Why Aren't Some People Healed?

The Bible is very clear on the nature of God being omnipotent. It means God can do anything for He is an all-powerful God. Jeremiah 32:27 says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” God is telling us that there is nothing He cannot do, for with God everything is possible (Matthew 19:26).

We read all the miracles and wonders that God has done not only in ancient Israel but even during the New Testament times; miracles of deliverance and healing. God even raised people up from the dead. Yet today, we hear and read stories of believers who prayed for healing but did not get healed. And we are left wondering why. Why does God not heal everyone who asks in faith for healing?

God is Our Healer
The power of God to heal physically is illustrated in the lives of certain Old Testament characters like Hannah who was healed from barrenness (1 Samuel 1:9-20), Naaman who was healed of leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-14), and Hezekiah whom God healed from a terminal illness and was granted additional 15 years to live (2 Kings 20:1-7).

We read eyewitness testimonies of at least 30 individual healings of Jesus Christ recorded in the four gospels. Below are some of the more well-known healing miracles of Jesus:

1) Jesus heals a man born blind in John 9:1-41
2) Jesus cures the woman who has been bleeding for 12 years in Matthew 9:20-22
3) Jesus cures a man of an evil spirit in Mark 5:10-20
4) Jesus heals 10 men with leprosy in Luke 17:11-19
5) Jesus heals a paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12
6) Jesus heals a man who was deaf and mute in Mark 7:31-37

We have no reason to doubt that God can heal everyone of any disease; that healing is for everyone. After all, Jesus Himself bore our sins in His own body, took upon Himself all the punishment for our iniquities, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). But why is it that many people, including firm believers in the Lord and His promises, do not receive their healing?

Christians who are suffering from terminal illnesses, particularly cancer, have been praying and believing that Jesus will reach out to heal them but it seemed like God was deaf to their pleas. Doesn’t it say in Mark 11:24 and Matthew 21:22 that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer as long as we believe we have already received it?

When people do not receive their healing, does it mean they do not have faith? I’ve seen people who have more faith than we could ever imagine, yet they did not receive their healing.

We may never know why a person isn't healed. What, then, ought to be our response? In the first place, don't stop praying! Some people find this difficult to swallow. I've been asked many times: "Why should Paul bother to pray for release from something that God wills to inflict?" The answer is because Paul didn't know what God's will was in this particular case until He chose to make it known. And neither do you or I about any particular illness we may suffer.

If the Lord had never said in response to Paul's prayer, "No, it isn't my will that you be relieved of this thorn," Paul would have been justified, indeed required, to continue to pray for his healing. I once heard Jack Taylor put it this way: "Never cease praying for healing until you are shown otherwise either by divine revelation or death!" If you are able to discern, as did Paul, through some prophetic disclosure or other legitimate biblical means that it is not God's will now or ever to heal you, you may cease asking him to do so. Otherwise, short of death itself, you must persevere in prayer. You never know but God's ultimate and long-term will for you is complete healing after he has accomplished his sanctifying purpose.

In Paul's case, the only reason he ceased asking for deliverance was because God, in effect, told him to shut up! "No, Paul. I'm not going to heal you. It isn't my will in this instance that you be set free from this affliction. Rather, I have a higher purpose in view: your humility and my Son's glory manifest in the context of your on-going weakness."

Basically, Paul replied: "O.K., Lord, I'll shut up and submit to your merciful purpose in my life. I know you love me and desire what is ultimately of greatest good for my spiritual growth. Therefore, my prayer now is that you maximize in me the beneficial effects of this pain. Don't let me miss out on any spiritual good that might come my way from this malady. Teach me everything I need to know and sustain me that I might be a platform for the glory of Christ and a source of comfort to other suffering saints."

I'm sure there are other ways to account for why God chooses not to heal, but I trust this has proven helpful. There is much I do not know about this matter, but of this I'm quite certain: God's grace is sufficient in all circumstances so that we, "for the sake of Christ" (2 Cor. 12:10a), might learn that in our weakness his power is made perfect!

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Taken from articles by Alice A. Anacioco and Kathryn Butler