Have you ever been in a low place and had friends who lifted you up? Following is a story about a guy in a low place who has friends who were willing to do what it takes to lift him up. But this was more than just giving a friend a lift, this was bringing an incapacitated companion to Jesus, the Son of God, the Great Physician.
Luke 5:17-26 NIV One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Jesus response is shocking. My paraphrase is, “You are forgiven, oh yeah, and you can walk now too.” Jesus immediately hones in on the paralyzed man’s heart instead of his paralysis. As we can see demonstrated here, Jesus’ first priority was this man’s heart and not healing his body. I think we often forget that. Jesus often uses our ailing bodies as well as any other unfortunate circumstance in our life to align our hearts to Him.
When a friend has a need that is beyond your power, what do you do? Sometimes groups of friends go into action organizing daily meals or offering physical aid of some sort. But how much better it would be if we could bring our friend directly to Jesus to be healed! Like in the story above, we would have to know where to find Jesus. And we might need a group to lift our friend; a group who believed in our crazy plan. How can we do that now, 2000 years after Jesus feet have left this earth? We know we still have access to the Father through prayer. We are able to bring issues before Him anytime, anywhere, with no crowds, ladder or tools. We have constant 24-7 access.
I have often heard folks defeatedly say, “All we can do is pray.” I am sure they have come out of my mouth at some point. I believe the Enemy himself knows how powerful prayer is, and his efforts go into minimizing it in our minds, making us deny the power of prayer. Jesus taught us to pray and He prayed. If the all-powerful Son of God chose prayer, is that not our sign?
Sometimes I am overwhelmed and need help. This happens to all of us. This is where we need to know friends who regularly come to God(friends in high places). As you read this, someone is probably popping into your head. This would be a compassionate friend, a Christ follower who has seen their own prayers answered time and time again. That is the person for the job. When you are snowed under by circumstances beyond your control, let them know you need their prayer. They will help you lift your burden and bring it to God for as long as it takes. They know prayer is a powerful action. These are the people who will follow through. They are prayer warriors who have seen this plan work in their own life. I have friends in high places and I have a church prayer team that is ready in a moment’s notice. Here is a link to my church prayer team if you are in need. They have prayed with me and I am forever grateful for all of them. I have seen the miracle of prayer and may I always be willing to cut a hole the the roof to lower my friends-in-need to Jesus
One more word of advice; don’t just drop it in a friend’s lap and never mention it again. This isn’t a lucky rabbit’s foot. This is grounded in faith. They are partnering with you so please keep that friend updated on progress. If they cared enough to pray, they want to know how that prayer was answered. It will bless them.
