Effectual Healing.

Posted on April 11th, 2008 by Cam.
Categories: Let's talk.

I have got 5 days before heading to the hospital to receive my high-dose chemotherapy. It is now more daunting, rather than just wanting to get onto it. It is kind of like a turning point. Medically, we are relying on this chemo and the following stem cell transplant to put me into remission. But the chemo itself will take its toll on my body, and I am not looking forward to this really.

There was a church Minister in town this last week who is a bit of a guru in the area of healing. A few friends let me know about him and encouraged me to go along so last night I did.

I was kind of reluctant, to be honest. I was reluctant mainly because I have already had prayer for healing and I believe completely that God can heal me, and has heard our prayer for healing. My belief has been that if I really believe that God can heal me, why do I need to keep on going to various people to ‘receive healing’. Does it mean that I lost hope in the last batch of prayer, or that I need to top up the level of hope for healing?

I haven’t lost hope in our prayers to be healed. Medically speaking, there is no cure for Multiple Myeloma. All treatment that I receive from now on has the purpose of prolonging a life expectancy. I do believe that God can heal me totally. I find it difficult to believe that a Creator doesn’t have the capacity to completely restore the created. I mean, as my sister put it, ‘If our faith doesn’t mean anything at a time like this, then it doesn’t mean anything at all.’

Many people got healed last night. Legs got longer, lifelong injuries and sicknesses took leave, people who had not walked properly for a long time were running around, just like you may see on tv from a skeptics perspective. And I believe these healings are true. The healings that Jesus was involved with during his time in flesh were amazing also, and I believe them to be true. If I didn’t believe them to be true then quite frankly I wouldn’t waste my time piss-farting around having my hopes built up, or being involved in building others’ hopes up for the sake of something that could be a farce.

One of the people involved in the healing last night stated that there was someone here that had a sickness of the bone marrow. I stuck my hand up so people knew who and what to pray for. The congregation was also asked who had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer. I put my hand up again. Some dear friends and some strangers also were part of the group that prayed for me. Rachel, Mike and Elizabeth were also with me. They prayed against the cancer.

After the time of prayer, people were asked to check to see if their symptoms had disappeared. I actually have been feeling quite well recently, and there is nothing that I can really ‘check’ like lumps, bumps, etc. So I wasn’t sure if I was healed or not. Even with blood tests, urine tests and scans, this cancer is very difficult to nail both in diagnosis and monitoring.

Here lies the problem.

There is a train of thought that would say in a situation like this, one should put their faith into action by not going through with the medical intervention (in this case, my next round of chemo and stem cell transplant). This is a big call, as you can imagine. I know that some people have taken this approach and things turn out okay. I also know of people who have taken this approach and things turn out very poorly. If a person is willing to make a decision not to go through with medical intervention in order to let their faith do the talking, I do not know what more could be done to demonstrate their belief. But when some folks live and some folks die as a result of the same decision, it leads me to believe that there is something else needing consideration.

I do not believe, at this point in time, that there is a formula to be followed so that healing takes place. I don’t know why some people are healed and others not. I know of some very faithful and prayerful people who did not receive healing. And I don’t know why they didn’t.

The effects of being in a broken world are severe. I believe sickness, along with injury and sadness, are endured by humanity because we are living in this broken world. Biblically, this brokenness is called sin. If sin weren’t so nasty, I wouldn’t be using the word ‘broken’ when the less dramatic term ‘shop soiled’ would do the job.

I accept and admit that I am still learning about how this all fits together. If medical intervention cures me, will God get the credit, or will my Doctors? I think they all should get a round of applause, personally. What medicine has done to sustain me has been miraculous. The way God has sustained me has been miraculous. The passion shown by those who treat me medically demonstrate aspects of God’s character, although it can be difficult to understand at the time a pelvis biopsy is taking place. Maybe God is more interested in who gets the credit for our living day to day than an extension of life or an increase in comfort that results from a healing.

Anyway, this morning I woke up sore and tired. I didn’t feel better than yesterday. I was kind of hoping that I would wake up this morning, jump out of bed doing cart-wheels and whizzing out para-protein-free urine (not at the same time, mind you). So I don’t really know the state of my health at this time, but whatever the outcome, you may be glad to know it hasn’t changed the character of God one iota.

13 comments.

bob's sister

Comment on April 11th, 2008.

Good luck with your stem cell transplant! My 36 year old brother is on day +10 after his stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma. Things have been going very well for him, thank God. Mostly he has just been a little tired and a little nauseus and a little bored. Hopefully everything is working as it is supposed to be working. We’re almost getting a little spooked that it is going so well.

D'n'M

Comment on April 11th, 2008.

Cam, your entry provokes another one of those overwhelming responses that renders us speechless.

Awesome God, awesome son …. love you both so much.

Rachie

Comment on April 11th, 2008.

This week we had lunch with a couple who had just adopted the most gorgeous, precious baby. We have other friends have had two incredible children through IVF. Our bebe (still in utero as of 11am) is another extraordinary formation of life. All of these creations stand equally as a declaration to answered prayer. In each situation the unequivocal testimony is “God has done this in our lives”.

hamo

Comment on April 11th, 2008.

Cam – great thoughts and echo much of my own (detached) sentiment on this issue.

FWIW I thought of you today as I was reading about the need to persist in prayer – before reading this. Doesn’t answer the question you ask, but it did make me wonder if sometimes I pray… lose interest and walk away.

