I recently reported briefly on the Jack Deere meeting on Friday evening, January 1997, at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston, at the conclusion of which the speaker invited persons with several specific sicknesses or infirmities to come to the altar for prayer that God would heal them. One preacher who read my report responded with a question, to which I replied, prompting another question and another answer. Because this questioning brother speaks for many believers these days, I share his questions and my answers, as follows. * * * Q: I'm admittedly skeptical. Did the people … [Read more...]

I had the pleasure this past weekend [January 1997] of attending a series of spiritual renewal meetings led by Dr. Jack Deere (author of Surprised by the Power of the Spirit and Surprised by the Voice of God), at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church here in Houston. Located in the heart of the posh River Oaks community, the epicenter of Houston's "old wealth," St. John's is a Christ-centered congregation led by Rector Larry Hall, who is a strong evangelical and a brother with a sweet Christlike spirit. I have had the privilege since 1982 of guest teaching adult Sunday School classes on … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes: "Recently my dad died at age 62. A month later, my best friend died at age 37, leaving a widow and a three-year-old daughter. Many Christians in many places were praying for both men to survive and to be healed. It seems like God has an appointed day for our deaths. If so, what good does it do to pray?" * * * The question you raise is one of the oldest in recorded human history and also one of the most inexplicable. In a world where evil exists (and death is the ultimate earthly evil because it is both total and final so far as our present bodily existence is … [Read more...]

Blessed Lord Jesus, Who, with contagious wholeness, touched the lepers; with glory imminent, washed the disciples feet; with a peasant lad's lunch satisfied the multitude; with a heart of compassion commanded stinking dead Lazarus to leave his grave alive again; Who, hearing on the cross the taunt "save yourself and us," and, knowing it had to be one or the other, chose to die that we might be saved; Mercifully accept our praise, our petitions and our intercessions for others: Please give to us all the faith, grace, love and hope that will make us more like you. May our … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes, "I have just completed The Sound of His Voice and enjoyed it very much. I especially found meaningful your sharing of Psalm 115:3 regarding God doing as he pleases. In light of that, would you please comment on the purpose of prayer. If God is in control, as I believe he is, should we make specific requests of him? Is it arrogant of us to suggest to the Creator what he should do? I have struggled with this for a very long time and would greatly appreciate your comments." * * * Indeed, "Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases" (Psalm 115:3). If … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes, "Would you please comment on the purpose of prayer. If God is in control, as I believe he is, should we make specific requests of him? Is it arrogant of us to suggest to the Creator what he should do? I have struggled with this for a very long time." * * * Indeed, "Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases" (Psalm 115:3). If God were a self-serving despot, that announcement should instill terror and send us scurrying for cover. However, as the same Psalm notes, "the LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us" (v. 12). Those who reverence God … [Read more...]

A brother whose small child has cerebral palsy writes in tears. He believes that God is able to heal but he hesitates to expect that God will heal his little son, lest such confidence, if unfulfilled, might diminish his faith. * * * I can promise you, dear brother, that God will perfectly heal your son one day, when we see Jesus face to face. That will not be a dislocated event unrelated to anything else, but rather the fulfillment of God's creation purpose, a purpose thwarted temporarily by human sin since Adam, but a purpose set back on track by the victorious life, death and resurrection … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber recently learned that her husband has sexually molested their daughters for several years. He is now in the hands of criminal authorities. She has mixed feelings toward him -- of anger, betrayal and disgust but also of pity and even of love. She asks my help in "sorting this out." * * * I am sorry for the harm and pain that has visited you and your family. As for your husband, you will require time to process all the natural and legitimate feelings that you have regarding him. Don't feel any panic to rush or hurry that process. It will take time, maybe years. You can … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber knows a Christian lady who remains seriously ill although she prays continually for healing and has sought anointing with oil and prayer by a believing elder in the church. Does this lady's ongoing sickness mean that she lacks faith to be healed? * * * I believe that it is very harmful to blame someone's illness on a lack of faith. Such accusations misrepresent God, pervert faith and discredit prayer. Our faith is in God, not in any formula or theory or teaching. Faith involves a personal relationship between an individual and God who knows us intimately and who will … [Read more...]

"Bless the LORD," invites the Psalmist, "who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:1-3). How grateful I am for God's healing at times in my own life -- notably after several years of troublesome respiratory disease that included asthma, sinus polyps and constant coughing. I give thanks every day for the divine mercy given, in that case, through a skilled surgeon who himself acknowledges God's hand in the result. I ask God daily to heal, to remit or even to retard what my neurologist has diagnosed as Parkinson's disease, primarily so I can teach, preach and write as many years as possible. I also … [Read more...]