The disciples made an assumption that the man’s blindness was
caused by sin, his or his parents’. Jesus shut them down immediately. I have
been greatly encouraged by His reply that the man’s blindness had been given to
him in order that God might be glorified through his testimony.
I was born with cerebral palsy affecting all four of my limbs
but, praise the Lord, not my intellect. Many times well-meaning people while
praying for my healing, have made the assumption that demons were at work in my
body and started trying to cast them out. God and the devil cannot co-exist in
the same vessel. God is my Father, so I knew that every time this was done,
they were wrong. When healing did not immediately manifest, there was always a
blame game where I was the one lacking faith, or having the presence of sin. Sometimes
sin is the source of sickness, but sometimes it is not. When people pray judgmentally,
the person being prayed for disappears and feels spiritually violated. It took
me a long time to be brave enough to tell people in a loving way that they were
in the flesh and needed to go back and discuss it with the Master. When someone
comes to the altar for prayer, they are demonstrating faith. We need to be
careful to encourage that faith which comes from God rather than accuse them of
having too little faith.
by Susan Slade
dedicated to Nick Vujicic,
Jennifer Bivens, Brandie Nealey & Roxy Cisneros
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