I have a friend who believes that you should not speak with your mouth that you are sick or have a problem because that confirms it and it will be so. She says to pray for healing and start saying that you are well even though the symptoms are still there. She says that it may take a few days for the healing to take place but that God will heal you if you have faith and continue to claim the healing. I always think of God healing someone instantly and completely not over a period of time. I am wrong in my thinking? Does God sometimes heal gradually?
The Bible is not wishy-washy at all about the power of prayer with regard to healing. James 5:15 says the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. And even non-believers understand the power of positive expectation and affirmation. These are both Biblical principles that the secular world has hijacked and perverted for selfish purposes in the name of self development.
But there can be a big difference between what people say and what they believe, and I think some in the name it and claim it crowd substitute will power for faith in the power of God. As with everything else, it’s the motive of our heart that matters. If your friend is using positive expectation and affirmation to bolster her faith in God’s healing power that’s good, but if she’s trying to force something to happen by the power of her own will then it’s not.
Healing miracles in the Bible are for the most part immediate, but that may be due to the fact that those performing them had unwavering, even supernatural faith. This causes some to think if we’re not healed immediately the prayer “didn’t work”. But I wouldn’t rule out the legitimacy of gradual healing.