Why are some people healed and some are not?

Why are some people healed in response to prayer and some are not?

Written by Kevin A. Hall (03.2017)

Without a doubt, God heals. God incarnate at the onset of His earthly mission declared His Spiritual Kingdom to be present; a Kingdom in which He heals the brokenhearted, He releases those who are held captive, He gives sight to the blind and heals all manner of diseases (Luke4:18-20, Matthew 4:23-24). Wherever Jesus went there was demonstration of His divine power to control the elements of this physical world. The Psalmist David in praise to God reminds us to “Bless the Lord, not forget His benefits, Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases…” (Psalm 103:2-3). The Apostle Peter declared to Arenas who was bedridden and paralyzed for 8 years “Arise, Jesus Christ heals you” (Acts 9:34). The death and resurrection of Christ defeated sin and death, providing salvation and healing for those in – Christ (Isaiah 53:5).

To this end, the New Testament Church is built upon this truth. A benefit of being a part of the family

of God is access to His power – the power to heal. In one of Jesus’ parting discourses He said “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well” (Mark 16:17-18). Jesus calls the church to be patient and persevering when praying for the sick/healing. In God’s Kingdom order He instructs those who are sick or weakened by their suffering to pray, as well as call for the elders of the church to not only pray, but to provide comfort, support and strength. Now, whether achieved through the efforts of the elders or the community of believers making intercession, or the effort of the one who is sick, it is “the prayer of faith” that will “raise the sick person up” (James 5:15). It is this kind of prayer that God will answer to which the sick will be healed. God is moved by faith. We saw Him respond to this kind of faith throughout the Gospel and this “kind of faith, the prayer of faith” is what He calls for when praying for the sick, or when we pray for ourselves.

So why is it that some prayers for healing are answered and others are not?



 There may be many ways to explain this but I will focus on two – One is this matter of God’s sovereignty and Providence and the other is our Faith. Through Special Providence, God “controls the natural processes of the body in relation to disease and healing, strengthening the body’s ability to fight and to heal” (Cottrell, 123). And through His immanence, we know that God is “present in this world, taking active interest in everything that happens everywhere” (Cot. 123). In other words, “God has something to do with everything” (Cot.123).

Yet, He chooses to answer some prayers and not answer some. This in no way denies the presence of God, nor does an unanswered prayer mean that God does not care. There are many reasons for sickness: Could be the result of our choices (e.g. we paid no attention to our diet); the result of genetics; the attack of the enemy or even our own sin.

Cottrell (116) states – “God’s decision to give relative independence and free will to creation means He (God) has to respect the integrity of man’s choice. He must allow His creatures to operate according to the relative independence He bestowed upon them. This includes the ability to choose freely”. God then “reserves the right to intervene or not to intervene”. He is sovereign. He is in control of everything that happens even though He does not cause everything” (Cot. 117). If we pray for healing, He may or may not answer favorably depending “in accordance with His purpose”. The believer will do well to stand on the promise of God while praying that “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).

Therefore, while we would all love to be healed, God reserves the right to grant that answered prayer. What moves His response aside from His will is our faith. That is why He calls for the “prayer of faith” – that earnest, unwavering resolve in His ability which He may grant an answer. Mary was a great model for this. When Jesus went to see her brother, she told him “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”. To this, scripture says He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Then He wept (John 11: 32 – 35). This is the kind of faith that moves God. This is the faith we should seek when we pray.

If a prayer does not result in an immediate healing, we ought to take courage knowing that (1) God is still in control (Ps. 50:10-11); our requests sometimes do not coincide with His response; we should continue to do good (1 Peter 4:19); we should never doubt His sovereignty during the tough times and we should take courage in the promise that God’s sufficiency is enough (2 Cor. 12:9) [Yarbrough]. The prophet Elijah was a man just like us who “prayed earnestly, and prayed again” (James 5:17-18) and the Lord God answered His prayer. The believer should keep on praying, energetically, passionately, faithfully, with this kind of perspective (James 5:16). God is not Santa Claus, but He cares. Therefore, we can pray with this confidence, in all humility and submission – God command us to pray “casting all our cares upon Him for He cares for us” (1 Peter 5:7). He reserves the right in response to prayer to heal or not to heal.

References:

1.       Macarthur, J. The Macarthur Study Bible. United States of America: Thomas Nelson Publishing (1997)

2.      Cottrell, J. The Faith Once For All. The United States of America: College Press (2002)

3.       Yarbrough, M. “When God Doesn’t Heal”. Retrieved from: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/september/30.80.html

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