A supposed study run in the US found no connection between prayer for healing and the improvement of health in patients prayed for, claiming a neutral effect overall.
And yet God’s word clearly states God is for healing, Jesus himself healed people, one of the names for God in the OT is the God who heals, Jesus claimed that one of the signs that would accompany followers of His would be healing, James says we should pray for the sick and God will raise them up, Jesus disciples did it and I’ve witnessed it. And yet we do not see people healed 100% of the time… so does our experience have the right to over-rule God’s word?
What do you think?
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I think Jesus made a distinction between us and the Apostles. But anyhow…
Will God always heal the body in response to our prayers in the manner that we would envisage? No
Can faith improve the immune system and mental health, enhance healing and provide the will to live leading to longevity? Yes
Will God always heal the spirit in response to our prayers? Yes
The latter two have been proven scientifically. Reason and empirical evidence are all there to support it.
However, why should we concern ourselves with a temporal body, rather than an eternal spirit? When we focus on healing the body, are we perhaps missing the point of Christ’s teaching? The Apostle Paul suffered physical infirmities, but the the Lord did not let him suffer.
God heals 100% of the time, if we have faith in him. I think our understanding of healing may be the problem.
Thanks for dropping by Paul. I agree with your comments about our need to be more concerned with our ‘eternal spirit’ although we can’t just ignore the scriptures regarding healing. They are still a part of God’s Word to his people, so what do you do with them?
I’m certainly not saying healing has greater weight than anything else in scripture, but it is something God wants to do. Having been surrounded by a number of people who suffer as much as they do, I choose to seek after and proclaim the power of the gospel and of power.
Though I have little understanding of why God chooses to heal some at one point and with others it takes much longer or in different ways to the way in which we asked… I don’t understand – but i still seek it because healing was a part of the ministry of Jesus, the Apostles, his followers and his church.
I have a young adult son who has a terrible immune system problem that has recently caused him to go completely deaf. He suffers greatly with horrible mouth ulcers, and pain throughout his body. He is 22, and we have been praying for healing since he was in the fifth grade. We have followed all the guidelines in scripture, been to healing evangelists, and continue to annoint him with oil and pray the prayer of faith with the elders. I believe that the Lord is calling us to live a life of absolute trust. The trusting part seems to be evern more important now than the healing part. It is not an easy road to be on, however, my son continues to believe that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! He does get very weary, as do I. We just continue to stand in faith. Healing is a mystery to me!
Hi Jay,
i so feel your pain and that of your son. Yes, healing is a mystery. It is hard to understand why God heals sometimes and not others.
It will be two months tomorrow that I lost my baby daughter during birth. Just two weeks prior we had someone within our church give us a message they believed was from God concerning the danger our child was in and that we needed to pray. So we did… and yet she still died. I do not know what to make of that interchange with God yet. I am quite frustrated with God at the moment.
With that said though I also recognize that regardless of how much pain I find myself in and the mystery of God’s work, I still hold firm to the gospel and the fact that He loves me deeply. I guess I kind of feel a little like the disciple Peter who, when challenged about whether he was going to continue to follow Jesus given the difficult teaching he had just heard, responds “where else have we to go. You have the words of eternal life”.
I have seen God work miracles and I have seen him leave prayer seemly unanswered but as you say the most important thing to do through it all is to trust God and that he knows what he is doing.
Thank you for the honor of sharing your story with me.
Let me pray for you…
Lord Jesus, you are the Creator and sustainer of life. You are the One with all knowledge and power. All you need do is just say the word and Jay’s son would be healed. Such is your power. And so we say – Son of David have mercy on Jay’s son.
Father would you, as only you know how, hold Jay and Jay’s Son in your arms, that they may know your love for them. That though they do not see you; though they can not feel you… you delight in them.
Bless them I ask in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One.
Amen
Thank you, Geoff, for your prayer. I live in the United States, and it blesses my heart to know that a brother so far away from me has sought the Lord over my concerns. Someday, we will meet around God’s throne, and I will thank you in person! I pray for your healing from the loss of your baby daughter. You will hold her in heaven…….May God Bless you and your ministry. Jay
Reading your posts has me in tears. I am going through a very painful time myself with my toe. You really don’t know how important being able to walk pain free truly is until you can’t do that anymore. Last night I made a decision to trust the Lord and believe this horrible pain I am in every single second of the day is blessed and has the hand of God in it. But I do find it hard to not live in today’s moments of pain and instead think 6 months ahead when I won’t be in this pain anymore. I feel for those here that posted about loosing a child or having a child in constant pain. Children are so precious and I hate seeing them in pain. I will pray for you all for healing. One day at a time and we will all get through this together as children of God.