I was quite ill whilst I was away what with one thing and another, necessitating in a hospital visit (more on that later this week), a doctor's appointment and several pharmaceutical consultations. I felt tired, run-down and in pain for about three-quarters of my holiday, and didn't feel too great about it, as I was really looking forward to my adventurous travels. So as the drugs don't always work and not all the medical personnel know what they're talking about (I was advised to use After Sun on a number of occasions for a severe allergic reaction...), I turned to prayer and used my past experience and training to employ a different number of prayers for healing.
These included anointing, laying on of hands, getting others to pray for me, soaking in the spirit, using set prayers, praying in tongues and surrendering myself to God. I think the only method that 'worked' regarding healing was to relax and know that our Abba Father who created the universe and knows us all intimately is our all-mighty loving God who can heal if it's the right thing to do, and who never leaves us, giving us the strength to endure and overcome when we are at our weakest and lowest ebb.
I wouldn't recommend going crazy with prayers for healing (as I did) - not everybody gets healed instantaneously. In fact, very few do. And in many cases, the lessons learnt and emotions experienced through knowing that we are mere mortals is greater than any quick fix brought about by miraculous healing. It's difficult to accept that not everyone gets healed, and that when people do recover, the process is largely aided by medical knowledge and drugs, and tends to be very slow and laborious.
I was fortunate in that my illnesses were not much out of the way of ordinary things encountered in the course of a life. None of them lasted more than a month. None were terminal or severely, adversely affected me. I could overcome them (though I am still unwell at this point), and for the majority, could take pain-killers and get on with enjoying my holiday, leaving the process of recovery and check-ups to when I got back home and was within good access to a range of doctors, dentists and English-speaking chemists.
I missed the opportunities to be as adventurous on my holidays as others who took a similar journey were, spending my days sleeping, wandering around the old towns and swimming in pools, eating western food in expensive restaurants, but I revelled in the experiences of discovering more about my body, and learning more about faith and healing.
Friends of mine have been very ill in the past, and some have passed on at a young age. I don't know how they coped with the realisation that they weren't ever going to get well, and yet, in this knowledge, keeping hold of the understanding that God is no less powerful, miraculous or concerned about their lives. I have no definitive explanations to add regarding God's power, healing or the place of illness and pain in a committed Christian life, but I know that in the future, I will be quicker to relax, trust God and follow Him in every aspect of my life.
I will rest more, sleep more when the pain becomes too great to cope with, and save more of my energy to enjoying the 'here and now' rather than taking up many hours with research into various medical problems, treatments and methods of prayer for healing.
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