Series

Lorie Trich came to work one day last November with a migraine headache. She was muddling through, trying to stay at work, but was obviously hurting. Later that morning, as I was sitting at my computer, I suddenly thought of her, and just bowed my head and told the Lord I wanted to pray that He would take that pain away. I said that not so much as a prayer, but as a lament—sort of, “I want to do that, but I won’t because I don’t really think you’ll do it.” Immediately I “heard” in my mind, “Speak to the pain. Tell the pain, ‘Be gone.’” That seemed pretty strange to me, to say the least, so I wrestled with it for a few minutes. How can you address something that isn’t personal, isn’t even an object? Then I heard, “Jim, you ask me to do things like this, and when I give you the chance you won’t take it.” Well, He had me there!

I wrestled some more with the fear of looking foolish if nothing happened. What will Lorie think of me if I pray for her and she doesn’t feel better? Then I remembered something I had read in one of Jack Deere’s books to the effect that God said, “If you won’t take the credit when someone gets healed, then you won’t have to take the blame when they don’t get healed.”[1] So eventually, I submitted to what I thought God was asking of me, invited Lorie to come into my office, told her what I had just been thinking, and asked her if I could pray for her. I laid my hands on her head, confessed that I didn’t know what I was doing, and said, “In the name of Jesus the Healer, Pain, be gone. Amen.” Period. That was it. I had no expectation that God was going to do anything for her. I didn’t feel anything in my hands as I prayed. I was just being obedient.

I didn’t have the courage to ask her how she felt, so she just got up and went back to work. On her way home that day, she stopped in my office and thanked me for praying. Now I’ll let Lorie tell her part of the story.

I offer that story, not to pat myself on the back in any way, because I really didn’t have any faith at all to speak of. It was all God’s doing. I share that with you just to encourage you to believe that God still heals, sometimes miraculously.

A. To glorify Himself John 11:4; Matthew 15:30-31; Luke 5:24-26; 7:16; 18:42-43; 19:37; Acts 3:12-13; Acts 4:21

Primarily, God heals to glorify Himself. When we talk about healing, it’s easy to think that God does it for us, for our benefit, and that is partly true. But it is not the first part, or the largest part of the truth. The first and main reason God heals us is to glorify Himself.

When they came to Jesus and told Him that His friend, Lazarus, was sick, Jesus said, John 11:4, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.” God had actually allowed that sickness—which would kill Lazarus—for the purpose of getting glory for the Son. Over and over again, when Jesus or the apostles healed people, those who saw it praised and glorified God. This is the ultimate purpose—to demonstrate His power and His love in such a way that people will recognize Him for who He is and give Him the credit He deserves. I’m sure you have prayed at some point or another, “Lord, if you will heal this person, we will give you praise.” And we would! We would love to have more opportunities to brag about our great God to others.

Over 80 times in the NIV Bible, God is described as being compassionate. Here’s just one verse from each testament to remind us of the tender, compassionate God we have. Psalm 103:13, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” Mark 1:41, “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the [leper]. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” God is not mean. He is not cruel. He is tender and loving and gracious, and compassionate toward those who are hurting. The word compassionate comes from the Latin meaning “to feel with”. God feels our pain with us, and He loves to alleviate that pain. It’s part of His very nature to do so.

Psalm 62:11-12, “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, [12] and that you, O Lord, are loving.” God is strong—there is nothing He can’t do. And He is loving. He sometimes heals to demonstrate these two things about Himself.

II. Why God Sometimes Does Not Heal Ps 74:9-11; 77:7-14; Mark 6:5-6 || Matt 13:58; 2 Cor 12:8ff.; 1 Peter 1:6-7

There are probably any number of reasons for that. We know that in times of apostasy in the Old Testament, the psalmist complained to God Psalm 74:9, “We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.” We also know that Jesus was “unable” to do very many miracles in His home town of Nazareth because the people there were so convinced that He was just an ordinary man that their skepticism in some way squelched His power (Mark 6:5-6||Matt 13:58).

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that sometimes God chooses to display His power by giving us the ability to endure suffering, rather than by relieving that pain. Doug Banister says, “God is glorified when he heals. God is glorified when he [ennables] us to suffer with hope and dignity. God’s compassion extends to us when he lifts us out of our pain. God’s compassion extends to us when he holds our hand and walks through our pain with us. God bears witness to a hurting world with the conspicuous power of signs and wonders. God bears witness to a hurting world with the quiet power of a holy life. God draws us toward holiness both when he heals us and when he allows us to share the fellowship of his sufferings.”[2] God didn’t heal Paul of his thorn in the flesh, because He wanted to do some other, more important, work in his soul (2 Cor 12:8ff.) Peter says that suffering proves the genuineness of our faith and will result in praise, glory, and honor for us when Jesus returns (1 Peter 1:6-7).

