Do we have a right to ask God to heal us? If we do have the right, should we? Since God has been so good to us with a multitude of spiritual blessings, some believers are hesitant to ask Him for help with healing their physical bodies. It seems like a big ask, and a difficult one at that. Before we decide what God will or won’t do, let’s look to His Word and see what He says about the issue. This is the best start if we want to trust God for anything.
Psalm 103:1–5 (ESV)
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Notice how the benefit of healing, “heals all your diseases,” is listed right after the benefit of forgiveness, “forgives all your iniquities.” Scripture says that the same God who is powerful (and gracious) enough to forgive us can just as easily (and graciously) heal us, and much more. Divine healing is a blessing and benefit from God’s hand that we should not “forget.” Most of us appreciate benefits in life, especially when they are up close and personal. Benefits are wonderful—sometimes expected, sometimes less so, but always welcome.
Healing is a benefit God wants you to trust Him for.
If healing is God’s idea, we don’t have to be insecure about asking Him for it. God cares about your physical and mental health because He wants to heal you wherever you hurt. This is why Jesus was constantly healing people in His earthly ministry. Here’s one story…
Matthew 9:1–8 (ESV)
And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Notice: When the people brought the man in need of healing to Jesus, Jesus “saw their faith.”
Coming to Jesus for healing will stretch your faith and may even seem uncomfortable or uneasy for you at first . . . trust Him anyway. Jesus sees your faith. He wants you to bring your biggest issue to Him, and sometimes that’s your health. We’re grateful for doctors and modern medicine, but don’t forget to invite Dr. Jesus, the great physician, into your health situation.
Notice: Jesus said it was just as appropriate for Him to forgive sins as it was to perform a healing miracle.
Either way, the point Jesus is making is that if he can heal, he can forgive. So, yes, He is God. He is divine. He alone has the power and authority to deliver us spiritually as well as physically. Have you noticed that it seems easier to believe God for the intangibles in life…the things we don’t see but are felt? We rightly should trust God for forgiveness, peace, joy and many other intangibles on a regular basis, but Jesus made it clear that He can help you with the tangible things too. One is not harder than the other for Him, because He is God.
1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Divine forgiveness of sins and divine healing both come from the same source – our loving Savior, sent by our loving heavenly Father. Peter was sharing how Jesus’s atoning punishment and death fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies given hundreds of years earlier (Isaiah 53). This means Jesus has fulfilled His redemptive role to provide salvation and healing for us. Our role now is to accept and believe what He did for us. Jesus paid a great price so we could fully trust Him in everything, including our health. No one cares more for you than Him. His sacrifice proved that.
God has provided many ways for us to access His healing power.
A study through Scripture will reveal the many avenues God uses to heal us. The prayer of faith, the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, and the gifts of the Spirit are just some of the methods God uses to deliver His healing power to His people. He understood we may be hesitant or resistant with one method, so He provided multiple ways for us to trust Him for relief from physical afflictions.
Matthew 4:23 (ESV)
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
There are 37 miracles of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. Most of them are healing miracles. Look them up and see for yourself how Jesus healed people wherever they were hurting. Spend some time building your faith in this area by studying each healing story. He is still ministering healing to people today because His love for us hasn’t changed. You absolutely have a right to ask God for healing. He wants you to trust him with the difficult things in life, even when it relates to your health.
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