INTRODUCTION
GOD CAUSES OR ALLOWS SICKNESS/DISEASE BECAUSE OF SIN
THE LORD HEALS AND GIVES HEALTH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
JOB
NAAMAN
HEZEKIAH
JESUS HEALS
HEALING IN THE BOOK OF ACTS
HEALING IN THE LETTERS OF PAUL, JAMES, PETER, JOHN
ARTICLE ON JONI EARECKSON TADA
BROTHER YUN’S EXPERIENCES WITH HEALING
REES HOWELLS EXPERIENCES WITH HEALING
GOD’S HEALING ARSENAL
THE GIFT OF FAITH AND DIVINE HEALING—Gordon Lindsay
RANDY CLARK
DEALING WITH DEATH AND THE “WHY” QUESTION–Pastor Byron Wicker
JIM’S EXPERIENCE WITH HEALING AND COMMENTS
MY EXPERIENCES WITH HEALING
THE WORD/FAITH MOVEMENT—Taken from the Internet
CONCLUSION
This article on healing provides a starting place for those interested in divine healing and divine health. I’m sure many, like me, have wondered why there are not more healings in the body of Christ. I am still working on the answer to that question.
Hopefully, by reading Bible passages concerning healing and experiences of others your spirit will begin to understand. His word has power:
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13
The question of God’s healing is both simple and complex.
The simple answer is:
1. God will always answer prayer that is His will:
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 We just have to ask.
2. He has paid for our healing:
“by his wounds we are healed.” Psalm 53:5
3. He loves us:
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?…Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” Romans 8:31-35
4. God can do anything:
“Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:27 (Matthew 19:25 Mark 10:27) And we can do anything if we believe in Him: “…”Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mark 9:23
5. God wants us healed:
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 2
What makes it complex is that He doesn’t always answer yes, at least not at first or in the way we expect. God’s ways are not our ways:
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33 But we can trust Him:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3:5
GOD CAUSES OR ALLOWS SICKNESS/DISEASE BECAUSE OF SIN:
God made everything perfect. He gave mankind dominion over His perfect world:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:27-31
When mankind chose to disobey Him, that dominion was given to Satan:
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 One of the results of Satan’s rule is sickness:
God decreed pain in childbirth as a consequence of Eve’s sin of disobedience:
“To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;…” Genesis 3:18 Pain in childbirth is suffering, although not a disease/sickness.
Pain is usually a warning that something is wrong in the body, which can be for our good. We (mankind) would never suffer pain if we had not sinned. However, God made our bodies “fearfully and wonderfully” to fight off many diseases and injuries:
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Psalm 139:14
Jesus suffered more pain than anyone. He was cursed by God for the good of mankind:
“To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” Genesis 3:17 God cursed Adam because he disobeyed and ate from the fruit of the tree.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Galatians 3:13 Christ took on Himself the cursed given by God because of sin. This curse was to lead to the greatest blessing imaginable—the redemption of mankind.
God causes or allows suffering and sickness because of sin. Sometimes sickness/disease is a natural consequence of physical laws, sometimes it is punishment, sometimes it is discipline, sometimes it is a test, sometimes it is to cause us to rest and learn from Him and sometimes it is to teach us wisdom.
God deals differently with the righteous and with the wicked. Throughout the Bible a line is drawn between the righteous and the wicked:
“For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 1:6 is one example out of hundreds. The righteous are those who know and obey God. They are blessed, while the wicked are cursed. All sickness/disease on the righteous caused by God is for their good:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
God’s reason for causing disease in the following case was to protect the line from which Jesus would be born:
“But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.´ Genesis 12:17 Satan was planning to jeopardize the family line from which Jesus was to be born. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, took Sarai to be his wife. He did this not knowing Sarai was Abram’s wife. After becoming aware of the reason diseases were coming to his house, he sent Abram, Sarai and everything they owned away.
God made us. He has the right to inflict disease or to heal:
“The Lord said to him (Moses), “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”” Exodus 4:11-12
Obedience to God is the biggest safeguard against disease:
“He (Moses) said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”” Exodus 15:26
God caused a plague to come on His people, the Israelites, because they worshiped other gods:
“And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.” Exodus 32:35
God consumed with fire Aaron’s sons who did not respect His commands and “offered unauthorized fire”:
“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” Leviticus 10: 1-2
“Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai…” Numbers 3:4
God told the Israelites that disobedience would cause serious diseases:
“`But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life…” Leviticus 26:14-16
God caused a “severe plague” to come on His people because they grumbled against what He had provided:
“But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.” Numbers 11:33
God struck Miriam with leprosy because she spoke against Moses whom He had chosen to lead His people. Miriam was God’s child, and she had to be disciplined because her pride and rebellion. She was restored after she was humbled:
“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the LORD heard this.
(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them came out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, “Listen to my words: “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.
When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam–leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
So Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God, please heal her!”
The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.” Numbers 12:1-15
God caused the premature death of many of His people because of their lack of faith and obedience:
“So tell them, `As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall” Numbers 14:28-29
Careful obedience would keep them from “horrible diseases”:
“The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.” Deuteronomy 7:15
God expected His people to carefully follow His commands or they would suffer consequences as did Miriam:
“In cases of leprous diseases be very careful to do exactly as the priests, who are Levites, instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 24:8-9
Disobedience would bring serious consequences:
“The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish…The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind…The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head… the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.” Deuteronomy 28:21-61
God told them that other peoples would take note of their disobedience:
“Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.” Deuteronomy 29:22
God had to discipline Samson for his continuing disobedience. This discipline brought Samson back to fellowship with God, and he was used for God’s kingdom more than he had been used before:
“Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.”
While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.” Judges 16:15-31
King David recognized that it was God who afflicted him. He recognized that he did not get what he deserved:
“The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. “ Psalm 118:18
David explains that God wants us to understand “truth in the inner parts”:
“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” Psalm 51:6 One way He gives us “wisdom in the inmost place” is by letting us battle against sin and sometimes against sickness. He wants us to understand why there is sickness, what has been our part in our sickness, if and how we can be healed and perhaps how we can help others.
David had suffered because of his sin against God (possibly because of the guilt of his sin), but he knew God could restore him:
“Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin.” Psalm 38:3
“Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” Psalm 51:8
David knew that God had disciplined him for his good (how often do we have to learn the hard way!). Now he was careful to obey God:
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Psalm 119:67
“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” Psalm 119:71
“I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. “Psalm 119:75
God killed Uzzah “because of his irreverent act”:
“The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.” 2 Samuel 6:7
When King Ahab approved his wife Jezebel’s murder of the godly Naboth in order to seize Naboth’s vineyard, God sent Elijah to prophecy about the destruction of Ahab’s family. God showed Ahab mercy by withholding punishment because he repented:
“(There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”” 1 Kings 21:25-28
Soon after God asked a lying spirit to “ entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there”:
“Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD : I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’
‘By what means?’ the LORD asked.
‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
“So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.”
Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’ ”
Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!” 1 Kings 22:19-28 Ahab did die just as Micaiah, the true prophet of God, foretold. Ahab knew who God was, but his living is disobedience indicates that he did not really know God.
The most interesting aspect of this account is God’s requesting a lying spirit to do His bidding. God uses evil to accomplish His ultimate good.
God struck King Uzziah with leprosy because he did what only the priests were allowed to do:
“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house –leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.” 2 Chronicles 26:16-21
Man is born for trouble:
“Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” Job 5:7
“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Job 14:1
Some of God’s people were affliction because of their “rebellios ways”:
“Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.” Psalm 107:17
Joy can come in spite of trouble or sickness:
“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5-6
The people would not repent or learn from their affliction:
“But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 9:13
“In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction.” Jeremiah 2:30
God determines the continuance of trouble:
“Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.” Isaiah 10:25
God does not willingly send us afflictions:
“For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.” Lamentations 3:33
“Then the word of the Lord came to me: “You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place.” For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers: “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like refuse lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”” Jeremiah 16:1-4
Sometimes God allows suffering from sin so we will admit our guilt and earnestly seek Him:
“Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”” Hosea 5:15
God sometimes uses sickness for His glory:
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” John 9:1-3
“When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” John 11:4
“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” Acts 5:1-11
Herod was struck down by “an angel of the Lord” because he accepted the praise of the people and “did not give praise to God”:
“Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” Acts 21:23
Taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner is a reason for sickness and even death:
“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.” 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
The saints are destined to face trials:
“so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them.” 1 Thessalonians 3:3
God treats those who are not His children differently from those who are not:
“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,” Proverbs 3:25
Jesus tells “some present” that calamities (seeming to imply natural result of circumstances which come because of a sinful world) will happen to anyone who does not repent:
“Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:1-5
When God does afflict His children, it is because of love:
“because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Hebrews 12:6 (Deuteronomy 8:5 Proverbs 3:12 Revelation 3:19)
“I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” Psalm 119:75
“When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.” 1 Corinthians 11:32
Discipline is to make us more like Jesus:
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:29-39 We are “more than conquerors” in our disciple/suffering.
Even Jesus who was perfect was disciplined to show His obedience to the Father:
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he sufferedand, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” Hebrews 5:7-9
THE LORD HEALS AND GIVES HEALTH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
One of the benefits God gives us is to heal all our diseases:
“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:2-5
He healed them by His word:
“He sent forth his word and healed them…” Psalm 107:20
In the New Testament we learn that Jesus is the Word:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-1, 14
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” Revelation 19:13
“…The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.” Psalm 146:7-8
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” Proverbs 3:1-2
“Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.” Proverbs 4:10
“Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.” Proverbs 4:21-22
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30
“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.” Proverbs 15:30
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22
“In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.” Isaiah 29:18
“The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.” Isaiah 30:26
“Then (the day of the Lord’s vengeance) will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” Isaiah 35:5
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Isaiah 42:6-7
“I (the Lord) will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16
“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the Lord?’ Isaiah 42:18-19
“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5
Satan afflicted Job, first with destroying his family and animals, then with destroying his health. God gave him permission to do this in order to prove that Job would stay faithful (Job 1:6-2:8).
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.” Job 1: 9-12
“Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.” Job 2:3-7
Job was a righteous man in every way. Through his ordeal of suffering he never denied God, even though he thought his suffering was God’s fault and demanded that God speak to him. When God finally did speak, He only showed His greatness and wisdom;
“Then Job answered the Lord: ‘I am unworthy–how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer–twice, but I will say no more.’” Job 40:3-5
“Then Job replied to the Lord: ‘I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?” Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
You said, “Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.’” Job 42:1-6 Job never knew why he had suffered.
