His wife had had a stroke.  He had spent weeks in the hospital praying for her to move, to show some sign of life.  He prayed that she would suddenly wake up and everything would be normal again.  But she didn't.

There was no miracle.

God did not speak a healing word.

And one day he saw a special on the TV.  It was about the experiments they used to do on dogs.  They would put a wolf and a dog in a tank full of water that they could not get out of to see which would last the longest.

Invariably the wolf would die but the dog wouldn't.  Why?  Because the wolf had always taken care of itself, and so when faced with an impossible situation, where he could not save himself, he gave up and died.  But the dog was used to having someone care for him.  So when faced with an impossible situation, the dog kept on swimming knowing that his master would come to rescue him.

When we are faced with impossible pain, when we are faced with utter despair, when we are faced with what feels like the absence of God, we are like that dog.  We keep on swimming, because we know our Master will be with us when our worst nightmare comes true.  We know that He is with us in the midst of our pain, and is giving us the strength we need to endure it.  We know we do not swim alone.

So it is possible for us to come together today to hear of a God who specializes in healing, who says the word that will cast out the demons in our lives whatever those demons might be.

Frequently they come in the middle of the night, perched by our bedside and whispering in the darkness that we somehow deserve the illness we face, that somehow it must be a punishment from God or God must be using it to teach us a lesson.  Too often we hear those words from TV evangelists or faith healers or even local pastors.

Hear me say this loud and clear, God does not wish evil, sickness, or emotional disease on any of His children.  He wishes only the best for us.  It is true that God can use even our worse pain for good, but that still does not make the evil a good thing.

I think it is significant that Christ's first miracle in the book of Mark is the healing of a demoniac.  And what He says is "Come out of him."  The Greek word literally means to let go of him.  So what demons do you need to let go of?  What demons do you want God to destroy in you?

Perhaps it is the demon of hopelessness as you search for job after job with no luck at all - that feeling that, like that dog, you are swimming alone, drowning in a pool of unpaid bills, not knowing how you will make it to the end of the month.  Perhaps it is the pain of a grief that you cannot let go of, a grief that prevents you from living in the fullness of life.  Perhaps you battle the demon of depression that separates you from the goodness of life.

In all these things, know that you do not fight alone.  God is there in the midst of the battle, helping you along the way, carrying you and doing the fighting for you when you cannot find the energy to fight on your own.

God is there providing help in the form of an understanding friend or counselor, fighting the enemy through the drugs the doctor might use, fighting through the power of prayer.  And no matter how often evil may whisper to us that it is hopeless, that we are in this fight alone, we know that God is on our side and we have eternal help for the battle.  We can keep on swimming, knowing rescue is near at hand.

Or perhaps the demons you face are of the body and not the soul.  Perhaps you battle against the evil of cancer or heart and lung disease or diabetes.  Again, God is there to give you courage for the fight, the strength to push on.  He is with the doctor as she maps out the battle plan to fight the disease in whatever way is necessary --- through surgery, medication, therapy, and prayer.

For prayer is essential.  Study after study tells us our attitude is one of the greatest weapons we can have in the fight, whatever that fight may look like.

When we believe that help is on the way and that our master will come to rescue us, we can keep on swimming in that dog tank no matter how many times evil says it's hopeless, no matter how often it says we must give up or give in.  We know God will come and rescue us in life and in death, walking with us to the other side of eternity if that is what is necessary.

For the Lord will send us guides when it is time to die and go home to God.  One way He does this is through hospice workers and caring nurses and the presence of a pastor and, of coursed the power of prayer, for God has promised to walk with us even through the valley of the darkness of death.  Instead of something to fear, it is possible for death to be God's greatest healing as He comes and pulls us out of the dog tank to a city where there is no pain, no tears, no fear that can not be relieved.

At times our demons come in the fight against alcoholism or drug addiction.  They come and whisper false promises that tear us apart from God.  Demons tell us that if we take just one more hit, just one more pill, then things will be alright, and we can face the day.  But God seeks to call that demon out, for God is that higher power that can help to strengthen you as you fight for your healing day after day, moment after moment, time after time, going to God in prayer knowing that you can not face the demons alone --- nor do you have to.

So when all is said and done, how do we deal with the demons and evil in our lives?  First we must face them.  We must acknowledge them or their power will continue to grow and they will usurp even more control over our lives.

Then we must form a battle plan using all of God's resources, including therapy, medicines, doctors, nurses and technologists.  And both first and last we must go to God in prayer.

That is what this service is about today.  It is a special time to go to God in prayer for your own healing or the healing of one you love.  After we do our affirmation of faith, saying what we believe about the power of God, there will be a time for you to come forward for a word of prayer with me as the choir sings.  No need is too great or too small.

My mike will be turned off so that all we will say will be kept personal and private and, as a symbol of God's loving power, I will anoint you with oil.  For now, let us stand and say what we believe about God, using the affirmation found in the bulletin.