Insights on Healing

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast. The Episode title is “Affirming God’s Love and Goodness.” You will learn that God loves you and shows his goodness by answering you when you cry out to him.

I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. The purpose of Insights on Healing podcast is to provide content that brings emotional healing and restoration to individuals dealing with trauma and difficult life situations

.Insights on healing podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying for my audience, reading from one of my books or interviewing individuals who found purpose through the healing power of God. I pray that God would bless you and give you hope.

Today’s podcast is taken from Psalm 107: 1-15 I am reading from the NIV version of the Bible. The title of this message is “Affirming God’s Love and Goodness.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
    from east and west, from north and south.[a]

4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
    finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
    and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
    to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
    prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
    and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
    they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
    and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

Reflection: The Psalmist reflects on God’s love and goodness. He reminds us of the times Israel rebelled against God, the times they wandered in the deserts and were hungry and thirsty and because of God’s love and goodness for them, God provided for them. Even when they were disobedient, God gave them chances over and over again because of his love. God’s love and goodness also applies to you and me because God is not a respecter of persons. Remember the times that you were disobedient to God, but when you returned to Him, God was there to pick you off your feet and to establish you. Friends God is love and his love covers a multitude of our sins. Let us turn to the God of love and goodness so we can be saved and sanctified.

Prayer: Father, forgive us for the times we have disappointed you by sinning against you. I pray for our listeners who are not living according to your ways. Bring them out of their distresses and sin and establish them in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you for listening to “Insights on “Healing” Podcast. If you like the Podcast, please be sure to click the subscribe button on my website at joanmblake.com. You can also subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast. May God bless and keep you in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast. Our Episode title is, “ Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches.”   You will learn how we must remain in the vine as branches in orderto bear fruit, because without God, we can do nothing.

I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories/or interviewing individuals who, through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives. I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with the hope that you have been longing for. Today’s podcast is taken from the book of  John Chapter 15: 1-16. I am reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

Reflection: These are Jesus’ words to his apostles. These words can be applied to us as well. Jesus wants the best for all of us. He wants you to love others the same way He does and keep his commandments so anything you ask the Father in His name it will be granted to you. He regards you and me as friends. Let us enter a long and deep commitment to love Him, praise, and worship Him.

Prayer: Father, we thank you for your word for it is a lamp to our feet. We pray that we in turn will love you the same way you love us. Teach us to make you first in our lives in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing Podcast. Our Episode title is, “Fasting to Honor God.” You will learn that fasting should not end up in quarreling and conflict, but it should be done to honor God by loosing the chains of those who we have oppressed.

My name is Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying, reading from one of my books,  telling  stories or interviewing individuals, who through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives. I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with the hope that you have been longing for.  Today’s podcast is taken from the book of  Isaiah 58: 1-11. I am reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

Isaiah 58:1-11

 Fasting to honor God

58 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.

Reflection:

Fasting before the Lord should not be taken lightly. It is a time to pray for transformation, to think about those who are less fortunate than you are, it is a time for you to be free from oppression and also free those who you have oppressed. It is a time for God to do a new thing in the life of believers.

Prayer: I pray for every person listening to this broadcast that if you are oppressed in any way, to seek the Lord through fasting. I pray that God will break every yoke that has kept you in captivity in the name of Jesus and set you free.

Thank you for listening to “Insights on “Healing” Podcast. If you like the Podcast, please be sure to click the subscribe button on my website at joanmblake.com. You can also subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast. May God bless and keep you in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast.

 Today’s Episode is “Submit Yourself to God. You will learn how by submitting to God, you will resist the stronghold in your life.

I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying for my audience, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories/or inerviewing individuals, who through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives.

I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with the hope that you have been longing for. Today’s podcast is taken from the book of  James 4:1-17. I am reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4 You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”[c]

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[d] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Prayer:

Father, I pray that you will have your way in our lives today, that we will submit to you by changing the way that we think and act. We renounce and confess our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the One who died on the cross and paid our sin debt in full. We ask for your forgiveness and thank you for giving us another chance in Jesus’ name, Amen..

