Sunday Supernaturally: Less Petition, More Praise

He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him. Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. [Matt. 8:17.] But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

Isaiah 53:3-5 AMP

That evening people brought to Jesus many people who had demons inside them. He spoke and the demons left the people. He healed all those who were sick. So Jesus made clear the full meaning of what Isaiah the prophet said: “He took away our diseases and carried away our sicknesses.”

Matthew 8:16-17 ERV

Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24 ERV

I have recently been re-reading a book by Watchman Nee called “The Normal Christian Life.” In it, he makes the point that Jesus Christ has already died, already shed His blood, and already been raised again. He also says that, in God’s eyes, we were “in Him” at every step. Actually, we’re still “in Him.” I think most of us spend way too much time asking God to give us things He’s already given and do things He’s already done. I like this quote from the book:

“If we had more revelation we should have fewer prayers and more praises. Much of our praying for ourselves is just because we are blind to what God has done.” 

Watchman Nee. The Normal Christian Life.

This applies in the area of healing just as in the forgiveness of sin and deliverance from its power. Healing has already been provided. What we need is a revelation of what is already done. God uses many methods to get His healing power to work in the lives of His children. He wants us to get it! But the reality is, that for His kids, it’s already ours. When I see that He took away my diseases and carried away my sicknesses, that by His wounds I was healed, my only faith-filled response is to say, “Thank You, Lord. It’s mine I have it now.” After that praise takes the place of petition.

As we go to church today, how about praying for revelation concerning what He has already done? Once you see it, it never goes away. When I realize what  is mine because I am “in Him,” I no longer have to lean on my own performance. I can confidently trust in His. Pray it this way:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ephesians 1:17-19a NIV