Of course there is no telling why God does or doesn’t do various things. Mystery…

Backyard Missionary » Blog Archive » God of the Miraculous (Occasionally)

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[...] there is disturbance in the other way. Cam has written a brilliant post on his ongoing battle with multiple myeloma. He is ‘terminally [...]

cons

Comment on April 11th, 2008.

I have often wondered about this kind of situation, and have thought at about it for most of the day after reading your post. I have always understood prayer to have the same volume whether its spoken quietly by a small child or screamed out in congregations. However, I do think you can’t get enough prayer. Prayer seems to have two healing properties, the first one being asking God for healing, but the second being the healing that comes when you let your soul take over for a time. But there is no doubt that God heals people every day. I know of a woman who developed German Measles when she was in the first trimester of her pregnancy, and after doing various tests and ultrasounds was encouraged to have an abortion as they believed her baby to be grossly disabled, and would never survive. However, she organised her homegroup to pray over her stomach every week and she just trusted that in the end God’s will would be done, regardless of the outcome. The doctors were amazed when her son was born perfect, except for one small disability…he had no hearing organs. He was deaf, completly deaf. But she had learnt that prayer can heal, and so she asked her homegroup to pray over his ears every week. And they did, but nothing happened. Then when her son was about 1, she noticed he was bopping his head to the sound of the music on the TV. Tests revealed he had grown some perfect inner ear organs, the exact maturity for a 1 year old, and had perfect hearing. This is my mother-in-law, and he is my lovely husband. So although the conservative baptist is cringing within, the truth is, you can never get enough prayer in any way or form. And we will always be praying with and for you. xxx

sojourner

Comment on April 12th, 2008.

Hi. First time here. Came over from backyardministry. Keep praying, keep hoping, keep going to healing services if you feel so led. Keep fighting until God tells you it’s time to stop! Continue to claim complete healing and rely on God’s faithfulness rather than your own faith. Remember King David praying over his son until it was evident that God’s answer to him was no? No need to second guess ourselves. God doesn’t really need our prayers to do his work. We are the ones that need to pray in order to be a part of that work. Put hands, feet, heart, and total body into the effort! Fight until God tells you to stop! You will know when that time comes.

South Georgia Redneck

Comment on April 12th, 2008.

Just as God created you to be a beacon of hope to us, a superb role model to children, and a loving husband to your wife, he also created those doctors with the same purpose for you. Have faith in his healing, but also have faith in what purpose he has for those doctors working with you. When you have a spare moment, you need to google Randy Pausch concerning his last lecture. Love and prayers from South GA.

Guy in the white suit

Comment on April 12th, 2008.

Well said Cameron. Everything you have processed out loud is good, solid, real theology. It’s a great example of faith. Not knowing exactly how prayer and healing works, but going through with it anyway, is faith in action.

Without faith in Christ, we have only one hope. That W.A medical profession. That on it’s own isn’t too bad. But with our faith in Christ, we can have two sources of hope.

Wish I could say God is going to heal you Cam. More than anything I wish I could say that. However, seeing a faith healer is exactly what I would be doing. Not just because I would want healing, but because I would desperately want God to be part of the process. I would just need to know he’s still there.

There is something going on Cam you don’t understand. Something so unique and unexpected it has transformed you and Liz in a profound way. You are no longer just Christians. It feels deeper than that. It’s hard to explain, but you are spiritually mnistering to people in a profound way. I don’t speak alone here, but your journey and faith has had a significant impact on my life.

You have brought more glory to Christ in your vunerabilty than you can possibly imagine.

Marcus

Comment on April 14th, 2008.

No harm in backing something each way.
Prayer and pills, a good combination I reckon.

Susanna

Comment on April 14th, 2008.

….” There is something going on Cam you don’t understand. Something so unique and unexpected it has transformed you and Liz in a profound way. You are no longer just Christians. It feels deeper than that. It’s hard to explain, but you are spiritually mnistering to people in a profound way. I don’t speak alone here, but your journey and faith has had a significant impact on my life.
You have brought more glory to Christ in your vunerabilty than you can possibly imagine…..”

A M E N !! Wonderfully said ‘Guy in the white suit’!
I totally agree!

Phil Sparrow

Comment on April 17th, 2008.

Cam, I appreciate those reflections and thoughts. l am struggling know how to put it; I dont want it to sound like, wow, Cam’s cancer has enabled him to look deeply into the nature of hte broken world and so we are benefitting, but it is something like that. In your unenviable circumstances you are finding a profound perspective, and I do not read bitterness in there. thankyou.
Phil.

Lorraine Preston

Comment on April 23rd, 2008.

Hi! Cam, Lorraine from Cranbrook, Dennis advised me of your web site and I check it every now and then to see how you are going and to be able to pray more effectivly. re Effectual Healing, My Mum suffered from Parkinsons Disease for many years and encouraged by the some of the family, mainly a brother and grandchildren she went to a healing service, she went beacuse she felt she needed to show her faith to these unbelievers . My Mum wasn’t healed, but she felt so strongly that God gave her a huge dose of peace and grace to be able to cope with where she was at. Which she did in a most remarkable way in God’s stength, for 29 years. Praying for God to continue to use you in this illness. Love to all the family
It is so wonderful that you have the wonderful support of all your family as you and Liz and the family are certainly going through a tough time, may God Bless and keep you and give each of you strength and peace for each day. (I know how much James W appreciated your visit in Albany after the tragic accident.) God be with you.

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