One
time I attended a special roundtable discussion with several nondenominational
clergy to discuss the issue of hospital ministry. We were asked, “Who wouldn’t
visit a hospital and NOT pray for healing?” We do it all the time. We pray for
others to be healed from sickness. Being totally honest I thought the question
was sort of short-sighted, so I answered, “I don’t.”
What
I meant was that we as Orthodox Christians don’t merely pray for healing, but
we pray that our friends and family will be healed so they can have time for
repentance. If our prayer is merely for physical healing, it will be a waste of
time. In today’s Gospel, Jesus healed Saint Peter’s mother-in-law, (Luke
4.38-39) who once she was healed immediately began to serve Him. In fact, at
each healing we read about in the Scriptures, it is followed the worship of God
and a life of repentance. Any other healing is a waste of time.
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