Teach us to Pray, part 17: Jehovah Rapha, Healer of the Brokenhearted

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

Jehovah Rapha

The previous post discussed the issue of physical healing and referenced the passage in James 5 about asking for healing. Healing our body is important, but we must remember that God is concerned about more than our physical ills. Scripture is replete with references to healing our emotional/spiritual hurts, as well. In fact, when Jesus presented His "mission statement", a quote from Isaiah 61, it included an important reference to healing emotional hurts but did not include a reference to physical healing (although He spent quite a bit of time healing and His healing ministry drew many people to faith in Him.) This is what Jesus said:

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...

Isaiah 61:1 NASB

If you've ever been sick or ever had a loved one with a significant illness, you know the longing to be healed as well as the devastation that illness can bring. As much as health issues can disrupt our lives, why didn't Jesus include physical healing in His mission statement? Perhaps one reason is that a fractured spirit is, in some ways, so much more damaging to our lives than physical illness. 

What? At first glance, that doesn't sound right, does it? When we experience devastating illness but, in the midst of that illness, are able to maintain our faith, hope, love, and peace, it is much easier to find cause for rejoicing in our suffering, much easier to focus our attention on Christ. When we have a fractured spirit, when we are brokenhearted, all our focus revolves around the source of our sorrow, whether our body is injured or not. We take our eyes off our Lord and place them on ourselves and our situation. That kind of perspective can never bring peace or joy. 

Rapha shabar leb chabash atstsebeth

He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.

        Psalm 147:3 NASB

It is our Lord's desire that we have abundant life, regardless of the circumstances that come our way. When we experience the hurts of life that leave us brokenhearted, the place to turn is to our Lord, who heals our hearts and binds up our wounds. If I turn to our Lord, Jehovah Rapha, with my broken heart, will He heal it? Absolutely! 

There's one condition to that, however. Healing requires that I allow Him to heal. I have to be a willing participant in healing, and sometimes that participation involves things like forgiveness, relinquishing bitterness or anger, or turning from a sin long enjoyed (judgmental, critical spirit, pride, etc). Is it hard to give up my right to hurt feelings, unforgiveness, anger, or any other sin I've embraced long enough to feel comfortable with it? Of course, but the benefits are more than emotional. Sin can be like a ball and chain we drag around, weighting us down. The freedom that comes from soul-healing brings with it peace, joy, and a lightness of spirit that is worth having. In fact, it often brings an improvement in physical conditions, as well. 

There is one more reason that the emphasis is on healing the brokenhearted rather than the physically ill. God's perspective is eternal. To Him, a thousand years is like a day. He cares about everything that touches us, of course, but His great concern is for the eternal, and our bodies are anything but eternal. Our soul, however, is eternal. It is our soul that goes to heaven, not this frail body, and God is constantly working in us to prepare us for that glorious eternity in which we will know no sorrow, no pain, no suffering. 

If God's desire is to make our eternal soul fit for eternity, should that not also be our desire? Yes! How, then, do we hallow His name, Jehovah Rapha, Healer of the Brokenhearted? We look past our physical ills and allow Him to examine our hearts, to look for the hurts, the wounds that sin has caused (whether ours or that of someone else), and invite Him to heal what must be healed, change what must be changed, and, in the doing, create in us not just a clean heart, but a wholly healed heart, as well. 

Teach us to pray, part 16: Jehovah Rapha and the quest for healing

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

(Note: This is not what I intended to write, but I've left it to stand because it is true.)

Jehovah Rapha'

We began a look at Jehovah Rapha, the Lord Who Heals, in the previous post. As we discussed, Jehovah Rapha is the Healer of wounded bodies, distressed land, and overwhelming illness. It is easy for us to believe that God healed in Bible stories, but there is a tendency to assume that He no longer heals today. If He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (and He is), then God still heals. He does still heal, and I know that because I have been healed and have seen others who have been healed.

James 5 has some important information about the subject of healing, and it is worth a closer look.

"Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.

Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, 

and pray for one another so that you may be healed. 

James 5:13-16 NASB

I'm not sure how much clearer this could be written. The first point that must be understood is that James was not writing to the world at large. He was writing to "the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad", the church of Jesus Christ. This letter was written to people who believed in Christ, many (but not all) of whom had been persecuted and had left their homes as a result of that persecution. He was writing to people who had done more than walk an aisle, join a church, or experience baptism. James was writing to people who had an ongoing, personal relationship with the risen Lord and were empowered by the Holy Spirit. He was writing to disciples, and, were we describing them today, we might call them fanatics.  

This business of healing requires some obedience on the part of the elders in the church as well as on the part of the sick person. Don't forget that Jesus said some things can only come out by prayer and fasting. Not only do the elders need to be obedient in prayer and anointing, but they likely need to be obedient in fasting, as well. In addition, the prayer that is offered must be "in faith". The elders who pray for healing have to actually believe that God can and will heal.

