What I am about to share with you is intensely personal. This may be awkward for some of the gentlemen on the Forum, but it is the best way I know to discuss the idea of “binding and loosing;” and, also, asking if Catholic interpretation of authority to “bind and loose,” extends to the individual Christian.
Several years ago, I had a PET Scan (head to knee scan for cancer.) An area of suspicious uptake was found in the thyroid, and in my right breast.
My Oncologist discussed the findings with me, saying he did not think I actually had breast cancer, citing “false positives” with PET Scans.
I began to pray there would be no cancer in my body. This was a very logical prayer.
The doctor changed his mind, and I had biopsies of both the thyroid and the breast–all came back negative for cancer. The breast tissue was even sent to MD Anderson’s Cancer Center for a second opinion. No evidence of cancer was found. My doctor did explain there was still a risk of thyroid cancer. Surgery was immediately scheduled.
I continued to pray to God that there would be no cancer in my body.
One evening, I was flipping through the TV channels trying to find something to watch. I came to a religious channel, and was about to move on (I’ve never been a fan of TV religion); but the words of the minister caught me attention. He was talking about praying for things to be “bound up and cast out.”
I recognized the Scripture: Matthew 16:19 (ESV): 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Over the next few days; I kept thinking about this passage and the idea of “binding and casting out.” The passage entered my thoughts again and again.
Soon, I began to ask God, “if there is any cancer in my body, please bind it and cast it out.” The words in this prayer seemed to come from beyond my own logic, or inclinations in prayer.
The Pathologist, who had performed the biopsies on my neck and breast, decided I should have a needle-guided, surgical biopsy of the breast. He was not quite certain he had clipped the exact spot of suspicious tissue.
So, I had the needle-guided, surgical biopsy of the breast. One week later, I had a total thyroidectomy. When I was discharged from the hospital, the pathology reports for both the breast and the thyroid were pending.
A few days later, I returned to see the Surgeon who performed the surgical breast biopsy. The pathology report revealed breast cancer. I was stunned by the news.
One week after the total thyroidectomy, I had a lumpectomy of the right breast, removing a wider area of tissue, in case there were any cancer cells remaining—three surgeries, in three weeks. Praise God, the pathology report showed “clean margins”—no cancer in the surrounding breast tissue.
Shortly after the lumpectomy of the breast, I returned for a follow-up visit to see the surgeon who performed the thyroidectomy–no cancer cells were found in the Thyroid. Praise be to God.
Several weeks passed, and slowly I began to regain my strength, as my body healed from three surgeries. I praised God, again and again, for the early detection of breast cancer, and for sparing me the agony of a mastectomy and chemotherapy. I would only need 25 radiation treatments (5 weeks.) I told my family and friends, I was probably the happiest person with breast cancer, you could ever meet.
Though I continued to praise God for all He had done for me, I had forgotten the words of my prayers regarding the breast cancer.
Then one morning, in those first few moments upon awakening, when the voices of the world are still silent, I heard the words of my prayer repeated, “please bind the cancer, and cast it out.”
I realized for the first time, since my surgeries, that the cancer had been “bound.” I had Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, which is a localized cluster of cancer cells that have not penetrated the duct walls into the surrounding tissue. The cancer had not spread beyond the place where it originally developed. The cancer was literally “bound in the duct.”
As I thought of the rest of my prayer, asking that any “cancer be cast out”; I heard these words, “That can be done with a surgeon’s knife, you know.” I praised God with a joyous heart.
I knew, without a doubt, that hearing the words of the “T.V. minister,” who encouraged Christians to pray the words of Matthew 16:19, was not a coincidence. Today, I could not tell you the name of the minister or even his religious affiliation. However, the words in The Gospel of Matthew, will be forever in my heart.
Not only had the prayer been given to me, it had also been answered. The cancer was gone; it was, indeed, “bound and cast out”; and I had been healed.
Scripture tells us that the Spirit helps us in our weakness, and intercedes according to the will of God, when we do not know what to pray as we ought:
Romans 8:26-27 (ESV): 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
It has two and a half years, since I completed the treatment for breast cancer. I remain cancer free. I think about this experience, often. It is always with me.
I realized, by the Spirit providing the words to pray—that “the cancer be bound and cast out;” and then answering the prayer by literally binding the cancer in the duct and casting it out with the surgeon’s knife; God’s Name was glorified in so many ways.
The power of God’s Word was demonstrated, as the Scripture came alive, through the Holy Spirit. I realized that just as God is infinite, the power to accomplish His purpose through Holy Scripture must surely be infinite, as well.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the “Word of God is living and active.” This experience opened my eyes to this truth.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV): 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
May God’s Name be Glorified, in the miracles He performs in our lives.
Anna