One thing we can say for certain when God does not heal is that it is not because He has abandoned us, or doesn’t love us, or doesn’t have the power to heal. We just know that it is not His will to heal everyone, and He doesn’t tell us why.

You will sometimes hear charismatics say that it is God’s will to heal everyone, because healing is in the atonement. They get this idea from the famous passage in Is 53, describing the Messiah: Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” The question is, are those physical wounds, or spiritual wounds? Most non-charismatics want to say the passage is talking about our spiritual atonement, so it does not refer to physical ailments. Peter seems to confirm that when he says, 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” By putting that phrase from Isaiah in the context of Christ dying for our sins, he implies that the wounds meant there are spiritual.

But Matthew 8:16-17 puts that same passage from Isaiah in a physical context: “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’”

So it turns out that the New Testament writers saw the healing in the atonement as both physical and spiritual. One writer says, “Of course there is healing in the atonement. In exactly the same sense, the resurrection body is also in the atonement—even though neither charismatic nor noncharismatic argues that any Christian has the right to demand a resurrection body right now. The issue is not ‘what is in the atonement’, for surely all Christians would want to say that every blessing that comes to us, now and in the hereafter, ultimately flows from the redemptive work of Christ. The issue, rather, is what blessings we have a right to expect as universally given endowments right now, what blessings we may expect only hereafter, and what blessings we may partially or occasionally enjoy now and in fullness only in the hereafter.”[3] We have seen before that the Kingdom of God is already here, but not yet fully here, and I think that helps explain a lot of what we see in terms of physical healing. God’s ultimate goal is to make us whole in every way—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. All of that was made possible by the atonement bought by Christ on the cross. One day we will receive new bodies, completely remade, suited to live for eternity with no sickness or weakness. But that’s not yet. In between now and then, God in His mercy sometimes chooses to heal our bodies in a supernatural way, and sometimes He does not. The kingdom is already here, but not yet fully here. So I would say, yes, all healing is potentially in the atonement, but it will not be fully realized until the kingdom comes in its fullness.

Let’s look at a number of myths that have grown up around this matter of healing.

to be exercised at the person’s discretion. The assumption here is that the gift of healing is like the gift of teaching—once you have it, you have it, and you can use it any time you want. If that’s what the gift is, then I would skeptically ask why the “healer” doesn’t just go to the nearest hospital and clear it out by healing everyone there.

Here are some reasons to question this notion that the gift of healing mentioned in the Bible is a permanent possession of the individual, and that everyone they pray for will get well.

The phrase Paul uses for this gift all three times he mentions it (1 Cor. 12:9, 28, 30) is always literally “gifts of healings.” The plurals may indicate, as one writer says, that, “these gifts are not permanent, but each occurrence is a gift in its own right.”[4] I find that attractive, because as I have visited with charismatic pastors and asked them about healing in their churches, none of them suggested that there were people who could heal anyone they prayed for.

Another possible way to take this plural construction is that some people may have a special ability to pray for certain kinds of illnesses and often see results, while others sort of “specialize” in different ailments. I know a man who says he has the gift of healing warts (!) He thinks it is crazy, and he wishes God would use him to heal something significant, like cancer, but when he prays for people with troublesome warts, they go away pretty consistently. And, in fact, I was with him when he prayed for a mutual friend’s wart that the doctors had not been able to get rid of, and it did go away over the next month. Who can explain that? God is sovereign.

No responsible person suggests that they permanently have the gift of healing and can heal anyone they want at any time. If they do say that, they are just wrong.

A second reason to question that understanding of the gift of healing is that not even the apostles healed everyone.

2. The apostles didn’t heal everyone Matt 17:16 (cf. 10:1); Phil 2:25-27; 1 Tim 5:23; 2 Tim 4:20

They couldn’t heal the demonized boy whose father brought him to them while Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration(Matt 17:16), even though Jesus had previously given them authority over demons, and they had successfully cast some out. Paul could not heal Epaphroditus, who nearly died (Phil 2:25-27); or Timothy, who had persistent stomach problems (1 Tim 5:23); or Trophimus, whom Paul left in Miletus while he was still sick (2 Tim 4:20).[5] I think it is safe to say that the apostles probably had more of God’s Spirit than most of us do today, so if they could not heal everyone, it is unlikely that we will be able to.[6]

How many of you have heard this? This is one of the most grievous errors of those who want to emphasize the availability of the gifts today. It is absolutely unconscionable to blame the victim for being sick or wounded. Now instead of helping them, you leave them not only still sick, but also loaded down with guilt. It’s not right!

