What The Bible Teaches Us About Healing
Divine healing is one of the more controversial topics in the church today. Somehow, when you get on this subject, it often divides Christians and frequently triggers disagreement.
Loads of people have read articles in newspapers, such as Time magazine, or searched the internet for information, or investigated other sources. However, whatever Christians begin to think about the whole topic of God's healing, the discussion often gets heated.
Scores of people have watched television specials about faith healing and faith healers. Perhaps you have attended a healing service. Maybe in past years you saw faith healer Katherine Coleman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or you've seen Oral Roberts, Francis McNutt, Agnes Sanford, or one of the many gifted healers whom God has given to His church. Numerous persons who've observed healings have walked away with either serious questions about the validity of healing or have been excited about health cures.
Does God still heal?
When the topic of healing comes up, a number of Christians are highly offended because they've had some very negative experiences. Other Christians are absolutely thrilled. Plenty are just puzzled. They've seen both sides and are unsure what to make of it. So the question before us is, does God really heal today?
Well, there are some people who say that, no, He doesn't heal today. Some of these are the anti-supernaturalists who believe that unless it is observable and scientifically verifiable in its cause and effect, there is no outside intervention of the natural order. So they have no place in their philosophical understanding of life for a God who can come in and miraculously heal someone. There are those who say that God may or may not heal today, but probably He doesn't because they have experienced some kind of abuse, and they've been turned off to this whole question of divine healing.
While there are many men and women with the God-given ability to heal emotionally, spiritually, and physically, there are also charlatans and fakes who abuse desperate people in need of healing.
Too many fraud-healers advance their own reputations, feathering their own nests by making fortunes exploiting people's hopes to be made well again. And when you've had such a hurtful experience with someone like that, you don't buy into this faith healing very quickly.
Sadly, there are some Christians who've been exposed to a healing extremist authority or other believers who were sincere and well-meaning, but nevertheless, they have abused the whole concept of biblical healing.
I've known well-intentioned Christians who've visited homes, hospital rooms, and nursing homes of other Christ followers, prayed with them for healing, and said to them, "God said to us, 'You will be well because He has healed you.'"
Often, tragically, the person's problem was not corrected, or the person died.
For example, nearly fifty years ago, Rev. Peter Marshall Jr., a strong believer in faith healing, led well-attended prayer services near Boston, Massachusetts, for his little baby who was dying. During that special event, Grandma Catherine Marshall, her son, Peter, and his wife were in attendance. Dozens of Christians, who made God-sent prophecies of God's life-saving restoration of the baby.
Many people believed in their hearts that God had told them the baby would live. Yet, the baby died. This completely shook Katherine Marshall's faith for a while. One of my friends was at the service, and his faith, too, was severely rattled by what happened there: the supposed prophecies of healing were followed not by regained health, but by the tragic death of the Marshal's infant.
When you see faith-healing misunderstandings or downright emotional-spiritual abuses like this, you begin to question:
Can God really heal? If so, how? When?
After all my prayers, why hasn't God answered and brought healing?
In my case, I've certainly asked questions like these. Despite my fervent prayers, why wasn't my younger brother healed from his blood clot and die? With my repeated prayers for healing, why wasn't my best friend of sixty-three years healed of his broken pelvis and dementia?
In our family's case, why weren't our beloved dogs healed? We had to have our beagle, two Golden Retrievers, and dear Goldendoodle, Thunder, put to sleep, even after we had prayed and prayed for their healing.
Does God really heal today?
I truly believe so. Even though I was trained in the pre-med sciences, I've witnessed too many miracles. I've seen too many lives transformed physically, emotionally, and spiritually to doubt that God heals today as much as He did 2,000+ years ago. Furthermore, I find no contradiction in the Scriptures that have time limits on healing.
There are those who argue that God no longer heals today because, when the last apostle died, God no longer needed to authenticate the preaching of the Gospel through miracles. Therefore, some people believe the last miracle is said to have ceased with the death of the last apostle.
Yet, as I read the Old and New Testaments, I see nothing in the Scriptures that denies the fact that God was then, and still is, in the miracle and healing business.
