The Healing Power of Prayer and My Right Eye

It is with a sense of quiet joy that I share with you that my troubled right eye has been improving
over the last week. I had wanted to report this to you before now, but found myself swept away
by tasks that I thought had to be done last week. Maybe I have my priorities mixed up. What has
happened to my right eye is quite remarkable. I still do not have good vision in my right eye (I
never did over the past few years), but the steady process of the eye shutting down has been
halted. For the past week the condition of the eye has been improving dramatically. It is a big dif-
ference from ten days ago.

In mid-April I met with an eye specialist in Aberdeen. The condition of my right eye was poor.
I did not have any vision from that eye and it was continuing to gradually shut down. It seemed
that it was only a matter of time before the eye shrank and shut down completely, and then the
eye would have to be removed. That did not sit well with me at all. I agreed to meet with her
again in two weeks after the demanding events of Holy Week were over. There was no improve-
ment over those two weeks.

Since last autumn I have been helping lead a Saturday morning prayer group in Peterhead, the
big town nearby. On the Saturday before I met with the eye specialist, I shared with the mem-
bers of the group about my eye. I told them about the rapid deterioration of my eye and asked
them to anoint me with oil, lay hands on me, and pray for healing of the eye. They had been
praying for me before, but this was a new step for us. Abi, my dear African brother and minis-
terial colleague, prayed mightily for the healing of my eye. I also contacted various other peo-
ple in Scotland and the USA to pray in agreement for healing of my eye.

I experienced gradual changes in the eye the rest of the day. On Sunday my eye was much im-
proved; vision started to return. By Monday morning, the eye was in far better condition yet.
Early in the afternoon I saw the eye doctor. The purpose of meeting was to discuss the remain-
ing options for me. In our previous meeting she had said that the options available to me had
been greatly reduced. I had the sense that she perceived that the eye was beyond restoration;
it had deteriorated to a point beyond which recovery did not seem likely.

The eye specialist examined my eye and I reported to her what I had been experiencing with
my eye. She told me that the fissures that caused so much concern in my eye were disappear-
ing; the retina that had been curved was now flatted out nicely; and there was no sign of bleed-
ing within the eye. The eye had greatly improved. Then she talked about the options. Because
of the condition of the eye, she would not advise me to have the eye removed. Those were the
words I and others had been praying for. The option to remove the eye was the one I had been
dreading.

After hearing the options available to me, I decided to continue the present regimen of drops
and steroids to stabilise the eye for a few more weeks. Upon her recommendation, the gel in
my inner eye will be replaced with a more stable silicone gas to build up the pressure within
the eye. She will also remove the buckle that had been the chief source of my present prob-
lems.  That the doctor offered to remove the buckle soon was a sign to me that the condition
of the eye was greatly improved. Because the eye had been in such poor condition, the re-
moval of buckle was not even an option before last week. But things are different now.

It has now been a week since I met in consultation with the eye specialist. The vision of the
right eye continues to improve; but that is not saying much, for the vision in that eye has al-
ways been poor, especially in comparison with the other eye. Meanwhile I continue to be in-
volved in the ministerial duties that are entailed in being the minister of St Fergus Parish
Church. As always, I ask for your prayers, especially in regard to the ongoing issues of my
right eye. I ask your prayers for the continuing healing and restoration of my right eye.

Blessings to you and yours,

St Fergus Easter 2013: The Cross of Jesus Christ and the Empty Tomb

First, just a quick word on the condition of my right eye. I have slowly regained some sight in
my right eye, but unfortunately it is very poor vision. I have made an appointment with a local
 optician this coming Friday to enquire if vision could be improved with glasses or contact lens.
Next Monday I consult with the eye specialist about options available to me. I have been run-
ning out of options with only a few left. I intend to make a decision next week sometime. Mean-
while I continue to live with this condition in the light and presence of Jesus Christ. I do pray
for and desire that He would heal and restore my eye; but what I long for to a much greater ex-
tent is that I be in a more intimate and deeper relationship with Jesus, regardless of my physical
condition or life situation. I yearn to revolve around our crucified and risen Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. The past eight weeks, therefore, have been an especially rich time for me.

More importantly, the past two weeks, especially Holy Week, have been a special time for me.
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus
Christ directly into my life in a way I hadn't experienced before. Despite the condition with my
eye, I had been on the go during these last two weeks. By Sunday afternoon I felt worn out. I
crashed the evening of Easter Sunday and laid low all day Monday. Yet I still felt the glow of
the crucified and risen Jesus. At Sunday worship at St Fergus Parish Church we sang hymns
about the Resurrection and listened to the gospel accounts of the Risen Christ. I preached from
I Corinthians 15:1-8. The Apostle Paul speaks to the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, empha-
sizing his death and resurrection as being of first importance. I have been reflecting on this key
passage for some years now, but only in the last few weeks has it been shaping my life and pro-
clamation. I have provided the text for you below. I want you to pay special attention to the sec-
tion highlighted in red.

I Corinthians 15:1-8

         1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you 
         received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold 
         fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered 
         to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in 
         accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the 
         third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, 
         then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at 
         one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then 
         he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely 
         born, he appeared also to me.

In this section of Scripture, the Apostle identifies the heart of the Gospel message that he 
has been proclaiming to others. The Gospel he has been preaching to believers in Cor-
inth is the message of salvation. What Paul has received, he has been delivering to oth-
ers. The Gospel is a message of life that saves people from sin and death. The Gospel is 
not about what men and women do. It is not about us. It focuses on what God has done 
in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. His 
redemptive death was anticipated throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, what we Christians 
refer to as the Old Testament. Jesus died and was buried. But that was not the end of 
the Story: on the third day He was raised from death to life. All of this was foretold in the 
Scriptures. Then Paul lists all the people the Risen Saviour showed himself to, including 
himself as one untimely born.   

We believers who name the Name of Jesus Christ anchor our faith in the two essential 
tenets of the Gospel: that Jesus died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins, accord-
ing to the Scriptures, and that He was raised from death to life on the third day, according 
to the Scriptures. This is the Gospel we proclaim. The Gospel that we have received and 
believe in points to the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. In Him we are justified and sancti-
fied. This Jesus and what He did is the heart of the Gospel that brings life to those who 
are dead in sin. The content of our preaching must be shaped by the Cross and the Emp-
ty Tomb of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Faith in the crucified and risen Son of 
God brings salvation and life in all its fulness. Everything else is secondary, and flows 
from those two cosmic events that God did through His Son Jesus Christ. I thought that
I knew that, the Gospel. Perhaps I did. But I came to a renewed and deeper awareness 
of it in my life during Lent and Holy Week at St Fergus Parish Church, 2013.

Blessings to you and yours in these weeks after Easter,