Dwight Fletcher | IS HEALING STILL FOR TODAY?

Have you ever avoided praying about something because you assumed nothing was going to change? You simply learn to live with it instead of believing God would do something about it. Maybe it’s a bad knee. Constant headaches. High blood pressure. Anxiety. A lingering illness. Because it feels manageable with medication, or you consider that others have it worse, so you’ve come to accept living with less. 

Which raises an important question: Is healing still something we should expect from God today?

Many of us believe God can heal, but we don’t expect Him to.

However, when we read the Gospels, we discover something remarkable. Healing was not a side ministry for Jesus. It was central to His mission.

Matthew 8:16-17 (NIV) tells us, “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “‘He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”

Notice the word ‘all’. Jesus didn't heal only a select few. He didn't tell people their sickness was simply something they had to endure. He consistently demonstrated the Father's heart by bringing restoration wherever He went.

What does that tell you about God's character?

Sometimes our picture of God is shaped more by our experiences than by Scripture. If we've prayed before and nothing seemed to change, we begin to lower our expectations. We stop asking. We stop believing. We accept pain as normal.

But the Bible tells a different story of who God is.

One of God's names is Jehovah Rapha, which means "The Lord who heals." In Exodus 15:26, God declares, "I am the Lord, who heals you."

Healing is not something God occasionally does when He is in the mood. Healing flows from His nature. It reflects His compassion and His desire to make broken things whole.

That does not mean we ignore doctors or medical treatment. Throughout Scripture, God often works through people, wisdom and practical means. As Christians, we should be thankful for skilled doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. But we also remember that our ultimate hope rests in God, who is able to work in ways beyond what we can see.

Sometimes the greatest obstacle to healing is not God's willingness, but our own expectation.

We become so accustomed to living with physical, emotional or even spiritual pain that we stop bringing it to Him. We convince ourselves it is only a minor inconvenience. We stop asking and miss out on what He wants to do in our lives.

Yet throughout the Gospels, people brought every kind of need to Jesus. Blindness. Paralysis. Leprosy. Chronic illness. Emotional torment. Nothing was too small or too complicated for Him.

Jesus’ miraculous acts of healing were a sign that God's Kingdom had come near. Every healing pointed people back to the love, compassion and power of God. 

Looking at what Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 10:9 (NIV), “Heal the sick people who live there, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is now very near you!” Whenever Jesus or His disciples healed the sick, it confirmed the truth of God’s Kingdom, that God sets us free from the clutches and the destruction of darkness. Let me tell you something: sickness is not from God. 

But we will discuss that more next week. For today, take the first step towards healing: not by asking whether God is still able to heal, because the Scripture answers that clearly. Instead, ask yourself whether you still believe He wants to meet you where you are. Is there an area of your physical, emotional or spiritual health that you have quietly accepted instead of bringing before God in prayer?