Have You Ever Asked For Healing and Got It Immediately?

What is healing?

aiki said:

This isn't stated in any of the three Gospel accounts of Jesus's visit to Nazareth. None of them say that a press of people desiring healing surrounded Jesus when he was in Nazareth. You're thinking of what was said three chapters earlier in Mark where Jesus is somewhere else entirely. So, yes, you are misunderstanding.

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Man - you already saw the verse above - you even quoted it back to me - but here it is again:

Mark 3:9,10 And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the multitude, in order that they might not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him.

How do you not see this. "all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him." They did that because "He had healed many", (not all), and "He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the multitude" - He was leaving because He was getting crowded out. Now He had another option, and that was to heal them all so that there would then not be any pressing about Him in order to touch Him, but that was not what He was doing. He was healing many, then getting in a boat because of the crowd of people that wanted to get healing!!!

And if was that area that He later said would be harder on them than in Sodom, because if the miracles that had been done there had been done in Sodom it would still exists to this day. They missed the point of the healing, and we do that same thing today!! What the Lord wants is that you would turn and listen to Him - thus getting into that deeper relationship that this part of the forum is talking about. But we make it about whether He is going to heal everyone instead of understanding that you need to make in about knowing Him!! That is why the same Lord in the Old Testament talked about 'if you harken to His voice and keep His commandments He would bring none of the diseases on you that He did on Egypt '

People want to be healed, but they don't want to listen to Him and get into a closer relationship. They think God should heal them even though they don't listen to Him and even go so far as to say He doesn't exist and He needs to prove otherwise to Him, like in healing them, if they are going to believe in Him, seek Him, and listen to Him. Of course that is wrong. He is under no obligation to heal them! He does heal them, us, at times, and that should cause us to start believing and seek Him, but it doesn't. Not usually. So He doesn't always heal. He does what He wants, but what He wants is correct whether we know it or not. If you want to know it, start talking to Him and listening!

I used to not listen to Him or believe in Him. About 20 years ago He came into my life, then I did start listening to Him. About 17 years ago He told me He was going to use me in a healing ministry. I told Him I didn't want that. Too much pressure, I reasoned. But about 8 years ago He told me He wanted me in a Christian healing ministry. I still didn't want to, but He talked me into it, and He made a way, because if not for Him they wouldn't even have let me in it. He had me serve in it for five years, and I learned a ton. There is soo much to learn, even just about God and healing.

Ok, I talk to people who think they know but obviously are not involved in that type of ministry, which is ok. God has different reasons for different people. But anyone in a Christian healing ministries knows and has to learn to deal with the fact that not everyone you pray for instantly gets a miracle. Many do, and it is surprising how many! So you do you deal with it, when you pray and want to see someone healed and the Lord doesn't heal them, as far as you can see? The answer is that you talk to Him, listen to Him, and learn from Him.

So it is that I can tell you about cancer getting healed, legs growing out, wheel chairs and walkers left behind, heart problems being solved, born spurs disappearing, and so much more. But I can also tell you about cancer not being healed, wheel chairs not being left behind, and so many things that break your heart because they didn't get healed. What is hardest to explain is the why not, but many if not most Christians are still wondering why, and if anyone has every seen an instant healing. Yeah, and I hear people saying how God always heals anyone that asks Him, but where is there testimonies of everyone they prayed for getting healed? and if they have that testimony how is it they are not being crowded around and looking for a boat to get away from it?

You know - in that Christian healing ministry, we almost never had too few people show up. It was mostly too many, and that despite that we did almost not advertising, would often take days off, and it was all done with very little fan fair in what might be considered back rooms. Still, by word of mouth, I guess, people showed up and showed up, and showed up. And frankly, God showed up too, but we still didn't see everyone get instant healing, but it did happen!

ChristianGirl_96 said:

What is healing?

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This is a better question than it seems. Healing, of course, is getting healed. We are talking 'English' right?

Yet many people don't understand that God's healing can include anything needed to be healed. Many people believe God for emotional healing. Like if I am sad, perhaps God can make me happy. Yet they might not believe that if a person has serve clinical depression that God can heal them. He can, but he also likes us to have faith that He can. Faith that he can is not necessarily the same as He will, but why shouldn't He? That is the question we need to ask Him. We ask Him but our faith is in Him. That is: if we truly believe His exists we obviously are going to start asking Him and expecting to hear from Him.