After he had suffered the Lord gave him twice as much as he had before:
“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters.” Job 42:12-13
Job learned much through his suffering. God changed him. Job loved God, yet he didn’t know God as well as he thought. We can know God and have comfort in suffering because the story of Job was recorded. God loves us, and if we are His child, everything that we go through is for our good.
Unlike Job our suffering can be the result of wilfull sin. But God will forgive us, even though we might have to suffer the consequences:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
We can be assured that we do not get the punishment we deserve because of His love for us:
“He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:9-12
More often suffering is from the sin of others. In fact, all suffering is the result of sin. When Adam choice to sin, future generations were affected (Genesis 3).
No matter why we suffer, God can restore us. Jesus healed everyone He prayed for, and He still heals many instantly or almost instantly today. All healing is from God. Some have to wait quite a while and use many weapons. Even if we are never healed, we can rest assured that God loves us and works everything for good:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Naaman was healed from leprosy because of his obedience. Notice the other people who were involved in his healing.:
“Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” Naming went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naming went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Baan and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, `Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Then Naming and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant.”
The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
“If you will not,” said Naming, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also–when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.”
“Go in peace,” Elisha said.
After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naming, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, `Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’ ”
“By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha.
“Where have you been, Gehazi?” Elisha asked.
“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.
But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and he was leprous, as white as snow.” 2 Kings 5 Gehazi was struck with leprosy because of his disobedience.
Hezekiah was healed “with medicine” because he prayed. Also notice that Hezekiah required a sign that God had answered Him:
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, `This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD.I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’ ”
Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.
Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”
Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
“It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the LORD made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” 2 Kings 20:11
The Lord healed Hezekiah even though He knew He would not respond properly:
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.” 2 Chronicles 32:24-26
Notice from the following passage that Hezekiah realized this illness had been for his good:
“Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish.”
This illness made him notice his sins and realize that he was forgiven:
“In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back”.
Hezekiah promised that he would be humble:
“I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul.”
But notice as recorded in the previous passages that he didn’t follow through on his promise:
“But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him.”
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, `This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
” `This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.
A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
I said, “In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years?”
I said, “I will not again see the Lord, the Lord, in the land of the living; no longer will I look on mankind, or be with those who now dwell in this world. Like a shepherd’s tent my house has been pulled down and taken from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom; day and night you made an end of me. I waited patiently till dawn, but like a lion he broke all my bones; day and night you made an end of me. I cried like a swift or thrush, I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens. I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!” But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. Lord, by such things men live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your raise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living–they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness. The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord.
Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”” Isaiah 38:1-22
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.” Matthew 4:23-24, 7-8:16-17, 12:16, 14:34-36 Mark 1:32-34 3:10-11, 6:56 Luke 3:10-11, 4:40-41, 6:18-19
“When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 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. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Matthew 8:1-4 Mark 1:40-45 Luke 5:12-16
“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.”Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, `Go,’ and he goes; and that one,`Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, `Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.” Matthew 8:5-13 Luke 7:1-10
“When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” Matthew 8:14-15 Mark 1:29-31Luke 4:38-39
“This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”” Matthew 8:17
“When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.” Matthew 8:28-34 Mark 5:1-20 Luke 8:26-39
There seems to be special season or times for healing:
“One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” Luke 5:17 Jesus healed when God the Father directed and gave power.
“Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, `Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, `Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” Matthew 9:2-8 Mark 2:3-12 Luke 5:18-26
“While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.”
“When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region.” Matthew 9:18-25 Mark 5:22-43 Luke 8:40-56
“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.” Matthew 9:27-31, 20:29-34 Mark 10:46-52 Luke 18:35-43
“While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”” Matthew 9:32-34, 12:22-29 Luke 11:14-26
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:35-36, 12:22-24 Mark 3:22 Luke 11:14-16
“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
…As you go, preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:1-8 Mark 3:14, 6:7-13 Luke 8:2, 9:1-2, 10:9
“Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”” Matthew 11:4-6
“Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.” Matthew 11
“Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
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.” Matthew 12:9-14 Mark 3:1-6 Luke 6:6-11
“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”” Matthew 12:38-45
“And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Matthew 13:57-58 Mark 6:4-6a Luke 4:23-20)
“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”” Matthew 14:1-2
“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:13-14
“When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.” Matthew 14:34-36, Mark 6:53-56
“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” Matthew 15:21-28 Mark 7:24-30
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:29-31 Mark 7:31-37
“The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
He replied, “When evening comes, you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, `Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.” Matthew 16:1-4
“When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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. “” Matthew 17:14-20 Mark 9:14-29 Luke 9:337-43a
“As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”Matthew 20:29-34
“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.” Matthew 21:14-15
“Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”” Matthew 21:18-22 Mark 11:12-25
“The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching–and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” Mark 1:22-28
“That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.” Mark 1:32-34
“A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” Mark 1:40-45 Luke 5:12-15
“For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.” Mark 3:10
Jairus earnestly pleads for his daughter’s healing: “Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.” Mark 5:22-23
“Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” Mark 6:1-7
“They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Mark 6:12-13
“They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went–into villages, towns or countryside–they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.” Mark 6:55-56
“There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.
After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”” Mark 7:32-37
“They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village. “” Mark 8: 22-26
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.” Mark 9:38-40 Luke 9:48-50
“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” Mark 10:46-52
“In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!”” Luke 4:33-36
“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. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.” Luke 4:40-41
Jesus acknowleged the need for of doctors:
“Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32
“He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” Luke 6:17-19
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out–the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” Luke 7:11-17
John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ”
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”” Luke 7:18-23
“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” Luke 13:10-17
“He replied, “Go tell that fox, `I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ Luke 13:32
“One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.
Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” And they had nothing to say.” Luke 14:1-6
“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him–and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”” Luke 17:11-19
“He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” Luke 6:17-19
“At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” Luke 7:21
“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases…” Luke 8:1-2
“Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”
Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.” John 4:46-53
“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 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?”
“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.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” John 5:1-18
“Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.” John 6:1-2
Jesus healed “a man blind from birth” “so that the work of God might be displayed in his life”. He demonstrated that sin, especially personal sin, is not always a reason for infirmity as many thought at that time. This man was healed although he did not ask to be healed, but he obeyed Jesus when Jesus told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He did not know who has healed him, but knew He must be a godly man who does God’s will. It seems that because he was a man of good principles, he was ready to believe in Jesus once he was given the opportunity:
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
“Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.
Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God, ” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John 9
Jesus healed Lazarus “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”. He did not answer the pleas of Mary and Martha because He had something better in store. Many believed at that time, and no doubt many have believed from the written account of the healing and raising from the dead of Lazarus;
“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 2and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “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.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 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.”” John 11:1-44
“Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.” John 12:9-11
When Jesus was on earth the disciples healed the sick, but they did many more “wonders and miraculous signs” after Jesus’ Holy Spirit came on them. John the Baptist foretold that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Spirit:
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11-12
“And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:7-8
The disciples did some miracles when Jesus was with them:
“They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Mark 6:12-13
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2
Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came them:
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
The disciples were obedient to pray wait for His Holy Spirit:
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4
Jesus worked through His disciples to do many miracles after He had been taken to heaven:
“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” Acts 2:43
“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people…” Acts 5:12
Notice that the following miracle was done “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”:
‘One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer–at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.” Acts 3:1-11
Ananias told Paul that Jesus had sent him to pray so Paul would regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit:
“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord–Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here–has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” Acts 9:17-19
Aeneas, a paralytic, when Peter told him, “Jesus Christ heals you”:
“As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” Acts 9:32=35
Tabitha was raised from the dead when Peter prayed for her. Because of this “many people believed in the Lord Jesus”:
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.” Acts 9:36- 42
Bar Jesus (Elymas) became blind for a time because Paul saw that he was trying “to turn the proconsul from the faith”. Because of this “the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord”:
“They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” Acts 13:6-12
Paul and Barnabas did “miraculous signs and wonders” because Jesus wanted to “confirmed the message of his grace” that they were boldly proclaiming:
“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.” Acts 14:3
Paul saw that a man crippled in his feet “had faith to be healed” and “the man jumped up and began to walk”:
“In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.” Acts 14:8-10
Paul commanded a demon “in the name of Jesus Christ” to come out of slave girl and the spirit left her:
“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.” Acts 16:16-18
Paul was used to do “extraordinary miracles” of healings:
“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” Acts 19:11-12
Severe consequences come to those who do not know Jesus but attempt to use His power:
“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” Acts 19:13-16
Paul raised the young man Eutychus from the dead:
“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.” Acts 20:7-12
Paul had fulfilled all that was promised to believers:
“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.” Mark 16:17-18 He was unharmed by a viper and “placed his hands” on the sick healing them:
“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.” Acts 28:1-9
HEALING IN THE LETTERS OF PAUL, JAMES, PETER, JOHN
Some think that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was an illness. Even if it wasn’t, God’s answer could apply to a physical handicap (“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”):
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Our attitude should be the same as Paul’s–whatever gives God glory (not us or anyone else) is what we desire.
Paul’s illness didn’t stop him from preaching the gospel:
“As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” Galatians 4:13-15 This passage makes clear that his illness had something to do with his eyes. Another clue that Paul had an illness involving his eyes, at least at that time, is given in the same letter:
“See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! Galatians 6:12
Paul didn’t mention praying for Epaphroditus’ healing, although his prays must have been instrumental in keeping him from dying:
“But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me. “ Philippians 2:25-30 God had mercy on Epaphroditus (and Paul) by sparing him from dying, and this trial was for “the work of Christ”.
In the midst of spiritual advice Paul gives medical advice to Timothy:
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1Timothy 5:23 Paul doesn’t mention praying for Timothy. Perhaps he had many times. Perhaps he supposed that Timothy’s “frequent illnesses” were related to his fearfulness which needed to be dealt with before a supernatural healing could be expected:
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” 2 Timothy 1:6-8 This passage gives us reason to think Timothy was timid, but perhaps there was some reason altogether for his illness’.
Paul didn’t mention praying for Trophimus:
“Erastus stayed in Corinth and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. “ 2 Timothy 4:20
Paul’s attitude is what ours should be:
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Philippians 1:20-24
In the midst of spiritual advice Paul gives medical advice to Timothy:
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1Timothy 5:23
“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. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:14-16
Peter refers to the death Jesus died in our place:
“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.” 1 Peter 2:24 He quotes Isaiah 53:5: “by his wounds we are healed”.
