Psalm 107:20 He sent out his word and healed them;
    he rescued them from the grave.

I use this same devotional format in an online Bible study I do every week with a pastor friend in Northern Japan. We have been working steadily through Psalms, so I wrote on this verse just two days ago! I think that is an indication that there is powerful truth here that I need to implement! I have heard this verse quoted many times in relation to praying for healing. Oral Roberts was famous for saying, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” I have long thought it would be more accurate to say, “God said it, that settles it.” God’s truth is true whether or not I believe it! However, much of the time I need to believe it in order to receive the benefits, rather than just be judged by His words. Faith always brings blessings! God’s Word is absolute. As He said through Isaiah, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) Genesis 1 tells us that God spoke the universe into being! Most people think of that in strictly poetic terms, but I think it is much closer to literal. After all, speech is an expression of the will, so the terminology in Genesis could probably be expressed, “God willed.” We talk a lot about “the will of the Lord,” but He has already expressed that will in considerable detail through His Word, as we call the Bible. If we believe that God desires good for us, as He told Jeremiah He does, (Jeremiah 29:11) then we will take the Bible in faithfully, consistently, and seek to apply it in every area of our lives. There is infinite power in the simple fact that God said it, and we should rejoice in that.

I think one reason God has brought this verse to my attention so strongly is that I have recently been aware of my need for healing. I’m used to thinking of healing in terms of others, since I am remarkably healthy for my age, but recently I’ve been having trouble with my ears and my hearing. Since I am very much a man of words, that has been depressing. I have said for many years that the voice I need to hear most, and best, is God’s, and that doesn’t depend on my physical ears. However, I interact with people constantly, and physical hearing is very important for that. I need to believe the truth that I have expressed to others over the years, and trust God fully with every part of my life and my being, including my hearing. I am to be humble before Him and grateful for His grace, acting each moment as He directs, and not trying to “grab the steering wheel” myself, so to speak. His plans for me are perfect, and I need to rest, relax, and rejoice in that assurance, whatever it looks like in the moment.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. There are several people around me who are in need of physical healing, and even more in need of emotional or spiritual healing. Help me be a faithful conduit of Your Word to them, for their healing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!