How do we as Christians know how to pray for a child with cancer? He’s not getting better only worse. Do we stop praying for healing when it’s apparent he’s not being healed?
I am so sorry for your child who has cancer. I know it can be so devastating to see a young child suffer. I am glad to know that you are praying for him. We read in James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The Lord desires that we pray for all things. We read in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Such a beautiful truth…the Lord cares for you!
Why is your child getting worse, not better? To that, I would have to humbly admit that I don’t know. 1 John 5:14 tells us, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” The Lord answers our prayers according to His own perfect will. Certainly He knows best and everything we receive from His hands is perfect. James 1:17 assures us that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” What possible reason could the Lord have to allow a young child to die? Isaiah 57:1 has been a verse that has given me great comfort over the years. It says, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that THE RIGHTEOUS IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EVIL TO COME.” It is very possible that sin and tragedy await this child, and the Lord may decide to take him home rather than allow him to suffer from evil. While that is a possibility, I cannot speak definitely about it. I don’t know, but the Lord certainly does.
How do you know when to stop praying for the child? This is an even more difficult question. We have a couple of examples in scripture when someone was told not to pray. In 2 Corinthians 12, we are told that the Apostle Paul was given a “thorn in the flesh” so that he would remain humble after all the revelations that the Lord gave him. We read in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” After praying about this 3 times, the Lord told Paul that he had His grace and that was all he needed. At this point, Paul stopped praying to have this thorn removed.
In 1 John 5, we have the instance of someone sinning a ‘sin unto death’. We read in 1 John 5:16, “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” I do not suggest at all that this young child has sinned such a sin, but I point it out to show that there are some things the Lord instructs us not to pray about. The point is that we should be so sensitive to the leading of the Lord that we are able to determine whether the Lord wants us to continue to pray, or whether He wants us to cease from praying. My immediate thought is that you should continue to pray until you can definitely discern that the Lord is telling you to stop praying. In my life, I have seen some pretty hopeless cases turn around due to constant and sincere prayer from the Lord’s saints. In closing these remarks, I will just reiterate what we read in James 5:14, “Is any sick among you? Pray over him.” (256.8)