God’s will to heal you
Over the years I’ve talked to many Christians about God’s healing power and how it’s part of the original Christianity Jesus taught and practiced during his ministry, and that it should be part of Christianity today.
And there are so many testimonies of healing in the Christian Church today. It’s very inspiring.
Today we’re talking about the fact, yes the fact, that it is God’s will to heal you.
Is God always willing to heal?
It continues to amaze me how many people who believe in Jesus and his message of salvation, do not also believe in his full message and promise of healing.
I recently met an earnest young man who took his faith very seriously. He strives to follow Jesus in his daily life. But he questioned me about how I could be so sure it is always God’s will that we are healed when we pray for healing.
He had seen too many times when he and friends or fellow church members had prayed for someone to be healed, but there was no healing.
They concluded that it must not be God’s will for that person to be healed. Or that God doesn’t heal today like He used to. Some churches believe that.
In fact, they start their prayers, with, “Lord, if it’s your will for this person to be healed…”
So why is one person healed and another is not when the same amount of earnest prayer has occurred?
I sure don’t have all the answers, but I do have a few thoughts and observations.
And I’ve talked about this on previous episodes of The Bible Speaks to You Podcast. See the links below.
The place to start
First, to discover that it IS God’s will that we be healed, the best place to start is with what Jesus said and did.
Jesus made it very clear that he did not come to do his own will, but to do the Father’s will. (I quote this verse all the time on the podcast. You may have noticed! (See John 5:30 below)
But it’s so important for us to remember that Jesus’s words and actions are a window into what God is thinking and doing and what God’s will is for us here on earth, not just in heaven.
So, in order to find out that it’s God’s will for us to be healed, we look at what Jesus said about healing and how and when he healed people.
Jesus obeyed God’s will
Everything Jesus did was in obedience to God’s will.
That means, that when Jesus healed someone, it was God’s will that they were healed.
Let’s dig down a bit more.
How do we know it’s God’s will for us to always be healed? Because Jesus always healed those who asked him.
He never said, “You’re not ready to be healed.” Or, “God has a lesson to teach you first by your suffering.”
How often do we say those things though?
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus confirms the fact that it is God’s will for us to be healed. He commands us to pray for God’s will in heaven to be done on earth.
God’s will in heaven
In heaven, there is no sickness, no pain, no sorrow, no death, no evil, or suffering of any kind.
That means it’s God’s will in heaven that there be no sickness, sin, disease, sorrow, disability. Then, according to the Lord’s Prayer, we’re praying for that same will to be made evident on earth. If it’s God’s will there is no sickness or disease in heaven, then we know it’s God’s will there be none on earth.
What is God’s will on earth?
If you are unsure of this fact, that’s it’s God’s will for you to be free from sickness, disease, and disability, your prayers will be tentative and almost invite defeat at the outset.
Then, when we’re not healed through our earnest prayers, we conclude that it must not be God’s will to heal us.
We make excuses for God instead of realize our premise was wrong.
Why aren’t we healed?
Of course, then the question comes up, “Why wasn’t I (or the person I was praying for) healed?”
If it’s always God’s will for us to be healed, is it our fault that healing didn’t come?
If the answer is “Yes,” that can feel like a heavy burden.
But Jesus did not dump a boat load of guilt on his disciples when they failed to heal the epileptic boy. (See Matthew 17:20, 21 below) He did however, rebuke their lack of faith.
Jesus wasn’t blaming his disciples. He didn’t say there was anything wrong with them. But he was pointing out there was something missing in their faith and prayers.
Will you let Christ rebuke you?
Are we willing to hear that same message? Even when we feel our prayers have been faithful and earnest?
Jesus knew his disciples had faith and were capable of healing the boy. He didn’t say, “It’s okay. You aren’t capable of healing this boy.” They had already healed lots of other people. But Jesus discerned something lacking in their faith in this particular case. Something more was needed.
Let’s look at the bigger context of this story. Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John with him on a little outing that has since been called the Transfiguration. The other nine disciples were left behind to continue preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing the sick.
Imagine if you had been one of the three disciples chosen by Jesus to join him on this excursion. It would feel pretty amazing to be included.
But how would you feel if you were one of the nine who remained behind? Perhaps Jesus would have told you how important the work was that you were to do while he was gone. But you also might have started to wonder why Peter, James, and John got to go with Jesus and you did not.
