Several years ago, I attended a night of healing at a local church. I had been suffering with post-partum depression and it was negatively affecting my life. The pastor talked for a little bit and then urged anyone in need of healing to head to the back of the room where men and women were waiting to pray. When it was my turn, several women placed their hands on me and prayed. I don’t remember what was said, but God lifted the post-partum depression from me. God doesn’t always heal when we ask Him to. He does everything for His glory and in perfect timing. However, in this instance, some key takeaways are 1) that I went into the evening believing that I would be healed. The Bible says that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20)
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20
It also says that when we pray, we should believe that God is going to answer the prayer. (Mark 11:24-25).
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24
2) The women were faithful to pray for me. God tells us to pray for one another.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
3) It was His will to heal me that evening. He chose to heal me. If God does not heal someone, then He has a reason. God does everything for His glory and the good of those who love Him. It is difficult to accept, but His ways are not our ways. The Bible says that God takes Christians up to heaven to spare them from evil.
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.
Isaiah 57:1
About a year ago, one of our cats developed a problem where crystals were growing in his bladder, making it painful for him to urinate. He associated the pain with the litter box and started peeing in the basement of our home, instead. By the time we realized what he was doing, he had ruined the basement living room carpet. We sought help from the vet and from the Lord. The vet prescribed special food (which all my cats eat now.) I prayed many nights for God to heal the cat but he wasn’t getting completely better. I was also feeling resentful because of the work the cat was causing me in cleaning the basement. My husband and I pulled up the carpet and padding and threw it away. Then I spent weeks cleaning the concrete to get the smell out of it. We also had to remove baseboards. While praying for the cat one night, God gave me a love and an appreciation for the cat that I didn’t have before and told me to praise Him for the cat. That was a game changing moment. I began praising Him for creating this beautiful cat. I thanked him for providing the cat for my son. We bought the cat for my son’s birthday one year and they love each other very much. Then I resumed praying for the cat’s body to be healed. My heart was changed towards the cat, I praised God for the cat, I believed that God would heal him, and then the cat was healed! Praise the Lord! Sometimes I get fearful that he will get sick again. When that happens, I push the fear from my mind in Jesus’ name, reclaim my belief that God has healed him, and praise Him for creating the cat. The key takeaway from that experience was that I should praise God for creating the person or animal that I am praying for.
Recently I have been afflicted with two health problems. First, I fell and broke my ankle. The same week, I had to get a root canal. After six weeks, three rounds of antibiotics, and two rounds of steroids, my mouth was finally doing better. However, my ankle was not really getting much better. After making steady progress, the healing seemed to stall. My ankle was still swelling, my foot was occasionally turning odd colors (purple, yellow, white), and I was limping badly in the brace that I was supposed to wear. But then, as I was slowly making my way down the stairs at church on Sunday, a young woman came up to me and asked if she could pray for my healing. She said she looked at me and thought I needed to be prayed for. I told her that that I believe in the power of prayer, and would love it if she prayed for me. She placed her hand on my shoulder and prayed a short prayer. The words that stuck out to me during her prayer was that she said, “by Your stripes we are healed.” The next day, when I woke up, my ankle was healed! Praise the Lord! I am not limping anymore. My ankle has not been swollen and my foot has not turned different colors. God healed my ankle, and I am so grateful to Him. The interesting thing about that young woman’s prayer was that she honored God for sending Jesus to die for our sins, I think, when she said, “by Your stripes we are healed.” She was quoting a Bible verse, so let’s research that Bible passage and a couple other verses. There are many sick people in our society, so let’s better equip ourselves for praying for each other.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)
Many other translations use the word stripes instead of wounds. I like to read Matthew Henry’s commentary. Here is his explanation, which I cannot explain any better, so I will quote him here:
“Hereby we have healing; for by his stripes we are healed. Sin is not only a crime, for which we were condemned to die and which Christ purchased for us the pardon of, but it is a disease, which tends directly to the death of our souls and which Christ provided for the cure of. By his stripes (that is, the sufferings he underwent) he purchased for us the Spirit and grace of God to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls, and to put our souls in a good state of health, that they may be fit to serve God and prepared to enjoy him. And by the doctrine of Christ’s cross, and the powerful arguments it furnishes us with against sin, the dominion of sin is broken in us and we are fortified against that which feeds the disease.”
Wow, wasn’t he a smart man?!
1 Peter 2:24 also says that by his wounds you have been healed.
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.
1 Peter 2:24
I hope this has been helpful for you.
John 3:16 is a promise and it is true:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
If you’re reading this and would like to accept Jesus into your heart, ask God to forgive you for your sins. Accept Jesus as your savior during your prayer. He loves you and wants to transform your life here on earth for His glory and give you eternity with Him in heaven someday.