Healing Intelligence (IQ): Faith & Medicine: The Wellness Solution

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION: BEGINNING THE JOURNEY

For over 15 years, I have been drawn to the transformational topic of Healing. I have read and analysed a wide range of books, articles and data from many sources. Google search has become a close friend of mine! In tandem with this investigation, I have scouted for references to healing in the greatest of all books -- the Bible.

You probably have some of the same questions I had when I started my quest:

•  Why do some people become sick with the cold going around the office or school, or develop cancer or heart disease, while others do not?

•  What, if anything, can be done to encourage healing?

•  Does Faith make a difference in our health?

•  What, if anything, does Medicine have to say about this? Is there an intersection or common ground between Faith and Medicine?

•  Do prayers for healing actually work? Or, do prayers work sometimes, but not always? If so, why is that? Shouldn’t all prayers count and be heard by God?

•  How are we to pray? Is there a right or wrong way?

•  What does the Bible say about health and life expectancy? How does this compare to the world’s view?

These are natural questions people have at one time or another, sparked by an innate curiosity about life, the universe and our reason for being here. At times, it seems like the grandest of puzzles!

My many years of investigation resulted in over 1000 written pages on prayer, faith, disease, health, and ways to stay healthy and get healthy. This is a condensed version covering the most important facets of the jewel in God’s Word regarding health and healing. Coupled with this is supporting evidence for faith found in medicine. Anyone can understand this layman’s guide to God and Healing. It’s exciting to share insight from both the Biblical and scientific perspectives, to connect the dots between wisdom found in the Bible and truths existing in the natural world. Anyone can raise his or her Healing Intelligence or IQ.

Complete passages from the Bible are included, so you do not have to stop and search for a reference. The ideas will also flow better this way. People may have different interpretations of a particular Bible verse and there may be multiple applications to life. Everyone will draw his or her own conclusions. You may ask, Why should I walk the Journey of Faith with regard to my Health? You may believe you have left your health and medical care in the capable hands of your physician. The answer is that healing is an important part of God’s promise to His people that has been overlooked. God has provided the roadmap and plan for health in His Word. As believers, we draw inspiration from Jesus’ life story, and lessons to apply in our own lives. The men of faith in the Old Testament also wrote a prescription for health and longevity. If we believe the Bible, then we can believe in healing.

The message of the New Testament is often called the Good News. Well, there is more good news, because medical research supports the health benefits of spiritual belief. There are concrete ways and practices we can incorporate into our daily lives that will increase our odds of being healthy and staying that way.

God gave us the assurance that we could count on Him to minister to us in the area of health. He makes us whole in a similar – but far greater -- way that an insurance company covers our losses. This divine blanket coverage extends to every aspect of our lives, including health and care of our physical bodies.

There are eight chapters in this book, each addressing a piece of the puzzle relating to health. Some of the chapters have practical tips and exercises, which anyone can easily put to use right away. I’ll show you how to leverage the power of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in your journey to greater health and peace, just as I have. The book will also reveal scientific evidence that aligns with God’s Word on faith, health and healing.

Since this book is based on the Word, it’s important that it contains prayer. So most chapters will have an opening or closing prayer. I believe prayer is an integral part of faith, inspiration and revelation knowledge. It’s the way we communicate with our Father, God.

Let’s start things off right, and honor the Lord with prayer:

OPENING PRAYER

Father in heaven, we thank You for bringing us together in spirit, to be in Your presence, to experience the vast richness of Your love, described so well by Paul in his letter to the Romans. (8:35-39)

We are grateful that You have supplied ALL of our needs, according to Your riches in glory. (Philippians 4:19)

Thank You, God, for providing us with a truly personal and clear knowledge of You and Your Word, Your miraculous Power and Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-19)

Father, we appreciate the peace that only YOU can bring, a peace that is so great it is beyond our comprehension, beyond our wildest dreams! (John 14:27 & Philippians 4:7)

We thank You, Lord, we are healed, according to God’s promise. (1st Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5, and Matthew 8:17)

Thank you, Lord, that You have blessed us with Your Spiritual companionship, Great Counselor that You are, and for Your commitment to never leave us, forsake us or fail us. (Hebrews 13:5 & Joshua 1:5)

Amen.

