Question: I prayed that God would heal my grandmother, but He didn’t. She died. Should I have prayed more? Does God only grant the wishes of people who have been Christians a long time? Did I not have enough faith? What did I do wrong?
Answer: We have all asked God these same questions. You wondered whether God really heard your prayers, if you prayed correctly, if you prayed enough, or if you had enough clout with God to get your prayers answered.
The truth may surprise you, but there is no specific prayer or formula for Christians to unlock the healing mechanism of God. He is not a button you can push and get a request granted. You can’t utter certain words or phrases to set God in motion to do what you have already decided is best. God decides for Himself whether healing is in His plan for a life. When He does, God heals directly, with or without our prayers. Many times He uses the medical profession to help us.
Even the apostle Paul and the 12 disciples could not heal everyone they tried to help. It was just not always in God’s plan to extend people’s lives. Jesus told His disciples to pray for what God knew would be best for the future of everyone. It’s part of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus demonstrated how to pray for what God thought was best:
“…your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.” Luke 11:2
Amazingly, God heals believers and nonbelievers every day! Christians’ prayers are important to God, and He hears them all. The Bible urges you to pray for the healing of the sick, but, more importantly, He would rather you pray for them to become believers and His followers who do His will. Ask God for His purposes to be accomplished in their lives and, even possibly, by their deaths.
