Your Faith Can Move Heaven to Act

Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”

Matthew 9:2 (NTL)

After seeing his daughter’s medical test results and witnessing her suffering, a father realized that medicine was powerless against the ailment that had been afflicting her for days. If modern medicine—with all its research and discoveries—could do nothing, was there still hope for his daughter to regain perfect health? In a sudden surge of determination, he took his daughter into her room, closed the door, and began to pray. He shut himself in with her for three days, imploring God’s favor. He put his faith into action and humbled himself before God, asking Him to restore his daughter. In that situation, he did not expect his daughter to pray with him; his own faith and devotion were enough.

It was this same faith and devotion that Jesus saw in the people who brought the paralyzed man to Him on a stretcher. Only unwavering faith and great determination could have driven them to undertake a long journey with the sick man and exert such effort—even going so far as to lower him through the roof—to bring him before Jesus. Their faith not only moved Jesus to heal the man’s paralysis; it also stirred within Him a desire to forgive his sins. Jesus saw beyond the physical illness his friends observed; He also saw that the man’s heart yearned for His forgiveness. Thus, He drew upon the faith of those friends to grant the forgiveness the man sought in the depths of his soul.

You may often wonder if your prayers can draw God’s attention to another person’s situation. If that person is ill, you might think your faith is not strong enough to move heaven to act on their behalf. Yet, the Bible calls us to pray for one another precisely because our faith can move God to intervene on behalf of others. There is no need to strive for extraordinary faith; it is enough simply to believe and show the necessary determination, knowing that God will hear your prayers and answer them according to His will. Do not doubt your faith, for God can use it to act on behalf of others.

May the grace and peace of God be with you.