This is where the deeper relationship comes in at. And this is what He is looking for. If you believe He is the great I AM then you are going to seek Him and His voice. And if you harken to His voice you will find out that He is the healer. Depression - gone. He can just tell it to go and He will start giving you authority, also.

So what about physical problems, like head aches and such. Yep - those can be removed also. Of course it gets harder to believe God for bigger things. Remember that faith comes from hearing, so the more you talk to Him and get into that deeper relationship the more you can believe Him more and the more you are going to see Him do. It is not an over night thing, it is a relationship that is built up, thing.

So what about broken bones, swelling instantly disappearing, and real miracles? What about that type of miracle? Yeah - that too, but it takes more faith. It takes more time taking and listening to Him. Can He do it without all that extra time spent with Him. He is God and all things are possible with Him, but He wants the relationship!!

What you find out is that He is God, and He is smarter that you. He sometime pulls of incredible things when there is no apparent relationships, but isn't that so that someone will consider the works of His hands and turn to Him and start that relationship? I asked a question, because even though it has been twenty years since He came into my life and I learn that He was there to be heard from, I still don't have all the answers. It's why I keep talking to Him and listening to what He says.

I recommend that all start listening to Him and start getting the answers - even to that answer to a great question like - "What is healing?"

Get that answer - but get it from Him!

K2K said:

This is a better question than it seems. Healing, of course, is getting healed. We are talking 'English' right?

Yet many people don't understand that God's healing can include anything needed to be healed. Many people believe God for emotional healing. Like if I am sad, perhaps God can make me happy. Yet they might not believe that if a person has serve clinical depression that God can heal them. He can, but he also likes us to have faith that He can. Faith that he can is not necessarily the same as He will, but why shouldn't He? That is the question we need to ask Him. We ask Him but our faith is in Him. That is: if we truly believe His exists we obviously are going to start asking Him and expecting to hear from Him.

This is where the deeper relationship comes in at. And this is what He is looking for. If you believe He is the great I AM then you are going to seek Him and His voice. And if you harken to His voice you will find out that He is the healer. Depression - gone. He can just tell it to go and He will start giving you authority, also.

So what about physical problems, like head aches and such. Yep - those can be removed also. Of course it gets harder to believe God for bigger things. Remember that faith comes from hearing, so the more you talk to Him and get into that deeper relationship the more you can believe Him more and the more you are going to see Him do. It is not an over night thing, it is a relationship that is built up, thing.

So what about broken bones, swelling instantly disappearing, and real miracles? What about that type of miracle? Yeah - that too, but it takes more faith. It takes more time taking and listening to Him. Can He do it without all that extra time spent with Him. He is God and all things are possible with Him, but He wants the relationship!!

What you find out is that He is God, and He is smarter that you. He sometime pulls of incredible things when there is no apparent relationships, but isn't that so that someone will consider the works of His hands and turn to Him and start that relationship? I asked a question, because even though it has been twenty years since He came into my life and I learn that He was there to be heard from, I still don't have all the answers. It's why I keep talking to Him and listening to what He says.

I recommend that all start listening to Him and start getting the answers - even to that answer to a great question like - "What is healing?"

Get that answer - but get it from Him!

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This is really informative!

K2K said:

Man - you already saw the verse above - you even quoted it back to me - but here it is again:

Mark 3:9,10 And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the multitude, in order that they might not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him.

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This is not part of the account of Jesus' visit to Nazareth. This is part of an account that appears three chapters earlier in Mark.

K2K said:

How do you not see this. "all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him." They did that because "He had healed many", (not all), and "He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the multitude" - He was leaving because He was getting crowded out. Now He had another option, and that was to heal them all so that there would then not be any pressing about Him in order to touch Him, but that was not what He was doing. He was healing many, then getting in a boat because of the crowd of people that wanted to get healing!!!

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Clearly, you are either not reading or not understanding what I've written. I do not deny that what happened in Mark 3 actually happened. But what is described in the Mark 3 account has nothing to do with the Mark 6 account of Jesus visiting Nazareth.