WHY HEALING IS CRITICAL IN TODAY’S WORLD

Most of our lives have been touched by cancer. Many have experienced it themselves, or lost someone close to them, about whom they care deeply. It is a horrible disease. Those forced to watch a loved one die a slow, excruciating death, are left to sadly wonder why. It is a tragedy when someone dies at a young age, before they’ve had the chance to live fully, to realize their dreams and all that life has to offer. Decades of sadness are left in the wake of a death like this, for all the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, births, graduations, and weddings that will have to go on without the presence of the loved one.

I, too, have experienced the loss of loved ones, who have gone before their time. It is heart wrenching.

Despite all the technology, medical advances, improved healthcare and standard of living, life expectancy is on the decline in many areas of the world. Surprisingly, this includes the U.S.

Like many, I’m concerned about my own health and those close to me. The statistics on heart disease and cancer are frightening. More recently diabetes and metabolic disease have been in the headlines, because of the strong and deadly link to cardiovascular disease. Many life-threatening illnesses are not only on the rise, but are also striking people at much younger ages.

Cardiovascular or heart disease, now accounts for the greatest number of deaths, with cancer a close second. Some experts believe cancer will soon surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death, as it recently did within the Hispanic segment of the population. A current report predicts a 57% increase in cancer rates in the next 20 years! With so many unknowns about cancer’s etiology, or cause, and no immediate cure in sight, there is certainly great reason for anxiety.

Cancer has been around for centuries. It is not a modern disease. There are historical accounts of cancer treatments. These are often tough on the patient and so radical they hasten the death of the person, or leave them wishing for release from it’s painful destruction. Surgeons in the 1800’s actually performed a procedure called a hemicorporectomy, where the lower HALF of the body was amputated in an effort to stop progression of the cancer. Some cures do seem to be almost worse than the disease. A close college friend of mine, a physician herself, told me she could no longer endure cancer therapy and eventually stopped. The pain of disease and treatment had essentially broken her spirit.

The National Cancer Institute, the main U.S. governmental agency that oversees and directs cancer research, has spent in the neighborhood of $5 billion annually over the past decade. The history of the Institute goes back to its creation in 1937, when Congress passed the National Cancer Institute Act, to provide for, foster, and aid in coordinating research relating to cancer. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Act into law the same year, with an initial appropriation of $700,000 for each fiscal year.

Fulfilling an election promise of President Richard Nixon, the National Cancer Act was passed in 1971, to focus the same level of attention on the eradication of cancer that was given to splitting the atom. This law added an additional $100 million a year to the budget of the NCI, bringing it from $230 million to $337 million annually in 1972.

Between 1938 and 2001, the NCI was awarded total funding of almost $49 trillion. During the entire history of the NCI from 1938 up to 2011, total spending was over $101 trillion. Of this, over half has been spent in the last decade, which is more than in the entire previous 60 years.

The American Cancer Society, according to their own estimates, has spent over $4 billion on cancer research since 1946. Top research universities and foundations invest millions every year in the ongoing search to discover the cause and cure for the constellation of diseases called cancer. The Kingdom of Jordan made a single pledge of $300 million to one foundation dedicated to solving the cancer problem. These numbers do not even include the vast amount of money spent by private corporations like pharmaceutical companies on Research and Development, which some project at around 30% of the $4B total.

The War on Cancer kicked off during the Nixon administration in the 1970’s is nowhere near the success expected, despite becoming a global effort during the last decades. There have been isolated wins in specific types of cancer, yet the death rate has not changed significantly since that time. In fact, two-time Nobel Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling stated years ago that Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud. Another Nobel Prize winner, James Watson from MIT, famed for the discovery of the structure of DNA, called it a bunch of shit and also went on the record saying that the public had been sold a ‘nasty bill of goods about cancer’. Secretary of Health Dr. Charles C. Edwards was quoted as saying that the war on cancer was politically motivated, resigning from his post in protest in 1975.

Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are, in fact, Big Business. But are these treatments really successful in healing cancer?

However motivated, it’s obvious that the search to find a cure for cancer has ramped significantly. Research is conducted in many countries. Cancer is a global crisis and a complex one. Since there are so many different types, there is usually no one single, effective treatment. Often it’s a case of trial and error until the right drug and dosage or treatment plan is determined. Prevention is another huge piece of the puzzle.

