{"id":64,"date":"2018-08-23T04:58:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T04:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/23\/faith-prayer-health\/"},"modified":"2018-08-23T04:58:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T04:58:00","slug":"faith-prayer-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/23\/faith-prayer-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith, prayer, health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\">I don\u2019t know where to start.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I value clarity and feel I very likely will be missing the mark on this post, but\u2026. <i>oh well<\/i>.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>So much has happened in my soul this past couple of months.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find my trust in Jesus deepening.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find my soul thirsty and hungry in new and insatiable ways.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find the knowledge from and my reverence for science, start to be chipped away*.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find the glory of God surrounding me <i>here on earth<\/i> in simply profound ways and as I run by the beautiful clear river in my city I pray that the glory of God would flow through this city with clarity and that I would be a vessel overflowing, flooding my city with God\u2019s glory that this city so desperately needs.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find myself wrestling wanting to hold onto my old way of life (pre-cancer), while being divinely told to let go and see the even better life that lies ahead in my new way of life.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find strength rising within me as I press into spiritual fitness.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>And I chuckle at the massive aches in my body as I apparently pressed too quickly into physical fitness.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>(I thank God for this body I\u2019m in and all it can do.)<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I find myself broken when I consider how little life is valued in our culture.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>And I find myself ready to declare the inherent value of life (through word and action) into the spaces of my sphere of influence, wherever they may happen to be. <\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>And my health.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Oh God I praise you for the health you have granted me.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I echo Psalm 16 praising God for overflowing my cup with blessings, for giving me a beautiful inheritance.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I have so much to humbly be grateful for.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Our God is a gracious God who loves with open arms and open blessings.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I look at my family and I am in awe with how absolutely beautiful it is!<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Oh the blessings of being able to enjoy adventure as a family!<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>To explore beaches and waterslides and hotel beds and relationships and amusement rides and road trips.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Praise God for my health.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>(I feel like Mary at the birth of Jesus treasuring up these sweet memories.)<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>Of course the forecast of my health is continually \u201cup in the air\u201d.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>(Tomorrow is MRI results day, though really I haven\u2019t thought that much about my appointment) As such I pray. But, I\u2019ll be honest I have NOT been a woman of fervent prayer in the last couple of years.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I\u2019m sure many of you would expect I would be.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I would go weeks without even remembering to pray for the health of my brain.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>It would appall me when I thought of it.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>But it has been effort to pray, like a chore.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>In the past couple months this has begun to turn.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I did not know the exact stimulus for the change until last Sunday, when our pastor spoke on prayer and said this:<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\">\u201cOur prayer life is a measuring stick of our faith.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Prayer and faith are intimately linked.\u201d<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>He referenced Luke 18 the parable of persistent prayer, which asks the question, \u201cBut when I the Son of Man return how many will I find with persistent faith?\u201d<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>This parable on prayer asks about our faith.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>This makes sense.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>As my faith is increasing, as my trust is growing that I actually have a powerful God I begin asking the impossible.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>And moreover, believing the impossible.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I begin seeing, in my life, that science doesn\u2019t have all the answers.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I begin seeing that this world is filled with a supernatural realm which Christ followers have access to through the amazing power of the Holy Spirit.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>It is very profound.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>And so my prayers are becoming more frequent, more regular, more persistent, more urgent, and more and more seeking the glory of God. A lovely story here. Ryan and I pray with our children before bed.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Praying for my health started with my twins. I began daily to pray with them asking God for healthy years to raise these children and wisdom in doing so.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>I was a bit unsure how to tread into these prayers with our 6 year old, a child so bright and aware of meanings beneath words, I didn\u2019t want to make her anxious that my cancer might be coming back.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>But I started praying with her anyway that God would keep the cancer away from my body and Grandma Elias\u2019 body (who is also in remission, but not cured).<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>A nightly prayer.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>As the days progressed Rayna has begun praying that the policeofficers in my body (my immune system) will kill all the bad guys (cancer).<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Oh bless this child and join with me praying that the police officers in my body will kill the bad guys!<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>As I pray into health for my life, I do so trusting in an All-Mighty, All-Powerful God.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I also do so understanding that sin and death have wormed their way into this world and although God desires no sickness; sickness will only be eradicated in heaven.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>And so if cancer returns it does not mean God doesn\u2019t hear me, it doesn\u2019t mean God doesn\u2019t love me, it doesn\u2019t mean God has lost power.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>BUT, I have decided that I am healed until told otherwise. I pray to this end with these scriptures backing me:<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>Psalm 91 (The whole chapter is great, here\u2019s just a portion)<\/p>\n<div style=\"background: white; line-height: 12pt; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">9&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">If you say, \u201cThe&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;\">Lord<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;is my refuge,\u201d<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">and you make the Most High your dwelling,<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">10&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">no harm&nbsp;will overtake you,<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">no disaster will come near your tent.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">11&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">For he will command his angels&nbsp;concerning you<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">to guard you in all your ways;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">12&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">they will lift you up in their hands,<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">13&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">You will tread on the lion and the cobra;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">you will trample the great lion and the serpent.