I believe I was right to complain to the hospital. If one studies Nehemiah one sees a man who used both prayer and practical skills in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. But can I complain to God?
A wise lady who had hugged and encouraged me two weeks ago said "Don't worry, complain to God, he is a great God and he can take it"
Yet I read this morning about the Israelites murmuring against Moses and even God in Numbers chapter 11. And I received this email from Bob Snyder, again warning us to trust in God, not to murmur or complain http://www.pursuantgroup.com/ihs/0308_2.htm
Murmuring sees what is negative rather than the possibilities for good. When I’m murmuring I focus on unbelief rather than belief. A whining, grumpy mood overtakes me rather than a spirit of gracious gratitude.
The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 verses 10 and 11 gives a warning to me, "And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us......."
I need a spirit of gracious gratitude and trust that God has his best plans for us in this disease.
Yet if I go wrong I am sure God can take my grumbles and still bless us. If one looks at Exodus chapter 11 verse 24 one sees the people grumble at Marah because there was bitter water, yet soon afterwards God leads them to Elim where there was an oasis, and God promises in verse 26 to put on them none of the diseases that he put on the Egyptians
That promise of disease free living made a great impression on me in my youth, when I read the book "None of These Diseases". The author, who was a medical missionary has already lived to 102, and has recently updated his book available on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/080075719X/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop/002-3182446-1820
One reviewer says:
This book really could change the way we eat, the way we live has serious health consequences, therefore higher doctors bills etc. This book will help you to cut through so much of the rubbish being written about diet and health, and help you to set a lifestyle that is healthy. Forget fad diets this is the way to go, not just for losing weight but for every aspect of healthy living.
Also it goes a long way to proving that God really knew what He was doing all those 1000's of years ago, as science plays catch up with Biblical revelation.
The original book written in 1963 and 1984 was a wonderful example of explaining how the Bible can be used to help us live healthier. This book, however, is so full of sermons and posturing, that it is difficult to see where the Bible is being quoted.
We purchased this book and after reading half of it, decided to purchase the original book (through the used books section of Amazon.com) and now wish we had the option of returning this book and only keeping the original book. The original book is really a great read and extremely helpful.
Another review: The book is well written. I found it very informative and a good guideline for living life in the 21st century. I first read NONE OF THESE DISEASES in the middle 70's and was very pleased to find the revised edition. Please read and take it to heart.
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I have recently received a healing of my eyes...I no longer wear glasses...and I have discovered that the problem was ME receiving what God gives, no God.
And it happened after years of reading books like "No Diseass" like you and your wife did. It happened when I started checking out the ministry of Andrew Wommack, www.awmi.net, and got into the extras tab and downloaded some of his teachings.
God wants his children well. He has already provided the way (Jesus) and the problem was a lack of my understanding which, of course, hindered my belief.
Here's one of his teachings from his website. It's not near as complete as the free audio but might give you a slightly different view about healing and how to receive it.
Faith For Healing Is Based On Knowledge
By Andrew Wommack
At one of my Gospel Truth Seminars, I ministered to a man who had detached retinas. I was standing right in front of him, and he said I was just a blur. With the service about to start, I only had a moment to minister, so I told him to come forward at the end, and one of our prayer ministers would continue the process. He did and, after further ministry, gave a great testimony. Not only could he see me clearly, but he could see the faces of the people at the back of the auditorium. Thank You, Jesus! That’s a miracle!
In the same service, a woman came forward whose eyes were clouded with cataracts. She could barely see, but after the prayer minister prayed for her, the white glaze over her eyes was gone, and she said her eyesight was great. Another man came off the oxygen tank he had been attached to for months. Deaf ears were opened; cancers were cured; and backs were healed. Hallelujah!
The most exciting thing to me about these miracles is that I’m NOT the one who prayed for most of these people.
Not long ago, I was doing all of the ministry. Don’t misunderstand; I enjoy ministering God’s healing to people. But, as the crowds grew, it became difficult to pray for everyone. I often prayed with people till after midnight, and yet there were many more that couldn’t stay and left without their healing. Now that we have prayer ministers, hundreds of people can be ministered to each night. Many more miracles are taking place, and it’s especially satisfying to see them experience the same and even better results than I do.
I think this sends a much needed signal to all who will listen; television ministers are not the only ones who can operate in this miraculous power of God! Praise God for the true men and women of God on television, but Jesus said that believers will lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover (Mark 16:18). The job of the minister is to train the body of Christ so that they can do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-12). The day of the one-man show in the body of Christ needs to come to an end, and we’re literally seeing that take place in our meetings.
Some of the local prayer ministers we train have never seen a miracle happen through them before. I remember one man who helped us at a seminar. He received the pre-seminar instruction and training, and on the very first night saw a person’s blind eyes open when he prayed. He told us the next day that he was so excited, he didn’t sleep all night. Not only did the blind person get healed, but I can guarantee you, that young man will never be the same. That is awesome!
Would you like to see the blind receive their sight or the lame walk when you pray? Do you desperately need healing yourself? Here’s the good news—whether you’re praying for another’s healing or receiving your own, it’s available to every true follower of Christ! Jesus gave every disciple who believes the power and authority to do the same works that He did. What a statement! But it is absolutely true. John 14:12 says,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
All believers will do the same works that Jesus did; it’s not limited to ministers. There’s just a shortage of believing believers.