K2K said:

What the Lord wants is that you would turn and listen to Him - thus getting into that deeper relationship that this part of the forum is talking about.

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You have no idea of the character of my life in the Lord. None. What goes on between me and my Saviour is totally unknown to you. So, please, don't tell me what the Lord wants from as though he isn't getting it. You have no knowledge whatever about whether he is or not.

K2K said:

But we make it about whether He is going to heal everyone instead of understanding that you need to make in about knowing Him!!

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I have told you now at least a couple of times this very thing: healing is a unimportant part of walking with God. It is not at all integral to walking well with Him. What is vital to fellowship with God is a thorough knowledge of His revelation of Himself and His will in Scripture, and walking in loving surrender to Him throughout each day.

K2K said:

People want to be healed, but they don't want to listen to Him and get into a closer relationship.

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Yes, I made this observation already a post or two ago.

K2K said:

God has different reasons for different people.

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But He doesn't have a different truth for different people. And His truth, revealed to us in His word, does not support the idea that He wants to or will heal people physically on a regular basis. That's the truth of the Bible for everyone.

K2K said:

But anyone in a Christian healing ministries knows and has to learn to deal with the fact that not everyone you pray for instantly gets a miracle.

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Which, as I pointed out, is not reflective of the sort of healing Jesus did where all who asked him for healing were healed.

K2K said:

So you do you deal with it, when you pray and want to see someone healed and the Lord doesn't heal them, as far as you can see? The answer is that you talk to Him, listen to Him, and learn from Him.

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No, the answer is that God is not in any way obliged to do any healing of anyone, ever. If He does heal someone, great. But I don't need to question Him when He doesn't heal. He doesn't answer to me about what He decides to do.

K2K said:

So it is that I can tell you about cancer getting healed, legs growing out, wheel chairs and walkers left behind, heart problems being solved, born spurs disappearing, and so much more.

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Uh huh.

ChristianGirl_96 said:

What is healing?

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Here are some notes I made on the matter of divine healing:


I. In the New Testament, miraculous healing is commonly connected to the
preaching of the Gospel and as evidence of divine authority.

Matthew 10 (Mk. 3:13-15; Lu. 9:1-6; [10:1-20 - seventy disciples are sent out]) – Christ commissions and empowers the twelve disciples to preach the coming kingdom of God, healing the sick as they do so, and exorcising those possessed of evil spirits. The emphasis of the chapter, however, is on preaching (vs. 7, 14, 19, 27, 32) and on Christ preparing his disciples for the persecution and conflict that will arise as a consequence of preaching the truth, not on healing and exorcisms.

Luke 5:21-26 – Healing is done by Christ to demonstrate his divine authority.

Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Luke 9:11 (NKJV)
11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

Acts 3 – Peter heals a lame man and then uses the ensuing excitement to preach the Gospel.

Taken before the rulers and high priests of Jerusalem and questioned about their healing of the lame man, Peter (accompanied by John) shares the Gospel with them.

Acts 4:8-12 (NKJV)
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,
10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Acts 4:29-31 (NKJV)
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 14:8-18 – Paul heals a lame man and the people of Lystra proclaim Paul a god (Hermes). Paul responds to their pagan reaction to the healing of the lame man by preaching to them the one, true God:

Acts 14:11-17 (NKJV)
11 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!"
12 And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out
15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,
16 who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.
17 Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

II. The gift of healing.

Not all believers will be gifted to heal.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NKJV)
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Healing is among the lesser of the gifts of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NKJV)
28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

III. Healing not guaranteed in the Atonement.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NKJV)
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

1 Peter 2:24-25 (NKJV)
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

These are two of the three primary passages upon which the doctrine of healing in the Atonement rests. In both, the emphasis is not upon healing of physical disease but upon atonement for sin and our consequent reconciliation to God. Sin fractures our fellowship with God, it divides or separates us from Him (Isa. 59:1, 2) and we become like sheep wandering dangerously from the Shepherd. The wounding and death of Christ on the cross, the laying of our iniquity upon him, heals the fracture that our sin has created between us and our holy Maker, not the diseases that have resulted from our sin. This is emphasized by Isaiah at the end of chapter 53:

Isaiah 53:11-12 (NKJV)
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

It is not our physical diseases primarily in view here but our transgressions, iniquities and sin. Isaiah is not teaching that there is guaranteed healing of our physical sicknesses in the Atonement of Christ on the cross but a certain and effectual healing of the rift between ourselves and God that our sin has caused. The apostle Peter makes this clear, too:

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls.