ARTICLE ON JONI EARECKSON TADA:
CHRISTIAN QUADRIPLEGIC WRITES ABOUT FAITH AND SUFFERING Associated Press – 2/21/2009
“Christian author and broadcaster Joni Eareckson Tada has some advice for others suffering through hard times.Tada, who’s been a quadriplegic since breaking her neck in a 1967 diving accident, says she’s also been bedridden most of the past year with chronic pain.
In a CDR Radio interview, she admitted that she felt “horror” at being unable to turn over or even move to relieve her pain. But she said that suffering has brought her closer to Jesus Christ — a suffering Savior who’s ready to hear even the most anguished, angry complaints.
“God’s wisdom, true Godly wisdom is trusting God even when you can’t figure things out,” she contends. “We need to remember God’s faithfulness, remember His goodness, remember the times when He’s seen us through, remember those fresh mountaintop experiences. Don’t forget them. And that orients us back to His Word that tells us to believe what we once believed in the light.”
Tada says she has been crying out to God in the past year.
“‘Lord, here I am, a quadriplegic. Come on, isn’t this enough? Forty years of this stuff. This isn’t easy. And here you are laying on chronic pain? You mean I’ve got to be a quadriplegic and also be in pain and not be able to turn at night?'” she admits. “Take your anger to God. Engage Him head-on,” Tada counsels. “Don’t walk away from Him with your questions, but go to Him and you’ll find a compassionate Savior who is more than willing to take on your anger and answer your questions.”
BROTHER YUN’S EXPERIENCES WITH HEALING
“The moment I started to pedal the bicycle was the first time I realized the Lord had healed my feet and legs! My mind had been so focused on obeying Lord and preparing to be shot that I never even noticed that God had healed me. I never felt any healing power. From the time my legs were smashed with a baton until the day I escaped, my legs had remained completely black and unusable. I couldn’t even stand up, let alone walk. The most I could do was crawl a short distance by grabbing hold of the wall.
Brother Musheng told me later that when he passed me on the third floor I was walking normally, so it seems the Lord must have healed my legs while I was still in the prison cell. As I rode along on the bicycle I was reminded of God’s Word, “Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.” Hebrews 12:13” The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with Paul Hathaway p. 259
“During my period of illness I really struggled. I didn’t really want to rest in God alone. Instead, I wanted to rest in the work of God I realized again that I was a labourer who worked without real peace from the Lord. I loved doing things for the Lord so much that it had become my security and my source of joy. God wanted me to remove this idol from my life.
My illness also allowed me to spend more time with my wife and children. We prayed together and waited upon the Lord to tell us what steps to take.” The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with Paul Hathaway p. 267
“In the West you have so much. You have insurance for everything. In a way, you don’t need God. When my father was dying of stomach cancer, we sold everything we had to try to cure him. When everything was gone we had no hope but God. We turned to him in desperation and saw him mercifully answer our prayer and heal by father. We reasoned that if God could do that then he could do anything, so our faith grew and we’ve seen many miracles.” The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with Paul Hathaway p. 299
“We believe we are not called to follow signs and wonders but instead the signs and wonders follow us when the gospel is preached. We don’t keep our eyes on the signs and wonders, we keep our eyes on Jesus.” The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with Paul Hathaway p. 299-300
“When she was in her early 70’s my mother suffered a paralyzing stroke that made her lose consciousness. After conducting a series of tests, the doctor declared her condition hopeless and said she would never recover. I was told her death was imminent but was in prison at the time and unable to visit her.
She was taken back to our home to die. The believers gathered around and prayed for her. Immediately in front of a room full of people, she regained consciousness and began praising God! She recovered her strength and visited me in prison. She told me that if it were not for God’s mercy I would never have seen her face again.
A few years later in September 1996, one year before I left China, I received a phone call while I was away preaching at a different province. I was told my mother had again suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed. I immediately left the meeting and caught a train to Henan. Arriving at the hospital, I saw my mother’s facial muscles were badly contorted and she appeared pale.
My mother opened her eyes and in a whisper told us she wanted to be dressed in white funeral clothes, as she was going to meet Jesus.
During that visit, however, the Lord clearly showed me her illness would not lead to death. I fervently prayed for my mother with great authority, rebuking the illness in Jesus’ name. She felt strength flow into her body and she got out of bed and walked around the room! Her face became normal. When the doctors came into the room they were completely speechless.
In the summer of 1998, after I had arrived in Europe, my mother became gravely ill for the third time. On this occasion, everyone was sure she was going to die. Even my own family had given up hope, and dressed her in her funeral clothes. They even purchased a coffin and had it delivered to our house.
I had been so close to my mother all of my life. We had experienced so much together, good times and suffering. When I received this news, I was on the other side of the world, preaching far away in Switzerland. I called my home in China and asked for the phone to be place close to my mother’s ear. I asked her, “Mama, are you listening? Jesus loves you, and he will heal you!”
As soon as she heard the words, “Jesus loves you”, she got out of bed and started to dance on the floor in triumph! Once again, the Lord had spared her and brought her back from the clutches of death.
Finally, while I was in Germany on 5 December 2000, I received a call from China. My mother had passed into the presence of Jesus.”
The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with Paul Hathaway p. 300-301
REES HOWELLS EXPERIENCES WITH HEALING
The book Rees Howells Intercessor by Norman Grubb is well worth reading for several reasons besides its example of healings.
One time Rees was so burdened for a woman with tuberculosis that he was willing to die in her place. She declined his invitation to die in her place and died after shaking everyone’s hand with rejoicing. Rees wrote: “It was after that the Holy Ghost revealed why it had been necessary to take the case—‘that no flesh should glory in His presence.’ In a great position like this, God would not be free to use it through a person who had not first ‘died’ to it. It is death first and then resurrection. As the first-born and the first-fruits were to be given back to the Lord, so the first case of healing, the first-fruits of this intercession, belonged to the Lord and had to go to the altar.” pp. 84-85 After this experience Rees was able to secure the healing of many people with tuberculosis.
Following is an entire chapter and an additional page from Rees Howells Intercessor by Norman Grubb. Rees Howells was a great man of God. His conclusions should be considered in our quest for divine healing:
“She developed consumption. The doctor had given her up and she was expected to die, when one evening she revived remarkably, and announced to her friends that the Great Physician had told her she was to be healed.
In the morning she sent for Mr. Howells and questioned him as to whether the Lord had revealed anything to him; but he said he had not, for up to that time the Holy Spirit had never given him any prayers for healing.
…as he waited before the Lord, the Spirit told him that he could take up the prayer for her, and gave him Moses’ supplication in Numbers 12:13, “Heal her now, O Lord, I beseech thee”, as well as the word he had so often been given before, in John 15:7,”If ye abide in me…he shall ask what ye will…” It was a great encouragement to the woman when she knew the Lord’s word had come, and there was a sensation through the village, when they heard that this was to be the next challenge of faith.
Although he was ready to go deeper with God, Mr. Howells confessed that there was some fear as he entered this time of “abiding”. The obedience always had been so costly, that he afraid of what might come now in gaining this new position. He was not told at the outset how long it would take, but actually he was in this prayer for six months. Also, as he put it, “there was a daily obedience, a daily abiding, and a daily going through.”
As the prayer continued, there were two things that were taking hold of him in ever increasing measure. In the first place, he was arrested by that Scripture, He “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” Matthew 18:17, and realized for the first time that, through his atoning sacrifice, the Savior had provided, not only for the forgiveness of our sins, but from the full redemption of all the effects of sin and the fall. Since he was “made a curse for us”, why should these sufferers bear the effects of that curse?
Because he believed that Christ “bare our sins in His own body on the Tree”, Mr. Howells always offered to sinners, not only freedom from the guilt and penalty of sin, but also from the power and domination of sin. “But,” he reasoned, “if He also bare our sicknesses’, why do I not offer healing in his name just as freely? Why should there not be freedom from the power and domination of sickness? Anything less than this he felt was not giving to the Saviour the glory He deserved, and he resolved to pay any price to prove that this price was in the atonement.
In the second place, during the “abiding” of those months, he learnt much more of the Holy Ghost as a divine intercessor. It is part of His ministry on earth to “make intercession for the saints according to the will of God…with groaning that cannot be uttered” Romans 8:26-27 The great truth that was coming to His servant in ever-increasing clearness is that the Holy Ghost can only make intercession through those human temples He indwells; also that He can never intercede in any arbitrary way, but only as His channel can become one with Him in so doing.
Mr. Howells had already known something of the groaning of the Spirit in him for the needy and afflicted of the village, for Will Battery and the tramps, and the obedience that was called for. But what would it mean to intercede for a consumptive? As an intercessor, he must enter into the sufferings and take the place of the one prayed for. He knew that a bed-ridden consumptive could have no normal home life, was confined to one room, and was cut off from everything that once consumed the interests and pleasure of life. So during this time of “abiding” the Holy Spirit went much deeper in identifying himself with the sufferings of others. And as he did so, it was not just this one woman, but the consumptives and sufferers of the world who burden came upon him.
Mr. Howells had not gone very far on this path before the conviction took definite hold of him that, before he was through, the Lord would literally let this disease come upon him and that only as an actual consumptive would he fully be able to intercede for consumptives. That this was not a foolish imagination, but a practical possibility, will be seen later in his life when, after taking great personal risks to care for a consumptive, it looked as though he had contracted the disease. Moreover, in all the earlier intercession he had literally had to take the place of, and live like, the ones prayed for.
He faced up to what this would mean, and found grace to be willing for it, thereby the Lord could restore this mother to her family of children; and he had great joy in thinking that, after the victory in one case, the Lord might then release many more.
During the months that the Lord was speaking to him like this, He was also helping the woman in a marvelous way. They were very poor and could not afford to buy all the kinds of food she would like to have, but if there was anything she fancied, some person would be sure to walk in with the very thing. Every evening Mr. Howells and the others would come to hear her answers to prayer, and “laugh as merrily as children”. All the district came to know that they were praying for her, and the doctor said she was not living on her lungs—so “she was living on prayer”.