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"background: white; line-height: 12pt; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">14&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">\u201cBecause he<sup>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=psalm+91&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-15410b\" title=\"See footnote b\"><span style=\"color: #b34b2c; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none;\">b<\/span><\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;loves me,\u201d says the&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;\">Lord<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">, \u201cI will rescue him;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">15&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">He will call on me, and I will answer him;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">I will be with him in trouble,<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">I will deliver him and honor him.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">16&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">With long life&nbsp;I will satisfy him<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">and show him my salvation.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"background: white; line-height: 12pt; margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>1 Tim. 6:11<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;\">Pursue a godly life\u2026Fight the good fight\u2026God who gives life to all.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>Psalm 128:6<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;\">May you live to see your grandchildren<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>Prov. 16:31<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;\">Long life is the reward of the righteous<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>Romans 8:10-11<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6pt; margin: 0px;\">0&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">But if Christ is in you,&nbsp;then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;\">[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+8&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-28127d\" title=\"See footnote d\"><span style=\"color: #b34b2c; margin: 0px;\">d<\/span><\/a>]<\/span><\/sup><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;because of righteousness.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6pt; margin: 0px;\">11&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead&nbsp;is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies&nbsp;because of<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;\">[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+8&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-28128e\" title=\"See footnote e\"><span style=\"color: #b34b2c; margin: 0px;\">e<\/span><\/a>]<\/span><\/sup><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;his Spirit who lives in you.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;Don\u2019t you notice we have a God who loves life?<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I truly believe God desires us to have a full (in length and quality) life.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I pray into this truth trusting it while also knowing what matters most is my assurance of life beyond the grave and my assurance of my soul\u2019s everlasting life even if my body ends up falling apart before it ought to.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>(note, I almost wrote \u2013 if my body fails me; but my body is made in the image of God, it is beautiful and serves me well.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>My body will not fail me, but sickness may steal it too soon.)<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>So I do not dwell so much on this matter; but rather on the life that is present before me today, this week, this month and year.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Experiencing and counting my blessings.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>I was given a great word from a fellow cancer survivor.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>She shared with me that she doesn\u2019t \u201clive like it\u2019s her last (day, moment, etc\u2026.)\u201d rather she lives like she has many more (days, moments\u2026).<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Such a mentality allows one to live with a spirit of abundance and be able to set down roots for the future.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>It is a mentality of believing in a future.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>This has been helpful for me.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Allowing me to drop the sense of urgency my terminal diagnosis creates and to live for what today holds, hoping for the future (just as any of you hope for the future &#8212; no one is guaranteed the future and we ought to live with a measure of understanding this: prepared, not dallying in what I desire to do today, building into that which matters.)<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p>To close, I hope this post invites you to pray fervently with me and for me.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>But also I hope it invites you to survey how fervently you find yourself praying?<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Do you need to step deeper into faith, declaring the truths of scripture until your soul believes in faith?<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I sure did! And finally I thank you, oh how I thank all of you who have prayed, who continue to pray for my health.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>To you who have voiced the prayers when I did not have faith strong enough to pray them I can not express the depth of my thanks.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Bless you and yours, I am so humbled. <span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\">*Last week I read 2 Chron 16:9,12 \u201c<b><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6pt; margin: 0px;\">9&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">For the eyes&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;\">Lord<\/span><\/span>&nbsp;range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him\u2026.<\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6pt; margin: 0px;\"> <\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><b><sup><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6pt; margin: 0px;\">12&nbsp;<\/span><\/sup><\/b><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted&nbsp;with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek&nbsp;help from the&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;\">Lord<\/span><\/span><span style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">,&nbsp;but <i>only<\/i> from the physicians.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">\u201c&nbsp; (emphasis mine)<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I worked in science research long enough to discern that even scientific experiments which certainly ought to work out, don\u2019t always.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>With no good answers.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Leaving scientists stumped.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Similarly medicine is not straight-forward and clear cut.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Evidence based medicine (which is the current gold-standard model of practice) relies on the treatment of an average patient.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>What happens when I am the patient and I am not average? The gold standard becomes not so golden.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>There is something more to these bodies than flesh and blood.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>I am compelled to believe earnestly that there is much power in the spiritual realm &#8212;<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>even though it is not measurable and science says if it can\u2019t be measured and recorded, it doesn\u2019t exist.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>The counselors at the cancer center note a better prognosis for those who have a faith-system.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>These are secular counselors. My counselor looked so relieved when she determined I have a solid faith; I could see her hope for my situation increase.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px;\">King Asa was relying ONLY on physicians.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>This is not enough for complete health (and yet conversely, praise God for wonderful physicians like my own GP and oncologist!).<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>Though I worked in the medical field, it took my own experience as a patient with an increasing spiritual faith, to realize medicine alone cannot answer all the questions of health.<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>When I read Asa\u2019s account in these scriptures it was like the words clearly affirmed my new understandings. (Furthermore, reliance on medicine alone is self-sufficiency;<span style=\"margin: 0px;\">&nbsp; <\/span>faith calls us to trust that which we cannot see -and this becomes extraordinarily beautiful when all that we can see is crumbling.) <\/span><\/div>\n<p><b><\/b><i><\/i><u><\/u><sub><\/sub><sup><\/sup><strike><br \/><\/strike><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I don\u2019t know where to start.&nbsp; I value clarity and feel I very likely will be missing the mark on this post, but\u2026. oh well.&nbsp; So much has happened in my soul this past couple [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Faith, prayer, health - Cheryl Rostek<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/23\/faith-prayer-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Faith, prayer, health - Cheryl Rostek\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I don\u2019t know where to start.&nbsp; 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