Since sin is the root cause of sickness and death, it stands to reason that one of the benefits of Christ's atonement for sin may be the healing of physical illness. But again, this benefit is not a guaranteed one. Our sin is atoned for perfectly and permanently – this is a guaranteed consequence (really, the entire point) of Christ's work on the cross - but the effect of that atonement is never guaranteed to extend to the eradication of all our physical ailments. This is contested, though, by way of a passage in Matthew 8 that quotes Isaiah 53:4.

Matthew 8:16-17 (NKJV)
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."

The following quotation is pertinent here:

“Since Matthew is quoting Isaiah 53, which, as we have just seen, deals with the atonement quite explicitly, and he applies the text to physical healing and deliverance, many feel that this is irrefutable proof that healing is guaranteed in the atonement. However, such thinking overlooks one extremely significant point. Matthew tells us that this passage of Isaiah is fulfilled right there in the healing ministry of Jesus, before the atonement ever took place.

When we examine Isaiah 53, we see that while the atonement is the central theme, the entire life and ministry of Jesus is considered, extending even beyond the Second Coming — “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” (verse 2) — “Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death” (verse 12). The point of verse 4 is that even though the people of Israel had seen Jesus going about their land healing people of their diseases, they still considered His execution to be a judgment against Him from God: “Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

That “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases” is referring to action taken by Jesus in His healing ministry, and not to a passive receiving of diseases and infirmities on the cross, is supported by the Greek text; took—Greek lambano = take, take away, remove; carried away—Greek bastazo = take up, carry, bear, carry away, remove (Arndt-Ginrich, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament). Thus it is clear that while Isaiah 53:4 does refer to physical healing, its fulfillment was in the healing ministry of Jesus, as noted by Matthew, and not on the cross, and therefore it offers no guarantee of healing to us today.” (Elliot Miller, Christian Research Institute, “Healing: Does God Always Heal?”)


IV. Biblical commands to heal.

Are Jesus's instructions and empowering of his disciples in the Gospels (Matt. 10) meant for all believers in all times? Should all believers expect to heal and cast out demons as a matter of course as they “go into all the world and preach the Gospel”?

- The text is very clear that Christ's words were intended only for the twelve and did not
constitute a general commission to all other followers of Christ.
- Paul indicates a varied dispensation of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) and not a universal empowering of all believers to heal and exorcise demons.
- Healing is not mentioned as a fruit of the Spirit (Ga. 5:22, 23), given to all disciples of Christ. The Spirit, we are taught in Scripture, convicts all believers of sin (Jn. 16:8), is the Helper and Teacher of all those who are saved (Jn. 14:16, 26), empowers all who are in Christ to mortify the flesh and conquer sin (Ro. 8:4; 11-13), assures the hearts of all children of God of their adoption into His family (Ro. 8:16), and produces in each believer the fruit of love, joy, peace patience and so on, but the power to heal miraculously is never universally issued as an ability to believers. Inasmuch, though, as every believer is indwelt by God's Spirit, each one possesses the potential to be a vessel through whom divine, miraculous healing may come, but being used by God this way is by no means mandated of every born-again person as are the characteristics of the indwelling Spirit listed above.

Miraculous healing is never commanded of believers in the New Testament save of those disciples Christ commissioned personally (see the beginning of these notes). Those who are ill are advised, though, to seek out the Elders in their community for prayer and anointing with oil.

James 5:14-16 (NKJV)
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

There is an implication in what the apostle James writes of a correlation between sickness and sin and that confession of the latter may result in the resolution of the former. This was a connection evidenced at times in Jesus's healing. (Matt. 9:5; Lu. 5:20; Jn. 5:14)

It is also worth noting, I think, that the passage does not urge Elders to seek out the sick. The onus is upon the one who is ill to initiate contact with the Elders. I suspect this has to do with the person's faith in God's power to heal and their willingness to confess and forsake the sin that has made them ill – both of which James seems to indicate are vital to healing. (This isn't to suggest, however, that I think all sickness is directly related to some specific sin in a person's life or that the Bible teaches such a thing.)