Outro

Thank you for listening to “Insights on “Healing” Podcast. If you like the Podcast, please be sure to click the subscribe button on my website at joanmblake.com. You can also subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast. May God bless and keep you in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast. Today’s Episode is “Overcome Evil with Good” You will learn how to renew your mind and face difficult situations.

I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying for my audience, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories of how individuals through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives.

I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with hope that you have been longing for. Today’s podcast is taken from the book of  Romans 12: 1-21. I am reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Reflection: In this passage of Scripture, we are asked to focus on being transformed by renewing our minds and becoming people who God has called us to be, to humble ourselves and not think of ourselves as better than others. We all have different gifts and we are to walk in those giftings, and love as never before, bless your enemies and those who have done you wrong and not repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good.

Prayer: Father, I thank you that you are almighty, and you continue to rule over the nations. Thank you that you give each of us a unique gift to use for your glory, that you are calling us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that you are calling us to love each other and not to feel better than one another and not to pay evil for evil. I  pray against gun violence in our nation, the Pandemic, and the war in Ukraine and ask for your help. I pray that you will provide for those who are in need. May those who listen to this message receive the word of God and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you for listening to Insights on “Healing” Podcast. If you liked  the Podcast, please be sure to click the subscribe button on my website at joanmblake.com. You can also subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast. May God bless and keep you in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast. Today’s Episode is “The Parable of the Sower” You will learn from this parable the types of persons who receive God’s word and where you fit in.

I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying for my audience, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories of how individuals through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives.

I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with hope that you have been longing for. Today’s podcast is taken from the book of Mark Chapter 4: 3-20. I am reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

The Parable of the Sower

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.

Prayer: Father, I thank you that you are almighty, and you continue to rule over the nations. We pray about the Pandemic and the war in Ukraine and ask for your help. I pray that you will provide for those who are in need. May those who listen to this message receive the word of God and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you for listening to Insights on “Healing” Podcast. If you liked  the Podcast, please be sure to click the subscribe button on my website at joanmblake.com. You can also subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast. May God bless and keep you in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast. Today’s Episode is entitled: “Jesus the Son of God.” You will learn who Jesus the Son of God is.”

I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying for my audience, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories of how individuals through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives.

I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with hope that you have been longing for. Today’s podcast is taken from the book of Hebrews Chapter 1. I am reading from the New International Version

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

The Son Superior to Angels

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father”[a]?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son”[b]?

6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[c]

7 In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,
    and his servants flames of fire.”[d]

8 But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy.”[e]

10 He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.”[f]

13 To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet”[g]?

14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Reflection: Regardless of the uncertainty that we are expecting in the world today, we can be assured that God is on his throne judging the nations and the enemies are his footstool.

Prayer: Father, I thank you that you are almighty, and you continue to rule over the nations. We pray about the Pandemic and the war in Ukraine and ask for your help. I pray that you will provide for those who are in need. May those who listen to this message say the sinners prayer and receive salvation and eternal life.

Sinners’ prayer:

Lord, God of the universe,

Creator of everything

I come to you in desperation

Desiring to have an intimate relationship with You

And to invite Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior

I confess and repent of my sins

And ask for your forgiveness

I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior

The One who died on the cross and rose again,

Paying the penalty for my sins,

So I could have salvation and eternal life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Thank you for listening to Insights on Healing Podcast. If you enjoyed  the Podcast, please be sure to click the subscribe button on my website at joanmblake.com.  May God bless and keep you.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast.  I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast includes the reading of scripture, praying, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories of how individuals through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives. I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with hope that you have been longing for.

Today’s podcast is entitled: “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled” The scripture verses will be taken from the Gospel of John 14: 1-31. I will be reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

“Come now; let us leave.

Narrative: Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast.  I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast include the reading of scripture, praying, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories of how individuals through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives. I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with hope that you have been longing for.

Today’s podcast is entitled: “The Power of Prayer” how we should come before God, and gives an example of how Nehemiah went before God. The scripture verses will be taken from James 5: 14-16 and from Nehemiah chapter 1: 1-11. I will be reading from the NIV version of the Bible.

What is prayer?

In the simplest way possible, prayer is talking to God, worshiping God,  thanking God, and telling him what you are experiencing and what your needs are. Prayer is talking to and listening to God.

