Does God want you to be healed?
We receive many answered prayer requests here at Answers2Prayer and we do rejoice with people who were healed through the stripes of Jesus Christ. “This is fine and well, but I am sick and was wondering if Jesus cared enough to heal me. Is healing God’s will for my life?”
Excellent question, which I will try to answer using God’s Word.
1. Faith is crucial.
In anything we do, we need faith. If I
don't have faith that a certain chair will hold me, I will not sit down in it.
The consequences may be painful, as I will have to stand if no other seats are
available! The same is true is that if we do not have faith in God, God cannot
bless us.
James 1:6-8 "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should
not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all he does." NIV
Heb 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who
comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly
seek him." NIV
"But does God want to heal me? If He really wants to, I will put my faith in
Him." It is true that you cannot have faith in obtaining something from God if
you do not know if it is His will. Is healing God's will for you?
2. God’s Word: Revelation of God’s Will.
To know God's will, we need to study
God's Scriptures. In it His character is revealed. In it only truth, God's truth
can be found.
Rom 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message
is heard through the word of Christ." NIV
Faith needs to be build on God's Word. We cannot rely on others. We cannot rely
on our pastors. We cannot rely on our church. We can only rely on God's Word to
know the truth!
God's Word guarantees that Num 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor
a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?" NIV God will never lie to you. It's one of the
things He just cannot do. It is against His nature.
King Solomon discovered that 1 Kings 8:56 "Praise be to the LORD, who has given
rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all
the good promises." NIV
We can trust God's Word. It is the only source that will never lie to us. Ps
119:89 "Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." NIV
3. Depending on God’s Holy Spirit.
We can boldly ask for anything that God
has promised us through His Word. If it is not specifically mentioned in the
Bible, we need to depend on His Holy Spirit. "John 16:13 "But when he, the
Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." NIV God's Holy Spirit
however will never go against God's Word!
Depending on the Lord will bring you many blessings. Prov 3:5-6 "Trust in the
LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." KJV
4. Clear Biblical issues.
There are some issues where the Bible is
clear on:
a. We do not need to know God's will concerning someone's salvation: 1 Tim 2:3-4
"God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the
truth." NIV
b. We do not need to know God's will concerning baptism by water. Acts 2:38
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins." NIV
c. We do not need to know God's will concerning baptism in the Holy Spirit. Acts
2:38-39 "And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for
you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God
will call." NIV
d. We do not need to know God's will if whether we should pray. 1 Thess 5:17
"Pray continually." NIV
e. We do not need to know God's will if whether we should study His Word. 2 Tim
2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." KJV
f. We do not need to know God's will if whether we should lead a moral life. 1
Thess 5:22 "Avoid every kind of evil." NIV
But what is God's will concerning healing?
5. Book of Psalms.
The book of Psalms let us know what
God's will is concerning diseases. Ps 103:2-3 "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your
diseases." NIV
The Hebrew word for diseases is "tachaluw" and means physical disease, sickness.
6. Jesus.
What is amazing in Jesus' ministry on
this planet, is that He never refused to heal anyone. He never turned away and
said that it wasn't God's will to heal a certain person. He never once said that
a certain sick person needed to be sick, so that he could learn some spiritual
truths. He never once said to a sick person that he would be eventually healed
when he got to heaven. Never once!
Healing was a priority in His ministry. Jesus' message of salvation went hand in
hand with His ministry of healing. When the pastors of his day opposed Jesus'
healing ministry, He continued to heal people that were brought to Him. He never
used restraint in His healing ministry.
Matt 12:13-15 "Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched
it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the
Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this, Jesus
withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick."NIV
When threatened, He withdrew, but never stopped healing the sick. Notice the
word "all". Jesus did not play favourites. He healed all the sick.