V. Not all instances of sickness in the New Testament were miraculously healed.

- Paul's “thorn in the flesh” (likely sight-related) was not healed. (2 Cor. 12:7-9)
- Paul prescribed wine for Timothy's stomach issues, not miraculous healing. (1 Ti. 5:23)
- Epaphroditus fell deathly ill but was not miraculously healed. (Phil. 2:25-30)
- Paul did not miraculously heal sick Trophimus but left him behind in Miletus. (1 Ti.
4:20)
- Dorcas (aka Tabitha) a faithful disciple of Jesus becomes ill and dies. She is not miraculously healed by her fellow disciples of Christ nor is she able to heal herself. (Ac. 9:36, 37) Peter, however, arrives and in his special position as an apostle successfully appeals to God to resurrect her from the dead.

In light of the observations above, I am not persuaded that miraculous healing is something Christians ought to promote and pursue as a staple of Christian living. Certainly, it ought not to be urged upon believers as a way of proving the reality and/or depth of their relationship with God. I also think that any claim of healing, given its remarkable nature, ought to be very carefully verified and established. No claim of healing should be made without the ability to show that the claim is true. Too often these days, claims of incredible healing – resurrections even – are made without any means of legitimate verification. In our increasingly skeptical western society, made so in no small part because of the enormous fraud that goes on in this area within Christianity, unprovable claims of healing bring the cause and name of Christ into serious disrepute. Having said this, I don't discount miraculous healing wholesale. There are, I believe, very definitely occasions when God does act miraculously to heal. I have, though, no good reason from Scripture to think that such events ought to be expected to be the norm of Christian experience.

aiki said:

This is not part of the account of Jesus' visit to Nazareth. This is part of an account that appears three chapters earlier in Mark.

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That's correct - this was already covered, along with the Nazareth visit where Jesus couldn't do miracles there because of their lack of faith. Both of which showed you misunderstand that Scriptures and your statement:

aiki said:

Which, as I pointed out, is not reflective of the sort of healing Jesus did where all who asked him for healing were healed

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All those people pressing in around Him, when He told His disciples to get a boat ready to leave, were in effect asking Him for healing and He knew it. The people at Nazareth were also looking to see miracles like they had heard about, but then recognized Him as growing up in their village which wrecked their faith. It is why God has made a habit of sending prophets … meaning to other areas. It is easier to believe God can use someone you don't know personally that someone you know well. Still, that too shows a reason why God (the Christ is God) can't do or always heal people who want Him or His disciples to heal. So the bible is correct, but it is not up for your personal interpretation, but you have to listen to the Spirit speaking to your spirit. This is why this section about a deeper relationship with the Lord is important.

Also, you need to understand that Jesus Christ is the truth!! People have often searched the Scriptures thinking in them they have eternal life. (See Jn 5:39) While studying the Scriptures has many benefits and should be done, but the sacred writing are like a text book which should be studied, but you must still know the Teacher. That is you need to take the class, so to speak, and it comes with a book and a Teacher to explain the book. That is to say, it is not our understanding which is the truth, but His understanding. To get that you must listen to Him - and His words are spirit - not ink on pages. (Jn 6:63) So it is that His sheep hear that small voice of His! That is the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Gal 3:22 But the Scriptures has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

We believe in Him, and faith comes from hearing His words, which are spirit, spoken to our spirit!! Just like it is written in the Scriptures!

Gal 3:5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

I have seen the Lord work hundreds of miracles, and I saw them because I listen to Him, did what He asked of me, which put me in situation where I often saw miracles, but that didn't mean that everyone who came in asking for prayer and want Him to heal them, got healed instantly. Some got healed after I did some other things He asked me to do, like lead them through forgiveness and pray for them again. Some got healed later. Something like the leapers that Jesus prayed for and received their healing after they were on the road. Of course, like in that story, some don't come back and give us an update, but some did. There are just a lot more to Christian healing ministries than leaning on your own understanding of the bible would get you to know.

