Prayer in Time of a Severe Illness

This coming Sunday, I once again am offering the individual prayer for health and healing to worshipers.  It is a prayer for the healing of body, mind, and spirit.  I am doing this prayer in conjunction with Psalm 6, the text for my message on Sunday.  The psalmist cries out:  "O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror."  (Psalm 6:2)  The psalmist was at the point of death.

In time of illness, we might make use of the medical profession.  We must remember that their work is considered part of the healing arts. In addition, we can draw upon divine help and ask God for intervention. 

There is nothing wrong with asking for divine help.  King Hezekiah was sick and at the point of death and offered up prayer to God. (2 Kings 20:1-6)    He had been confronting an invasion from the Assyrians.  Yet, the king still felt he had a mission to fulfill.  As a result, he prayed and the prophet Isaiah came and told the king that 15 years would be added to his life.

When we do pray in the case of a severe illness, might it not be okay to ask God for more time, believing that we have a mission to fulfill?  We might feel our work on Earth is not yet done.

The main thing here is that we ask in faith.  What a powerful resource we have in prayer and also know that we are praying, too, for God's will to be done in our lives.