Perhaps you are probing for divine reassurce, asking:
- If God still heals today, why did my neighbor die?
- Why is my marriage still on the rocks?
- Why am I not getting better?
- Why is my loved one still going downhill if God still heals today?
- Why can't I get over these cyclical bouts of debilitating depression?
These are hard, honest questions that deserve answers. However, some "remedies" can be based on misunderstandings of the Bible's teachings about healing.
Wrong assumptions about Biblical healing
Though it may seem that I linger on some of these misunderstandings, I believe it's important to address them with accurate biblical teaching on healing.
First, let's explore some false assumptions about healing that stem from misunderstandings of Scriptural teaching.
False Assumption about healing #1: It is God's will for all to be healed
A host of Christians base their belief in healing for all on a passage such as Isaiah 53:5,
But he (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole; with his stripe, we are healed.
Those who claim the words healing, with his stripes, we are healed refer to all who sincerely believe God has healed them because of Christ's death.
When someone is not healed, the Stripes Healer proponents announce,
Regardless of what you feel, you are healed. The fact that you are not better right now means that you do not have enough faith to apply the Stripe Healing words to your condition.
One problem: This view of healing is an inaccurate exegesis of Isaiah 53:5 By his stripes, we are healed. In Hebrew, the word stripes means bruises. If you look at the text, it says, He was bruised. What for? Our diseases? No! He was bruised for our iniquities (sins).
The reason Jesus went on the cross was not to die so that we might be healed of our diseases. He died to make it possible for our sins to be totally forgiven; He did not die for our diseases.
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).
If all are to be healed, why would the Bible say,
People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
The New Testament warns of some faith healers, many of whom claim to be Christian, who promise healing for everyone.
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness(Satan) is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
Beware of any Christian who tells you that all Christians can and should be healed. They are lying, and they are not from God.
False Assumption about healing #2: God's healing is primarily physical.
Numerous Christ followers believe God's healing is primarily physical. Unfortunately, this tends to pigeonhole God's supernatural power. He is much more interested in you than simply healing your body, although that is also important to him. He wants to see you and me become whole, well-balanced people, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Pat Schuller, a long-time friend, was physically incapacitated, but emotionally and spiritually, she was far better balanced than I ever could be. Yes, God heals physically: cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other physical ailments. He does. He can. But He also heals us spiritually and emotionally.
The Bible teaches that spiritual issues must be addressed, including evil thoughts, greed, envy, malice, slander, gossip, arrogance, deceit, anger, resentment, and bitterness. God is concerned with healing and resolving spiritual challenges, along with emotional issues such as depression, fear, anxiety, and resentment.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside, they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean. (Matthew 23:25,26)
God is interested in the well-being of our relationships as much as the health of our physical bodies, particularly when we harbor hurt feelings, such as hate, anger, and envy toward others. He's interested in cleaning up our destructive attitudes because they affect our emotions, our spirit, and our physique.
He's interested in healing memories of past traumas, tragedies, and sins, and helping us overcome them. One of the best ways God heals physically, spiritually, and emotionally in relationships and memories is through death. That's the really ultimate healing.
The Bible explains that after death, full healing in heaven comes to those who've put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Rescuer and supreme Leader:
God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new! (Revelation 21:3,4,5)
For believers in Christ, death provides total healing. Death gives release from all physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. Interestingly, years ago, former UN General Secretary, Dag Hammarskjold, wrote in his book, Markings,
A quick death is God's kiss upon the soul.
Unfortunately, many Christians do not have quick deaths. They linger, suffering for weeks or months before death finally brings release from suffering. Nevertheless, whether death comes swiftly or after a lengthy delay, the final result for believers is the same: everything will be healed and made new.
Joe Bailey, pastor and author, interviewed a dying friend of his who was riddled with cancer. On his deathbed, the man said to Joe,
Joe, I prayed for healing, and God has answered my prayer. He healed me of fear and resentment and of bitterness and worry for my family. This, Joe, is God's answer to my prayer.