The crisis came on the evening before Good Friday. That night she told her friends that she sinking and felt like she was going to die. Mr. Howells couldn’t take it., and urged her not to lose faith after all these months of intercession. The whole district had been told that she was going to be healed, and he could not think of taking failure now. But she persisted that she was dying. As he left to go home, the full realization of what she had said came to him. It was a dark moment. “Dark outside,” he said, “but darker inside.” He sought to examine the position. Was anything wrong with his abiding? No, he had lived it “day by day, hour by hour”, and the Spirit bore witness to that. “Then she was not to die,” he said to the Lord. But the answer he received was unexpected. “The intercession you made was for a consumptive. If she is to be delivered, accept death in her place tonight.”
In all sincerity he had offered himself to be a consumptive in her stead; but he had not faced the fact that the end of consumption is an early death. The Lord was only asking him to do what he had said all along that he would be willing to do—to take the place of this woman that she might be delivered. But now that would mean death in a matter of hours. He had often felt there was a glow upon the Savior’s words, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”, but now there was no glow—only darkness.
It was not that fleshly ties held him to this world, but there was the work of the mission, the souls he loved there, and the future be believed the Holy Ghost had planned for him. To leave it all then and there, and to face in cold blood that separation of soul and body, was more than he was willing for.
He said, “It was an awful night, for I had lost the face of God. That was the first night I ever went to bed without prayer, and I made up my mind not to go any further in this life of intercession, not to show anyone about this point of failure. All that night I blamed myself that I had ever started it. It would have been better, I thought, if I had gone one in a life of faith and not touched this question of healing.
“I got up the next morning, not intending to go to work, but I did not go on my knees—I could not face the Holy Ghost; I felt that He was a stranger to me. I went to see my friend who was also praying for her, and the first question, as always, was, “How is she?” Then, “What is the last place of abiding?” I burst into tears and told him that I had failed, and could not go through. It was worse than Egyptian darkness.
“That evening the Holy Ghost spoke to me again. I shall never forget it. How sweet His voice was to me. He said, “You didn’t realize it was a privilege I offered you yesterday.” “A privilege?” “Yes, you were offered a place among the martyrs.” In a moment the scales fell from my eyes, and I saw that glorious army of martyrs in the Heavenly City, and the Saviour looking for a thousand years in those who did for Him what He had done for them. A martyr is one who has voluntarily shortened his life down here for the Savior’s sake, not merely one who dies in the course of duty; and the Lord showed me that I was to be among that number. I was afraid at first that I had forfeited my chance through my unwillingness the night before. I begged the Lord to forgive me, and I would gladly do what He asked me. I stepped into death—but there was no death there! I found that the Saviour had drunk every draught of that cup for us. “That bitter cup, love drank it up; Now blessing is draught for me In a moment I found I was on the other side’.”
Caught up by the glory of what he had seen, Mr. Howells ran two miles to the sick women’s house to tell her what had happened. He called them all to pray that the Lord would make the transaction then and there—that he would heal her and take him to glory that night. He felt it could not be chance it was Good Friday; and surely it was the Lord’s will to accept his life on the day the Saviour had been “obedient unto death”. Many were in tears, and the woman herself refused to pray.
When he visited her the next evening he saw at once that something had happened. Her face was radiant as an angel’s and she was wanting everybody to come to her bedroom and hear about it. As she had meditated upon what Mr. Howells and told her, she was not willing for it, for he had been more than a father to her and to so many in the village; she went on her knees in her bed and prayed, “Lord, I don’t want to be healed. Don’t allow any to pray for this illness to be put on him; he is more useful to You than I am, and I don’t want to be delivered at his expense.” The moment she prayed that, she too was caught up into his presence and last herself in praising her Saviour. The room was filled with His glory and she went on praising all night.
“The weeks that followed were nothing less than heaven upon earth,” said Mr. Howells. “We didn’t pray; there was no need for prayer, we only waited for God to do His will. There was far more attraction in being called to fill the gap and go right to glory, than be allowed to remain down here and do a little mission work. Every day for three months I expected my life to be taken, and the Lord allowed it to be like that, so I should not be doing it under the influence of the moment. I longed to be with God. There was such reality in that song, “The street I am told are all paved with pure gold. And the sun it shall never go down.”
Then after three months the Lord called her home suddenly. On a Saturday morning when Mr. Howells was at his work, the message came that he was wanted at once. But before he arrived, she had 0assed away. As he sat in the house, the Lord dealt with him for over an hour. “Although there were other people in the room,” he said, “I was alone with God. He told me that although he had accepted my intercession, He was not going to take my life now; but He wanted to use me as a living martyr’. I had never heard such an expression before, but He made me understand that if I ever claimed any right to my life more than a dead man has, I should forget my position.
“So far as the case a healing was concerned, I was to walk it as a failure, and not make a word of defense. All the district knew I was praying for this woman’s healing, and now I had failed openly. It was such a reaction, instead of the glory we had anticipated. Just as I came through as being willing for this, one of the converts came in. She said that before our sister passed away, she had left a message for me.” Tell Rees and the others that I can’t wait for them. The Saviour has come for me, and I want to go with Him. Tell them I will come back to meet them (1 Thess. 4:14). Then she had said good-bye, shaken hands all around, and had gone to be with the Lord.
“That glorious testimony of the first of the mission to sleep in Jesus made this ‘failure’ the sweetest thing in the world. The first test came in the funeral. Hundreds of people had gathered, because they had heard so much about her, and especially about the healing. The minister who was to officiate was not in sympathy with the work at that time. He opened his Bible to Job 13:1-5, and read. “Lo, mine eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it…But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value/ Oh, that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it should be your wisdom.” He was on one side of the grave and I on the other, and that in more senses than one! I heard what he said, but was unmoved as though I hadn’t heard. The Lord then led me to make a few remarks on the life she had lived before we went to the village, and the transformed life afterwards. The proof of it was in the triumph she had over death, for death was swallowed up in victory. I told how she had said the Lord had come to fetch her, how she wanted to go, and had said good-bye to those around her. I said, “Have you ever heard of a person who was dying, shaking hands with everyone as though she was going on a journey?” The people started to sing as in a revival. The heavens open and the victory was such that they all stared waving their handkerchiefs—even the mourners had to join in. I never pitied a man as I pitied the minister. The sad grave was turned to be the gate of heaven, and from that funeral we had the beginning of resurrection life in the mission.
“It was after that the Holy Ghost revealed why it had been necessary to take this case—‘that no flesh should glory in His presence.’ In a great position like this, God would not be free to use it through a person who had not ‘died’ to it. It is dead first and then resurrection. As the first-born and the first-fruits were to be given back to the Lord, so the first case of healing, the first fruits of this intercession, belonged to the Lord and had to go to the altar…
During his address Mr. Howells also touched on divine healing, and told of the Lord’s dealings with him over the consumptive woman: how the first gained case had to go to the altar, because the first-fruits belonged to God; and how, although the Holy Spirit witnessed in him that he had gained it, he had to walk in it as a failure; and how through that the Lord gave such a sentence of death to the flesh, that in all future cases of healing self would take no glory.
In telling this, he had no idea Lord Radstock had been led the same way. The story was afterwards recorded in his biography. He had accepted the truth of divine healing, through James 5:15, “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up”, and pledged himself to act on it; indeed he believed the Church’s neglect of this command was the cause of much suffering. After he had taken this stand, his eldest daughter fell seriously ill. He had many doctors among his religious friends, but felt to refuse their help, yet in spite of his faith in God’s word, “heaven was silent and the child died”. Standing over her death-bed, he was enabled to say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.” It was a tremendous test of his faith, and caused him great personal agony, but out of the affliction he came forth more than a conqueror, and was afterwards used in hundreds of cases of divine healing. However, he had never understood why his daughter had died, until he heard Mr. Howells.” Rees Howells Intercessor by Norman Grubb p. 77-85, 104
Another time, the Lord told Mr. Howells that it was His will his uncle, who had been an invalid for 30 years, would walk again. When he told his uncle, his uncle went to talk to the Lord and came back with the exact date and later the exact time. After many struggles especially with belief after telling everyone his uncle would be healed, his uncle was healed was healed on that date and at that hour.
“Mr. Howells comment was, ‘If I had doubted, would I have rejoiced? The Lord will never give the witness unless we believe; and if we believe, we can afford the delay. To me there was something greater than the healing, it was the further confirmation that the position of intercession had been gained, and could be used in any case where God willed it.’
His uncle was appointed a kind of honorary home missionary in the district, and during the next five years visited every house within a radius of three miles over and over again., and opened many a prayer meeting. He walked eighteen miles with his nephew one day, and never had a day’s illness after his healing, until the Lord called him home, after telling him that his work on earth was done.” pp. 132-133
“GOD’S HEALING ARSENAL
a life (alliance Life) July 2009 Dr. Paul King is an ordained C&MA minister, university professor, seminar teacher and author of seven books. www.higherlifeministries.com
After being diagnosed with cancer, I asked the Lord for guidance, bewildered by all the medical, nutritional, spiritual and alternative methods of treatment proposed by doctors and friends. “Should I trust You or go through with the radiation, chemotherapy and surgery? Or should I use alternative therapies? If so, which ones?”
I heard as clearly from God as if it were audible: Trust Me—and use radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. Use My healing arsenal.
Heavenly Cocktail
I discovered that physicians often talk about an armamentarium, the equipment and methods used in medical treatment. This is a military term, derived from the word ‘armament’—referring to fortify or an arsenal. Using other military terms like ‘giving orders’ and ‘fighting infection’, physicians look at their arts and sciences and warfare against disease and the distress often related to it. The New Testament Church viewed overcoming disease as a spiritual battle (Acts 10:38). Minucius Felix, an early church father, asserted, “Pain is warfare.”
Paul writes that there are “weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left” 2 Corinthians 6:7 NASB We are not cookie-cutter personalities, so God does not use a one-size-fits-all formula in overcoming distress and disease. Our loving Heavenly Father who is creative, dynamic, resourceful and all-encompassing, tailors your path to healing and overcoming to your unique need. My oncology nurses talked about a ‘chemo cocktail’ , a mixture of various chemicals intended to have a specific effect for the type of cancer with which I was diagnosed. God has a ‘heavenly cocktail’ just for your healing. For instance, one of my colleagues told me that God’s healing arsenal for her back problem included water aerobics, osteopathic treatment, physical therapy, diet and exercise.
S. D. Gordon’s counsel was helpful to me: “Christ heals human bodies today by His own direct supernatural touch, sometimes through the physician and medicine, sometimes without medicine, sometimes when medicine is confessedly powerless and sometimes overcoming the unwise use of medicine. The Holy Spirit’s leading is the touchstone…The answer is this: Ask Christ. Get in touch, if you are not already. Then when the need comes, ask Him. He will tell you…He is a true physician, for He advises.
