Prayer Archives - Rest Ministries - Chronic Illness and Pain Support

‘Why Won’t God Heal You?’ I Am Asked. Here is My Answer

June 25, 2012 By admin 6 Comments

"Why won't God heal you?" These words can sting because they feel like judgement, but I have learned how to answer with bold faith. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Many times I'm asked, "Why doesn't God heal you?" or "Why does God allow you to be in such pain?" What happened today, is a good example that. . . Let me tell you one answer to the question, "Why doesn't God heal you?" I went to the Department of Motor Vehicles today. I waited two hours for them to complete the transaction in about eight minutes (I ordered a disability license plate). I was very thankful that I was done in time to make it to my chiropractor … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Explaining Illness, Healing, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic pain, Failed back syndrome, God, god heal me, god heal you, Lord, Lord's Cricket Ground, Pain, Prayer

Devotion: Are You Listening to God as Much as You are Talking to Him About Your Illness?

June 16, 2012 By admin 13 Comments

"I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak," (Psalm 38:13) My mother lives two states away, and neither of us are much able to travel and see each other, so we talk to each other on the phone. From time to time my mother has issues either with her computer or her television set, and calls me with questions. Often she is so busy asking me questions about the problem that she doesn't take time to listen to what I'm saying. I will tell her: "Mom, you can't listen if you are talking." I sometimes wonder if God would say the same thing to us? We can get so busy in our lives that we do not take time to listen to God, to read His word, to speak, and then be silent in prayer before Him. We can get so caught up in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Dear Lord, God, Jesus, karlton douglas, Lord, Ohio, Prayer, Psalm

Why Did Someone Send Me a Get Well Soon Card?

June 15, 2012 By admin 6 Comments

"Get well soon!" people tell us, but when you are chronically ill, that little phrase, get well soon, can start to fester bitterness. “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.” (Romans 15:5) The other day I opened my mailbox to find a card. I was so excited—it wasn’t a bill, but a card! When I arrived back at my apartment I opened the card and read it. As I read the card, I realized that I could react one of two ways. I could be very frustrated and become discouraged, or I could be glad and be encouraged. On the front of the card it said, “Get Well Soon!” Let’s look at some facts: I’m not “sick," I live with chronic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Need to Know, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Christ Jesus, Chronic pain, God, Jesus, Kindle, Lord, Prayer

Devotion: What Does Reap What You Sow Mean When Chronically Ill?

June 14, 2012 By admin 4 Comments

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7) I am a diabetic. I really wish I wasn't, because I like to eat, especially sweets. I have to continually discipline myself to stay out of trouble with my diabetes. If don't watch what I eat, how much I eat, and regularly monitor my blood sugar--I will pay a price for it. So many things in life are like this. We need to stick to what is good for us, and avoid the things that cause us and others problems. It is easy to give ourselves a pass when we live with chronic illnesses, to excuse our bad behavior, and blame our illnesses for everything. But how we behave, how we treat others, and the things we sow into our lives and the lives of others counts, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Diabetes mellitus, God, Illness, Kindle, Lord, Ohio, Prayer

Devotion: Perseverance Can Be Difficult When Faced with Chronic Illness

June 7, 2012 By admin 8 Comments

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character; hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5: ) I took a step backwards emotionally when I became frustrated that my body wasn’t recovering more quickly from a respiratory infection. I was angered and sad because I was going to miss my daughter’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Autonomic nervous system, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lord, New York, Prayer, Seil

Devotion: When Loneliness Kicks In, God Will Sustain You

May 29, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me” (Psalm 3:5). As a single person who’s chronically ill, I’ve gone through many medical tests and procedures by myself. Occasionally, my friend or my sister goes with me, but many visits I go in alone and I come out alone. Experiencing such loneliness at a time of unknown is disheartening to say the least. Recently, I underwent a new treatment and as I was heading in to the doctor’s office, I received two text messages and an email on my phone letting me know I was prayed for and thought of (BIG thank you to my two friends Karen, Kim, and sister Gretchen). That meant the world to me. But more importantly, they reminded me that I wasn’t alone because God was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Bridget, God, Kidney stone, Kim, Lord, Prayer, Psalm, West Michigan

When a “Fire” Hits Your Life, Do You Know How You Will Respond?

