body and soul

As we pray for others, we should keep in mind the essential unity of the body and the soul.  From the very beginning, God formed humanity from the dust of the ground and then breathed into them the breath of life in a way different from that of all other creatures (Genesis 2:7).  He has endowed us alone with a soul that animates the body, just as the body houses the soul.  They are inseparable.

As such, when we pray for those who are ill, we should be praying for the soul as well as for the body.  Sometimes, in our desire to see God heal the body, we tend to forget the need for the healing of the soul in that sick body as well.  Some believers think that, when they are laid up with bodily illness, they should be able to pray more fervently since they aren't distracted.  In fact, those who are ill in body are thereby rendered ill in soul, or at least in need of the comfort and power of God to recover wellness of mind and heart.  So let's be sure to pray for God to heal the sick person's soul, and that in turning to Jesus as Savior/Healer, the person would invite Him to breathe in The Holy Spirit if they have not done so before.

And when we pray for those who are dying, we should be praying for the body as well as for the soul.  There is a mistaken impression, deriving less from Scripture than from culture, that when a believer dies, the soul is freed from the confines of the body.  This can lead us to believe that the body isn't that important or is of a lesser state than the soul.  The Resurrection of Jesus demonstrates that His Body and His Soul were both restored, and that His Triumph over sin and death was validated by the Resurrection of The Body.  So, even as we pray for those who are dying in Christ, we continue to ask God for healing of the body and the soul, for we know that, in Christ, through The Resurrection Power of the Holy Spirit, our bodies will be fully healed in the life to come.

So, let's pray for and testify to the complete healing of the full person, body, and soul.