Weapons of Construction
I made use of every weapon in God’s artillery that He impressed upon me to use in addition to medical means. Among them are the following:
Praise and Worship. Out of his own experience A.B. Simpson counseled, “Joy is the great restorer and healer. Gladness of spirit will bring health to the bones and vitality to the nerves when all other tonics fail and all other sedatives cease to quiet. Sick one, begin to rejoice in the Lord, and your bones will flourish like an herb, and your cheeks will glow with the bloom of health and freshness. ..Joy is balm and healing; and if you will but rejoice, God will give power.” There were times in the midst of my pain and depression that I had to give a sacrifice of praise. Even when I did not feel I had anything to praise the Lord about, I determined to worship Him by soaking in hours of worship music daily.
Praying, Confessing and Commanding the Word of God. Simpson wrote, “Faith dies without confession.” I took hold of the promises of the Word of God daily and confessed, “I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (based on Galatians 3:25); I am redeemed from the curse of cancer. Cancer cannot dwell in me. By my authority as a believer in Jesus Christ, I command every cancer cell to whither and die and be gone from my body, never to return. By Jesus’ wounds I am healed (Isaiah 53:5). I saturated my mind with Scripture, listening to, repeated and memorizing verses on healing and overcoming.
Gathering my SWAT Team. My strategic weapons and tactical team, my ‘God Squad’ included prayer warriors, pastors, elders, advisors, friends, and medical and nutritional personnel—everyone who could help me fight my battles. I realize I could not fight my battles for overcoming distress and disease alone.
Fervent Soaking Prayer, “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16 KJV That word “fervent” means energetic. Paul also describes wrestling of agonizing in prayer. I realized that anemic prayers will not overcome cancer. It takes forceful, aggressive, repeated praying. I found that the early Alliance practiced ‘soaking prayer’, persistent prayer for extended periods of time daily for several days or weeks, especially in ‘healing homes’, retreat centers that provided an atmosphere for faith and personal ministry.
Positive Attitude. It is so easy to get depressed and discouraged when feeling sick. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 I took Simpson’s counsel to heart: “Don’t expect to be sick…A flash of ill temper, a cloud of despondency, an impure thought or desire can poison your blood, inflame your tissues, disturb your nerves and interrupt the whole process of God’s life in your body! On the other hand the spirit of joy, freedom from anxious care and worry, a generous and loving heart, the sedative of peace, the uplifting influence of hope and confidence—these are better than pills, stimulants and sedatives, and the very nature of things will exercise the most benign influence over your physical functions, making it true in a literal as well as a spiritual sense, the ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”
Praying On the Armor of God Daily. Charles Wesley’s hymn ‘Soldiers of Christ, Arise’ bids us to clothe ourselves in the armor of God. ‘each piece put on with prayer.’ Every day I pray on each piece of that armor. Beyond this daily prayer, there are many actions and attitudes of faith that we can take to put on each piece of the armor of God, speaking and living it out in our actions.
Abiding in Christ. This was for me the greatest key in overcoming cancer. These other weapons above are all summed up in abiding in Christ—staying connected to Jesus and staying close—“clinging to Jesus”, as Spurgeon put it.
Let Him Choose
There are many other weapons in God’s arsenal: exercising the authority of the believer, inner healing, counseling, fasting, praying in tongues, deliverance from demonic oppression, renouncing generational bondage, meditation, nutrition, diet and exercise, calling for the elders, the Lord’s Supper and many more. In football there is both defense and offense. In God’s battle plan certain components of His arsenal provide protection, others provide means of attacking our distress and disease and some do both.
Not all of these will be applied in every situation, but it good to know what is there. I did not use every available weapon in my battle against cancer but looked to God for His choices, I have used almost all of them during my life for various distress and diseases. Some, such as abiding in Christ, confession of the Word, soaking in the Word and worship are available in all situations.
Find God’s healing arsenal for your needs, and be guided by the Holy Spirit to recognize and use those that are essential. The most important thing to understand is that God is the Healer. Ultimately, none of these methods are the key to healing in itself. They are resources from God at your disposal.”
THE GIFT OF FAITH AND /DIVINE HEALING—Gordon Lindsay
The Gift of the Spirit, Volume 2 pp. 75-85
“…there is little emphasis on healing for the believer. The simple reason for this is that God’s plan for his children is divine health, rather than divine healing…
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 2 When sickness is mentioned in reference to the church, it is usually in a manner to suggest that the individual was to a large extent responsible for being in that condition. “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why any among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” 1 Corinthians 11:29-30 In other words, it was their fault!…
Sickness might be caused by the believer, possibly sins of commission, or more likely sins of omission,, such as lack of prevailing prayer.
“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. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray fo9r each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” James 5:15-18 Of course, sickness may have it origin from causes which cannot be caused by outright sin, such as failure to obey the laws of health, indulgence in worry, failure to take proper rest, etc. Then there are people who seem to have inherited a sickly body. All of these people need to move from their position of weakness into the sphere of faith and health…
One of the greatest purposes of the gift of faith is to lift us above the curse of sickness… (Deut. 28).
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule…” Genesis 1:26 The human race lost that dominion through Fall, which included health, but thank God that which was lost through the Fall has now been regained through Christ, This return of man’s dominion over sickness came with the redemption of Israel from Egypt.
“Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord made a degree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” Exodus 15:25-26
“Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.” Exodus 23:25-26
“The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.” Deuteronomy 7:15
In the early days of the nation, Israel, we are told, “…from among their tribes no one faltered.” Psalm 105:37…
the testimony of Caleb…: “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five ears old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out. I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.” Joshua 14:10-11
“Surely he will save your from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence…nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” Psalm 91”3-6
“who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases…that satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.” Psalm 103:3-5
Foolish attempts have been made to discredit these great promises of divine health by asserting that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was sickness. That he was nearly blind, and as one commentator put it “and was afflicted with chronic ophthalmia including bodily weakness, and a repulsive appearance.” So therefore, it is reasoned, if the mighty Paul could not get victory over sickness, how could we hope to do so? Such statements, however, are in flat contradiction to the scriptural record…
Paul enjoyed divine health, although throughout his ministry he lived under the strain of violent persecutions and often had to endure the severest physical hardships. In Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead. Yet he arose from the stoning in good health, and continued his ministry without loss of time (Acts 14:19-20). When a deadly viper attached itself to his arm, he shook it off and felt no harm (Acts 28:3-6)…supernatural strength was given him at the hour he needed it. Paul’s testimony was that he labored more abundantly than all the other apostles…
Testimony of A.B. Simpson:
‘For more than twenty years I was a sufferer from many physical infirmities and disabilities. Beginning a life of hard intellectual labor at the age of fourteen, I broke down hopelessly with nervous prostration while preparing for college and for many months was not permitted by my physician even to look at a book. During this time I came very near death, and on the verge of eternity gave myself at last to God. After my college studies were completed I became the ambitious pastor of a large city church at the age of twenty-one. Plunging heat long into my work, I again broke down with heart trouble and had to go away for months of rest, returning at length, as it seemed to me at the time, to die. Rallying, however, and slowly recovering in part, I labored on for years with the aid of constant remedies and preventatives. I carried a bottle of ammonia in my pocket for years, and would have taken a nervous spasm if I had ventured without it.
God knows how many hundreds of times in my earlier ministry when preaching in my pulpit or ministering near a grave it seemed I must fail in the midst of a service or drop into that open grave.
Several years later two other collapses of long duration came in my health. Again and again during these terrible sessions it seemed that the last drops of life were ebbing out.
I struggled through my work most of the time and often was considered a hard and successful worker, but my good people always thought me so delicate, and I grew weary of being sympathized with every time they met me. Many a neglected visit was apologized for by these good people because I was not strong. When at last I took the Lord for my Healer, I just asked the Lord to make me so well that my people would never sympathize with me again, but I should be to them a continual wonder through the strength and support of God.
I think he has fulfilled this prayer, for they have often wondered these recent years at the work I have been permitted to do in his name.
It usually took me till Wednesday to get over the effects of the Sabbath sermon, and about Thursday I was ready to begin to get ready for the next Sabbath. Thanks to God, the first three years after I was healed I preached more than a thousand sermons and held sometimes more than twenty meetings in one week, and do not remember once feeling exhausted.
A few months before I took Christ as my Healer, a prominent physician in New York insisted on speaking to me on the subject of my health, and told me that I had not constitutional strength enough to last more than a few months. He required that I take immediate measures for the preservation of my life and usefulness.
During the summer that followed I heard a great number of people testify by simply trusting the Word of Christ, just as they would for their salvation. It drove me to my Bible. I determined that I must settle this matter one way or the other. I am glad I did not go to man. At His feet, alone, was my Bible open, with no one to help or guide me, I became convinced that this was part of Christ’s gospel for a sinful and suffering world, and the purchase of His blessed Cross, for all who would believe and receive his Word.
That was enough. I could not believe this and then refuse to take it for myself, for I felt that I dare not hold any truth in God’s Word as a mere theory or teach to others what I had not personally proved. And so one Friday afternoon at the hour of 3 o’clock, I went out into the silent pine woods,, and there I raised my right hand to Heaven, and in view of the Judgment Day, as if I had seen Him there before me face to face these three great and eternal pledges:
1. As I shall meet Thee in that day, I solemnly accept this truth as part of Thy Word, and of the gospel of Christ, and God helping me, I shall never question it until I meet Thee there.
2. As I shall meet Thee in that day I take the Lord Jesus as my physical life, for all the needs of my body until my life’s work is done; and helping me, I shall never doubt that Thou dost so become my life and strength from this moment, and will keep me under all circumstances until Thy blessed coming, and until all Thy will for me is perfectly fulfilled.
3. As I shall meet Thee in that day I solemnly agree to use this blessing for the glory of God, and the good of others, and to speak of it or minister in connection with it in any way in which God may call me or others may need me in the future.
I arose. It had only been a few moments, but I knew that something was done. Every fiber of my soul was tingling with a sense of God’s presence. I do not know whether my body felt better or not—I did not care to feel it—it was so glorious to believe it simply, and to know that henceforth He had it in hand.