Things that prevent healing
I know, I am reading between the lines. I have no idea what the nine disciples were thinking about while Jesus was gone with the others. But I do know human nature.
And we also know the disciples argued about which of them was greater.
The feeling of being left out, or the suggestion that Jesus preferred Peter, James, and John over them, or any of the other kinds of thoughts that can go through our minds under this kind of circumstance, may be exactly what Jesus meant when he said they needed to pray and fast more in order to heal the epileptic boy.
There are times when I have felt un-included in some special event or privilege. I have some rather un-spiritual thoughts at those times. That kind of mental attitude is not one that can pray very effectively for healing. Why? Because I was so absorbed in myself and my perspective.
When our thoughts are focused on or absorbed in something besides God, we just can’t see clearly to pray as effectively.
Examine your heart
When we pray for healing, we need to examine our own hearts. Is there disbelief or doubt that God can or is willing to heal? Are we so preoccupied with ourselves or caught up in negative, sinful, or fearful thinking that we can’t pray with spiritual clarity?
I’m not talking about going on a mental witch hunt looking for every tiny little un-godlike thought that might be hiding in the dark places of our minds. But I am talking about shining the light of God’s all-encompassing love into those dark mental spaces.
You don’t have to destroy the darkness. That’s God’s job. That what the Light of God does.
Let God uncover anything that would obscure this healing light in your own or someone else’s heart when you pray for yourself or others to be healed.
If it’s God’s will for us to be healed, then…?
So, if it’s always God’s will for us to be healed, why are we sometimes not healed?
Again, I don’t have all the answers. There are still some things I pray about for healing. I have seen many healings in my own life and in my family and with many other people across many denominations.
When I haven’t been healed though, I don’t give up. I don’t decide it must be God’s will not to heal me. I keep praying. I keep asking God for guidance and insight on how to fast and pray more effectively. And by fasting, I don’t mean going without food for a certain amount of time. I mean fasting from negative, self-focused, fearful, sinful thinking.
Spiritual wavelengths
Sometimes it’s simply because we’re not on the right spiritual wavelength. Right now there are radio waves of songs being broadcast all over the place. Those radio signals are right in the room where you are. But you can’t hear the music unless you have a radio and tune into the right station, and tune out all the static.
It’s not a perfect analogy, but take the spirit of it.
Sometimes we have our radios tuned to this station and sometimes we don’t. Or there’s a lot of static. When the radio signal is clear, if you aren’t tuned into the right station, you’ve got a lot of static, or you don’t even have a radio, you won’t hear the music.
God’s healing power and willingness to heal are always present just like the radio waves. We aren’t always tuned into it.
Remember the time Peter and John were going into the temple and saw a lame man sitting by the Beautiful Gate. Peter was tuned in. He said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
The man jumped up, healed.
Have no doubts
There was not a single bit of doubt or shade of personal opinion to prevent this healing. Peter did not say, “If it is God’s will for you to be healed, pick up your bed and walk.” He knew it was God’s will and that the healing would come through the name (or nature) of Jesus Christ.
You and I are capable of this same conviction Peter and John had.
Jesus promised that if we believed on him, we could heal just as he did.
It’s not so much that we’re healed because we pray. God’s healing love is not conditional or transactional.
Prayer doesn’t make or cause God to heal us. Prayer opens our eyes to see and experience God’s healing power and presence, which is already here with us.
There is so much more to be said about how to pray for healing, and I’ll continue to talk about this in future episodes. The most important thing is to start with the conviction that it is God’s will for you to be healed.
God is able and always willing to heal. It is His nature. It is His will that you are healed through His presence, His love, His mercy, and grace.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
James Early is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster and conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
Links to previous episodes which mention healing:
#22 The Healing Power of God in Your Life
#29 Is It Ever God’s Will You Are NOT Healed When You Pray?
#37 You Are the Image and Likeness of God. What the Heck Does that Mean?
# 81 Why Did Jesus Spit on the Blind Man?
#84 The Immediacy of God’s Healing Power
Bible References in this week’s episode:
John 5:30 ESV
30 …I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Matthew 6:10 ESV
10 your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Revelation 21:4 ESV
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Matthew 17:20, 21 NKJV
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21 “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Mark 9:33, 34 ESV
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
Acts 3:6 ESV
6 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
John 14:12 ESV
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
