Graham's Statement:
We all know how able the Father is to heal instantly. There are times for many of us when we are healed by power, and at other times through relationship with the Father. At times the Lord is developing our capacity to walk in power and authority. On these occasions, when under the guidance of His will, we pray the prayers of authority and faith and we see immediate results. At these times, too, our prayers are accompanied by a specific gift of faith, healing or miracles and we can be amazed at how heaven comes to earth in those moments. Still, there are other times when we enter a process of healing that seems to be in line with God's desire to redevelop our relationship with Him.
We are not ill because our relationship with God lacks depth. God Himself is not mean to us to deny healing for the sake of relationship building. Rather, it is that the Father simply uses what is available to touch and deepen us in difficult moments.
In certain situations, our ailments may be purely physical and require healing; other circumstances require us coming into wholeness because our human circumstances may be more complex.
In all our situations, the love of the Father is profound enough to upgrade our image of Him, that we may know His Nature and Lordship in a more realistic manner.
Healing through relationship is more of a process because the Lord is developing our patience, endurance and steadfast trust. It is the Keeping Power of God that increases our faith and brings us to a new level of perception and relationship. He nurtures us as we pray in faith and learn to abide in the shadow of His wings. He does not always deliver us from the valley, but He does always walk with us through it.
We learn to trust the Father as we actively listen to the One who ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb.7:25), whilst learning to walk with the Comforter. It is so vital that we allow the Holy Spirit to develop this particular role in our lives. We can be weak and find God's strength through comfort as well as joy.
In the valley, in the process of restoration, renewal and finding health, we learn how best to fight. In this instance, the weapons of our warfare are thanksgiving, praise, trust and patience. Sometimes we inherit the promises of God immediately and at other times through faith coupled with patience.
If God does not speak initially, He always will eventually, as we learn how to wait on Him. If His power is not demonstrated immediately, His Sovereignty always comes through progressively.
Sometimes we get an elevator to the next level, sometimes we take the stairs. Power or process is designed by God's will.
If it is process, then we must choose to wait gladly on the Lord and remain attentive to His voice and bound to His loving nature.
Words of knowledge may come through others about our circumstances. Sometimes these words are accompanied by another gift of faith, healing or miracles and we are set free. If not, they are God's encouragement for us to continue praying and believing in the process of life.
These words of knowledge may carry the certainty of God's ultimate will, giving us confidence (1 John 4:14,15). We can craft them into a prayer to confess/declare daily knowing we are praying God's will and therefore the answer to our dilemma.
Freed from the tyranny of our current condition, we are now released in heart and mind to pursue the other purposes of God in our circumstances. What else does He want to do apart from our ultimate healing? Is our healing a part of our wider restoration and renewal? Is the Lord taking us into a deeper place of abiding love and intimacy? He knows the plans He has for us, in every situation, to give us a future and a hope!
What is He planning in that beautiful heart that loves us so amazingly? What grace will come our way, what wisdom and insight may open the eyes of our heart?
This is the path and the process of enlightenment which enables us to fully know God and be known (Eph.1:15-23). We use what we are exploring and discovering to write our crafted prayers of certainty and to formulate our own psalms of thanksgiving. David's journals (we now know as the Psalms) were what enabled him to become a man after God's own heart through all the crises of his life.
What is it specifically that God wants to be for us now, that He could not be for us at any other time?
Do not ask why things are happening. The 'why' question is never answered on earth. It is the wrong question. Rather ask, "What does this mean?" and "What must I do?". God is faithful and kind. His love endures for ever. He is good. So, what is He doing?
We seldom hear God in a vacuum. Learn to engage with God's heart through praise. Better to write your praise out on paper than rely on spontaneous utterance.
How do you praise when you don't feel like it? If you write out your psalm of thanks, you don't need emotion to speak it out. Whereas you do if you rely solely on your heart. Be wise, therefore, and learn the ways of the Spirit. Follow David's journal approach to spirituality and you will always have insight, power or attachment to the heart of God.
Keep smiling, there is more going on in favour of your life than you realise."
Graham Cooke
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