False Assumption about healing #3: God doesn't want any of his children to suffer.
It's partly true that God doesn't want us to suffer. God's original intention for all of his creation was to have a perfect world without sin, sickness, and death. Then Adam and Eve rebelled and disobeyed God. From that point on, humankind has experienced suffering, illness, and death, but that was not God's original plan.
In fact, God uses suffering, sickness, and death to benefit us and glorify Himself. But views that teach, "Suffering is wrong, Has no value, and Death is defeat" have no room in their philosophy for the value of human suffering. Misery, grief, distress, and anguish can have tremendous benefits along with their agony. An unmatched example is that God used Jesus' suffering to enable us to be saved from eternal separation from God caused by our sin.
The Bible states,
Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)
God used the pain and suffering of Jesus' betrayals, beatings, and crucifixion for the good of those who would accept by faith God's gift of forgiveness.
God used Paul's sufferings. We're told in scripture that he had a thorn in his flesh.
In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Some scholars think Paul's thorn was an eyesight problem; some thought it was malaria; some thought it was epilepsy; others held differing views of the cause of his "burr in his saddle." Nevertheless, struggled with a physical problem.
But at least, he viewed his suffering as a positive influence on him and others by God, declaring,
Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:20)
That's why the Scripture notes,
In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
How about you? Perhaps you're wondering how God can possibly use your heartaches to benefit you and others. One way He can use our afflictions is to bring us closer to Him. Our sorrow will either push us closer to God or it will turn us further away from him. It will be one or the other.
In the midst of his struggles t the Psalmist wrote of their value,
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. (Psalm 119:71)
God will use your distress to bring you closer to Him. Plus, he will use your pain to help and comfort others who are going through similar circumstances.
The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1: 3,4)
Anton Boise went through multiple emotional traumas. Today, he's a chaplain in a mental hospital. God has used Anton's emotional struggles to equip patients and fellow chaplains for more effective types of ministries.
Erin Auchman, a pastor's wife, had one of her kidneys removed several years ago. As a result of her lengthy ordeal, Erin is now far more sympathetic to those who go through physical problems. And she is a far better encourager to those battling health issues.
In my case, God has used my numerous hospitalizations for eight knee surgeries that included five total knee replacements, a heart stent, cellulitis, UTIs, pneumonia, bipolar disorder, and surviving a car crash that totaled my minivan—to encourage others with similar medical and mental health upsets.
Another way God can use your suffering is to help others come to Him. Dean David Kerr, my Old Testament professor of Hebrew language at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, was a great man of God and a respected scholar. Sadly, he died of cancer in my first year at Gordon. Because of his example and words, during his last days on earth, many nurses, physicians, friends, and neighbors came to personal faith in Christ.
False Assumption about healing #4: God heals only good Christians who are obedient to Him.
When visiting people in the hospital, I often hear complaints like,
What did I do to deserve this? All my life, I've tried to be a good mother, dad, grandparent, citizen, and Christian. I've never cheated on my taxes, spouse, or on school exams. This illness/injury just isn't fair.
Or, I listen to comments like,
I deserve this "health hurt." I guess God is getting back at me. Probably punishing me for the bad things I've done.
The Bible teaches that, at times, God does chastise His children. From time to time, He needs to correct our negative attitudes that impact our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Sometimes, He uses physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering to achieve His purpose.
Studies reveal that jealousy and bitterness can cause high blood pressure and all kinds of other ailments, including certain types of rheumatism. Lifestyle excesses, such as abusing our bodies through drugs, excessive alcohol, food, or overwork can have harmful physical effects.
But not all illnesses or injuries are necessarily the result of sin. Would you call the great Apostle Paul one who was not obedient to God, yet we never read that the thorn was removed from his flesh? Timothy, the young pastor, continued to experience stomach problems. We read nothing in scripture that he was healed.
