Does God Heal People Today?

Q

I take your commentary (on healing) to mean that you believe that God/Jesus heals people today on earth. Do you believe that God will heal you if you pray and are anointed with oil etc?

I worked as a nurse for 20 years and eventually sustained a life-altering injury at work that disabled me from severe back pain. I have prayed incessantly, repented, been anointed by the elders, read books on healing, had constant prayer by hundreds of believers and called out to God on a 24/7 basis begging and appropriating my healing. I have been in severe unrelenting pain now for almost a decade without healing in sight. I do not have any unconfessed sins, I hold no anger or I am not participating in any sinful acts so it cannot be me. I am a repentant, born again Christian who tithes.

SO DO YOU BELIEVE THAT CHRISTIANS CAN BE HEALED? AND IF SO, WHY HAVEN’T I BEEN HEALED?

A

I do believe Christians can be healed. I’ve seen it in others and experienced it myself. More importantly, the Bible promises it.

The clearest passage in the New Testament on healing is James 5:14-16, which reads:

“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

There is only one condition given in this passage, and that’s the faith of the people involved. From your letter, it appears that you believe you should have been healed, and that the reason you haven’t can’t lie with you. The main lesson from the book of Job is that when we justify ourselves we condemn God. By saying the fault doesn’t lie with us, we’re effectively saying it lies with God. And that means we don’t believe that God is just.

This was Job’s attitude before God enlightened him. (Job 31) Once Job saw that he himself was at fault and that God is just, he repented and his health and his fortunes were restored. (Job 42:1-6)

In Mark 9:21-27 a distraught father asked Jesus to take pity on his son and help him “if you can.” Jesus said that every thing is possible for the one who believes. The man’s response should be ours as well. “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”