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: Many of us have 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 guides the medical profession to help us.
God hears the prayers of both believers and those who have not yet put their trust in Him. God’s compassion is without limits! His greatest desire is for all people to come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. Keep in mind, a person’s spiritual condition is much more urgent an issue than his or her physical state. God’s priority is to heal spiritually; the earthly, physical body is not designed to last long, but the spirit or soul will live on forever in either heaven or hell. He wants everyone in heaven with Him!
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 all people. It’s part of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus demonstrated how to pray for what God knew would be best:
“…that 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 become His followers who do His will. Ask God for His purposes to be accomplished in their lives now and, even possibly, through their deaths.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.” Psalm 116:15
