do what He promised in His Word. For that to happen, you must become familiar with it. The only way to learn it and have faith in it is to hear it, read it, and meditate on it. Or, as Paul told the Romans: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).
Reading the Bible is a daily practice that every Christian should develop as well. There is no better way to become acquainted with the Word of God than to read it. While you may have struggled to understand the Bible in the past, there are many modern-language translations that make this easier today. Again, this is where a local church can help direct your study and understanding. A good pastor and church leaders can help guide you in the direction that you should go.
A CLOSING PRAYER
If the discussion of prayer and spiritual life in this chapter has sounded foreign, but you would like to know Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world, we invite you to take this opportunity to meet Him. If you are ready to let Him come into your life and become your best friend, all you need to do is sincerely pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know You as my Savior and Lord. I believe You are the Son of God and that You died for my sins. I also believe You were raised from the dead and now sit at the right hand of the Father praying for me. I ask You to forgive me for my sins and change my heart so that I can be Your child and live with You eternally. Thank You for Your peace. Help me to walk with You so that I can begin to know You as my best friend and my Lord. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer, you have just made the most important decision of your life. But don’t keep this good news to yourself. Tell others what you have done, and find a Bible-believing church where the pastor and members can help guide you into this new and healthy phase of your life.