Despite the investment in finding a cure, the rate of cancer compared to heart disease has more than doubled since 1968. In that year, deaths from heart disease were 768,444, while cancer deaths totaled 318,547. The relative ranking for cancer and heart disease mortality has consistently been in the top two.

So what is the solution, if the problem is so complicated, and despite untold trillions of dollars invested, medicine is still unable to crack the code on cancer?

Part of the problem may be in leaving the Creator out of the solution. Some of the biggest culprits of this type of behavior are actually found in the pulpit! Many ministers seem to have neglected or abandoned the divine plan for health, passing off responsibility to the Church of Modern Medicine, a term coined by Northwestern Professor John McKnight and popular Chicago internist, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn. A professor of mine, who was a pathologist and editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, told me that part of the medical school curriculum included training students to assume a God-like authoritarian role, in order to increase their credibility and decrease skepticism among their patients.

In life, a little skepticism can be healthy. It’s also important to put things to the test. Compare how God’s teachings stack up against those of science.

The only prudent choice for believers is to examine God’s wisdom on health, especially given Medicine’s inability to solve the global health crisis.

The Word actually has a lot to say about healing. In just one single passage of Mark, there is so much power and promise! These important words were the final instructions of Jesus to the disciples before

His resurrection into heaven:

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

Mark 16:17-18 (New King James version)

Jesus is explicit in this famous passage called the Great Commission, which is one of the most important and key messages in the New Testament. It also appears in the gospels of Matthew, Luke, John and Acts. Jesus empowered all His followers with special gifts, including the ability to heal. During His ministry and life, Jesus and the Apostles healed thousands. There are even stories of Jesus raising people from the dead, like Lazarus and daughter of Jairus.

The gift of healing was not supposed to be a limited-time offer, but one given to believers that would last forever.

Passages like this in the Bible give us every reason to believe that healing and other supernatural blessings are indeed not only possible, but to be expected. This scripture in Mark says that anything deadly will by no means hurt believers. This is strong language. It states, will recover not maybe. Statements like these leave no room for doubt.

If believers are not experiencing healing, then it is because they are not fully receiving the gift and the intended result. The failure is not God’s. So there’s only one other option.

Living in faith is like being present for the delivery of a shipment. Or as one friend’s mother used to say before Christmas to her children, You must believe to receive! In this case, we must hold onto the expectation of God’s blessing and promise. Hebrews 10:23 puts it well: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (New King James Version)

Medical studies show that spirituality has a positive effect on an individual’s health. Prayer, faith, regular church attendance and community fellowship are all part of a spiritual lifestyle that has measurable health benefits. These practices offer coping mechanisms which psychiatrists and medical researchers conclude are helpful to people. But that is not the end of the story.

An important new medical field was born in the 1980’s at Harvard, UCLA and University of Rochester Medical Schools. Psychoneuroimmunology defines the relationship between the mind and three systems in the body – the endocrine, immune and nervous systems. The brain regulates many of the processes in the body, and thoughts influence biochemical reactions within it as well. One of the most well known examples of this is the fight-or-flight or stress response. The brain and nervous system sense danger. When the individual recognizes a threat, signals are sent throughout the body. The mind reacts and triggers responses, like releasing the adrenaline hormone, which enables the individual to react quickly, by either mounting a defense or fleeing and avoiding the threat altogether. Thought in the brain precedes the physical response. What we think can have a tremendous impact on the body.

Thoughts and feelings about spirituality affect the body, just as thoughts and feelings about other things do. For example, meditation has been shown to increase thoughts of peace and feelings of calm, which in turn can actually slow respiration and lower blood pressure. This is the opposite of the racing heartbeat and sweating palms one may experience during the fight-or-flight reaction.

The mind-body connection has been well documented in numerous medical journals and books for the last 30 years. Over a third of the medical colleges and university teaching hospitals in the U.S. have departments and faculty in Psychoneuroimmunology, Mind-Body, Integrative and Complementary Medicine. There will be more about this field of medicine in Chapters 4 and 5.

It’s easy to see the connection between Psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI, and health and spirituality. Understanding the science of mind-body healing can actually serve to reinforce the case for faith. It’s then a short leap to the mind-body-spirit triad found in Eastern philosophies and medicine.