When the crowd would press around Jesus, trying to touch Him, Matt 14:36 "all
who touched him were healed." NIV
Jesus was always willing to heal. Luke 4:40 "When the sun was setting, the
people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his
hands on each one, he healed them." NIV
Have you notice that the gospels like to stress the word "all" when referring to
Jesus' healings? Notice this in the following texts:
Luke 6:19 "and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from
him and healing them all." NIV
Acts 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power,
and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of
the devil, because God was with him." NIV
Matt 4:23 "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness
among the people." NIV
7. Jesus’ healing power was not reserved for only Himself.
Jesus clearly gave authority to His
disciples to heal others. Matt 10:1 "He called his twelve disciples to him and
gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and
sickness." NIV
This healing power was not reserved to just the disciples of Jesus. Luke 10:1-2,
9 "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two
ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest,
therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field…Heal the sick who are
there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'" NIV
This healing power was given to all believers. Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs
will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they
will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when
they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their
hands on sick people, and they will get well." NIV
After Jesus had risen and was taken back to heaven, His disciples continued His
healing ministry. Acts 5:15-16 "As a result, people brought the sick into the
streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might
fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around
Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of
them were healed." NIV
Jesus directives to us are clear. His healing ministry must continue!
8. Jesus willingness to heal.
Most of those that encountered Jesus
assumed that He wanted to heal them. Only one man questioned Jesus' willingness.
That man was a leper. Matt 8:2-4 "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him
and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out
his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately
he was cured of his leprosy." NIV
Is Jesus willing to heal you?
"I am willing,"
Case closed.
9. The word “Will”.
The use of "will" in reference to
healing is further evidence that God wants to heal. Notice the use of that word
in the context of salvation, as well as in the context of healing.
Acts 2:21 21 "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." NIV
Mark 16:18 "They will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
NIV
James 5:14-16 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to
pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer
offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If
he has sinned, he will be forgiven. NIV
Do you need any further evidence? God is willing to heal us. Jesus died on
Calvary so that you could walk in perfect, divine health. 1 Peter 2:24 "He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and
live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." NIV
10. Diseases in heaven.
Notice how many diseases there will be
in heaven: Rev 21:3-4 "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live
with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away." NIV
If you are suffering right now, just look towards your Saviour. He wants you to
be healed. He guarantees your complete healing in heaven. You can trust Him. He
can and will heal you now.
Rob Chaffart
A question from one of our subscribers: Considering the above, is it always God's will to heal a person of their affliction in this lifetime -- or within a specified time limit?
The first thought I had upon receiving your question, was
about the apostle Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the
abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For
this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said
unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong."
I too believe in divine healing and have experienced it both in my body and in
response to my prayers over others. However I am now disabled because of disease
in my body. Can I explain this, I can to my personal satisfaction, but probably
not to many others, as there are folks that believe it is sin that causes
sickness and disease and that any physical aliment is a proof of the persons
personal sin. I do not agree with that teaching, for in the passage we have just
looked at Paul tells us that his physical aliment was for the purpose of his not
glorying in himself.
Notice if you will that the apostle Paul wrote the majority of the New testament
and think of how others as well as himself could have been caught in his deeds
and not given God the glory.
Listen to what Isaiah says about God.
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Certainly there are things about God's decisions concerning man that we will
never understand in this life, but one thing is certain that He has and never
will make a mistake.
I believe there are individuals that are not healed because of their lack of
faith and then there are those that God deems worthy of suffering.
How do I arrive at the thought above, let us look at another passage.
John 9:1-3 "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his
parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned,
nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
In this case the man was given sight that God might be glorified, but is it not
possible that there are those that glorify God in there suffering?
Years ago there was an aged black man in the V.A. hospital in Durham N.C. that
had been paralyzed from the neck down since WWII, yet anyone that met him was
blessed by his testimony to the grace of God.
I agree with your statement that some times diseases are used instructionally
for those afflicted and those that are witness to same.
Read the entire chapter of 2 Corinthians 11-12 and I think you will agree with
what I have said.
One last thought, someone has said that the proof of a man is not what he
accomplishes, but what it takes to stop him. I think that is a true saying and
if a man is a witness for Christ in both his words and deeds, then does it not
give great glory to God if that person holds true to his faith regardless of
what comes upon him physically? Down through the ages are recorded the stories
of great hardship suffered by many of God's servants, and I for one receive
courage and strength to carry on as I read the biographies of these man and
women of God.
Your Servant
James Avery
Associate Director of Bible Questions
