I meet with a small group of men on Thursday mornings each week who have a great desire to see lives changed and people set free and healed by the power of the Holy Spirit. On occasion, we discuss the reality that as we pray, some people are healed and some are not. The question of “Why?” always surfaces in those conversations. Is it them or is it us or is it something else?  Of course we recognize that faith has a great part in healing prayer…sometimes it is the faith of those for whom we pray and sometimes it is our own faith as we pray.

A look at the gospels gives no hard and fast formula for prayers that heal and prayers that don’t. We know that Jesus could not heal many in Nazareth because there was such little faith in the people for healing. “Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”  He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith” (Lk.6:4-6).

And yet, at other times he healed those who had very little idea, if any, of who he was. The lame man at the pool of Bethesda seemed to have no idea about the healing that was coming his way and yet he stood and walked after being an invalid for 38 years (Jn.5).  The man born blind, who was given sight in John 9, seems also to have had very little information about the man called Jesus. At times, Jesus responded to faith with a miracle and at other times he imparted faith through a miracle.

As we pray for people to be healed we notice that some who are healed have little understanding of healing and a minimal relationship with Jesus while other spiritually mature individuals who love Jesus and believe his power to heal are not healed. There is still a great deal of mystery regarding healing and those who pray for it must be willing to live with that mystery.

But there is another element that seems to affect our prayers for healing as well.  That is the element of compassion for the one who is receiving prayer.  Both the Old and New Testament reveal God as a God of compassion (mercy, pity).  If you chase the word “compassion” through a concordance, the O.T. references to it as a quality of God far outweigh the references to compassion as a quality of men.  It’s almost as if that quality is such a godly quality that it is rare to find among men.

As you track the references about compassion into the New Testament, we often find it attached to Jesus.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Mt.9:35-36)

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Mt.14:14).

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” (Mt.15:32)

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. (Mt.20:34)

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean.” (Mk.1:41).

There are more references, but you get the point.  God – whether Father, Son or Spirit – is often moved to act on behalf of men by the quality of compassion. The word is also translated as mercy, pity, his heart went out to someone, etc.  Suffering is not an academic subject for God.  His heart truly is truly when he sees the suffering of his people. On numerous occasions those who were suffering asked for mercy or pity from Jesus for healing and deliverance and he healed and delivered.

What about our prayers for suffering people who need healing, deliverance, salvation, provision, and so forth?  How often do we actually pray out of duty or approach people as it they were a spiritual project? Sometimes, in one group I’m part of, we each pray to receive a word of knowledge from God about someone he wants to heal and when we get a leading we go into the community to find the person God has directed us to and we pray for their healing – usually at places like Lowes or Wal-Mart or Starbucks (my preferred word of knowledge).  But, if I’m honest, at times I am more concerned about seeing the healing than I am the actual suffering of the person.

I have talked a lot in this blog about power flowing through us as we align ourselves with God. I am convinced that before we pray, we need to spend a minute or two aligning our hearts with the heart of God for that person.  We need to ask the Spirit to give us the compassion of Christ for the individual for whom we are about to pray.  Since compassion is clearly a godly quality, and God is clearly moved by compassion, then it stands to reason that our genuine compassion for another, like faith, will also stir the heart of the Father.

Many of us who pray for a lot of people, including strangers, can pray simply as an expression of obedience or for the Father’s approval or to grow in our willingness to take risks. None of those motives are bad in themselves but the far greater motive is love and out of love flows compassion. I’m certain that matching the Father’s heart is a great key to seeing heaven move in response to our prayers or our commands. In the midst of Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts, including healings and miracles, he drops in a whole chapter about motivations for exercising those gifts.  Of course, the motivation he called for was love (1 Cor.13).  Before I pray, I need to check my heart to discern my motivation for praying.  If it is not love or compassion for the scared or hurting person standing before me, I’m sure I need to realign my heart with the Father’s.

My prayer for today is, “Father give me the eyes of Jesus to see people as you see them and the heart of Jesus to feel what you feel for them. Match my heart to yours and then give me the wisdom of heaven to know how to pray for the people you love so desperately.”