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20.   Health Benefit of Prayer

 

Source: Journals of Gerontology – People age 60 and older, those who believed in a good afterlife were less likely to develop high blood pressure after the death of a loved one. Thus, they were in better health.

 

Spiritually: The Bible New Living Translation (NLT) 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 stated, “50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Life Application: iLumina Bible Studies – The resurrected bodies have to be different from these present, physical bodies because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These bodies cannot go into God’s eternal Kingdom because these present bodies were not made to live forever – otherwise they would. So God has prepared new bodies that will live forever. The resurrection is a fact; new bodies ready for life in eternity is also a fact.

 

With great emphasis Paul passed on to these Corinthians a secret – knowledge given to him by divine revelation from our Lord Jesus Christ. The phrase not all of us will die means that some Christians will still be alive at the time of Christ’s return. They will not have to die before they get their new resurrection bodies. (For further discussion of these new bodies, see 2 Corinthians 5:1-10.) Instead, they will all be transformed, immediately (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). A trumpet blast will usher in the new heaven and earth. Christ will return, the dead will be raised out of the graves with transformed bodies. Those still alive will be transformed, also receiving their new bodies. This change will happen instantly for all Born-Again Christians, whether they are dead or alive. All will be made ready to go with our Lord Jesus Christ.