When You Need a Healing Touch from Jesus - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - March 10, 2026
"And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed." Matthew 14:35-36
As someone with chronic back pain, I've had my share of tightness and tension. In fact, my back and shoulders are often incredibly tense, and I am prone to tension headaches and migraines. Although I had been feeling better over the past few weeks, I had a set of migraines that would not go away. An hour before the Super Bowl, I felt a migraine coming on.
Afraid it would get in the way of our annual Super Bowl party, I gulped down two ibuprofen with some water and hoped for the best. However, the pain got steadily worse even as people entered the doorway. After a short time, with the lights dimmed and only the TV screen's glow illuminating the living room, my friends caught wind of it and inquired what was wrong.
When I finally confessed that I felt a migraine coming on, they were quick to rush to their knees. Placing their hand on my back and shoulder, they prayed and asked God for relief from the pain. We asked God for complete healing in his name, and afterward, I no longer felt the headache.
About twenty minutes after prayer, my headache was gone! My friends asked how I was feeling, and I was happy to report that their prayers had allowed me to feel better.
As I reflected on that moment, I was embarrassed to admit that I was quicker to run to the aspirin bottle than I was to run to God for prayer. Because I haven't seen many people healed when I've prayed for healing for them, it is easier for me to try alternative means to get results. But God had a testimony in his plans for our Super Bowl party. While we thought we were going to eat junk food and cheer on our favorite football team, God wanted to give me a testimony of healing.
I realized that I need to go to my elders or other leaders for prayer when I'm feeling chronic pain. I need to humble myself and confess that I cannot get by in life without my savior's healing. That includes my health. While I tend to hide it and mask it with pain medication, God wants us to openly ask for prayer for any areas of our life, so that we can not only experience a touch of his healing but also tell others about God's ability to heal simply through prayer.
Do you find yourself to be someone who masks your pain rather than reach out for help? Is it easier to open the medicine cabinet than it is to send a text to a friend asking for prayer?
The above verse reminds us that God's will is for all of us to be healed. This verse in Matthew, paired with other passages, demonstrates that Jesus has the power to heal anyone of any sickness they endure. Although there are times when we ask for healing and do not receive it, it is not God's will that we refuse healing. Instead, healing sometimes comes in the form of emotional growth, faith, or character.
God's will is for all of us to be healed. Jesus has the power to heal all of us simply with a touch and a request to the Father. Are you someone who runs to the Father when you need a healing touch from the Savior? Do you, like me, instead run to the medicine cabinet so you won't be disappointed if God chooses not to heal?
Father, let us remember that you are a God of healing. Throughout Scripture, we see Jesus heal people with a simple touch or a word of prayer. Read the Scriptures and reflect on God's goodness. Let us reach out to you instead of our medicine cabinet. Let us cling to you for our hope not only in everything, but also in our healing. Amen.
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Rosie Sun
Related Resource: How Faith Finds Us When Life Takes a Detour
Joining us this week is worship leader turned viral comedian Heather Land. After growing up in the shadow of her mother’s decades-long addiction, Heather reflects on how this painful season—alongside her unexpected shift from the worship stage to the world of comedy—taught her that while our paths may take unforeseen turns, our core calling to encourage and uplift others remains constant.
Later in the episode, we’ll hear from Rachel Kessler, an Episcopal priest and Kenyon College chaplain who completed her PhD in medieval studies at the University of Toronto before pivoting to seminary after hitting academic burnout, then built a following as the “Nerdy Priest” on TikTok after a student secretly downloaded the app on her phone.
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