5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
I hear God inviting me to so radically trust in His Word that I can claim that the petitions I place before Him – for wisdom, healing and guidance – will come to pass. God is encouraging me to have more faith!
In the coming week, I am going to trust God more – for the provision and protection God has placed in my life. And I am going to bear testimony to God’s goodness in my life. I want Jesus to be amazed at me in the coming week.
Heavenly Father, so grant Your grace and mercy to fill my life that I might hear Your word spoken into my life, and I might so trust You that You would be amazed by my faith. Amen.
Kevin Murphy, Pastor
Saint Matthew Lutheran Church – Walnut Creek
Master I have two friends whom I love, “suffering terribly.” I want to see them healed. Ask me if I want You to come heal them, my answer is “Yes, I believe you can!” I hear you say, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”
Honestly I am struggling, as my friend’s still struggle. It’s not that You have not done great things in their lives. It’s just that it’s not the same as, “And his servant was healed at that moment.”
You are my only hope, like the centurion, You are the One I come to. I know there is a battle in the world today. I know you have authority and power. I believe somehow my faith in You weakens the enemy. I believe the more we as community believe in You the more powerless the enemy. I know one day that foe will be gone.
May this testimony in Matthew catalyze and enlarge my faith.
May this place where I live rise up on faith.
May “this place” begin with my heart, be a place of faith where the battle is won today.
Today I lean into the Kingdom to come, into Your Kingship today. That is how You continue to teach me to pray. I add my belief to Your power and authority. Your Kingdom Come. Your Will be Done on earth the same way it is done in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is all I know to do, lean ever into You. Today Master, heal my friends as You did the centurion’s servant, “at that moment.”
Art, I couldn’t have said it better…I have a sister who is very ill and I struggle with the (to date) unanswered prayer of mine for her healing. This passage hits very close to home for me.
The centurion understood Jesus’ authority. The disciples understood it as well and saw/operated in great and mighty miracles. Once we understand it and fully trust it, we will see the same. We must have childlike faith and the ultimate and total confidence of the centurion. “If you believe, all things are possible to those who believe.” Are we “believers” or are we not? Today, Father, “I [choose to] believe. Help my unbelief.”
The list is long…here are a few:
Matthew 21:21-22
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt,… 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Matthew 17:20
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Mark 9:23
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
John 16:23
In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
Let faith arise!
That’s a good list Sue – Thanks. It is thought provoking and challenging to see these together. Yesterday, I was asked to be part of a memorial service for a 22 yr. old woman taking place today! She died of an overdose. So sad, she was apparently doing pretty well and then, kind of out of nowhere … this. I didn’t know her and barely know the situation, but my heart sure goes out to her parents and somehow I will encourage faith. I don’t yet know where they stand, but I hope that as they sort out this horrific tragedy they will by faith cling to the one who has the authority to bring order out of chaos. Please pray for this family.
I am so different now the i was before ..this speaks to me by confirming my growing beliefs. I am seeing healing I am witnessing small acts of healing to the world but large in my eyes. My faith is strengthening and my desire to share the good news is growing.
Today Lord let my prayers be full of faith without doubt, let me see your healing like a bright light in a dark room…let your works continue to be apparent in my life and the lives of those I meet.You are the mighty one , you are the one who makes all things; I know there are prsyers for healing being spoken today here let them be answered for you are the great one and my faith is extreme. Amen
For me there really is something radical here. I love history (strange, but I hated it when I was a kid) and I always look for the historical background in scripture. If I’m not mistaken, the centurion was either a Roman (an occupier) or a soldier in Herod’s army (a collaborator with the Romans). For Jesus (a Jew who’s homeland was occupied his entire life) to even associate with this guy was pretty radical. For him to have faith in Jesus was pretty amazing. Had he met Jesus before? Heard him speak? Heard about him from somebody else? Either way the guy had amazing faith.
I think today our world lacks that faith completely, focused as we are on worldy justice and retribution on those who wrong us. We fight over pieces of dirt that we feel somehow belong to us, while we wage war on those who we believe to be oppressing us.
I love the parables Jesus tells, because there is always something more there, and this story, while not a parable, does have something ‘more’ there. The centurion, in one way or another, was ‘the enemy’, yet Jesus had mercy on him and healed his servant.
What does that say to me? ‘Look past your prejudice and know that the person in front of you is not your enemy, no matter who they are and what they may have done. They are someone I love and want you to reach out to.’ With God’s help, I will do just that.
