In a previous Q&A, we explained that God’s ministry has an important role to fulfill when we want God to heal us. The Bible is very clear that ONLY an ordained minister is permitted to lay hands on a sick person’s head and anoint the person with oil (as a symbol of the Holy Spirit), while he is praying audibly to the Father for His intervention, referring to Christ’s Sacrifice as a necessary requirement for God’s healing. The idea that just anyone (non-ministerial persons, including deacons and women) could lay hands on a sick person is biblically wrong—in fact, this false belief is VERY dangerous. Please read our Q&A on the concept of laying on of hands which proves that God has given His ordained ministers the exclusive right to lay hands on anyone for the purpose of “sanctification,” including in areas of baptism, healing, marriage, blessing of little children and ordinations.
We also pointed out in our Q&A on God’s ministry that there are certain requirements which we must fulfill in order to be granted godly healing.
One of these absolute important and necessary requirements is faith in God’s healing power (but there are additional requirements, which we will address in subsequent Q&As.).
At first sight, the issue of faith can be a complicated subject, especially when considering that we are to submit always to the Will of God. So, how can we have faith that God will heal us, when we might feel doubt at the same time that it is really God’s Will to heal us from our particular ailment?
We are addressing the issue of faith in God’s healing power in our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing–What the Bible Tells Us”:
“Although God may heal people with little or no faith in Him, He generally only does so, if we believe that He can and will heal us. But without faith, there is no reason to think that God will heal us.
“Christ healed a blind man, saying to him: ‘according to your faith let it be to you’ (Matthew 9:29). He healed the demon-possessed daughter of a Gentile woman when He saw the woman’s faith. He said to her: ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire!’ (Matthew 15:28). He healed a blind man, telling him: ‘Your faith has made you well’ (Luke 18:42).
“Sarah was healed and received a child, ‘because she judged Him faithful who had promised’ (Hebrews 11:11).
“Again, this does not mean that if we only have enough faith, we have an absolute unconditional promise that God will heal us immediately. More than faith may be involved. God may decide that it is best for us not to be healed right away. We need to always submit to the will of God, saying, as Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will… O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done’ (Matthew 26:39, 42). Christ did not doubt God’s power to intervene; likewise, we must never doubt God’s power to heal. Still, Christ was willing to submit to the Father’s will. Christ prayed to the Father, as it says in Mark 14:36: ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.’
“Christ experienced what it was like to suffer in the flesh, so that He could become our merciful High Priest (Hebrews 2:17; 4:14–16; 5:6–8). All of us need to be compassionate and merciful toward others. In going through trials and suffering, including [a prolonged] sickness, we develop empathy for others who are also afflicted with sickness (compare 2 Corinthians 1:3–7). This may be, at times, one of the reasons why God may decide not to heal us right away.
“Without faith, however, we have absolutely no guarantee that God will heal us, even though He otherwise might have done it. Notice the following revealing examples: We read that Christ ‘did not do many works’ in Nazareth ‘because of their unbelief’ (Matthew 13:58). We are even told in Mark 6:5–6 that He could not do mighty works there because of their unbelief.
“If we do not have enough faith in God, then we are to pray and fast in order to GROW in faith. Christ said that given enough faith, ‘nothing will be impossible for you’ (Matthew 17:20). At the same time, He explained to His disciples that they needed to pray and fast MORE in order to be given the kind of faith that was necessary to cast out a powerful demon (verse 21).”
As we can see, faith is necessary for our healing. But since it may be God’s Will not to heal us at this time or immediately, how can we have faith under those circumstances?
The answer may seem complex, but in fact, it is very simple.
Faith is the “evidence” of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). The Phillips translation says: “Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see.” The Living Bible states that faith “is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”
We read that we are walking by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). And we are told that when we ask something of God, we must not have doubt at the same time that God will fulfill our request. James 1:6-8 states: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Applying these statements to the issue of healing, the answer is clear: When we ask God to heal a particular ailment, we MUST believe, without doubting in any way, that God WILL heal us. We MUST believe that God will hear our prayers and intervene. If our approach is: I don’t know whether God will heal me, so I will give it a try to SEE what MIGHT happen and when or if it happens, THEN I will believe; then this reflects doubt that God WILL heal us.
As we pointed out in our previous Q&A, Paul asked God three times to remove from him a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). We explained that this thorn might have been a serious eye problem or a sickness like Malaria. AFTER having asked God three times in a formal way (apparently, he made three formal requests to the ministry for anointing), God made His Will known to Paul, showing him that He would NOT heal him from his sickness. We do not know how God “spoke” to him, convicting Paul that he would not be healed in this life, but we do know that when he asked God for healing, he had the absolute faith that he would be healed. God did not refuse to heal him because of lack of faith or because Paul’s mind was plagued with doubt.
The same must be the case for us when we ask God for healing. We MUST believe that God will heal us, and this faith must continue, until God makes it absolutely clear to us that He will NOT heal us in this life. But HOW can we be sure that God will not heal us in this life? The fact that He might not heal us right away is no proof, because God may test our patience. We read in Scripture that people were sick for many years, until God healed them (John 5:1-9; Luke 13:10-13).
Many give up and lose faith when God does not heal them right away. That is not the correct reaction. MAYBE their faith must grow; MAYBE God is testing their patience; MAYBE God wants to see renewed and continuing effort in their prayers, with fasting, to make those prayers more effective (James 5:16; Luke 18:7). MAYBE an additional request for anointing is in order, as we explained in our previous Q&A. (We are not addressing here the fact that belief in God’s healing does not prevent us from doing something for ourselves. This question will be addressed in a subsequent Q&A).
We should also not forget that it IS possible that our prayers can CHANGE God’s Will for us. God announced to King Hezekiah that he would die, but due to Hezekiah’s heart-rending prayer with bitter tears, God changed His mind and added fifteen years to his life (Isaiah 38:1-5).
Christ’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane does not teach us anything differently. Christ KNEW that He had to go through His ordeal, but as a human being, He WISHED so hard that there could be another way. Deep down inside, He understood, of course, that there was no other way (He Himself had inspired Old Testament writers to prophesy about His torture and crucifixion), but He just expressed His innermost feelings to the Father in prayer. But He always added that the Father’s Will had to be done, not Christ’s human will which did not want to go through these terrible events just ahead of Him. And He submitted to the Father’s Will in everything.
This must be our approach as well. We must never argue with God and oppose God’s Will for us, whatever it may be. But submitting to God’s Will has nothing to do with lack of faith.
When we ask God for healing, we MUST believe that our request will be granted. When we ask God for healing, we must not doubt at the same time by thinking that perhaps it is not God’s Will to heal us. Such a prayer would show doubt (Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:23). It would not avail anything, because why would we even ask God for healing in the first place? If in a particular case God does not intervene right away, or for a longer period of time, we must not lose faith and give in to doubt (Matthew 14:31), but rather, our faith must grow ever stronger (Romans 4:20, Living Bible), being totally convinced that God will answer our prayer of faith in His due time. And let us not forget that no sickness—no matter how severe—is beyond God’s power to heal. There is NOTHING too hard or impossible for God (Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17).
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