Theodore Epp, prolific writer and speaker on the Back to the Bible program, as his little two-year-old son lay dying, gathered with his wife around the little fellow and prayed that God would heal him, but he died. Not long after, their baby girl grew very, very sick. They prayed for her, and she lived. She's married to a lovely Christian. Don't tell me that the little boy was not a good Christian, and the little girl was. Jesus said, "The rain falleth on the just and the unjust alike." God does not heal those who are "good" Christians. There are many cases in scripture where God heals pagans just as much as Christians.
False Assumption about healing #5: God heals us only if we exercise sufficient faith
Some Christians believe God only heals those who have a strong enough faith. This view is based on verses like where Jesus says,
Therefore, I say to you, whatever you desire, when you pray, believe that you have received, and then you will have it. (Mark 11:24), and
Everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Seek and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)
The implication there is that if you have sufficient faith, you will be healed.
In 1972, a quadriplegic young woman in our Key Biscayne, Florida, church. Several Christian friends gathered around her bed and read Jesus' words to her:
Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)
Then they prayed for her to be healed. She wasn't, so they left. Later, they returned and told her that the reason she was not cured was that she had unconfessed sin in her life, and was not exercising her faith. Their words threw her into a nosedive depression where she almost took a pistol to end her life.
Telling someone they aren't healed due to their lack of faith is cruel, unloving, and unbiblical. Nevertheless, faith does play a crucial role in the therapeutic process of healing and is very important.
Would you call the Apostle Paul a man of little faith? Even though he prayed to God three times for healing, God didn't heal him.
Remember the father with an ill son who went to Jesus, saying,
I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!
Despite the father's weak faith, Jesus healed the man's son. Faith plays an important role in the healing process, but it is not a necessary ingredient.
False Assumption about healing #6: God will heal you only if you claim it
This incorrect belief is often referred to as "Name it and claim it" theology. Certain Christians take a Bible statement about healing, claim it, and then throw away their medicine or crutches as proof that they are really trusting God.
That's what Wesley Parker's parents did. Wesley was eleven years old and had severe diabetes. His mother and father were devout, born-again Christians. They contacted someone with the gift of healing. They gathered with this faith healer, anointed the little boy, prayed for him, laid hands on him, and spoke prophecies that he would be healed.
They were advised that if they truly believed in God, they should claim it and discard all medications. They disposed of the insulin and broke their son's hypodermic needles. Not long after this, young Wesley went into a coma and died.
Where in the New Testament did Jesus or the apostles require anyone to verbally acknowledge their healing as a sign of their faith?
Regrettably, there are misunderstandings in the subject of healing. I focused on some of the negatives because there have been many abuses in this area. Yes, God is deeply interested in our wholeness, well-being, and healing. And healing, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, ought to be one of the key ministries of any Christian congregation.
What the Bible actually teaches about healing
Let's look at what the Bible has to say on how to be healed of an emotional struggle, a physical problem, or a spiritual malady. The Bible gives some specific guidelines. Let's look at them.
Never hesitate to pray for wholeness, well-being, and healing.
Whether you have a never-ending headache, high blood pressure, cancer, or some other problem. Pray for healing. Alas, many Christians try to go it alone with their troubles. The Bible asserts,
You have not because you ask not.
Catch these God words:
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray … Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 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 5:13-16)
The Apostle Paul did not take a fatalistic attitude about the thorn in his flesh. He prayed at least three times for its removal.
Always ask God/Jesus for help.
Jesus alone is the ultimate healer. He may use various means, such as psychiatrists or psychologists, medicines, diets, exercises, or other methods to restore us to wholeness. This Jesus is the one whom the Bible calls the Great Physician and the Wonderful Counselor. He is alive right now through His Holy Spirit, and is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And has not diminished in power! We need to go to God in His name for whatever type of healing and whenever He chooses to send it to us.
Lean on other Christians for help.
The Gospel of Mark records the story of a paralytic man who was lowered by his friends through the hole in the roof of a home where Jesus was teaching:
Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Sometimes, we hurt so badly emotionally, physically, or spiritually that we need to piggyback on the faith of others: their encouragement, their abilities. So, if you are paddling your small boat in choppy seas, the Bible encourages you to call your church leaders or call other Christians to pray with you and for you.