I am much encouraged in this regard by the story in Mark 9, where Jesus comes down from the Mt. of Transfiguration and encounters the disciples failing in their efforts to cast out a demon. Mark 9:21-24, “Jesus asked the boy's father, ‘How long has he been like this?’ ‘From childhood,’ he answered. [22] ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’ [23] ‘“If you can”?" said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’ [24] Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”

This man doesn’t have faith that Jesus will heal his son; he doesn’t even have enough faith to believe that Jesus can heal him—he says, “If you can…” But rather than put the man down for his admitted lack of faith, Jesus heals his son! Wow! That is so encouraging, when my faith is small. I believe; help my unbelief!

Some people think you have to pray in a certain way; or you have to be especially fervent to let God know how much you want this; or you have to anoint the sick person with oil; or you have to have the elders present; or pray in Jesus’ name; or get two or three others to agree with you; the more people praying the more likely God is to heal; etc. The heart of this idea is closely related to magic, like in the Hogwarts School of Magic, or Merlin the magician in King Arthur’s court; it’s also similar to most of the animistic religions on earth. It says that if we do things just right, if we say the incantation just right, or cast the spell just right, or hold our wand correctly when we cast the spell, then we can manipulate the spiritual forces into doing what we want. In Cameroon last August we learned that the funeral custom among the unbelievers there is to offer a goat as a sacrifice to the spirit of the dead person so that they won’t come back and make you sick or cause your crops to fail. Approaching God with a formula for healing is really no different.

I didn’t have the elders present when I prayed with Lorie; I didn’t anoint her with oil; I didn’t ask her to confess her sins. Those are all good things, and we have done those on many occasions when the elders have been called to pray for someone. But those things do not guarantee that God will heal.[7] And He obviously can and does heal when we don’t follow that formula.

As my pastors’ fellowship has discussed healing on a number of occasions, we are agreed that there is no formula. Read the gospel accounts of how Jesus healed, and you’ll see a tremendous variety; He did it differently almost every time. Sometimes He heals, and sometimes He does not, and He never explains Himself.

So, what are we to do with this business of praying for healing, these “gifts of healings”?

I know that you all pray for God to heal, and I charge you to keep it up. You don’t have to have the “gift of healing” to do that. Just pray for one of the “gifts of healings” to be given to you for the need of the moment.

I am also thinking that it is a good idea first to ask God what He wants to do. I am convinced that the reason God healed Lorie’s headache that day was not because I followed a formula, or I had great faith, or even she had great faith. It was because that’s what God wanted to do that day. He communicated that to me, and I was just obedient to ask for it. 1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.” Much of the time, we are left to guess what God wants to do. There are lots of guidelines in the Scripture—for example, there is no indication at all that God intends to let you win the lottery just so you can spend it on yourself. But we see His heart of compassion, we see His concern for the nations, and for our neighbors; we see the kinds of requests Jesus responded to while He was here. And we can sort of filter our requests through that grid. But we have all had the experience of asking for something we thought should be in His will, and it obviously wasn’t, because He didn’t grant it. So ask God what He wants to do. When He tells you He wants to do something, then you know He will, and you can pray in confidence. I hope that next time, I’ll be more confident than I was!

Be willing to be a fool for Christ’s sake. We don’t need to be concerned about whether we will look foolish or not. Go ahead and stick your neck out—ask God for a miracle. “If you won’t take the credit when someone gets healed, then you won’t have to take the blame when they don’t get healed.” God is willing to take the blame. Sometimes we get ourselves all twisted in knots trying to protect God’s reputation. We note that He says He’ll do whatever we ask in Jesus’ name, or whatever we ask if two or three agree, so we set about to follow the formula. But then when it doesn’t work, we feel like we have to defend God. That’s where we start to blame the victim for not having enough faith; or we start to practice magic and say we didn’t follow the formula closely enough; or we blame ourselves for not having enough faith. But folks, if I can say this reverently, God is a big boy! He can take it. God is not troubled if people blame Him when things go “wrong” as we perceive them, when they don’t work out the way we wanted, or asked.

And He doesn’t care if we look foolish, either. One man (John Wimber) whom God used powerfully in a healing ministry prayed for over a thousand people before he saw one healed. He said he felt like a fool, but he was determined to keep at it, because God said He still heals.

