Here are some common questions that people have about healing:
Why am I not healed?
This is the most common question that people ask about healing. Not everyone gets healed during a healing service. We do not know or understand why God heals some people while other are not healed. It is important to remain positive and remain in faith when we are not healed. We should rejoice with all the people that have received their healing from God and expect that God will be able to heal us one day. When we are not healed, we should keep praying and trusting in Jesus to give us the strength to go through our sickness. When we are not healed on earth, we need to remember that one day we will be healed in heaven. We will receive our new heavenly bodies in heaven. The book of Revelation says that in heaven, there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain.
Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell 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.”
What should I do when I am not healed?
There are a number of things that we can do while waiting for our healing.
1. Read the Word of God
We can read the healing stories in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the book of Acts. As we read these healing stories in the Bible, we can turn these healing stories into prayers for healing. We can declare and claim the promises of God through His words. We can also confess the “Healing Scriptures” in the whole Bible on a daily basis and ask God to heal us. I know a lady who had two operations due to high cancer markers and she was due for a third operation. Instead of allowing fear to grip her heart and remaining pessimistic, she faithfully declare God’s healing scriptures every day. During a regular medical review, the doctor reported that her cancer markers were normal and she did not need a third operation. There is power in the Word of God when we believe and proclaim it (Proverbs 4:20-22).
Proverbs 4:20-22 (NIV)
20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
2. Worship God
While we wait for our healing, we can seek to be closer to, and become more intimate with, God through worship. We can spend regular time worshipping God in the church and personally at home. Draw closer to God. Do not allow adversity to cause us to be bitter towards God and other people. Rather, we should approach God with a humble heart and in honesty. We can bear our hearts before God with all our burdens. God is always there to give us love, peace and comfort in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We can find support and prayer through a local church and small group. Find a christian fellowship that is able to support and walk with you through your journey.
3. Continue to take your medication and stay healthy
Do not throw away your medication or stop seeing your doctors. We should continue to follow carefully our doctors’ instruction and advice. Doctors have spent years in the medical field and they know the best form of treatment. So it is unwise to reject medical advice. We should eat healthily and exercise regularly to keep our immune system strong to fight off sickness and disease.
When is God going to heal me?
Sometimes God heals people instantaneously and at other times God heals them gradually. We should trust God for His perfect timing to heal us. Do not be discouraged when we are not healed after prayer. God can heal us anytime. We can be healed on the way home, in a few days, in weeks, months or years. A lady had a beautiful singing voice but she was not able to hear herself clearly because she had a blocked ear for many years. She had been receiving prayer for the past few years but nothing happened. One Sunday, she attended a Healing Service and received prayer for healing. Suddenly, she could hear a pop sound from her ear and she could hear normally. Her eyes were flowing with tears of joy because God had finally answered her prayer.
In the Bible, there was a man who was lame for thirty-eight years. He was waiting by the pool for God to heal him. One day, Jesus walked toward him and healed him instantly. Let us wait for our healing expectantly because Jesus can heal us anytime.
John 5:5-9 (NIV)
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.
Is it a sin to see doctors and take medication?
It is not a sin to see doctors or take medication. Some Christians feel that they are not spiritual or they displease God when they turn toward medicine for their healing. God can use medicine to bring about healing. We should not limit the ways God can heal us by not going for medical treatment or taking medication. There are many Christian doctors who believe in divine healing and medical treatment. Praying for healing and taking medication does not contradict each other. A Christian lady who was trying to be spiritual refused to take medication ended up in the hospital with an even more serious condition. Finally, she came to her senses and obeyed the doctor’s instruction and took medication and she was on her way to recovery. She also continue to go to church and to her small group for prayer. God can heal through doctors and medicine.
The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and illnesses.
1 Timothy 5:23 (NIV)
23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
Is my faith not enough for healing?
It is important to have faith in Jesus for healing but there are stories in the Bible when people did not have any faith and yet they got healed. For example, Martha did not have faith in Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. She complained that Jesus came too late to heal Lazarus. And yet Jesus performed a great miracle by calling Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Martha did not have faith in Jesus because Lazarus had been dead for four days and Lazarus was not able to have faith in Jesus because he was dead. God can still do miracles when we don’t have enough faith (John 11:38-44).
John 11:38-44 (NIV)
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Do not condemn ourselves or allow others to condemn us when we are not healed. We are healed by the grace of God and not by works. Healing and salvation is a gift from God. We cannot earn our healing by doing good works. God heals us out of His love, grace and mercy.
At the same time, let our faith in God continue to increase day by day. We should keep believing that God can do the impossible (Matthew 17:20).
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Should I ask for more prayer for healing?
Sometimes we are reluctant to ask for more prayer because we did not receive healing. We get shy or embarrassed when asking people to pray for us so many times. I suggest we start allowing different people to pray for us or we can start praying for our own healing. God can use many Christians to pray for our healing. We do not have to wait for a famous evangelist to pray for us. I remember one time, I had a serious case of food poisoning and my face and ears were bloated and red. I was so desperate to be healed because I was due to speak in a church in a few days. I prayed for my own healing and I took all the medication prescribed by the doctor and yet I looked terrible in front of the mirror. I turned to a little Christian child in the house where I was staying and humbly asked her to pray for me. The next day, my face was normal and inflammation had subsided. I was able to complete my speaking engagement without scaring people with the way I look. Keep knocking on the door of God’s healing. Don’t give up (Matthew 7:7-11)!
Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!