May 18th Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

Ask Before You Pray

Our video today focuses on friendship - and how being a friend to others is a way of being Jesus' disciple. When we look after our friends, we are Jesus' helpers. The child in the story today helps his friend in the wheelchair - even though helping him is hard.

The bible story that goes with this video is the story of Jesus healing a man who was paralyzed. Paralyzed means that the man couldn't walk. Jesus helped the man to walk again.

It is exciting to think that Jesus can do things like make a paralyzed person walk again. But that isn't the whole story - and it's not the part of the story that our video focuses on. The bible story is also about the man's friends. It's about a love so strong and a belief in Jesus that was so strong that those friends didn't take "no" for an answer. When it was too crowded on the ground, they carried their friend onto the roof and lowered him into the room below so Jesus could see him and help him.

Today we would say that the paralyzed man had a disability.

God answers prayers in many ways. Sometimes healing happens like this bible story and our body is healed. Other times, the answer to a prayer for healing is that our spirit is healed and we learn how to live with our disability. Did you know that Paul, one of the early church fathers in the bible, had a painful condition he refered to as a "thorn in the flesh?" He asked God to remove it, but God didn't remove it. Instead, he helped Paul learn to live with the thorn.

I have a very good friend who has Cerebral Palsy. She can walk a little - but it's very tiring because her balance isn't good and her legs don't work exactly like everyone else's. She uses a wheelchair when she is outside or in a big space. My friend is happy with who she is. She has a good job and a wonderful family. She wishes that more buildings had elevators and that more restaurants had ramps instead of steps, but she's proud of being a person with a disability - it's part of who she is and she doesn't want to be any different. She doesn't see herself as someone in need of healing - but she does love having friends. She doesn't want prayers to make her walk like everyone else.

I also have a good friend who is blind. She wouldn't mind having her sight back. However, she also loves some of the opportunities she has had as a blind person. She started rowing to help deal with feeling sad after she lost her sight. She was so good that she made Canada's paralympic rowing team. She has competed all over the world and won bronze for Canada at the last Paralympic Games. She wrote a book and was in a play. She has a wonderful family and many friends. She isn't sad anymore.

Some people might want prayers for healing. Others might prefer that you pray that God heals our society - so that it becomes more accepting and accessible.

People with disabilities are just as beloved by God as those without disabilities. When we follow Jesus, the most important thing is to be a friend. When we love our disabled friends and family members, we are following Jesus.