121 Days of Prayer

Stand Up, Pick Up Your Mat, and Go Home!

The purposes of this prayer are: Healing, Increased Faith, Illumination and Intercession.

Holy God, In Luke’s gospel, Jesus praised the faith of the men that placed the paralyzed man before him to be healed: “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, ‘Young man, your sins are forgiven.’ But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, ‘Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!’ Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, ‘Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or, ‘Stand up and walk?’ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.’ Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!’ And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.” Luke 5:18–25 (NLT). Lord, there are many people in our congregation today that are dealing with serious health problems. We pray that our prayers for the ailing are as tenacious as the faith of the men who lowered the paralytic in front of you. Let our faith be effective, Lord. Amen.