[Faith-talk] being healed from blindness

Thu Dec 19 03:08:41 UTC 2013

I usually refuse their praires, though if I'm just feeling curious, I will
indulge them. I don't really care for that at all, but at times, I get
curious, and decide to see what they wil do.  I don't know why.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Faith-talk [mailto:faith-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Greg
Aikens
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 9:39 PM
To: Faith-talk, for the discussion of faith and religion
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness

I find this a very interesting topic.  I grew up in a Pentecostal flavor of
Christianity that places a major emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit
active in the Church today, including the gift of healing.  I am still an
active member of the same group and hold a minister's license with them.  I
very much can relate to stories of having people come up and want to pray
for my healing, often repeatedly and with an attitude that made me feel
somehow guilty if I wasn't healed immediately.  

At various times in my life, I have placed great emphasis on praying to be
healed of my blindness.  I invested a great deal of emotional effort in
these pursuits and always found myself disappointed and frustrated when
nothing happened.  Disappointment led me to stop praying for healing but
often feelings of guilt would start me praying for healing again.  I felt
like not asking demonstrated a lack of faith on my part, which did not honor
God and would prevent me from ever receiving my eyesight again.  I had been
strongly influenced by the opinions of people around me who loved me but
honestly had no concept of blindness.  They cared for me and saw the
struggles I encountered in making the transition to blindness and sincerely
wanted to see God work in my life through healing.  They strongly believe
that God can heal people today and so why wouldn't they pray?

I can't blame them for  boldly acting on their faith by praying  for me like
they did.  I too believe that God can and does heal people today.  I only
wish I had had a trusted mentor who could provide me with some balanced
perspective.  The subtle foundation laid in my heart during those first
several years after I went blind was that I could continue life as a blind
person, but that I was ultimately waiting for the day when I could see
again.  On the surface, this might sound ok, but the message that I was
somehow incomplete without my healing is unbiblical and hurtful.  

As I have gotten older, matured in my faith, and deepened my study of
scripture, I have found several ideas to be both comforting and identity
forming for me as a Christian who is blind.  First, if my value comes from
the fact that I have been created by God and that I contain his image,
whether or not I can see really isn't relevant in regards to how I relate to
God.  Seeking healing is not an imperative and not seeking it is not a lack
of faith.  Second, if God really does control the physical abilities of
people like he Told Moses in Exodus 4, and I trust that God does love and
value me (which I do), then I can find peace in knowing that wherever I fall
on the spectrum of ability, I am where God wants me to be.  Third, Paul's
reflections on human weakness and God's provision have been powerful in
finding where I fit in the body of Christ.  Particularly throughout I and II
Corinthians, Paul discusses how human weakness is a tool that God uses to
spread his kingdom.  He talks about God moving through his  weakness and
frames the crucifixion of Christ as an act that seemed to be weak, but in
reality allowed God's power to be made known.  Reflecting on these ideas
have yielded a   deeper understanding that my blindness, something that to
most outsiders seems to be a weakness, gives me valuable insights and
opportunities that I might not have otherwise.  These ideas may seem like
old hat to most of you, but they were a long time coming for me.  They have
allowed me to find value in my blindness as a part of me with a purpose, and
in turn to value myself more.  

So I let these truths anchor me to my identity in Christ so that when
someone wants to pray for my healing, my identity is not threatened.  I
understand that when people do ask to pray for me, they often do so from
sincere faith and compassion, and not because they actively think of me as
something less than them due to my disability.  If it is not inconvenient, I
often let them pray for me and make it an opportunity to educate and connect
with another person who has demonstrated concern for me and a desire to see
God work in my life.  I make it a point to have a conversation with the
person before and after we pray and make sure I ask questions about who they
are and why they felt led to pray for me.  If I do encounter negative
attitudes or wrong teaching, I don't hesitate to correct them, either gently
or with more enthusiasm, depending on the situation.  I know that we get
tired of being responsible for educating the public about blindness, but
when it comes to the people in our local congregation, it is well worth the
investment of time.  

I'm interested to hear about how other people respond to these situations.
It's tricky and awkward and its nice to gain insight from others with
similar experiences.

Blessings,

Greg

On Dec 18, 2013, at 7:52 PM, Poppa Bear <heavens4real at gmail.com> wrote:

> I feel the same way. I hope you have a Merry Xmas even if your simply at
home with family.
> Blessings
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Snow White Dove" 
> <jlperdue3 at gmail.com>
> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion" 
> <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 2:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
> 
> 
> Sometimes,I don't understand why it is so important for them to heal us.
> 
> We aren't broken, we're not necessarily desperate or interested in being
healed.
> 
> I've had to come to the realization that in the LORD's prayer, thy will be
done also pertained to my being healed or not.
> 
> I would never had the experiences I've had in my life if I could see.
> 
> sometimes, I believe it's a blessing.
> 
> there are things I don't wanna see.
> 
> I also know that I'll be able to see in Heaven when that time comes.
> 
> That brings me enough peace to deal with some of the challenges of being
blind.
> 
> Jenny
> On Dec 18, 2013, at 3:05 AM, Doris and Chris <chipmunks at gmx.net> wrote:
> 
>> I lost my sight 15 years ago and I do miss it at times. I do not,
however, want my sight back just at any price. If God so pleases, I would
happily take it but I just as happily live without it today.
>> 
>> Chris and I have had so many blessings thru my blindness directly or thru
contacts we made. If I had to give up any of those, I think I  happily take
my blindness over the experiences we had and blessings we experienced.
>> 
>> In his grip of grace!
>> 
>> Doris
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> At 06:28 PM 2013/12/17 -0800, you wrote:
>>> hi god made me just the way i am,
>>> and i don't want my vision. back,
>>> i am doing just fine with out it,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Dec 17, 2013, at 5:13 PM, Poppa Bear wrote:
>>> 
>>> > I have been told that story more than a few times, a preacher sees me
> somewhere, asks to pray for me, then puts his hands on my head and >
pleads the blood to heall me. I try and use it as an opertunity to > explain
that God has revieled himself to me in ways I couldn't imagine > if I had
still had my sight, but they don't seem to here a word.
>>> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "RJ Sandefur" > 
>>> > <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
>>> > To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion" > 
>>> > <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> > Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 3:53 PM
>>> > Subject: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >> Dear list, First, as someone wi!th a doctorate in theology, I 
>>> >> must say >> I've not seen anywhere in scripture Christ refur to 
>>> >> blindness as >> something to be looked upon as evil, and yet, the 
>>> >> church tens to pity >> us. I've not seen this in my own church 
>>> >> thank the Lord, but I know >> some of you have. God allowed to be 
>>> >> blind, and I don't need some >> faulse teacher to tell me to 
>>> >> claim my healing, just so they can bum >> money off me 
>>> >> _______________________________________________
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>>> >
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>> 
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> 
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