The human spirit is part of the human experience. Faith is not entirely dissociated from the body or mind. The spirit, mind and body are not completely separate from one another, as they access one another’s capabilities at different times. When the body fuels itself with food and water, the mind is nourished and can better accomplish its work. Vibrations and musical sounds are heard through the internal and external auditory canals of the ear. Yet it often feels as if the music touches our spirit, too. That is why many church services include musical programs before the sermon. It gets the congregation in the mood so-to-speak, encouraging greater spiritual and intellectual access to the religious message.

The mind, body and spirit are in fact all parts of one being; yet they tend to be viewed as disconnected in western culture. Treating the mind and spirit could end up influencing the body.

Similar to the trends in human behavior, the effect that the mind and spirit have on the body’s wellness is either positive or negative. It’s like the flight of a plane: it’s either powered by lift or drag, and responds by moving up or down.

Research in many different fields reveals what a person believes has an uncanny way of manifesting itself. Medical researchers and psychologists have measured the responses of people who receive a negative diagnosis from the doctor. Attitude counts. How well a patient responds to treatment is often a function of their beliefs and commitment to their treatment. The ones that outlive the prognosis most often are people who maintain a hopeful and positive attitude about healing. Patients who have an attitude of resignation do not fare as well, often appearing to hasten their own demise. Clinical studies have shown there is a major, scientifically demonstrable difference in outcomes.

People often worry that encouraging optimism amounts to false hope. The long-term medical research and results actually reflect just the opposite! Patients who survive the longest are those who have a hopeful outlook. They are the most engaged, have a greater sense of purpose, and see themselves fulfilling their goals. They desire to continue living. Optimism is a better route. The Bible view of hope radically supports a positive attitude and these scientific results!

Studies at Yale University revealed that people who have a positive and hopeful view of aging add more than seven years to their lives.

Many use the technique of visualizing positive outcomes. World-class athletes, business executives, musicians and artists capitalize on positive imagery, often training themselves mentally as much as physically, or maybe more. In hospitals, similar techniques are routinely used with children who have serious or life-threatening illnesses, with staff teaching their young patients to visualize fantasy warriors and heroes defeating the disease.

Perhaps even more significant than the concept of imagery or visualization itself, is the fact that researchers can now map how the mind and emotions accomplish the positive changes that happen in the body. Molecules of emotion in the mind traverse the body on a cellular level. These interactions can dramatically impact the state of our health. Thoughts and feelings have unique biochemical reactions in the body that produce certain results. It’s way beyond endorphins, which are also sometimes called the happy hormones or runner’s high that joggers and athletes get when they work out. Chocolate lovers also experience a similar pleasurable uptick in mood from cocoa-induced endorphins. Cellular memory is another powerful phenomenon.

The role of faith in healthcare seems to be largely overlooked or discounted in the western world, with its emphasis on technology and science as the only path to medical treatment. Yet science and faith are not mutually exclusive.

One doesn’t need a doctorate to reap the health benefits of spirituality, nor do you need to venture into an area that is not comfortable or is too far out. The simple truths found in the Bible, and especially the New Testament, are accessible to everyone. There are also practices from medicine, other cultures, philosophies, historical traditions, and fields of knowledge that can support good health.

A sudden, tragic event that happened years ago drove me to seek God almost with desperation. Searching for answers led me to read the Bible from cover to cover. I had not done such serious study since college. I wanted to know the Word and understand it more fully. Of course, this was after I sought assistance from friends, counselors, therapists, ministers and everything else the world had to offer. Much of this was indeed helpful, but after 18 months of searching for answers apart from God, I still found myself sitting in tears at a stoplight.

So studying the Bible became a religious pursuit for me. I read books, attended church services, listened to ministers’ commentaries, music, teaching tapes, DVDs, and generally tuned in and amped up my spiritual life.

As we all know, it’s not always easy to understand the Bible. Some parts seem crystal clear and to speak directly to us, offering rich application and practical wisdom for our everyday lives. Then there are the parts that are cryptic and almost indecipherable, like the Book of Revelations. References to winged creatures the likes of which we’ve never seen, lakes of fire, thunder and lightning from thrones – how the heck do these fit into my worldview?

Revelations is indeed richly prophetic, symbolic and visionary. It has layers of complexity that will probably keep Bible scholars busy for another 20 centuries. According to God’s Word though, I do not need a perfect understanding to live a godly life. I just need a heart that is perfect towards Him. (1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 16:9)

After years of pouring over the Bible, I gravitated toward the study of faith and healing. No doubt, this was due in part to my love and training in history and medicine.

