Healed Whole

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

1 PETER 2:24

HAVE YOU EVER PRAYED for someone to be healed from a sickness or injury? Maybe you prayed for your grandmother’s osteoporosis to disappear or for your friend’s cancer to go away. Or maybe your sister broke her arm in gymnastics, and you wanted her bone to heal quickly.

We spend much of our prayer lives asking God to heal people we love and to heal us. We know God answers prayer, but sometimes he doesn’t answer it the way we’re expecting. Sometimes God’s answer is no. We don’t always understand God’s ways, and we hurt deeply when someone isn’t healed.

But there’s another kind of healing we can feel certain about, and it’s a healing that has already happened. The Bible tells us that Jesus took our punishment for sins so we could be healed. It says that by his injuries, we become whole again. No matter what happens in this life, whether we find physical healing or not, our souls have already been healed by Jesus. There’s great comfort in that, especially when we face the unknown.

DO

What song makes you feel better when you’re sad? Close your eyes and try to remember the song and its lyrics. Why does that song help? Play the song if you have access to it. Who can you pray for that needs healing?

PRAY

Dear God,

Thank you for always answering my prayers, even when I don’t understand the answer. Please help the people in my life who face illness and injury. Please help me remember that we may be healed here on earth, but if not, we will be healed in heaven. Amen.

READ

Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:17