"God Does Not Wait For the Sabbath to Pass Before He Grants the Requests"
Luke 6:9-10 (NKJV) 9 "Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other."
Lately I have been praying a lot for people who have come down with the COVID-19 Coronavirus. In the course of this praying, I was reminded of the following quote which encourages us to seek for the Lord's blessings on behalf of the sick in our midst, in a special way, during the hours of the Sabbath. It also assures us that God does not wait for the Sabbath to pass before He grants the requests! Note the following.
"The demands upon God are even greater upon the Sabbath than upon other days. His people then leave their usual employment, and spend the time in meditation and worship. They ask more favors of Him on the Sabbath than upon other days. They demand His special attention. They crave His choicest blessings. God does not wait for the Sabbath to pass before He grants these requests. Heaven’s work never ceases, and men should never rest from doing good. ... [A]s God ceased His labor of creating, and rested upon the Sabbath and blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life, and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds. The work of Christ in healing the sick was in perfect accord with the law. It honored the Sabbath." {DA 207.2}
Though we don't always look at prayer in this way, our ongoing prayers for the sick are part of the "holy deeds" that are encouraged on the Sabbath day. Noting that God does not "wait for the Sabbath to pass before He grants these requests," we can ask our Heavenly Father to grant our requests for our friends that are suffering from COVID-19, seeking His favor and healing according to His will. ALL of them—those friends who need God's divine intervention, need, earnest and serious prayers. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were decided improvements in all of their cases during the hours of the Sabbath. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the families could be rejoicing over the kindness and mercy of God.
It took courage to post this promise of God's blessings upon the Sabbath. But the words were there, they were inspired of God, they were based upon Scripture, and it seemed, ours for the asking.
Where things had been going down hill for one of the individuals, things began looking up over the course of the Sabbath hours. They have continued to improve since then. Now I grant that many people have been working to turn things around, and a wonderful new treatment was also used, but I also know God was working and look forward to hearing the full report some day in heaven.
In the meantime, let's keep praying!