We sometimes pray for healing, “If it be Thy will.” But friends, that’s just trying to give ourselves or God an out. If God doesn’t do it, then we can say it’s not our fault; we’re not the idiots with egg on our face; we don’t have to be all that embarrassed, because it was God’s decision. That’s right—it’s always God’s decision. We don’t need to pray, “If it is in your will,” because that is the point of praying in Jesus’ name. It means that we want what Jesus wants; we are coming in His righteousness to ask for those things that He wants to do. If He doesn’t want to do it, then He won’t, and we get to look like fools for asking—fools for Christ’s sake. God is not concerned about our reputation; He is concerned about His reputation, but He decides what will make Him look good, not us.

Each week, Lorie produces a “Praise and Prayer” sheet that has a number of things to pray for in our church. If you call the church office, or one of the staff, we will be glad to put your name on that sheet so others can pray for you. That sheet is on the Information Center counter if you would like to pray for people and events in our church.

I am so grateful for our Prayer Team, who pray for emergency situations every week in this church. Call me, or the church office with your request, and we’ll pass it on via email to about 60 people who will pray for you as soon as they get the email.

If you are interested in being a part of that, give us your email address, and we’ll gladly add you to the distribution list.

At the end of our services we have members of our Prayer Ministry Team stand here in the front to pray with you. That is another good way to lay hold of the grace of God for healing, and I want to encourage you to take advantage of it. Whether it is physical healing you need, or mental, or emotional, or spiritual—we have a God who performs miracles (Ps 77:14), and He says that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be here and will answer our prayers (Matt 18:19-20).

I have a sense that sometimes people in our congregation are reluctant to come forward for prayer because they are embarrassed to admit that they have needs. Look—we’re all needy people. There’s no sense in pretending that you’re not—we’re not going to look down on you for coming forward for prayer. We’re going to admire you for your courage and your faith to believe that God can do something about your need. And next week it will be one of us. So come—take advantage of that time to have someone pray with and for you about anything at all. If you would like to be on the Prayer Ministry Team, contact Callie Redfield.

Also, next Sunday, February 15, our prayer meeting will be devoted to praying for the sick. 5:00 p.m. here in the sanctuary. I invite you to come, bring yourself and your loved ones to Jesus, and we will intercede for you before the throne of the almighty, merciful and compassionate God. We will ask God to stretch out His hand to heal in the name of His holy servant Jesus, that He might be glorified in our church and our city.

The elders of this church are always available to pray for you. James 5 says that if you are sick, you should take the initiative to call the elders; if you call us, we will come. We count it a privilege to do so. We will ask you to confess any sin that this illness has revealed to you, because God often uses things like that to get our attention and cause us to reflect on our lives more than we do when we are healthy. And we will anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord and ask Him to raise you up.

When Moses appeared before Pharaoh, his 1% was to throw down his rod; God’s 99% was to turn it into a snake. When we come to God to ask for healing, our 1% is to pray; God’s 99% is to heal. We believe that God still heals, and He does it most often in response to the prayers of His people. So we pray for those who are sick and wounded, in any way, and we wait in expectation to see God glorify Himself.

[1] Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), p.124.

[2] Doug Banister, The Word and Power Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), p.154.

[3] As Packer puts it, ‘That total healing of the body, with total sinless perfection, are “in the atonement,” in the sense that entire personal renewal in Christ’s image flows from the cross (see Romans 8:23; Phil 3:20,21) is true, but it is a potentially disastrous mistake to expect on earth what will only be given in heaven.’” D.A. Carson, Showing the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), p.176; quoting J.I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit, p.277, n. 12.

[4] Gordon D. Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996), p.166.

[5] Jack Deere, p.64ff. argues that the apostle’s healing ministry was different from the gift of healing given to believers today, at least in the strength of the gift.

[6] Moreover, even Jesus didn’t heal everyone. When Luke says in 5:17, “the power of the Spirit was present for Him to heal”, implies it was not always so. Jesus insisted He only did what He saw the Father doing (Jn 5:19), and it was obviously not God’s will to heal everyone Jesus came in contact with. In John 5, Jesus healed only one of the many people at the Pool of Bethesda. In Mark 6:5,6, it says Jesus could not do any miracles in Nazareth because of their skepticism. God decides who gets healed and when. We usually have no idea why.

[7] In fact, I can’t think of an instance where the elders did everything prescribed in James 5 and the person was healed, but in the situation with Lorie, I did none of them, and she was.