Thank you for joining the Partners in Health and Wholeness Book Club. You can officially sign-up here. Through it, we hope to engage people of faith in discussions over why our health matters. Just look for the picture of the apple on the books and you will find past Book Club entries. Our current choice of reading is “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson.
While prayer is not a replacement for good health choices and appropriate medical care, as people of faith, we believe prayer plays an essential role in our lives. In addition, studies have shown it can improve medical outcomes and that it boosts physical and emotional health.
These messages within the chapters are getting simple, yet more specific. Within chapter five, Batterson is saying be bold and risk looking ridiculous. I admire this concept. In fact, I’ve challenged myself to do just that. I will risk looking ridiculous on account of praying bold prayers. I remember times that I would pray over the doctor’s hands before they performed surgery on my dad or praying over statues that represent the medical personnel in my dad’s life. Yes, I may look ridiculous, but I believe that something bigger is happening within me and within the spiritual realm.
Being bold and perhaps looking ridiculous is an OK trade-off for me if I get a living, healthy dad with a working fully functioning heart, kidney, brain, and body. I’m OK with looking a little loopy for asking the doctors if I can touch their hands and pray over them, and asking the Lord to guide their every move and give them divine knowledge and wisdom to confront the situations ahead.
I’m sure that you have many ways in which you are willing to risk looking odd. I want to hear about them, and I wish that you would include these stories within a personal health survey you can take here.
I’m confident that the Lord is working in our lives, to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20 paraphrased).
