Day 235 - FOUNDATION STONES IN A YEAR

by King's Cross Training
“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”

James 5: 14, 15, NIV

I love eating pizza and I know that many others do to. My favourite toppings on pizza are bacon, avocado, feta, peppadews, and rocket. When I order my pizza there’s only one way I can be sure to get my favourite pizza: I have to ask for it. Perhaps this seems like a very inane anecdote to you, and admittedly it is, but it strikes me as odd that we have no problem asking for these small, mundane things, but struggle asking for the things that God’s word tells us to ask for.

The laying on of hands has two crucial elements to it: the person who is laying on hands and the person on whom hands are being laid. So far we’ve looked a lot at the believer performing the laying on of hands, but what if you’re the one on whom hands is being laid?

We live in a fallen world and at some point or another you, as a believer, will be in need of the laying on of hands for healing, as today’s reading describes. We’ve looked a lot at your practise of the laying on of hands, but do you believe in it enough to ask for it when you need it?

We have no problem asking for a doctor’s appointment, a tablet, or a sick day, but do you perform the basic practise of asking for the laying on of hands for healing? Parents, how do you expect your children to learn this culture if you don’t model it?

Today commit again to being obedient to God’s word and promoting the culture of the laying on of hands by asking another believer for it.

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess to you that other methods of dealing with sickness and disease have been my habit, rather than your instruction of asking for the laying on of hands for healing. Thank you for always wanting me to be healed. Today I choose your way and not my own.

 

Would you like to do this devotion with the family?

  1. Start by reading today’s passage. This job can be assigned to a child.
  2. Ask the children if they can remember when last they’ve been ill. Can they remember how they got better? Today’s passage tells us that if we’re sick we should call on another believer to lay hands on us any pray the prayer of faith. Ask the children how you could remember to do this the next time one of you is ill. Is there a sick person in the house? Encourage them with this passage to ask for the laying on of hands for healing.
  3. Today choose a meal to share together but practise this rule: no one may dish up for themselves, you must all ask someone else to serve you. At the end of the meal tell the children again that this is like asking for the laying on of hands for healing.
  4. Finish by praying together and lead younger children. If the prayer above is too complex for children use the one below:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you make us well. Help us to choose your ways and not our own. Amen

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