May 10, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Shelby Boughman Some of you may know the codes for using the fire extinguishers in the event of a fire. The acronym PASS means "Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Spray." Doing so will help you use the fire extinguisher properly so that you may fight whatever flames may be around you. Yesterday, the Lord gave me a new idea for this. Have you ever thought about other ways we can use this code? In Ephesians 6:16, Paul talks about a vital piece to the Armor of God by saying, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” The enemy is constantly trying to throw fiery darts and battles at us Christians, but we must stand tall and strong, fighting back at Him with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Coping Skills, Loneliness, Ministry - Personal, Spiritually Struggling, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesu, Lord, Lord's Prayer, Prayer

Devotion: How to Offer Our Sufferings as an Act of Worship to God

April 26, 2012 By admin 5 Comments

“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1). Worship can be expressed in various forms. Some examples are through music, tithes and offerings, responding to the teaching of God’s Word, and performing acts of service and mercy in God’s name. This verse suggests something else to me as well--worshiping God through my sacrifices of earthly suffering. I am slowly learning to be aware of ways in which I can do this. As I endure the ongoing struggle with migraines day after day, I am trying to praise God for the ability He gives me to keep functioning and serving through them. When I am not able … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Spiritually Struggling, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Contemporary worship music, God, how to surrender to god, Jesus, Lord, Prayer, Sacrifice, surrendering, Worship

What I’d Like to Tell The Pastor About Living with Illness

April 13, 2012 By admin 14 Comments

If you had the opportunity to sit down and really share about your pain, what would you tell the pastor of your church about your chronic illness and daily pain? Lisa Copen Living with chronic illness is lonely. Everyone around us seems to be enjoying health, happiness, and the ability to at least pursue their dreams. But many of us feel lonely, scared, and disappointed. We are faced with so many insecurities and we are living with an illness that we have not been able to pray away, cry away, or confess away. So we turn to our church for guidance, for acceptance, for unconditional support during the most difficult time in our life. But churches are made up of people—all of us imperfect. And our church does not always give us … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Explaining Illness, Friend Has Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Hurt Feelings, Loneliness, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Share Your Story, Spiritually Struggling, Support Group Leader, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: care pastor, Christianity, Chronic, Chronic pain, Church, church disabilities ministry, Conditions and Diseases, Congregational, congregational care, Denominations, disability ministry, Disabled, disabled ministry, disablity, God, Health, Illness, Jesus, Joni Eareckson Tada, joni erickson tada, joni tada, Lord, Online Communities, parish, parish nurse, pastor, pastoral care, pastors, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, Rest Ministries, small groups, Stephen Ministries, stephen ministry

Devotion: What Happens When You Are Diagnosed with a Secondary Illness (or Third, Fourth…)?

March 16, 2012 By admin 9 Comments

"Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses." (1 Timothy 5:23) During a recent doctor visit I told my doctor: “I don't need another problem.” He replied: “I know.” Additional illnesses and extra diagnoses are things we do not want. If you are like me, you really just want the affliction merry-go-round to stop. I'm guessing that you feel exactly the same as I do when additional illnesses are added to the scale of your already overburdened affliction account. My “extra” illness is diabetes. I've been non-diabetic, pre-diabetic, and now am diagnosed diabetic. I have packet to carry around to check my blood with, and an additional medication, and one more thing to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Christian, God, Illness, karlton douglas, Lord, Ohio, Prayer, Psalm

Devotion: Giving And Receiving Comfort During Pains of Illness

February 26, 2012 By admin 7 Comments

"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life." (Psalm 119:50) How encouraging it is to have doctors and nurses that understand and practice comforting words to their patients. But how terrible it is to look for comfort from such people and only get cold words or indifference. So it is it with any situation that hungers for comfort. God brings us comfort in many ways. Sometimes He uses certain people, or events, or changes in circumstances to encourage us. At other times it is simply a feeling in our spirit that God is with us, perhaps His Holy Spirit whispering into our heart that everything will work out fine. I think that there are times we are so busy or preoccupied that we really don't give much thought … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: God, Holy Spirit, karlton douglas, Kindle, Lord, Ohio, Prayer, Psalm

What If This Is As Good As It Gets? Facing The “Chronic” In Chronic Illness

February 16, 2012 By admin 4 Comments

By Fiona Burrows I’ve recently had some treatment that it was hoped would reduce the level of chronic pain that I have or maybe even get rid of it all together. After more than 25 years of pain that for the most part hasn’t responded to different treatments and has been getting worse--it seemed strange when the specialist suggested that it could all be controlled by this follow-up treatment, and what I’d had done earlier in the year. I have become so used to living with chronic pain--I may not like it, but I’m used to it. I can’t remember what it’s like not to be in pain and everything I do, seems to have to be considered in light of that pain and how it will affect me. I guess you could say, I feel like chronic pain is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Fear, Person w/ Illness, What's New?, Worry Tagged With: Christmas, Chronic pain, God, Health, Jesus, Melbourne, Pain Mgmt & Illnesses, Prayer, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, Sunroom