Christian Devotional – May 22, 2025

A Prayer for You, Day 12

A Prayer for healing. Read Philippians chapter 2, focusing on verses 25-30.

Paul has been talking about the representative that he’s going to send on his behalf, Timothy, but now he changes to the representative that the Philippians had sent to him, Epaphroditis. Apparently this young man had come to Paul from the Phillippians and delivered a letter or goods or supplies. He stayed with Paul and ministered with Paul. Epaphroditis was there as a physical representation of the love and care that the Philippines had for Paul.

Unfortunately, Epaphroditis got sick. From scripture, it sounds like his illness was very critical and that he almost died from it. Paul prayed and many people had prayed for him to be healed. Paul indicates that God had mercy and chose to heal him. And as a result, Paul wants to send him back to the Philippians, so they can see him with their own eyes and rejoice in the glory of God.

Many of the prayer requests that I see as part of the church are for healing of individuals. This world is full of sin and many people suffer accidents and illnesses. God is perfectly capable of healing all of them. Depending on his will and his glory, God chooses to do that for some and chooses not to for others. Only God truly understands the reason behind the choice. It certainly doesn’t make it any easier for us to understand why he seems to heal one and not the other.

Paul trusted that God made the right choice, and he wanted to share that with everyone. Paul also understood that if the choice had been different, he would also have shared in that choice for the glory of God. We can and should pray for healing for ourselves and for others, understanding that God’s perfect healing will never happen until we see him face-to-face in heaven. Are we praying for healing for ourselves and one another?

Be sure to check out the video devotional found here: https://youtu.be/MmOhezUnNEk