How do you get to the place where you can see the miraculous happen in and through you? It starts with the renewing of your mind. Faith is based on knowledge, and everything we need to know to be a victorious Christian is explained in God’s Word. That’s what the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:3-4:
"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
Knowledge of a few basics truths, when properly understood and applied, will make a huge difference in releasing His power and receiving your healing. Last month I shared one of the most important things the Lord has ever shown me: God has already placed His healing power within us, and it is now under our authority. It isn’t up to God to determine who receives healing; it’s up to us! What a powerful statement! It’s our failure to understand and use the authority we have that is keeping God's healing power from flowing as it should. It's imperative that we discover what we have and learn how to release it. If you don't have my album entitled The Believer's Authority, you need to get it. The message will not only affect the way you receive and minister healing, but it will change the entire way you relate to God. It's a powerful teaching.
Here's another indispensable basic truth you must know and understand about healing: It's never God's will for us to be sick; He wants every person healed every time. That's nearly-too-good-to-be-true news, but that's the Gospel. Most Christians don't know or believe that. They think the Lord makes them sick, or at the very least, He allows Satan to make them sick to either punish or correct them. That kind of thinking will get you killed; it's not what the Bible teaches.
One of the most elementary principles in God's Word is given in James 4:7. It says,
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
This verse clearly teaches that some things are of God, and some things are of the devil. Notice it doesn't present a third category: from God through the devil. No! Sickness has nothing to do with God! Submit to the things of God, and resist the things of the devil. It's that simple. To believe that God allows or approves of Satan's actions defies the logic of James 4:7. It eliminates our responsibility to resist and places ultimate responsibility for everything back on God.
The widely-accepted doctrine that God controls everything is a deception. If Satan can confuse and deceive you on that issue, he's got you! Why? Because you'll stop resisting. No one wants to resist God's will, and if you think that God is behind your sickness, you'll submit to it. That violates the instruction of James 4:7, it won't get you healed, and it lets Satan have his way in your life.
You must believe God always wants you healed. It's so simple, it takes help to misunderstand. But sadly, most Christians receive plenty of help from religion in misunderstanding this. Look at it this way: If God wanted you sick, for whatever reason, then why visit the doctor or take medication? It would seem more logical to allow the sickness to run its course so God's purpose could be accomplished. Of course I think that's foolish, and hopefully, so do you.
What's the bottom line on God's will for our healing? His Word reveals that to us in 3 John 2, which says,
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
John was writing a letter to believers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He revealed that the Lord wants us healthy just as much as He wants us to prosper emotionally and mentally.
When Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius in Acts 10:38, he summarized the ministry of Jesus by saying,
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
Today some preachers are saying that healing is of the devil, but that's not the message Peter gave. Notice what Peter said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Not only was Jesus doing good when He healed people, but He healed all that were oppressed of the devil, not of God. That scripture clearly proves that sickness is not from God.
Isaiah 53 should end all debate. It was written prophetically about Jesus, the Messiah. Isaiah 53:4-5 says,
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
These verses reveal that physical healing is a part of the atonement of Christ. The Lord redeemed us from sickness just as much as He redeemed us from sin. He would no more want us to be sick than He would want us to sin. Those are radical statements to many Christians because we've been taught that forgiveness of sins is what salvation is all about. Well that's certainly a vital part of salvation, but that's not all that Jesus accomplished. We were also healed by His stripes. Sickness is not of God just as sin is not of God. Thank You, Jesus!
Just in case anyone might be thinking that the healing spoken of in Isaiah 53:4-5 is not physical but only emotional, the Bible gives a commentary on Isaiah's prophecy. In Matthew 8:16 Jesus healed all the sick people brought to Him, and verse 17 says this was done…
"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."
Therefore, Scripture comments on itself and makes it very clear that the healing spoken of by Isaiah is referring to physical infirmities and sicknesses. If Jesus bore our sicknesses, then we don't have to.
You may be asking yourself, "What about Paul's thorn in the flesh?" I wish I had space to answer that in this article because those scriptures are not talking about a sickness of Paul's that the Lord would not heal. However, I do have an entire teaching revealing what Paul's thorn in the flesh was. That teaching is the second in a four-part series I have entitled God Wants You Well. The first teaching in that series deals with healing as a part of Christ's atonement, the second deals with Paul's thorn in the flesh, the third reveals reasons why people are not healed, and the fourth teaches that healing is governed by laws and reveals some of those laws. I encourage you to take advantage of these resources we are offering on healing.
The above article link:
http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/healing_knowledge
For indepth and free teachings, listen on line or download as mp3 files and listen on your computer or make a cd
http://www.awmi.net
go to extras tab
\choose audio teachings
I downloaded a
Better Way to Pray
God Wants You Well
God’s Cure for What Ails Ya
The True Nature of God
*(Later I downloaded them all). The print teachings are very short and don’t tell the whole story.
These brought me into a love relationship with God and opened my eyes, literally.
So hope you check this out.
Sistah Pat
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