Bible Question: so since the word of God tells us that by the strips Jesus bore we are healed and God said he sent His word and healed them we should asume that its God's will that we be healed so if we ask for healing God would not tell us no I have found no where in the New Testament where Jesus ever said no when someone came to Him for healing so would God ever answer with no for a prayer request for healing |
Bible Answer: Healing: Does God Always Heal? Probably the main reason we are concerned about the doctrine that it is always God’s will to heal is because we have met too many people, and received too many letters, such as the one from which I now quote: "I am very interested in your views on Kenneth Hagin and Copeland. I have a blood condition called Hypoglycemia. I have experienced an extreme case of it. I have often wondered why I wasn’t healed instantly and supernaturally. This seems to sometimes make me feel as though I haven’t repented of sin, or committed an awful sin, or even that I didn’t (have) any faith or I have even doubted my salvation." To have the audacity to tell one of God’s children that if they are sick it is because of their own sin or lack of faith is to abound in presumptuousness, and be bankrupt in compassion. I’ve known of more than one person who demonstrated this insensitivity until God dealt with him by laying him flat on his back, and when none of his "principles" would work he suddenly developed an empathy of those he had once judged. We never see it portrayed in Scripture that perfect health is the sign of spirituality. To set up such a standard is to divert God’s people from the spiritual standard that Scripture does set forth (such as in 2 Peter 1:5-9). Ken Copeland and others teach that we must resist sickness in the same way that we resist sin. This also disturbs us. We’ve seen too many good Christians striving to "believe" their sickness away, and finally collapsing into self-condemnation and utter discouragement over their "lack of faith" or the "sin" in their lives. Most likely, there was a divine purpose for that sickness in their lives, and it would have been a lot easier on them, after they prayed in faith and nothing happened, to have ceased striving and simply rested in the comforting sovereignty of God. After being forced to go to this extent to prove that it is not always God’s will to heal, we do want to close on the positive note that we do believe that divine healing is for today. We see no Scriptural basis to doubt that we can expect to see healing take place here and now. Healing should be a regular part of the life of all churches (James 5:14-16). We also believe that faith plays an important part in receiving healing, and that the Church has much to learn about faith, and how to more effectively receive it for healing. We feel that many who saw this need embraced the "healing in the atonement" doctrine because it seemed to offer a more solid basis for faith. Unfortunately, however, this basis is not the Scriptural basis, and therefore it has created more problems than was hoped it would solve. If we have no guarantee that it is always God’s will to heal, how then can we pray in faith for healing? In the same way that we pray in faith for other things which Scripture does not specifically promise us. We may pray that the Lord would give us a job at a certain company, but we cannot know for sure if it’s His will that we work there unless He personally assures us of it through His Spirit. Faith is a supernatural gift (Ephesians 2:8); it begins with God. Thus when it is God’s will for a healing (which I believe it often would be), if we are open and receptive to Him, a supernatural assurance from Him will come upon us. The Body of Christ needs to learn to be more receptive and responsive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit working in our faith, so that through a sovereign act of God’s healing will multiply in the land, and the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified. - Elliot Miller (1979) 1Price, Frederick K. C., Is Healing For All? Harrison House, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1976, 9. 2Ibid., 10. 3Ibid., 12. 4Hagin, Kenneth E., Right and Wrong Thinking, Kenneth Hagin Evangelistic Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 24 (STATEMENT DH018, http://www.equip.org/search/) |