I've spent this morning studying what the Word says about healing. Let me just say that I don't understand how believers can actually say that they don't believe that God still heals. This post is just a compilation of the things that Scripture teaches us about healing. Of course, these are not all of the passages on healing; there are many more.
The first Scripture that always comes to mind when I think about healing is Isaiah 53:5 - "by His stripes we are healed." We know that His blood covers our transgressions, sins, and iniquities, but the 39 lashes He bore on His back were for our healing! They say that 40 lashes would be the point where most people died because they could no longer bear the pain. So, Jesus bore pain so great to the point right before death, but He didn't die then...the work had not yet been completed. Think about that. What love! 1 Peter 2:24 affirms this by saying, "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live in righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
The Scripture that I couldn't get away from this morning was James 5:14-16 which says, "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." There is so much here. I am confident that it is by our lack of faith that we do not see more healing take place. The prayer that is backed by faith is what will bring healing. When this restoration takes place, the previously sick one will also be forgiven of sins. The last part is a common Scripture that we often quote: "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." I can't get away from the fact that it is the righteous one who will see prayers answered. So, how does one become righteous? By confessing their sin.....repenting! When we do this, we are cleansed from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) and are therefore considered righteous men who can pray and accomplish much! Isn't that awesome?!
James 1:6-7 says, "But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." I often pray that the Lord will remove all doubt from my mind and replace it with an increase of faith. I don't want to be like this wave in the ocean that is completely unstable. It's like the man who built his house on the sand (Matthew 7.) I believe James is telling us to check ourselves when we ask the Lord for things. I don't want to ask for anything without having faith! Whenever there is any doubt involved, we can't expect that the Lord will answer our prayers. That's what these verses are telling us! So, when it comes to healing, may we never doubt our prayers to God. Let us always ask in complete faith! "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17.) I believe that these words of Christ that we study on healing can only increase our faith. I like the King James Version of 2 Timothy 2:15 which says, "Study to show thyself approve unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." When we study Scripture, we are hearing the Word, which thus produces faith.
Another aspect about healing in Scripture is that in the Gospels, Jesus and His disciples commanded healing. They had authority over the sickness to call healing out. Romans 4:17 shows us that God speaks things as though they were...so, are we to do the same? Yes. In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus is saying that anyone can speak to mountains and they will move if he "does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." Jesus gave His disciples "power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases" (Luke 9:1.) Now, if you say, "Oh, that was just for his 12 disciples, not for us," I would have to disagree. Look at the Great Commission. Jesus told his disciples to go out and "make disciples" and to teach "them to observe all that I commanded you..." You can't tell me that this was only for people at that time. We still have sick people today. And we still have authority to pray and declare healing.
(June 5, 2012)
