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SICKNESS
AND PAIN ------------------------------------------------------------ As you read the Scriptures, there are prayers inserted in
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Psalm 38 1 A psalm of David. A petition. O LORD, do not rebuke
me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. 2
For your arrows have pierced me, and your
hand has come down upon me. 3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
my bones have no soundness because of my sin. 4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy
to bear. 5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my
sinful folly. 6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I
go about mourning. 7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no
health in my body. 8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish
of heart. 9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my
sighing is not hidden from you. 10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the
light has gone from my eyes. 11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my
wounds; my neighbors stay far away. 13 I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute,
who cannot open his mouth; 14 I have become like a man who does not hear, whose
mouth can offer no reply. 15 I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my
God. 17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. 21 O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my
God. 22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior. Dear Lord, I am sick and
suffering. I wait for You, O LORD; You will
answer, O Lord my God. For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with
me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. O
LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Come quickly to
help me, Lord. Psalm 16 1 A miktam of David. Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge. Lord, I thank You for You will
keep me safe for I have taken refuge in You. 2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you
I have no good thing." 5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant
places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Yes! Lord, all good things come
from You and You are ‘the good’ I cherish most!
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at
night my heart instructs me. O! Lord how I thank You for You
counsel and instruct me day and night. It is in
You I always trust. 8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is
at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor
will you let your Holy One see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will
fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right
hand. Dear Lord, I have set You always
before me. You are ever near to me. Lord, let me never be afraid or shaken. I thank You for you
will not abandon me. You have set my path before
me and I will joyfully walk before You and will rest secure. Let me enjoy Your presence always, even moment by
moment. Psalm 27 OF
David. The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The
LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? Lord, be my light
and my salvation. Let me not fear nor be afraid. 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. Lord, let me be
confident in You. Let me not fear anyone or anything. 4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to
gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Lord, help me to
keep close to You in my thoughts always that I will know Your greatness
and power. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in
his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set
me high upon a rock. Thank You Lord, when
I am with You and You are with me, You will keep me safe. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who
surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I
will sing and make music to the LORD. 7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me
and answer me. Lord, I thank you
for when I call You will answer me. I will be
glad and praise You with all my heart. 1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to
shame; deliver me in your righteousness. 2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be
my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake
of your name lead and guide me. Dear Lord, turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to
save me. 4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you
are my refuge. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O
LORD, the God of truth. 6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw
my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 8 You have not handed me over to the enemy but have
set my feet in a spacious place. 9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my
eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by
groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow
weak. Yes! Lord, into your hands I
commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. I
trust in thee O, LORD. You have not handed me over to the enemy but
have set my feet in a spacious place. Be
merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress: my eyes grow weak with
sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life
is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning, my strength fails
because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. I will be glad and
rejoice in Your love, for You have seen my affliction and known the
anguish of my soul. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt
of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the
street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have
become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on
every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life. 14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." Yes! Lord, I trust in You. You are my God. 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my
enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your
unfailing love. Yes! Lord, my times are in your
hand. Let Your face shine on me. Save me from my troubles because You
love me. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried
out to you; but let the
wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. 18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and
contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. 19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up
for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those
who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from
the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. 21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful
love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!"
Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Lord, How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you. You
hide me in Your shelter. You have shown Your wonderful love to me. 23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the
proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the
LORD. Lord, I love You. I
hope in You. Make me strong in my heart by Your Spirit. James 1 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything. 1 Peter 4 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful
trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to
you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings
of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will
should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do
good. Dear Lord, in my suffering and
pain it is difficult and even impossible for me to count it all joy. I am groaning with pain. There
is no health or strength in me. I believe that suffering is to make me
obedient and perfect before
You. Your Spirit within me must cause me to
rejoice by giving me Your comfort. But, Lord, I can’t bear my
pain and suffering. It is beyond me. I need Your
help. I need Your healing. I
need You, Lord. Come, O! Lord, come quickly to my help. Sustain
my spirit and restore my body. I commit myself to You.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh,
a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away
from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all
the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on
me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. O! Lord, if the great apostle
Paul had to suffer so much, it is no surprise that I too have to suffer. If he prayed three times but his
severe sickness and pain was not removed. It was
Your will that he should suffer. I have prayed
so much and others too have prayed for me. We
are still praying fervently for You to do a miracle to heal me. I know, You have promised to hear my prayer. Heal me
Lord, in Your own good time. But, dear Lord, if it is Your
will that I should suffer like Paul, let Your will be done. Let me hear Your comforting words, “"My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Help me therefore to say like
Paul “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so
that Christ's power may rest on me”. James 5 13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is
anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of
the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the
Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick
person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be
forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray
for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man
is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly
that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a
half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the
earth produced its crops. 19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the
truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error
of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. O! Lord, You have said that if I
am sick, I should pray and I should seek the
prayers of my spiritual leaders and fellow believers. I
have done all that. They have anointed me with
oil and laid hands on me and prayed. Now, Lord
in faith I am waiting for Your healing. In Your great mercy forgive all
my sins and heal me. Romans 8 28 And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. O Lord, I believe Your promise
and I know and I believe that in all things You work for my good
because I love You, and I have been called according to Your purpose. I believe that my sickness and pain too, You will
make to work for my eternal good. I thank You Lord, and I plead that in
Your goodness and mercy You will grant me relief and restoration. Amen.
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