July 14, 2014

One of the most commonly shared prayer requests is healing. We all get sick or injured at some point, and we yearn to be healthy. We ask for protection for soldiers in harm’s way. We long for the ability to engage in life with full joy and confidence.

But often, we remain sick and injured. We keep asking, over and over, for protection, and yet soldiers are wounded and killed. Why does a God of life, of healing, seem to ignore our prayers? Is it because of a lack of faith? Is it because God is disciplining or punishing us?

The Bible does speak of these possibilities. However, Psalm 34:19a says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” God also chooses to let His children struggle, without any apparent reason. Job is the classic Biblical example of righteous suffering.

In light of this difficult, sometimes heartrending, truth, what should be our perspective as we pray for healing?

First of all, we must trust God and fear Him. He is not a puppet, to be bound by our wishes. He has promised to answer our prayer, but He has complete authority to respond according to His wisdom and His timing. We must fear God, because His power is unlimited. However, this same truth causes us to trust Him. Because He has all authority, He is able to execute His plans according to His perfect wisdom and love. We pray to God, knowing that He hears us, loves us, and will certainly accomplish what is best for us – even if it causes us pain for a little while.

Secondly, we must maintain an eternal perspective. As many of the psalms remind us, we are made of dust, and like the flower of the field, fade and die in the blink of an eye. There is no such thing as perfect health in this lifetime. As soon as we reach our prime, our bodies begin to wear out. However, we have an eternal weight of glory awaiting us in heaven. The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us!

Finally, we must pray with confidence that God will heal us. If a son asks his father for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks him for a fish, will he give him a snake? God has not commanded us to pray in futility. Instead, God has given us His unbreakable promise to answer us as a father would his son. God delights to give us good things – not just in some over-spiritualized pie-in-the-sky, but here on earth, in our frail, temporary jars of clay. Yes, our ultimate hope and our only perfect healing is found in heaven. But David also wrote in Psalm 27:13, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!”

Each of these aspects of praying for healing is important. Overconfidence can lead to treating God like a genie in a lamp or a powerful puppet. Forgetting God’s fatherly goodness will lead to a faithless over-spiritualization of God’s healing promises. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and everyone who trusts in Him will find refuge. Easier said than done! But God is gracious, and He will surely give to those who ask.