In truth, when one reads the Bible, it’s hard NOT to notice all the healing miracles. They seem to jump off the page! Curious, I actually counted them one day, like a survey. As I progressed in my study of healing, cultural and religious practices, I also discovered clinical and scientific evidence that supports those healing practices.

Miracles abound in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament. There are also many modern-day testimonies of healing, of people even being brought back to life when medicine had given up on them. Apparently, the miracles did not stop with Jesus and the Apostles. Again, curiosity caused me to question and search for answers. If these events happening today are actually real, then why don’t we believe like the early Christians?

You can’t separate medicine from the world of faith and spirituality, or vice versa. Everything in the world belongs to God, and is under His dominion. The Church and Medicine share the same Creator.

The modern church doesn’t seem to give faith the place it deserves in healing. Many pastors fail their congregations by avoiding this topic, or worse yet, giving instructions that are actually in conflict with the Word. Scriptures on healing are found all throughout in the Bible. We’re told God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:8) The Word is indestructible and its truth unchangeable and everlasting, just like our Divine Creator. The Bible states that those who believe are healed.

Modern-day medicine refers to instances of inexplicable healing as spontaneous. It might surprise you to know that these are not uncommon, although not well documented by the medical world.

My assessment of the importance of faith in healing has only been strengthened by the knowledge I’ve gained from my research. Training in data collection and analysis is part of my profession that supports a balanced view. Nothing that I’ve encountered through research in the scientific world challenges the position that healing is possible. In fact, medicine supports that healing is even more likely with practices like prayer. Spiritual wisdom from the Bible aligns with scientific evidence. There indeed is a blueprint for life and good health supported by both Faith and Medicine!

CORE SCRIPTURES

These are two passages in the New Testament that address any problem in life, including healing. I encourage you to keep them in mind forever, not just while reading this book. These two statements are so powerful and transformational, that they should be the mantra of every believer. They can provide a very effective compass to navigate through life.

These verses from the Bible represent two active parts of faith. The first identifies God’s role in bringing about change. The second one highlights the action we need to take on our part.

The first scripture is from a chapter in Matthew, where Jesus says:

All things are possible with God.

Matthew 19:26 (Amplified)

This statement is so full of promise, possibility, abundance, bliss and every good thing imaginable! It’s like a glimpse into Paradise!

Here’s more about the setting and backstory for this pronouncement from Jesus. While in Judea, Jesus and the Apostles drew crowds of people. At one point on His journey, Jesus was confronted by a rich young man or ruler, as some Bible versions refer to him, who was anxious to enter the Kingdom of God and receive eternal life. The young man wanted to know how he could earn this. Jesus answers that the best way is to obey the commandments. The young man protested that he was already doing this. He pressed Jesus for more advice. Jesus responded by suggesting that the young man could go one step further and sell everything he had, give the money to the poor and join Jesus as one of His followers. He could trade all he had for treasure in heaven. Dismayed by this prospect, the wealthy young man went away.

The disciples had the same response we might have. Who the heck can be good enough or do enough to earn salvation then? Jesus laments this predicament of mankind to the Apostles and uses this analogy as an illustration:

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Matthew 19:23-26 (New King James Version)

One of the messages in this passage is that some things that seem impossible for us are no problem for God. Notice Jesus doesn’t say some things are possible, or just what science says is possible, or what the CEO or president says is possible, or what professors at accredited universities say is possible, or even what YOU think is possible. He says ALL things are possible with God. It may be difficult for us to comprehend this, but whether or not we do fully grasp this, does not change the fact that God CAN indeed do all things.

Giving up wealth with all its trappings was not the real issue. Jesus was making a point about a recurrent message in the New Testament: God is not satisfied with part of you. He wants all of a person’s heart, soul and mind.

Jesus said it. His words are true. So, the question is: do we truly act like believers and accept – without reservation -- that all things are possible with God? I confess that my own thoughts and actions are not always in alignment with the Word. I get distracted, caught up in the problem and trying to figure it out myself, without the help of the Great Counselor. I suspect this is fairly common behavior. At times it looks like we have more confidence in the problem, than in God’s ability to handle the problem.

