Matthew 8:14-15 Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.
In the above text, we see Jesus heal by touch. By proximity. There was contact between Him and the sick. Even if this is wonderful, it is limiting. Imagine Jesus was in Samaria, and Peter’s mother-in-law was in Egypt; there’d be no possibility of touch…
But here’s another text, that counters that;
Matthew 8:5-10,13 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this [one,] ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does [it.]” When Jesus heard [it,] He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! … Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, [so] let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
Here, Jesus showed us that proximity wasn’t a prerequisite for healing to happen.
Today, doctrines have limited the power of prayer by dictating that one has to be near to receive healing.
Well that is relative. Since it was the centurion who brought up the theory of authority, his understanding enabled him to receive healing on his servant’s behalf.
If you think you have to be next to your prayer warrior to have the healing, you’ll be doomed if the prayer warrior travels for a month.
Let us not put a formula to prayer. Let’s not say it won’t work if one isn’t kneeling down.
As I read this portion from Jeremiah today, I couldn’t help but relate it to prayer;
Jeremiah 23:23 ” Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, ” And not a God afar off?
God seemed to say, ‘Can prayers work only when am near, and not work if I’m far?’
The moral is: since He’s God — both where you are and where the sick are, and you are One with Him, it must work!
He’s the God of all flesh. The earth and its fullness are His. If you are in Him, you are so connected to everything that even the wind can convey your prayer and its authority to the intended destination — for the winds and waves obey Him.
God is constant! And if He’s with you, He’ll be God near at hand and a far off! If you’ve been imprisoned, He’ll still cause an earthquake to disentangle your shackles, the same way He split the sea when you hadn’t been in prison yet. He’ll promote you to head the prison inmates just like He promoted you to head Potiphar’s house.
He’ll bless you as a foreigner or immigrant, the same way He blessed you in your home country. He’ll answer your prayer when you have done a mistake, the same way He answers you, when you have done good. He’s the same God both a far off and at hand. In case you are praying for someone, He’ll perform your prayer petition whether you’re near them or miles away.
Just don’t put Him in a box saying He can only work this way or that way. He can work ANY way.
He is limitless! No boundaries can stay Him! No wonder He says you’re blessed in the city and in the country. He’s the same God near, and a far off. The constant factor is He! And if He promoted Daniel to highest offices, if He gave Daniel insight concerning kingdoms to come, if He gave Israelites houses filled with beautiful things that they didn’t build, rest assured that the same a far off God (thousands of years ago) … is the same at hand (proximate, living in you right now).
He can do exactly the same for you
… And more!
All the miracles and signs and wonders you’ve heard about, He’s the maker of them all. And He can bring them so close, that they become ‘at hand’ (readily accessible when needed) to you.
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