Wow, this is something we all need to learn. A very interesting perspective and continued reminder. I pray that I can be open to seeing people at Jesus does and have my priorities be serving God rather than feeding my frustrations. Yesterday my do was to touch 5 people. I did, including a friend who just learned that his father has 3 – 6 months to live. I went out on a limb and told him what comforts me – that God is in control of my life. I do not think he is Christian. But, yesterday was easy because they were people I like. Today I pray for an opportunity to put God first in situations with persons that frustrate me – not so that publicly I “one up them” by taking the high road but so that privately between me and God I can practice being obedient and following God’s will. I pray that I will better listen to God and those around me.
To have such faith. I continue to pray for it in myself.
I think the act of telling folks I’m praying for that I am praying for them (and sharing a vision with them of what I hope) is the act of faith I’m challenged to make. I can pray in in my mind but saying to the hurting sister or brother “I am praying and hoping for your healing/restoration” moves me a step deeper.
Even if it’s just an email.
Doing it now.
i have fibromyalgia and many days I do not feel well. God has chosen not to answer my prayers for physical healing, but has healed me psychologically in many other ways. Today i hurt (probably the rain) but this passage of strong faith, helps me to put my faith in the Lord that on this day He will give me the strength and ambition to complete what I have to do!He is ever faithful!
I find this passage interesting too that the centurian, who was probably a Roman, had greater faith than Jesus had found in all of Israel. It does not matter what our race or position in life..if we have faith, God will be faithful to us.
Hi Cathy–I am so sorry to hear you are suffering with fibro. I had fibromyaligia myself for 15 years and was totally healed in May 2010. One thing that helped me was understanding that sometimes other things are interfering with God’s healing–i.e. it’s not always that He “has chosen not to heal.” One example someone shared with me that gave me strength comes from Daniel. In the first instance (below), the answer was received “while he was still praying,” and in the second, it took three weeks to get his answer because of the interferance the angel was receiving in the supernatural realm. In BOTH cases, God heard the prayer and dispatched the answer (a positive outcome) at the time of the prayer.
Daniel 9:21
New King James Version (NKJV)
21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
Daniel 10:12-13
New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
THE REALLY GREAT NEWS IS:
1 John 5:14-16
Confidence and Compassion in Prayer
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
I hope that encourages you.
Sue, thank you for your encouragement. Praise God that you are healed. There are so few who suffer from this malady that are. I have had it for 24 years. I have prayed often for healing and
even felt the Lord urge me to have a healing service (which I did) I felt the Holy Spirit there plainly, but the healing did not come to the FMS but to other things., which was in itself a huge blessing. I am much better than I used to be and I rejoice in that. I believe the Lord has allowed me to retain the FMS and Chronic Fatigue syndrome so that I may be an encourager to others and retain my compassion for all illnesses. But there are days when it does get to me and yesterday was one of those so I dearly appreciate your encouragement. I am going to remember what you said! Perhaps the healing angel is Delayed, big time! ; 0 )
” I hear God inviting me to so radically trust in His Word that I can claim that the petitions I place before Him – for wisdom, healing and guidance – will come to pass. God is encouraging me to have more faith!”
I love this, thank you. So true & this is our Faith in practice! I have had many oppertunities to proclaim healing in many lives. I am now learning what that actually means. We are the vessel, Jesus is the healer, & his words are true. What am I going to do? Continue to claim healing & trust that God is going to do what he said he would, the outcomes are not mine to understand. My Faith must increase & my doubt must flee & I know in my heart, God is healing those I love. It may not be instant but, his word is true & I believe! I will continue to tell those hurting and sick of the wonderful promises God has for them, & I will declare victory for them in the name of Jesus. I will see his kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven b/c our God is a faithful God. His desire is for us to wittness all that he has instore for us ” on earth as it is in heaven”. This includes physcial healing. ( Pastor Art, I could not have said it better, thanks!!)
I too suffer from chronic joint pain all over my body. I work full time but some mornings it is all I can do to get going, and at night I am close to exhaustion. I love the faith of my 12 year old daughter who never stops praying for God’s healing. Help my unbelief. My faith needs to grow by leaps and bounds. Oh Lord give me the kind of faith that can send a mountain into the sea. God bless all today. (Pastor Art, you used to be my youth group teacher at First Baptist Pacheco)
Many good words today. It is so good to share community by telling “story,” the story of what God is doing in us, for us, and through us. The story challenges and invites each of us. A story shared is glory due, and glory brought to God.
Candie – thank you for sharing – thank you for connecting. Keep it up. I think of John who says, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4 What joy Candie.
Thanks Art, my daughter Erica has attended your church in the past, with her friend Haley. A verse I was reminded of today by a co-worker is Galatians 6:9 (NLT) “Don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessings at the appropriate time.” Blessings to all. I am enjoying ilent as part of my lunch break. Till tomorrow………………….