Confess, Pray, and be Healed

3 January 2026

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

Ezra didn’t build the second temple. I had thought Ezra restored the temple, but it was Zerubbabel. Ezra doesn’t come on the scene until chapter 7—after the completion of the temple. I hope I did not steer you away from the truth when I shared my thoughts upon first starting to study Ezra. I had a lack of knowledge of God’s Word, but now that I am almost finished with the book of Ezra, I’m able to communicate truth.

So, who is Ezra and what did he do? Ezra, a priest and teacher of the Law of Moses, brought about spiritual restoration to the Israelites, including the priests and the Levites. The second temple was finished and the people of Israel held celebrations, but some of the Israelites did not turn from their unfaithfulness toward God. When Ezra heard about their unfaithfulness, he fasted, prayed, and petitioned the Lord concerning this unfaithfulness. Then, Ezra led them through a restoration process because of his knowledge of God’s Word and his relationship with the Lord.

This journey that Ezra led to restore spiritual closeness with God has similar components to what the B.E.S.T. counselors at Hope4Cancer and a pastor have come to represent for me.

What is my unfaithfulness?—Thinking that God made a mistake when he created me.

To help you understand what I mean, let me take you back to when I as about five years old. My dad and I went to his sister’s house. I nearly vomited when I saw her full black eye, her broken arm, and her countless bruises as she limped around the house. Her husband got drunk and she became his target. A little voice started speaking to me then: you need to be stronger than a man so this does not happen to you.

Overtime that voice got louder, especially as televisions filled houses throughout America and the feminist movement could now influence a much younger crowd who hadn’t even stepped into the workforce yet. Because feminism tells women they are superior to men, this further fed into that voice. Thus, the desire to have ‘manly’ characteristics birthed in me. I wanted to play sports to be stronger. I wanted to be an engineer to have the intellect. I wanted a job because I did not want a man to provide for me.

As someone who grew up in Sunday school, the Church didn’t help either. The Church traditionally taught that women should not speak or lead in any capacity. Since I did not have the knowledge of other passages in the Bible, only the selected sermon verses, I thought what I heard was truth and allowed the desire that had grown in me to become a sin: I began to believe God made a mistake when he made me. I couldn’t change my biology, but I didn’t have to accepted it either.

But “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:13-15).

The cervix is the gateway to the uterus, to the woman’s center. No wonder I have cancer there—I have allowed the sin of believing this lie to fester in my life for a long time. You may think it is of other sin and will disregard what I am saying. But through prayer and godly counseling, this is what we have discovered.

So, I want to confess this sin to you. I’ve been on a healing journey by grasping that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. All those attributes I thought were manly attributes are for women too. (Have you heard of Lydia, Deborah, Ruth, and countless others in the Bible?) This past month, I have sensed a freedom I’ve never felt before. I’m loving being a woman and I’m loving being under a spiritual covering (my husband, who himself is under Christ). Please continue to pray for me as I breakdown years of lies and fill them with God’s truth.

PS:

As for physical health, the six-week bloodwork will be done this week, and mid-February I will have another MRI with contrast to see about the reduction of the tumor.

Written by Tammy Lea Fabian

Edited by Mia Atteberry