Why Pray? The purpose of prayer

You  may wish to have God give you guidance regarding something important. If you do not listen to God, you would not know what God is telling you to do or how he is guiding you about certain things. When you pray, you are guided to a particular scripture verse in the Bible or you hear in the Spirit God telling you how to do a certain thing. You pray when you have spiritual needs for example, you need to confess and repent of your sins to God, when you have financial needs,  physical, relationship needs, family needs, and more, and you know that only God can heal you, your family members, your friends, and change your circumstances. Never lose sight of the fact that God uses doctors, therapists, counselors, teachers, and others, to do His work as well. I live by the grace of God, but God uses my doctors to help me and the things they suggest have kept me alive.

Let us look at James chapter 5: 14-16

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

We are to call for the elders of the church to pray for the sick and to anoint them with oil in the name of Jesus. We notice here that it’s the faith that is activated by the praying person and of the person who is being prayed for. That prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he has committed sins, he/she will be forgiven. We see that prayer must be activated with faith. According to Matthew Henry’s commentary, it is most common to pray and cry, O give me ease! O restore me to health! But your prayer should rather and chiefly be, O that God would pardon my sins! The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. That man/woman should not have iniquity in his/her heart because the Lord will not hear his/her prayer. We see this in Psalm 66:18.

Example of How to pray:

Nehemiah Chapter 1:1-11 NIV

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king.

We learned today that we must love one another, pray for one another, go before God with a clean heart, without iniquity in our heart, worship, and praise God, confess our sins to God, remind God of his commitment and what He promised us, and tell God what we need. God is sure to answer our prayer according to His will.

Let us pray: Father, we come boldly in the name of Jesus. You are the great I am, you can do all things but fail. You are mighty and the Everlasting God who keep all the promises you made towards us. We confess that we have not obeyed your commandments, but have sinned and fallen short of your glory by the things we do and say. We ask now for your forgiveness for our sins and ask now Lord, God that you will hear our cries for healing and restoration both spiritually and physically in the name of your son Jesus Christ who died and rose again. By his stripes we have been saved.

I want to thank you for listening to this podcast. If you enjoy this podcast, I would like you to subscribe to Insights on Healing on my website at Joanmblake and also on platforms where you listen to your podcasts. I would appreciate that. May God bless and keep you.

Welcome to Insights on Healing a weekly podcast.  I am Joan M. Blake, author, and I am your host. Insights on Healing Podcast include the reading of scripture, praying, reading from one of my books, or telling  stories of how individuals through the healing power of God, found purpose in their lives. I pray as you listen to this episode, that God would bless you and provide you with hope that you have been longing for.

Today’s podcast is taken from the book of Romans Chapter 8: 1-17 and is titled Life in the Spirit. I am reading from the NIV version of the bible.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Let us reflect on what Apostle Paul is saying in this passage. The highlight of his message is that there is no condemnation to true believers who are in Christ Jesus, who live according to the Spirit of Christ, which resides in them. They may endure affliction in the world, chastened by the Lord, but they are not condemned. Life in the Spirit is afforded one who is obedient to God, who lives a life of humility, love, and peace and is not living a life in obedient to the flesh. Galatians 5: 19-23 explain what it means to be obedient to the flesh and to the Spirit. The life of a believer comes with privileges:

1. We receive pardon and a new nature and are freed from the guilt and power of sin, which the law could not provide, and which Christ provided, though sinless, when he died to set us free from sin. He redeemed us from the curse by justifying and sanctifying us.
2. We are God’s children and we become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are spiritual priests, and we have the Lord as our inheritance. Christ is our mediator and is said to be the heir of all things and true believers who are in union with him shall inherit all things.

Let us pray: Father, I pray in the name of Jesus, for those who are listening to this podcast, that you will make yourself known to them dear Lord, that they will learn about your goodness, your faithfulness, your comfort, your gentleness, your patience, your love and that you forgive all wrongdoings if the person confesses and repent of them.

Thank you for listening to this podcast. If you received value from this podcast, please subscribe to “Insights on Healing Podcast” on my website at https://joanmblake.com or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Please comment as well; we will appreciate it. May God continue to bless and keep you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.