Prayer as part of the Healing Process

For many of us who have had experienced a chronic disease, we know how important it is to follow our treatment.

As our body gets used to the ongoing treatments, we even experience physical sensations of withdrawal and different reactions  once the treatment is not present.

Besides our main treatments we also try to look for alternate treatments to improve our quality of life.

Prayer is an effective alternative treatment method. Some people tend to do yoga or meditation, however in my experience, prayer has a special and unique quality.

To pray is simply to speak to God. It os like getting in contact with the person knows you best.

Prayer brings a positive aspect into the lives of those who opt to do it. It certainly helps to start a treatment with a positive outlook. Many doctors concurr that there's no risk in a person exploring and incorporating  spiritual aspects to their treatment. Prayer keeps the person in an optimistic mood and attitude towards a  situation are key  to the outcome.

Prayer helps us understand the perfect will of God which is to provide an ideal outcome even against the most unsurmountable odds.

Humanly speaking connecting to God will always provide the peace that is beyond human understanding.

So let's include prayer in our daily tasks be it  alone with God, through meditation or along with friends in fellowship. Let's place our  illness and all our worries in His hands and wait upon Him.

Other benefits of prayer include:

*To open ourselves in knowledge and  spirit to the idea of God's healing power.

*Stress relief

*Being able to face adversity

*Straighten our life priorities

*And the very best thing, give God some of our time and create a personal bond with Him

Mathew 7:7

 "Ask and you shall receive. Because he who asks, shall be answered,he who looks shall finds and ge who calls shall receive an answer."

Psalm 23 : " ...and you will be with me..."

The 23rd Psalm is amongst the most widely read specially for children. I memorized it as a girl and still I keep it close to me. It is quite a popular Scripture because it represents complete belief. It illustrates different scenarios in a persons life and how God acts in everyone of them.

David introduces in the first three verses the idea that he feels protected by God in all the aspects of his life is as if he were fearless. He sees God as his provider as the source of his strength; as He who will deliver him justice. Whenever we are afraid or angry the circumstances in life or people who judge us, God is the one who grants us that justice and guides us, even when we do not understand the circumstances.

Verses four and five talk about serious situations like the fears we comfront when facing life. Not everything is perfect and sometimes we find ourselves walking into valleys of shadow of death. This is especially true for those of us who suffer chronic diseases. One of our greatest fears is early death and the effects of medications in the long run. Sometimes the valleys seem unsurmountable, however; towards the end of the verse it reads "I shall shall fear no evil because you will be with me " and that affirmation is the one that sustains us through terrible times.

In the end, the Psalmist takes some time to remember to remind himself about the love of God and His mercy and how these two will follow him and embrace him all through his life; and how his destiny is to be delighted forever in the Lord. This particular affirmation is the guide of my life.

He will always be with us no matter how deep the valley, how hidden the fear, He will give us the strength to carry on and bring us to rest, Until we finally meet the purpose of our lives, which with or without Lupus, should be a good one