Then came the test of faith. The first struck me before I had left the spot. A subtle voice whispered: ‘Now you have decided to take God as your Healer, it would help if you just go down to Dr. Cullis’ cottage and get him to pray with you.’ I listened to it a moment with really thinking. The next, a blow seemed to strike my brain, which made me reel as a man stunned. I staggered and cried, ‘Lord, what have I done?’ I felt I was in some great peril. In a moment the thought came very quickly, ‘That would have been all right before this, but you have just settled this matter forever, and you told God that you will never doubt that it is done.’
In that moment I understood what faith meant, and what a solemn and awful thing it was, inexorably and exactly to keep faith with God. I have often thanked God for that blow. I saw that when a thing was settled with God, it was never to be unsettled. When it was done, it was never to be undone or done over again in any sense that could involve a doubt of the committal already made. I think in the early days of the work of faith to which God afterwards called me, I was much helped by a holy fear of doubting God as by any of the joys and raptures of His presence or promises. This little word often shone like a living fire in my Bible, ‘If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.’ What the enemy desired was to get some element of doubt about the certainty and completeness of the transaction just closed, and God mercifully held me back from it.
I have since known hundreds to fail just at this point. God made me commit myself to Him and His healing covenant before He would fully bless me. I know a dear brother in the ministry, now much used in the gospel and the ministry of healing, who received a wonderful manifestation of God’s power in his body and then went home to his church and said nothing about it, and waited to see how it would hold out. In a few weeks he was worse than ever. When I saw him the next time he wore the most dejected face you can imagine. I told him his error, and it all flashed upon him immediately. He went home and gave God the gory for what He had done, and in a little while his church was the center of a blessed work of grace and healing that reached far and wide, and he himself was rejoicing in the fullness of Jesus.
Nearby was a mountain 3,000 feet high; I was asked to join a little party that was to ascend it. I shrank back at once. Did I not remember the dread of heights that had always overshadowed me, and the terror with which I had resolved in Switzerland and Florence never to attempt it again? Did I not know how an ordinary stair exhausted me and distressed my poor heart?
Then came the solemn searching thought, ‘If you fear or refuse to go, it is because you do not believe that God has healed you,’ If you have taken him as your strength, need you fear to do anything to which he calls you?’
I felt it was God’s thought. I felt my fear would be, in this case, pure unbelief, and I told God what in His strength I would go.
Just here I would say that I did not wish to imply that we should ever do things just to show how strong we are, or without any real necessity for them. I do not believe God wants His children needlessly to climb mountains or walk miles just because they are asked to. But in this case, and there are such cases in every experience, I needed to step out and claim my victory some time, and this was God’s time and way. He will call and show each one for himself. And whenever we are shrinking through fear He will very likely call us to the very thing it is necessary for us to do to overcome the fear.
And so, I ascended that mountain. At first it seemed as though I found that I had in myself no more strength than ever. But over against my weaknesses and suffering I became conscious that there was another Presence. There was a divine strength reached out to me if I would have it, take it, claim it, hold it, and persevere in it. On one side there seemed to press upon me a weight of Death, on the other an infinite Life. And I became overwhelmed with the one, or uplifted with the other, just as I shrank or pressed forward, just as I fear or trusted; I seemed to walk between them and the one that I touched possessed me. The wolf and the Shepherd walked on either side, but the blessed Shepherd did not let me turn away. I pressed closer, closer, closer, closer to His bosom, and every step seemed stronger until, when I reached that mountain top, I seemed to be at the gate of heaven, and the world of weakness and fear was at my feet. Thank God, from that time I have had a new heart in this breast, literally as well as spiritually, and Christ has been its glorious life.
A few weeks later I returned to my work in this city, and with deep gratitude to God I can truly say, hundreds being my witness, I have been permitted to labor for my dear Lord in summer’s heat or winter’s cold, without interruption, without a single season of protracted rest, and increasing comfort, strength and delight. Life has had for me a zest, and labor an exhilaration that I never knew in the freshest days of my childhood.
The Lord has permitted the test to be a very sever one. A few months after my healing He called me into special pastoral, evangelistic and literary work which has since engaged my time and energy, and which I can truthfully say has involved fourfold more labor than any previous period of my life. And yet I desire to record my testimony to the honor and glory of Christ, that it has been a continual delight and seldom any burden or fatigue, and much, very much easier in every way than the far lighter task of former years. I have been conscious all the time however that I was not using my own natural strength. I would not dare to attempt for a single week what I am now doing on my own constitutional resources.
I am intensely conscious with every breath that I am drawing my vitality from a direct supernatural source, and that it keeps pace with the calls and necessities of my work. Hence, on a day or double labor I will often be conscious, at the close, of double vigor, and feel just like beginning over again—and indeed, almost reluctant to have seven sleep place its gentle arrest on the delightful privilege of service. Nor is this a paroxysm of excitement to be followed by a reaction, for the next day comes with equal freshness…
He has enabled me to think much more rapidly and to accomplish much more work, and with greater facility than ever before. It is very simple and humble work, but such as it is it is all through Him…’
This marvellous testimony of Dr. A. B. Simpson is a wonderful illustration of how the gift of faith operates to produce not only divine healing but divine health.”
“I believe the emotional impact of “failure” to be the primary reason why Christians who believe in healing don’t pray for the sick more. It is the emotional pain of seeing those who are NOT healed.”
In 1984 I was with John Wimber at a Methodist Church in Texas. On the first night many were healed as I followed him and watched. But on the next night, NOT ONE was healed. John Wimber said to me, “You don’t get it do you Randy? I had no more faith last night than tonight, and no more sin in my life tonight than last night. I just stick my fat hand out and say, “Come Holy Spirit.” I know it isn’t me, so I don’t get proud when they’re healed and I don’t blame myself or feel I failed if they don’t.
This night of seeing him ‘fail’ gave me great encouragement. This was the night I understood I could do this. I could stick my hand out and say, “Come Holy Spirit!”
Answering the “Why Question”
1) Humility: We know in part. We must be able to humble ourselves and respond to the “Why?” question with the answer, “I don’t know.” We will only “know fully” when we are in the presence of Christ. Humility and the willingness to say “I don’t know” prevents us from letting our “failure” experiences define our beliefs, heading us into the downward spiral of unbelief.”
2) Love: the Higher Way. Love never fails. If we minister in love, even if there is no healing manifested, we will have brought His life to those in need. It is most important to “love God and be known by God” than to “have the answers when “failure” in healing comes our way.”
DEALING WITH DEATH AND THE “WHY” QUESTION–Pastr Byron Wicker
(after the death of a little girl in his church)
There will be an emotional impact when someone is sick or dies, whether you prayed or didn’t pray, but it will be more emotional for you if you prayed and poured your all and believed for healing and you didn’t get the apparent healing you were praying for.
Matthew. 27:46 “My God, My God, WHY…?“ The Lord Himself has given us the right to ask the question why. He asked it when he was on the cross. It is appropriate. We are not looking for trite answers.
Billy Graham–In response to a woman asking why she got breast cancer even though she’s a good Christian and loves God: “Just because we sincerely try to live the way God wants us to, doesn’t mean we will be exempt from life’s trials and sorrows. We are still part of the human race and we will suffer pain and illness just like everyone else. Jesus said that God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45), in other words, we often don’t know why God allows things like this to come into our lives but God is sovereign and even when life turns against us He still can be trusted. He hasn’t turned His back on you nor is his love for you any less. After all, His son suffered far more than you and I will ever suffer when he took all our sin on himself and died on the cross for us. The key issue isn’t why God allows bad things to happen to us, it’s how we react to them. Will we react with fear, anger and resentment or faith and trust and peace? What is your relationship with the Lord.
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Having a Greater Resolve for the Kingdom of God:
The doorway into the Kingdom and seeing His power released in a greater way in people’s lives, is to be acquainted with sorrows and grief. That’s not a fun thing. Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled”:
“When Jesus saw her weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked.
‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.
Jesus wept,” John 11:33-35 Why was He troubled in spirit? Jesus suddenly was entering into their sorrow and pain. He felt what they felt. He knew He would raise Lazarus. He was groaning for that moment and for all the people who would go through these things, what sin had done to this world. He wept.
The Lord spoke to me [Byron] the most after Sophie died and as each of the family members wept over the baby, seeing how much He hates sickness and death…and you can enter into this situation from God’s perspective. You don’t want to go through that door. That’s a hard door to go through. But that’s the door the Lord went through to identify with us. And He’s saying, “I want you to enter into other’s pain, even though you can’t hardly bear it yourself, but as you enter into it, you will see how I feel about it. You will see my heart in it.” And what happens to you, when you start praying for people to be healed, and start feeling the way the Lord feels about sickness and death, it changes things in your heart. Your motives are tested and cleansed but there’s something greater in that – one of the greatest secrets of God’s power on this earth, is when we begin to identify with Him in those things.
The emotional pain causes people to back off but the Lord wants you to go closer, not back off – even though it hurts so bad, and you may feel like a failure. Press into it. Don’t walk away.
“strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith… ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.” Acts 14:22 Paul and Barnabas were exhorting the disciples to continue through many tribulations, to enter the Kingdom of God. You begin to see Gods power release more.
What if we just got discouraged and quit praying for the sick? What about the next ‘Sophie’ comes along, are we just going to say, “it’s useless, it’s in vain”? Because there will be more. Until Jesus comes we will fight sickness and sin and death.
What it has to do is give us a resolve in our hearts to press in further, pray more, push harder, call on God more. We as a church did all we could do for Sophie. We went after it. He was pleased. Don’t quit, don’t give up. Fight hard for the next ones. He wants us to see that we can’t give up or stop believing. If you’ll do that, and let this serve you, “defeat” serve you…there can be victory. Real victory.
You will find the Lord where people are suffering. There is nothing more humbling than people weeping, hurting, and nothing you can do. But if you can walk in that, you can walk in the other side of that and the door of humility is the door of finding God in the hurting place. In the low place.
I don’t believe in a gospel that we’re always in suffering, I believe in a gospel of victory, I really do. But I believe what we have to do is walk through defeat and suffering to see victory. And there’s a world out there that is suffering and defeated and we have to bring them the Kingdom.
JIM’S HERNIA TESTIMONY
An email that my husband wote and responses:
Until this week (March 13, 2002) I have been the owner of an “Inguinal Hernia”. It is in the groin area. When I lay down on my back in bed at night I give a gentle push and everything returns to normal and food can digest overnight. Next morning by the time I finish my shower a piece of intestine pops through the muscles that are supposed to hold it in. Now nothing separates my intestines from the outside world but skin.