The person who is sick is not without responsibility, either. First, by the intended recipient of his letter, we know that James was speaking only to disciples of Christ. Second, the person who wants healing must "call for the elders" and submit himself/herself to the authority of the elders in his church. 

Now comes the hard part. Confession of sins. This is not describing a general confession of ourselves as sinners saved by grace. "Confession of your sins" is confession of specific sins and specifically asking for forgiveness. It requires repentance and a desire to be done with the sin. I admit that I don't love confessing my sins to other people. I'd rather just tell God and let Him deal with me, because I know His grace and I know I can trust Him. Other people? I'm not always so sure about them. The problem comes when I read this scripture. 

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed." James 5:16. 

It appears that, If I want the "so you may be healed" part, I have to be obedient to the "confess and pray" parts. Although confessing my sin to someone else is hard, there are times when confessing my sin is easier than the "praying for one another" part. James did not say to pray only for those people who please me, like me, or enjoy my company, nor did he say to pray for only those people whose company I enjoy. He simply wrote, "pray for one another," and (according to Jesus) that includes praying for our enemies. 

There is also an interesting point about this section of Scripture that we don't often seem to notice. When we do what is said, the result is that the one who is sick is restored, the Lord "raises up" the one who is sick, and our sins are forgiven. What about healing? That happens, too, but sometimes, the restoring of relationships and forgiveness of our sins are the parts that are most important and pressing to God. 

This is outrageous, and I admit it, but there are times when I just want God to heal someone. Maybe you feel like that, too. I don't want to worry about their sin, or about restored relationships. Just heal the sickness! How unlike God that attitude is! God was concerned enough about our sin that He sacrificed Himself on the cross to cleanse us from it. Dealing with sin is always going to be a priority for God, and it should be for me, as well.  

You may be wondering, "What about healing?" That is possible, too. Does it happen every time we pray for someone? Yes. Sometimes they are physically healed in this world, and sometimes their healing is delayed until they enter eternity. Why? We often want to ask why God doesn't give us what we want when we want it, and I don't have the answer to that. He is God, and I am not. 

Jehovah Rapha is still in the healing business and if we are sick and in need of healing, we should do exactly what James says. We should ask God for healing. Sometimes, we will have physical healing this side of heaven, but even when we do not, the restoration of fractured relationships and forgiveness of our sins makes it worth the asking. 

How do we hallow, or honor, the name of Jehovah Rapha? We turn to our Healer when we, or those we love, need to be healed, and we do it exactly as Scripture has said, confident that the One who Heals, still does exactly that.

(tomorrow we will look at the healing of the brokenhearted)

Teach us to pray, part 15: Jehovah Rapha, our Healer

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

Jehovah Rapha'

The purpose in studying the names of God is to learn more about who He is by learning what He says about Himself, as well as what people say about Him as they experience His grace. Today, we look at one of my favorite names of God, Healer. Rapha comes from root words that mean "to sew together, to mend" and is used in Scripture in several ways. It is used to indicated healing a wound or a wounded person (as in sewing up the wound) as well as to heal a sick person of illness. Rapha is also used to indicate "healing" of a group of people, a nation, or land and, in this use, it carries the idea of restoration and pardon. Rapha is also used to indicate the giving of comfort, with the idea of healing a sorrow. 

When God says He is our healer, our Rapha, He means that He can, and will, heal our hurts, our physical ailments, our sorrows, and the results of our sin. In fact, the first time the word is used in Scripture is when He heals the barrenness of Abimelech's household as a result of Abraham's prayer. (Genesis 20:17) In Exodus 15:26, God promises that He will protect those who obey Him from the diseases of the Egyptians, "for I am the Lord that healeth thee". The Hebrew words translated as "I am the Lord that healeth thee" are actually "Yehovah rapha'" (Jehovah Rapha). 

Rapha is the word used when Elijah restored the altar of God (1 Kings 18:30) and for healing the land (2 Kings 2:21). It is also the word used when Elisha healed the poisonous water in the spring (2 Kings 2:21). Two years ago, I sat with my picnic lunch beside the spring of Elisha and drank from the water. Thousands of years ago, that water was miraculously healed by God and it is still clear and fresh, still healed, today. Isn't that how it should be with us? Healing is one of the ways that God demonstrates His power, as well as His love, for His people. When we have a hurt, be it physical or spiritual, that is completely healed by God, we should not only stay healed, but be a monument to His power for centuries to come. 

We will look at Rapha in greater depth as we go along, but, for today, let's remember the ways in which God has brought healing to our lives. Has He healed us physically, healed us of the blight of sin and it's consequences, healed our land, restored us when we were brokenhearted? Let's be sure to thank Him for the gift of healing He has accomplished and live in such a way that all can see the remarkable difference He has made in our lives. Let's be sure our lives are a monument to His power and love.