The second important scripture is from the gospel of Mark. Different translations are like looking at the various facets of a jewel. They reflect the brilliance of the light from different angles back to the observer. Here are four versions of this passage which enhance our perspective:

What do you mean, ‘If I can’? Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes.

Mark 9:23 (New Living Translation)

Jesus said to him, ‘If you are able? Everything is possible for the person who believes!

Mark 9:23 (International Standard Version)

Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.

Mark 9:23 (American King James Version)

Jesus said to him, As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.

Mark 9:23 (GOD’S WORD®)

A believer could base a life of faith on these two scriptures alone. Like Jesus and His followers, we too can have this possibility thinking. Powerful, isn’t it?

Here’s a short digression and history lesson. With God All things are Possible is actually the state motto of Ohio.

There’s a sweet story about how this came to be. Ohio’s previous state motto was repealed in 1867. The state had been without a motto for almost a century. During the early 1950s, the Ohio state legislature sponsored a contest. James Mastronardo, a nine-year-old boy, campaigned for 3 years for the Bible quotation: With God All Things Are Possible. It became Ohio’s state motto on October 1, 1959.

Years later, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit against the state, claiming the Bible verse violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which upholds separation of church and state and religious freedom. Yet the Federal Court supported Ohio, saying that a specific God is not endorsed, so there is no violation of the amendment. With God All Things Are Possible has remained the motto of the state of Ohio.

This touching story shows what even a child can accomplish with faith and a little persistence! The Bible says God uses the simple to put the wise to shame. (1st Corinthians 1:27)

Ohio is one of five states with the word God in their motto. The U.S. Currency also carries the statement In God We Trust. Founding fathers, like Thomas Jefferson, felt the country would only survive and flourish with God as part of the overall equation -- despite the fact that Jefferson was a self-admitted agnostic. Religious freedom and separation of church and state do not mean religious void, or that we have to wipe out any reference to God.

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES

These verses support God’s ability to do anything.

They show up all throughout the New Testament, and Old. It is further proof that God cares for His children and makes provision for them:

My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 (New American Standard Bible)

The LORD is my shepherd. I am never in need.

Psalm 23:1 (GOD’S WORD ® Translation)

The Lord answered, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!

Luke 17:6 (New Living Translation)

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

John 10:10 (The Message)

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11 (New King James Version)

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Matthew 21:22 (New International Version)

None of these verses exclude healing, or say, whatever you ask for EXCEPT healing.

This book will expand on the topic of possibility thinking in the next chapters and reveal ways that both science and scripture mirror and reinforce that message. This chapter and those that follow will present specific passages in the Bible that relate to healing and build on these two core Scriptures from Matthew 9:26 and Mark 9:23. When you read and meditate on these verses, you are following a path God set out for us, which draws us closer to Him. Echoing Joshua 1:8, all believers are encouraged to meditate on or study the Word, to take it to heart. Use scriptures from God’s Bible in your prayer time and personal devotions. Chapter 3 will show you how to incorporate the Word into a type of prayer that can change your life and whatever circumstances in which you find yourself.

The simple wisdom in the Word can be a guide for everyday life, lightening any burden and solving any problem.

A passage in the fifth chapter of James is such strong encouragement for believers to continue seeking the Lord through prayer! In The Message Bible, scholar and Professor Eugene Peterson calls this a Prayer to Be Reckoned With:

Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

James 5:13-18 (The Message)

I love the book of James! It seems to provide the antidote to every problem.

What is this believing-prayer about which James writes with such fervor and passion? Even 2000 years later, it’s almost possible to visualize him standing and shouting from a mountaintop, joyously proclaiming the Word of God’s miraculous healing power!

Believing-prayer will put us on our feet. Whole and healed inside and out is what God wants for us. Much of Chapter 2 will explain and illustrate this concept. Prayer is something powerful to be reckoned with! These verses in James emphasize the fact that even though Elijah was human just like us, his prayers were answered in a miraculous way.

The first Christians met informally in homes to pray together, and to witness to and support one another, often to avoid persecution. Small, intimate Bible study groups within modern churches might be closer to the format of the early Church. Here is what Jesus had to share about communal or group prayer:

Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.

Matthew 18:19-20 (New American Standard Bible)

This Biblical principle of agreement holds the promise of God’s presence and answered prayer. Another version expresses it this way:

"Again I tell you, if two of you on earth