Healing
(Ex 15:26) … for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
The Bible addresses healing in many different ways. We should pray and claim scriptures that focus on healing (some verses below). Prayer is always the first step we should take with any situation. The Bible also says that the faith of others can heal (Mt 8:5-13)(Mk 2:3-5)(Mt 15:28). Find others to agree with you in prayer for healing. We are told in (James 5:14-15) to have the elders of our church anoint us with oil and pray for us (one reason why a good church is important). (James 5:16) says to pray for one another so that you might be healed. Anointing with oil was apparently a common and important thing in Bible times (Mk 6:13). Also, laying hands on the sick was quite often associated with healing (Mk 6:5)(Mk 5:23)(Lk 4:40)(Lk 13:11-13)(Acts 28:8). I have had this work over and over in my own life.
We should ALWAYS seek the Lord first for healing, Asa (2 Chr 16:12) made the mistake of not doing so. However, physicians are VERY important, and there is nothing wrong at all in seeking help from them. It is wise, if at all possible to seek Christian physicians. Physicians who trust in God for help and guidance are obviously a better choice. Whether Christian or not though, they should be prayed for that God would guide them to diagnose and treat us properly. The use of physicians goes back in the Bible to at least the time of Joseph (Gen 50:2). Luke, the writer of Luke and Acts, was a “beloved physician” (Col 4:14). Jesus told us that the sick need a physician (Mt 9:12)(Mk 2:17)(Lk 5:31).
It is important to understand, GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS HEAL! It is a scary thing nowadays to see people going around telling Christian brothers or sisters they aren’t healed either because they lack faith or are stuck in some sin. While it is true faith heals (Mt 8:13)(Mt 9:27-31)(Mt 8:2-3)(Lk 8:43-48), it does NOT mean that a person who is sick always lacks faith. The Bible also says sin can make us sick (Mic 6:13)(1 Cor 11:27-30), but this does NOT mean it is a common cause. I have seen dedicated and thoroughly committed Christians TORMENTED by people telling them they must be sick because of one or both of these two things. It is sheer nonsense! If a Christian just had to “believe” or eliminate a sin in their life to be healed, then no one who did these two things would even die… How many healthy people do you see just drop dead? Christians would not even need glasses, or hearing aids, or even have cavities, etc… for these are sicknesses and deteriorations of our bodies.
There are many cases in the Bible of people being sick, but not for lack of faith or because of a sin in their lives. A great example is found in (John 9). Jesus and His disciples came upon a blind man. The disciples asked Jesus if the man was blind because of his sin, or his parents sin. Jesus replied it was neither, but it was so that the power of God might be displayed in him. Jesus then healed him and God received the glory.
Jesus also said this of Lazarus illness in (Jn 11:4). When Jesus heard that he was sick, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Paul is another great example. He had a “thorn in the flesh” (likely an eye disease) and was never healed. God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9) .Timothy was a man who was often ill (1 Tim 5:23). Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim 4:20). God called Job a perfect and upright man (Job 1:8) and yet allowed Satan to make him ill.
We must always remember, we are all healed by God’s mercy (Phil 2:27). No matter what occurs, our prayer should always be that God would receive the glory and His kingdom would be furthered through the illness and any healing that God might provide. May our lives be a testimony and a light through it all.
(James 5:14-15) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
(Jer 17:14) Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
(Isa 53:5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
(Ps 30:2) O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
(Ps 6:2) Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed (troubled).
(Ps 103:2-3) Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: (3) Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
(Mk 5:34) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith has made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
(Ps 147:3) He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
(Ps 34:18) The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth as be of a contrite spirit.
