Do You Want to be Healed?
Seems like a silly question, doesn’t it? Do I want to be healed? Well, duh. Of course I do. Then why did Jesus ask the crippled man who laid by the pool that very question?
The answer came while I was attending a writer’s conference. One of the attendees in my week-long workshop was a single woman, never married. She was rather mousy in appearance and timid in manner. The second day of the workshop, right in the middle of the teaching, this woman became ill. With much fanfare, several people helped her back to her room. I remember thinking the next time I see her I’ll offer to pray for her.
The next day, we were in another teaching session and again, this woman disrupted the class with much fanfare over her “ailment.”
As I watched the drama unfold, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to me. He indicated that this woman was not interested in prayer for healing. Rather, she preferred the attention she received from being sick. In fact, she created opportunities of sickness so that others would pay attention to her.
The reason Jesus asked the question is simple. Some aren’t interested in healing because for them, there is a pay off to being sick. There’s additional attention, care, and concern. Being ill gives permission to “taking it easy.” It also provides engagement with others–conversation and even drama … the discussion of the latest test results or doctor’s visit. The sad thing is that many who fall into this category can actually create sickness, the more they think and talk about it.
When I encounter these kinds of incidents, I don’t pray for physical healing. Instead, I pray for emotional healing. I pray for friends for that person, for the support of the Body of Christ, and for healthy ways to gain the nurturing they need. It’s all healing, just of a different sort.