Use every medical means possible for healing.
Notice that the Bible stresses using the best healing methods available:
Anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14)
In ancient times, oil, salves, and ointments were key ingredients to facilitate medical healing. Calling for the elders to anoint with oil meant to use the finest medical methods available. Old Testament King Hezekiah utilized the top healing remedy for his boils. They were healed by a fig remedy being spread over them. Today, the optimal way to resolve someone's health problem may mean a psychiatrist, a physician, a medical doctor, or a diet and exercise program.
Confess the known sins in your life.
James 5:16 offers a practical way to handle self-condemnation torments:
Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.
Dr. Charles Mayo of Mayo Brothers Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, acknowledged that,
Sixty-five to seventy-five percent of all medical illnesses stem from psychological or spiritual problems.
Therefore, there are a lot of undergirding spiritual or emotional attitudes—that means the Lord over all areas of our lives. Praying in the name of Jesus Christ means we've submitted to His lordship. We are not prescribing to Him how or when or how we are to be healed. Ee are leaving to Him the method, extent, and timing. That's why Jesus could pray this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane,
My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done (Matthew 26:42)
Why doesn't God heal us the way we wish?
We may never know. Only God knows the "reasons" for unanswered prayers, non-healing, and dashed dreams.
The secret things belong to the Lord our God.(Deuteronomy 29:29)
Jesus assures his followers,
You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. (John 13:7)
An example of unfulfilled prayers, ruined plans, and strong faith, in spite of severe loss, is the story of the Spafford family. A revised October 2024 article from the St. Augustine Record describes their manifold tragedies and their responses.
Horatio G. Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago with a lovely family: his wife, Anna, and five children. However, they were not strangers to tears and tragedy. Their young son died with pneumonia in 1871, and in that same year, much of their business was lost in the great Chicago fire. Yet, God in His mercy and kindness allowed the business to flourish once more.
On Nov. 21, 1873, the French ocean liner, Ville du Havre, was crossing the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe with 313 passengers on board. Among the passengers were Mrs. Spafford and their four daughters. Although Mr. Spafford had planned to go with his family, he found it necessary to stay in Chicago to help solve an unexpected business problem. He told his wife he would join her and their children in Europe a few days later. His plan was to take another ship.
About four days into the crossing of the Atlantic, the Ville du Havre collided with a powerful, iron-hulled Scottish ship, the Loch Earn. Suddenly, all of those on board were in grave danger. Anna hurriedly brought her four children to the deck. She knelt there with Annie, Margaret Lee, Bessie and Tanetta and prayed that God would spare them if that could be His will, or to make them willing to endure whatever awaited them. Within approximately 12 minutes, the Ville du Havre slipped beneath the dark waters of the Atlantic, carrying with it 226 of the passengers, including the four Spafford children.
A sailor, rowing a small boat over the spot where the ship went down, spotted a woman floating on a piece of the wreckage. It was Anna, still alive. He pulled her into the boat, and they were picked up by another large vessel which, nine days later, landed them in Cardiff, Wales. From there she wired her husband a message which began, "Saved alone, what shall I do?" Mr. Spafford later framed the telegram and placed it in his office.
Another of the ship's survivors, Pastor Weiss, later recalled Anna saying, "God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why."
Mr. Spafford booked passage on the next available ship and left to join his grieving wife. With the ship about four days out, the captain called Spafford to his cabin and told him they were over the place where his children went down.
According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born after the tragedy, Spafford wrote It Is Well With My Soul while on this journey.
When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
Anna gave birth to three more children, one of which died at age four with dreaded pneumonia. Throughout the centuries, there have been hopes for healing and unfulfilled prayers. Chapter 11 of the New Testament book of Hebrews describes a number of these.
There are a lot of other questions I have when I get to Heaven, and unanswered prayers will be one of them.
Does God really heal today? Yes, He does—physically, emotionally, spiritually. Although not necessarily on our timetable or in ways we might earnestly pray for. In spite of outward circumstances, God is enormously concerned about our whole person and loves us dearly.