Thank you for joining the Partners in Health and Wholeness Book Club. You can officially sign-up here. Through it, we hope to engage people of faith in discussions over why our health matters. Our current choice of reading is “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala. We are posting updates through the PHW Facebook page, but our PHW blog page has the discussion posts in full with responses from staff. Just look for the apple on top of the book picture among the blog post pictures and you will find past Book Club entries.
If you ever think of me, please pray that I will fearlessly preach the gospel of Jesus for which I am an ambassador. This is the same prayer that Paul is asking the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 6 after describing the full armor in our spiritual warfare. This verse came to mind as I read the title of Chapter Three, “A Song for the Desperate.” How desperate I am to know more about how the power of our Creator can have in my life.
This chapter is about redemption, and about how prayer can revive the truth within our lives. There is one story of a lady who was addicted to drugs and far from the Lord. She was in an abusive relationship and was on a rocky path.
“Finally I hit rock bottom, at the end of a five-or six-day crack binge…For some reason I drove to the church. I found myself at the altar shedding tears I couldn’t stop. ‘Oh, God, I need you in my life. Help me, please!…It was the moment of final surrender for me.“
She continues to testify that a year later her life was on steady ground. She says, “I knew—I knew down deep—that God loved me and accepted me and I could relax in his love. I was free of the chains that had bound me for so many years.”
Prayer is powerful, and an active prayer life is one factor that can contribute to good health and a sense of well-being. The fear of being bound by our health chains can be eased through prayerful reflection.
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive them of their sins and heal the land.”
Questions:
1) What is a testimony you can share about your point of entry into the Kingdom of God?
2) What can we be praying for you about regarding your health?
–Joy William, PHW Regional Consultant
Partners in Health and Wholeness is an initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches. PHW aims to connect health as a faith issue. Please visit our website to sign your personal pledge to be healthier, and to find out about grant opportunities for places of worship in NC.
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