After being on the “surgeon’s list” for several months until the surgeon visited Hay River and then several months waiting for the operating room I was given just a few days notice by Stanton Hospital for the operation.
On several previous occasions I asked for prayer, as commanded in James 5:14-15. One notable healing evangelist told me to just ignore the symptoms and believe I was healed.
I still remembered this conversation when informed it was my turn to visit the operating room. Probably fear was a factor too, and in my mind I debated whether to follow through with the operation.
Several times in the past God has healed me (at least twice from something fairly serious). Several times in the past God has honored my prayer in the healing of others.
I am very desirous of being able to pray with faith and power for the healing of others, and in my mind was considering that my lack of faith by following through with the operation might hamper this gift in my life. I am a strong believer that if you can’t live it, then don’t preach it.
In my mind I resolved, very simply, that if the lump was there I would follow through with the operation.
Sunday night at church I went for prayer. I cannot say that I was the owner of any significant faith. My mind was made up to follow through with the operation, and I guess I just wanted prayer for God’s presence and help during the operation.
Pastor McKay asked me what I would like prayer for. I had already testified that I was going for the operation. I said, “I am going for an operation.” Pastor McKay said, “I know that, but why do you want prayer?” Fumbling for words I repeated myself and said, “I am going for an operation.” Pastor McKay then said, “Oh, you want to be healed?”
“Oh, yeah,” I lied.
Pastor McKay and the elders then prayed a powerful prayer of healing over me.
The next morning was my last day at work before leaving for the operation. All of a sudden I realized in the morning that my hernia had not made its usual visit into the world. I was delighted. I rushed to the bathroom to verify with my eyes what I could feel with my other senses. I was standing there with my pants down admiring myself when in walked the company president. It was a little bit embarrassing.
It was obvious I would cancel tomorrow’s trip to Yellowknife. I had already arranged airfare, time off from work, etc. What would I tell my co-workers? I decided to tell the entire simple truth-God’s miraculous reconstructive healing.
Plop! Down came my hernia. What is going on here? What are you trying to tell me, God? I could tell by the sensation that there had been at least a partial healing. The hernia was having trouble to come through.
Debate was raging in my mind, and I was unable to concentrate on the work I was being paid to do. I would be a fool to go for an operation after God healed me. I would also be a fool to claim a healing and then have to go through the long waiting process again.
After prayer the answer seemed obvious and simple. If the lump was there, then get it operated on.
The next morning Jerri and I flew to Yellowknife where I went through the pre-op tests and orientation for surgery, which would be the next morning. We had the evening off and once again the hernia had made its visit with great difficulty. What is God trying to say? I dreaded the surgery and would be delighted to not show up in the morning. But I had to know it was God!
We were in the mall beside the Glad Tidings church, and I decided to check the sign on the door. Sure enough, Tuesday night prayer meeting would start in twenty minutes.
We visited with Pastor Lynn Patterson and learned that Freda, the prayer team leader from the Kelowna Vineyard church had remained from a crusade the previous week, and would be teaching. The service started with an inspiring worship time.
I shared the reason I was in Yellowknife-to have an operation-but not the debate that was still raging in my mind. Should I show up tomorrow morning? Perhaps I was afraid of the opinion of man-not that I didn’t have a great respect for those there. I was crying out to God for clear direction-one way or the other.
I guess the confirmation came through the prayers of the prayer team. They prophesied a successful surgery and speedier than average recovery.
Some people have already told me that it was lack of faith that kept me from my healing-perhaps they were right-and I will always need to live with the consequences.
As I write this-four days after the operation-I have a gut feeling-a very big gut feeling.
Nevertheless the truth of God still stands. The Lord knows who are His. God saves and heals. God does not lie. Doctors can do a fine job. They cut a hole and put in a patch. Thank God for doctors! But after they staple the hole, it is up to God. Flesh joins back to flesh, muscle to muscle-and this old worn body is good for a few more miles.
God bless you all.
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Hi Dad,
Very enjoyable testimony. I didn’t realize all you were going through. I’m praying for a speedy recovery. I didn’t understand your ending when you say you have a gut feeling. Is that good or bad?
Here’s my best thoughts: We see in the book of Acts the powerful moves of God to heal nearly everyone that needed healing. We saw Jesus heal “all” that had sickness. We see the bold claims in James and elsewhere that the prayer offered in faith will heal the sick. Yet we see the great Apostle Paul tell Timothy to take medicine (wine) for his stomach. It appears to me that Timothy was trying to believe that God would heal him and didn’t take medicine or pain killers for his sickness and pain. You would think that Paul would say, “Oh you of little faith, just believe and God will heal you”, but he didn’t. He said, “Go for it, take the medicine”. Have you ever wondered why the doctor Luke traveled with Paul? I have.
The other thing I notice when I step back and look at the Bible is that God does things different all the time. John the Baptist didn’t perform healing miracles that we know of yet Jesus came in great power right afterward. John the Baptist was highly anointed and even prophesied centuries before. We can see the different ways that God dealt with Abraham, Daniel, Moses, Elijah, Noah, David.
My conclusion; your faith that God will heal is a gift given by God for a specific purpose and to affect many people’s lives for His glory. God has given you great faith. At the same time, He doesn’t follow format and sometimes even great faith doesn’t seem to move His hand. Other times, the tiniest faith moves the largest mountains. You’re on the right track and have touched so many lives, including that of your son. I don’t think it was a lack of faith that you went into the surgery but wisdom and soon to be a sign of relief.
I look forward to hearing of the next miracle that God does through you as you step out in faith.
Your son, Scott
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The more I read your testimony the more I learn of God’s mercy its so encouraging to know that one day we will be with our Lord Jesus where there will be no suffering just to sit in his presence oh what a joy, your testimony really encouraged me and you will be in my prayers
In Jesus name, Norman McCallum
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Jim, People who tell you that you did not receive a healing because you lacked faith are very much in error with their doctrine. That doctrine tends to cause people to lose their faith, and to fall away from their Christian walk. People with faith fall away because of something that has happened in their life, sickness or some other thing, that hasn’t been miraculously resolved. They did have faith, but someone tells them it didn’t happen because they had no faith, and so they give up. I have seen it happen, and those responsible will be called to account. A healing can take place in many ways, and also a lack of healing may be in God’s plan. Ever read the book of Job? Take a look at verse 1:1, 1:8, 2:3?? I will not go into a deep philosophical debate over this, but seems that Job was about as good as they humanly come in God’s eyes. I have seen firsthand the tragedy of this type of misinterpretation of the gospel brings. In Hebrews 11:35-40 the bible plainly states that the Christians were stoned, put to death, destitute, and afflicted. The thing here is that verse 39 states: ” And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should be made perfect.” Is God’s word perfect, or not? Don’t let this situation affect your faith. Maybe God is using this situation for some other unknown purpose; I do not even attempt to understand His reasons for your situation, but maybe it is so I would write this letter of encouragement to you, only God knows! Praying for a speedy recovery for you, you are a blessing to us.
God bless, Garry.
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Really Jim, neither you, nor I, nor your kin have sat back on our hands and had the nerve to demand from God our living in return for our faith and we cannot ask for healing in that way either. Never believe that it was your lack of belief that prevented a “faith” healing for Jesus healed many of little or no faith, like the beggar in Acts (many more were healed with faith of course). Your little “healing” may have been God’s way of telling you that you would be cured and well again. Remember that our prayers are always strongest when they are selfless (for others). So pray in confidence knowing that more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams.
E H Forsyth
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Hi Jim,
It was great to see you and Jerri last Tues at the Glad Tidings. I had to leave early so I didn’t get in on the prayer. Thanks for being so open and honest. That is, what I believe, made David a man after God’s own heart. We need to remember we are all on a journey and not everyone is at the same place. You expressed your desires and I believe that when we “delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart” After Victor and team left last week, quite a few people got sick. It was kind of ironic, but also a learning experience for many of us. Fred and I were both really sick, and Lizzy was beginning to be too, and she was leaving soon to go to Honduras, so you can imagine how we were feeling. We have to realize that the enemy will take full advantage of these situations and try to drive us “crazy” like what you were expressing, the battle in your mind. Fred and I both were refusing the symptoms, speaking life, commanding the cold flu to leave in Jesus Name; all the things were we taught, but we just got sicker. I wasn’t discouraged, but bewildered. Then one day I heard about my friend whose little girl was also sick, with fever cold, etc. She did the same as us and her child did not get better. But she kept on and kept on. Speaking out the Word of God. The word of God says……..Then her daughter, who was sleeping, listless, fevered, just a rag of a child suddenly walked around the corner, full of life and proclaimed loudly, I AM ALL BETTER NOW, MOMMY. It was amazing the sudden change. When I heard that I felt faith rise up in me, as I felt that I had turned a corner too. It was so strange, just like a revelation had come to me. I saw the words spelt in large letters, PERSERVER. The Bible says that Jesus already paid the price, so the healing is there just like salvation, but sometimes it takes time to get it (understand it). The secret is not to give up. God is not mad at you because you had surgery. He knows where you are at and He wants to bring you to a higher level of faith. So He uses the things that happen to us to challenge us to trust Him more. Never accept the enemy’s accusations. I just encourage you and Jerri, because right now God is training us so we can go out and do the same. Also, after little Rowena’s recovery, I started to take authority over the sickness that was coming on Lizzy, even though she was far away. I talked to her Mon morning and she said that she was fine; she had been able to have a good night’s sleep too. So I praise God.
I guess what I am trying to say is don’t let anyone accuse you, or don’t accept negative talk about you not having enough faith, but thank God for the experience and take it
from there. Never doubt that God has more for us. The bible says that we would do greater things than Jesus did on earth. He lives in us and we in Him. These last days are pretty challenging, but exciting. Right?
Blessings, Yetta. Sorry about the epistle.
We should always ask for and expect healing. God is the One who heals, even if it through doctors or through natural means.
When we were living in Montreal, I had a sore back. I felt to go to the doctor, even though some wanted me to go downtown to a special healing crusade. The doctor told me that the reason my back was sore was because my stomach muscles were weak. He suggested exercises. These I still do. I found the reason and a lasting healing.
I have experienced God’s miraculous healing power:
When I was pregnant with my daughter Jill over thirty years ago in Montreal, I experienced claustrophobia the last month of my pregnancy. I would go downstairs to our living room and it would go away.