His disciples were called His disciples because they were learning, and that is how we need to be also. We need to work on that deeper relationship. Along with reading your bible you need to talk to Him, listen to what He has to say to you personally, do what He asks, and go over the things that happen as you learn from Him. If someone was to think they only have the Bible and don't know they have the Teacher, then there is a problem.

Rom 10:6 but the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down)

We are the temple of the Lord and so we find Him in us and speaking to us via His Spirit to our spirit. The word we are preaching in near us, on our lips and in our heart - that is not the Bible - it's on my night stand - the Word of God we preach is Jesus Christ!! He is alive. He is near us. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and His name is called "THE WORD OF GOD" (Rev 19:13)

Lam 3:38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most-High that both good and ill go forth?

The Lord heals people, but not always. In the Scriptures we also find examples where He brought sickness and disaster on people. He was right to do it. They didn't seek Him nor listen to Him.

Lam 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.

That seems to back up the statement that He heals all who asks of Him, but did we miss the 'wait for Him' part? You might ask, and you might seek, you might get prayer, but you still might need to wait!

I have hundreds of testimonies of God's wonderful power and healing, and not. Here are two quick ones and hopefully they will show how a deeper relationship with God works:

Both were at a job I work years ago. The first concerned an employee that had carpel tunnel from working a lot on a computer. She had a wrist brace on constantly. One day I heard the Lord tell me that He would heal her if I prayed for her. UGH - praying for people at work is a tough thing, but since He said I found a way to talk to her on it and she let me pray for her wrist.

The next day I saw her again at work in the computer room, and she still had the problem. She left the room right then and I started getting onto the Lord, asking Him 'what happened Lord?' I hear that still voice of His tell me that 'When she returned I needed to ask her again how her wrist was and that she was going to tell me it was ok.'

About fifteen minutes later she came back into the computer room, but I was busy preparing some work plans and wasn't thinking about what the Lord told me. So He suddenly put this strong feeling on me, which I usually call 'His presence'. I told myself, 'what is that about' then remembered I was supposed to ask her again how the wrist was. I did and indeed, somewhere during that 15 minutes she had been out of the room, the Lord had healed her. She was able to stop wearing the brace, because all the pain was gone after that.

The point is that with a deeper relationship with the Lord you can get instructions that can change peoples lives, but go slow and be nice and loving at all times. He did heal it, and He even healed it quickly, but not till the next day.

Now let me give you the "not". At that same job, not long afterwards, I was thinking about what had happened, and how He healed the one employee, and I was noticing another employee who was limping a bit. She always did, but I guess I never really noticed before. I asked the Lord that if I prayed for her knee would He heal it. Instantly I heard His still small voice telling me that He wouldn't. "Why" I wondered. So I started up a conversation with that employee and asked her about her knee. I was even able to tell her that I was asking the Lord Jesus Christ about it... she instantly told me that He wouldn't heal it. I hadn't told her exactly what I had heard, but that was what I had hear, so I asked her why not and got an interesting story.

She told me that a few years ago she had let her life get really out of control. At that time she had heard the Lord tell her she needed to change or something was going to happen to her, and indeed though she had heard Him she went out speeding around and that same day she got in an accident and hurt her knee. She told me that to this day her hurt knee reminds her to keep her life under control and listen to Him.

In the Bible we read that Jacob got a bad hip because of a fight with Him, I believe. I never got the impression that God was going to heal that bad hip of Jacob's. Didn't it serve as a reminder? We read the Bible, but we don't always tie in all that is going on. We jump to our conclusions without seeking the Lord and a closer relationship with Him.

You know, maybe if Jacob, or that employee with the bad knee went to the Lord and promised to remember not to fight with God, then He would have healed the hip and knee? I don't know. He could! He healed the carpel tunnel problem, He could heal the knee, right? Still, it has to be better to walk with a slight limp than go around fight with God, so God is wise.

It only happened twice to me, and for minor things like hurting my knee and spraining my ankle. The big lifelong pains in my life like depression never got healed immediately. God has been showing me the process I have to go through and things I need to change to heal my life and I have experienced a lot of healing in these areas in the past year. It's different for everyone but in the end I think it's all about aligning our beliefs and attitudes with God's truth in areas where we lack faith, letting Him guide us and He will show us how to heal.