Praying at the Table

One of the absolute biggest breakthroughs in my life came when I stopped viewing the bible as a book of good moral stories, and trusted it as God’s true and living word.

Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

John 17:17 New Living Translation

In 2009, I had an endoscopic procedure that diagnosed me with an autoimmune disorder, Celiac Disease. It was so severe, that the slightest gluten contamination would leave me sick for 2 weeks. My immune system had become so weakened, I even developed additional food allergies; Like a painful swelling/anaphylaxis reaction to peppers. I lived every day with a Benadryl in my back pocket. 
I am guilty of not trusting what I read or hear, and honestly, I’m a huge skeptic of anything that claims miraculous healing. So, at the end of 2013, when I met a woman who said to me, “If you want healing, you can have it”, then suggested I read the book, “Insight into Allergies” by Dr. Henry W.Wright. I can’t tell you why I actually decided to read it. Maybe the challenge sparked my curiosity? But I did cautiously choose to read it side by side with my bible; ready to disprove any false teaching, I thought I might stumble across. 
I followed the steps for forgiveness it suggested, but the most important part of the book for me was how it referenced God’s word as his truth. 
That’s when I came across two verses, and as I read them, I did something I had never done before. I believed them as God’s promise. I trusted them as real, in the same way, I could see my hand to know it was real. 

I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong.

Romans 14:14 NLT

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 

Isaiah 53:5 NLT

At that moment, I stopped looking at the Bible as a collection of rules on how to serve God and live like Jesus, within my own understanding and power. But instead, I viewed it as a true account of life. I believed it as a real, tangible promise written by God, through his people, for his people. It was like a light switch turned on in my head, and I could see clearly. Jesus came to heal the world, and I could be healed too… No food was unsafe to eat, I had been given this authority through Jesus Christ. By His stripes, I was healed. 
My healing came simply, I just sat in my bed, with my bible still opened in my lap, and prayed without an ounce of doubt in my heart. It wasn’t even a fancy prayer. I sincerely thanked God for the truth of his word, and Jesus for his sacrifice that allowed me to be healed. 

Then I closed my bible, walked out of my bedroom and into the kitchen, where my husband was standing at the counter and said to him, “Let’s go get a hamburger”. 
He was in shock at the words, and rightly so, he had also given up gluten alongside me, to keep me safe from cross-contamination and so I wouldn’t be alone. And, here I was, in his eyes deliberately wanting to poison myself?! He wasn’t having the idea at first, we lived in a small East Texas town at the time and it was late at night so everything but Sonic was closed anyway, and more importantly, he wasn’t in the healing moment with me. It was just a quiet moment between me and Jesus. I had no tangible proof, just faith. Finally, I got pretty sassy with impatience and said something along the lines of, “Cody, I have been healed. God has healed me, I want a hamburger and salsa”.  
He agreed for one step at a time, so we went and got a hamburger. The next night I inhaled chips and spicy salsa-like fresh air. I was healed. Y’all, food no longer makes me sick.

That night my world was been re-opened and I was given back authority over the foods I put into my body. God healed me when I believed his word was real. It’s that simple. 

The funny thing is, I don’t really share this story to talk about healing. Even though that was a huge miracle that happened within my home. I share this to show how the power of God is released over us when we trust that his word is real. 
This simple act of trust changed my life. I can whole heartily say to you, whatever your needs are in life, trust that the Bible is God’s word. Trust that God’s word is his truth and a tangible everlasting promise to you. Trust that God stands by his word, and will fulfill it. When you fully trust and believe in his Word, he will rain down his promises on you; peace, protection, healing, provision, goodness, love, eternal life… the list goes on and on. The bible is a big book, and it is full of God’s good promises! 

Prayer:

“Thank you, God for your living Word. Thank you for making your voice real and tangible in my life through the Bible. Jesus, thank you for sacrificing your life for me. Standing in the place of my sin, you have given me salvation, healing and right standing before God. Thank you that you are the same today as you were yesterday, and that means that your good promises apply to my life right now. Jesus, it is in your precious name I pray. Amen.”