We were living in Nova Scotia when I became pregnant with Sandra. Three months into my pregnancy I started feeling claustrophobic. One night, I felt a terror coming on and came out into our living room. Our big picture window had a panoramic view of the ocean; of any place in the world, that place was the most freeing. It wasn’t; I still felt terror. I called out to God saying, “There is nothing I can do. You have to help me.” Immediately I was healed of that feeling of claustrophia, and it never came back again.
When Sandra was born with a cleft palate, I asked for her healing. She was not healed. When she died, I asked that she be restored. She wasn’t. Looking back, I am glad those prayers were not answered. We learned much and had many opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge of God in our lives because of her handicap. Also, since she was to die, it would have been more hurtful if she had been healed and then died.
Several months after she died I got sick. I had no energy to do anything, but think and pray. I really began to miss Sandra. I felt like a terrible void had come without our little girl to share with and teach. I asked God to give me another word, although He had already given me so much comfort there seemed to be nothing else that could be said.
Later is the day I was reading the Bible and a verse seemed to jump out at me, like it was especially for me:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 How comforting to know that her death was not in vain; it had a great purpose—to save many lives from hell.
Several years later, when we lived in Hay River, I was healed under Jerry and Anne Shaw’s ministry. (Jerry has since passed away. He wrote The Miracle Road about their experiences.) I came up for prayer saying my back hurt. Anne said, “It’s your neck.” She turned my head back and forth and my back was healed!
Anne said Mary (whom she was praying for during their services at Sandy Creek on the Hay River Reserve) was content with not being healed. Perhaps some people are not healed because they are content with their handicaps.
I am deaf m my right ear and blind in my right eye as a result of a brain tumor in 1965. The first time I was seriously prayed for I thought I would be healed (I had recently been baptized in the Holy Spirit when I thought I would be). I came to the altar and the preacher prayed for me. I was slain in the Spirit (I had never been before and didn’t know what it was). I am sure God was answering my prayer. The trouble is I don’t exactly know what He was saying. But I do know He loves me and heard me.
It is discouraging when someone is told that lack of healing is from lack of faith. A preacher needs lots of wisdom when preaching on healing—to increase people’s faith if that is what is needed, but not to condemn.
Be careful about saying, “The Lord said you are to be healed.” A man staying at our house said the next person that came in the door would be healed of their deafness in one ear. He vaguely remembered I was deaf in one ear. This seemed too obvious a connection, and later I learned that many of his prophecies were false. Another lady said she saw my eyeball rolling down the aisle. I doubt her integrity so did not take her seriously. These people are Christians. Several times I have heard sincere Christians give false testimonies. An interim pastor at our church said some Christians give false testimonies because, “Sometimes the flesh speaks so loudly, the person thinks it is the Spirit.”
I have often received prayer for healing my eye and ear. Most recently our pastor’s wife had a vision of me saying, “I am healed! I am healed!” A man I also respect said God had shown him that there was a hindrance to my healing. It would be wonderful if God healed me. However, I am so thankful I can still hear in one ear and see in one eye.
THE WORD/FAITH MOVEMENT—Taken from the Internet
Following are section taken from What About Sickness? Are All Christians To Be Healed By God?
“…sickness can lead us to a deeper love of God. It can lead to spiritual growth and our better serving and honoring Him. To say that God wants everybody healed contradicts the clear teachings of His Word.
Charles Spurgeon said this about his battle with gout: “I am certain that I never did grow in grace one-half so much anywhere as I have upon the bed of pain.”
King David said this about his afflictions: “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees…I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me,” Psalm 119:71, 75. “The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death,” Psalm 118:18. “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word,” Psalm 119:67.
In the 14th chapter of the Book of Acts the Christians are exhorted to continue in the faith despite their many tribulations:
“Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,” Acts 14:22.
Jesus Himself told us that we will have tribulation in this life:
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,” John 16:33.…
Our faith is God is not dependant upon our circumstances. We are pilgrims and seek a kingdom that is not of this world. We seek a heavenly habitation, where there will be no more tears, death, or pain. God describes what heaven will be like, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away,” Revelation 21:4.
If we experience sickness and death we must say with Job no matter how hard and difficult it may be at the time:
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD…Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (Calamity)? In all this did not Job sin with his lips…Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him,” Job 1:21, 2:9-10, 13:15...
MISINTERPRETATION:
Isaiah 53:4–5 states, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed” (nasb). Word-Faith teachers believe this passage means that physical healing during mortal life is guaranteed in the atonement. Hence, a true believer should never be sick. It is up to the believer to appropriate the guaranteed healing that has been made available in the atonement. If the believer has unbelief or sin, then this available healing is thereby prevented (Hagin, Word of Faith, August 1977, 9).
CORRECTING THE MISINTERPRETATION:
While ultimate physical healing is in the atonement (a healing we will enjoy in our resurrection bodies), healing of our bodies while in the mortal state (prior to our death and resurrection) is not guaranteed in the atonement.
Moreover, it is important to note that the Hebrew word for “healing” (napha) can refer not just to physical healing but to spiritual healing. The context of Isaiah 53:4 indicates that spiritual healing is in view. In verse 5 we are clearly told, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed” (v. 5, emphasis added). Because “transgressions” and “iniquities” set the context, spiritual healing from the misery of sin is in view.
Numerous verses in Scripture substantiate the view that physical healing in mortal life is not guaranteed in the atonement and that it is not always God’s will to heal. The apostle Paul couldn’t heal Timothy’s stomach problem (1 Tim. 5:23) nor could he heal Trophimus at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20) or Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25–27). Paul spoke of “a bodily illness” he had (Gal. 4:13–15). He also suffered a “thorn in the flesh” which God allowed him to retain (2 Cor. 12:7–9). God certainly allowed Job to go through a time of physical suffering (Job 1–2). In none of these cases is it stated that the sickness was caused by sin or unbelief. Nor did Paul or any of the others act as if they thought their healing was guaranteed in the atonement. They accepted their situations and trusted in God’s grace for sustenance. It is noteworthy that on two occasions Jesus said that sickness could be for the glory of God (John 9:3; 11:4).
Other Scripture reveals that our physical bodies are continuously running down and suffering various ailments. Our present bodies are said to be perishable and weak (1 Cor. 15:42–44). Paul said “our outer man is decaying” 2 Cor. 4:16. Death and disease will be a part of the human condition until that time when we receive resurrection bodies that are immune to such frailties (1 Cor. 15:51–55). (Geisler, N. L., & Rhodes, R. 1997. When cultists ask : A popular handbook on cultic misinterpretations . Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Mich.)…
Of what are we healed? This passage from Isaiah clearly states that we are healed of our transgressions and iniquities. You say to me, “Are you sure about that?” I know this is what these verses are talking about because Peter says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed,” 1 Peter 2:24. Healed of what? “Sins.” Peter is making it very clear that he is talking about sin.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,” Isaiah 53:6. It was your inquity and mine which was laid upon Him. Obviously, Isaiah is referring to the fact that Christ would grapple with the great fundamental problem of sin. To contend that healing is in the Atonement is beside the point. So is a glorified body in the Atonement, but I don’t have mine yet. Do you? Also, a new earth with the curse removed is in the Atonement of Christ, but it is obvious that we don’t have these yet. In this day when sin and Satan still hold sway, there is no release from sickness as an imperative of the Atonement…
Sometimes He heals through medicine, sometimes He heals through surgery, sometimes He heals through natural process working in the body. The body is an amazing self-healing thing. And sometimes He may just heal supernaturally because it is His will, and we can look to heaven for that. We can cry out to God in our sickness and ask for His healing…
“Should a Christian go to the doctor?”…In Isaiah 38, King Hezekiah was deathly ill, and you remember the king was crying, and he was crying tears, and then he was crying to the Lord, and God answered his request. And he says this, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Isn’t that good? That’s what we used to call a poultice. Right? Now, God is saying, “Do the medical thing.” In Matthew 9:12, Jesus confirmed the same idea when He said this, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” …”
“Ronnie Milsap was born blind. He has a new double CD It is Well With My Soul highlighting faith in the midst of trials.He says that as a boy when church members prayed for him and he wasn’t healed, some blamed him for not having enough faith.
“I might have questioned…well, do I have enough faith. Are they right? I decided, no…I do have enough faith. They’re wrong. I do have enough faith. “
Mislap said he expects to have perfect vision once he gets to heaven.”
We should be careful not to judge others or judge situations where people are not healed. Situations are always much more complicated than we can understand. Only God knows.
The Word/Faith movement can cause us the search the Scriptures to find God’s view of healing and health. However, the Word/Faith movement can cause us to judge others. It can cause the one that is sick or suffering to feel guilty even if his suffering is not his fault. It can cause people to put their faith in faith rather than in Jesus.
The Bible does say that the Lord “heals all your diseases”:
“Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 193:2-5 This passage implies that if we accept the promise of satisfying our “desires with good things” (providng healthy food) and apply it, God will renew our youth “like the eagles” (give us joy and energy to do His will). It implies that health is partly our responsibility.
Faith is important. The “prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well”:
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 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 5:13-16 If possible, go to the elders, before going to the doctor. It is always possible to pray right away after any accident or illness. The elders should be able to have “powerful and effective” prayers (1 Timothy 3:1-13 Titus 1:5-9).
If our sickness is caused by our sin the Lord “will forgive us” if we “confess our sins”. More importantly He promises to “purify us from all unrighteousness”:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Others can help us achieve more faith:
“Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.” 1 Thessalonians 3:10 Paul’s love is shown in his earnest prayers for the saints.
Sometimes the Lord wants us to search for our healing:
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6
“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1
The elders of the Jews earnestly plead for the healing of a servant of a centurion:
“When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them…” Luke 7:4-6
We do have faith if we earnestly keep searching and praying:
“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.” Hebrews 11:6 This verse seems to imply that earnestness is a part of true faith.
God’s highest purpose is for us to be like Jesus:
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” Romans 8:29 If disease/sickness will make us more like Jesus, it can be His will. When His purpose is accomplished there can be healing. We should ask for and expect healing. We should do what we can for our healing and the healing of others assuming it is His wil, unless He tells us otherwise. We should always pray and not give up.
Jesus wants us just to ask, and He has the best for us:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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!.” Matthew 7:7-11
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”” Luke 11:9-13
Remember how much God loves us when we pray for healing:
“…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:15-19
This article is just the beginning of what could be said about healing. Hopefully, someday I can add more.
Please comment if you have experiences or insights you want to share.