20/20: God's Vision For My LifeSample

Partnering With God

By Mary Jo Pierce

I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5 

Sitting beside my mother’s casket, I prayed and cried out to be comforted. Mom had been so sick. I had prayed…prayed hard. But her body had succumbed to the disease.

I was a new Christian who was unfamiliar with God’s Word, and I was desperate for answers. I needed to understand God’s Word regarding prayer and healing. The few resources I found produced more condemnation than understanding; it put the responsibility of healing on me. Was I praying with enough faith? Long enough? Hard enough? Smart enough?

This journey of prayer drove me to my knees and to the Word of God. With the Holy Spirit as my Comforter and Teacher, I came to realize that God is the healer. My prayers merely act as the vehicle for releasing the saving power of His Word for others’ healings—whether physical, emotional, or mental.

I had to learn how logos and rhema work together. Logos is the written Word of God—the Bible as a whole—which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Rhema refers to the single promise or promises the Holy Spirit may bring to mind from the Word of God that we personally apply to our lives (Ephesians 6:17).

Some time ago, a dear friend lay in a hospital bed, sick and near death. A congenital heart condition left him with only one option—experimental heart surgery. The doctors held out little hope. My friends were praying for a miracle. Once again, I was driven to my knees and to the Word of God. I began asking the Father how He wanted me to pray. God led me to 2 Kings 20, which tells the story of how King Hezekiah became mortally ill and the prophet Isaiah came to tell him that he was going to die soon. Hezekiah responded by crying out to God for his life, and Isaiah returned with a word from the Lord saying: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you” (2 Kings 20:1–6).

As I read this account of God’s response to Hezekiah’s cry, I immediately sensed a deposit of the gift of faith to pray for my friend. In addition to that, I sensed that God was giving me a prayer assignment and message for my friend. God directed me to activate my prayer in person. The next day, I boarded an airplane for Washington DC and went directly to his hospital room. I went over scriptures with him. I added my faith to his faith, and we prayed together. The next day, his surgery took place. Today, my friend is still serving the Lord and testifying to the miraculous power of healing prayer! That was rhema and logos working together to release God’s healing power.

Twelve years later, I was faced with another daunting prayer assignment. A close friend faced an uphill battle towards healing. The doctors’ diagnosis was grim, and the treatment was aggressive. Again, I was driven to my knees and to the Word of God. Again, I felt drawn towards the story of Hezekiah. But this time, instead of releasing my faith, I questioned God if this was indeed a rhema word and to please confirm it. And He did! Not just once, but three times…through His Word, through people, and through circumstances. God spoke to me, and I immediately received the gift of faith to pray for a miracle healing. Today, my friend is still serving the Lord and testifying to the miraculous power of God’s healing.

I’ve learned not to presume on a word of prophecy or a single verse as a spoken promise, but to have God confirm what He is saying. I’ve learned to apply a plumb line for confirmation—does this scripture line up with God’s Word, His wisdom, and His ways? Does it measure up with His character, godly counsel, and my peace? Once I’ve sought out the answers to these questions, I can partner with God’s will for intentional, strategic, and focused intercession.

Balancing the Word of God is work, and praying it through is hard work. But the rewards are eternal. Scripture explains it even better. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul wrote: 

“Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out” (Ephesians 6:13–18).

Your finest hour for prayer is today. Your finest hour for partnering with God to release His power for healing is today. Go to your knees and to the Word of God for your rhema word and press in! The rewards are eternal!

God is not saying we should abandon wisdom or common sense. He is telling us not to rely on our own human discernment of what to do. “Receive revelation from Me,” He is saying.
~ Dutch Sheets

Memory Verse

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4–5