Question: Must I develop great faith first for God to answer my prayers and heal me?
Answer: God always keeps His promises, and the Bible says He hears the prayers of all people and responds according to His will for their lives. In James 5:16, the apostle Paul recorded that prayer for yourself and others is vitally important:
“Confess your sins to one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (New King James version)
“Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results.” (Living Bible version)
Old Testament scriptures reveal that, long ago, people thought that sickness was a result of a person’s sin, which was not always the case. In the New Testament, Jesus and His disciples compassionately healed many people, both believers and unbelievers, who came to them. Those miracles were meant to authenticate Jesus’ power over disease and death; this was intended by God to point to Jesus as the Messiah that Israel had been anticipating. In another well-known example, Paul, who God’s Holy Spirit led to write much of the New Testament, reported that God had chosen not to heal him, even though he prayed numerous times (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). If great faith were required to get answers from God, and Paul didn’t have enough faith to be healed, then how could anyone else ever receive healing from our God? So, we see that the measure of faith is not a requirement for healing!
Some people today say that it is God’s will that everyone who prays will be healed, but biblically, this is not true. If it were, then those who prayed would always get well and never die. Even during Jesus’ ministry in His country, He and His disciples did not heal all the sick. The simple truth is, God decides for Himself whether healing is in His plan and His perfect timing for a person’s life. Remarkably, when He does heal, God heals directly, with or without our prayers! Often, He guides the medical profession to help us. Jesus taught His disciples to pray for what God knows is best for the future of everyone:
“…that your will would be done here on earth like it is in heaven.” Luke 11:2
Be assured, God always hears your prayers when you ask for His help. Does He send healing any time that you ask for it? Not everything you ask for fits into God’s plan that He has for you ANDfor others. Just as God had greater purposes to be accomplished through Jesus’ healings, He has greater, eternal purposes for bringing people across your path who are suffering. Pray for the healing of the sick, but, more importantly, pray for both you and others to become believers, or followers of Jesus Christ. A person’s spiritual condition is much more urgent than his present physical state. God’s top priority is to heal someone spiritually; the earthly body will not last long, but the spirit or soul will live on forever in either heaven or hell. He wants all people in reside in heaven with Him! Whatever your disease, our God, the “Great Physician,” is certainly able to heal you.
“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed.” Jeremiah 17:14
“I have seen his ways, and will heal him.” Isaiah 57:18
Ask God for His ultimate purposes to be accomplished in your life and those you pray for. God has a track record of answering us in unexpected ways with His unlimited power!
“Behold, I am the Lord the God of all mankind. Is there anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27
