Wednesday Prayer

Bradley

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I want to thank you for coming tonight.

I think it goes without saying that our Wednesday night prayer meeting is becoming the most impactful service at MCF. And when I say that, I’m not saying that Sunday morning isn’t’ impactful or important. I think anytime we gather together as believers it’s an important and impactful time. However, I do believe when believers come together for the sole purpose of praying and seeking a deeper and more intimate and empowered walk with God, there is something more impactful that takes place.

In addition to that, I believe the Wednesday night prayer meeting is paving the way for what is going to happen on Sunday mornings. Because I can tell you this, if we want to reach more people for Jesus, and we want to continue to see lives changed and people baptized on Sunday, then it starts right here. It starts as we commit to pray, seek God, and ask him to empower us for greater works of ministry.

So, again, I thank you for taking the time to come tonight. Your presence here is evidence of your desire to see God do greater works within our church and in our community.

That being said, tonight we are going to focus on something that isn’t talked about much in the church today. Partly because there are varying degrees of thought and disagreement on this subject matter. And in many ways it is a subject matter that is complex, extensive, and difficult to explain. A subject matter that leaves a lot of Christians confused. Tonight I want to talk about Divine Healing.

So, maybe a great place to start would be for me to define what I mean by Divine Healing. And to do that, I’m actually going to quote from our doctrine. If you’re not familiar with the doctrine of the Assemblies of God, we have 16 fundamental doctrines that we adhere to. All are biblically based, and Divine Healing is listed as number 12, and it is stated as follows:

Divine Healing: Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.

In other words, what the doctrine is stating is we believe through the power of Jesus, God still heals people.

Now, you might be wondering, “Ok pastor, I’m glad our church believes that, but don’t all Christians believe that?”

And the answer to that is no. There are some protestant denominations and churches that teach when the last of the original 12 disciples died, that the gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of healing, died with them.

In addition to that, the Catholic church believes in healing, but typically only for people who are Catholic. In other words, if you’re not Catholic, then you probably won’t get healed. In addition to that, healings are only counted as healings or miracles if the Catholic church investigates it and declares it an actual miracle. And so while the Catholic church teaches that God can heal, its limited and the church must verify it for it to be a legitimate healing.

All that to say, we believe that healing hasn’t ended, that it’s for everybody who would put their faith in Jesus, and it doesn’t require the churches stamp of approval.

Now, you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, that all sounds great, but what is that based on?” It’s based on the Bible. Listen to what the Apostle James encourages us to do when it comes to sickness.

James 5:14–16 ESV

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

James

James says if there is anybody sick among you, to pray over them, and to anoint them with oil in the name of Jesus, so that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise them up.

Now, James goes on to give some insight into how the healing takes place, and we’re going to get to that in a moment, but the point here is that according to James, God is still in the healing business. So, if we wanted to stop there we could. What James gives us is proof enough.

What about people who don’t have it all together? Jesus healed people who didn’t have it all together. For example in Jesus healed a demon possessed man.

Mark 1:21–27 ESV

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

I’m going to say that guy wasn’t a believer prior to Jesus healing him.

And then if that deosn’t convince you, right after that Jesus healed Peter’s Mother-in-law. That ought to tell us a lot, right?

And the list goes on of people who Jesus healed, some of which didn’t even know who Jesus was.

All that to say, God heals who HE wants regardless of their spiritual background.

That begin the case, we believe in Divine Healing.

However, when it comes to Divine Healing, the challenge for a lot of people comes when God doesn’t heal. Because the truth is, sometimes, regardless of how much faith we have, how hard we pray, how sincere we are, or how often we pray for healing, healing doesn’t come. And that’s where a lot of people struggle and at times question God. Because if God is in the healing business, and God doesn’t want us to suffer, then why doesn’t everybody who prays get healed?

And that’s the million dollar question, and that’s where divine healing becomes a complicated subject matter, because to be honest, there is no simple answer to that question.

That being the case, there is no way in a 20 minute period tonight that we could adequately tackle this massive subject matter.

And this is where divine healing becomes a complicated subject matter, because to be honest, there is no simple answer to that. That being the case, there is no way in a 20 minute period tonight that we could adequately tackle this massive subject matter.

However, what we can do is address some of the most popular questions that people tend to have when it comes to divine healing. And even in doing that, some of you are still going to leave with some questions. But hopefully after tonight, you’ll have a greater grasp on healing.

So, here’s what we are going to do tonight.

First, I’m going to share a few thoughts on healing that I hope will give you a deeper insight how Divine healing works

Second, after spending some time looking at what the Bible says, we are going to do what James tells us to do, and we’re going to spend some time praying for healing.

So, to begin with, I’d like to establish three principles on sickness and healing that we all need to understand. And when I say “sickness”, I’m not just talking about physical sickness. Because the truth is, sickness comes in all forms. There’s physical sickness, like cancer and stuff like that. There’s emotional sickness, like thoughts of depression and suicide. There’s spiritual sickness, like when your struggling with unforgiveness, anger, or something like that. There’s relational sickness, where friendships or marriages have gotten unhealthy. So when we think of sickness we need to think of it in a broader sense because sickness comes in many forms.

With that established, here’s three principle we need to understand when it comes to sickness and healing:

Principle #1 - All sickness is ultimately a result of sin.

What I mean by that is, if there was no sin the world, there would be no sickness. Because when sin entered the world, it brought death. It brought decay. It brought destruction. Sin is the cancer that is trying to destroy God’s creation. At the end of the day, regardless of whether its physical, emotional, spiritual, or relational, our sickness is the result of the affects of sin.

For example, the relationship between Cain and Able broke down and became unhealthy, and as result, Cain killed Able. Why? Because of sin.

Your body is in a state of decay from the time you are born until you die. Why? Because of sin. Sin brings decay into the world.

Everybody with me? The reason there is sickness is because of sin.

Principle #2 - Jesus is the answer to the sin problem.

The prophet Isaiah puts it like this:

Isaiah 53:4–5 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 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.

What Isaiah is saying is, Jesus died so that we could be healed of the sin problem. And just to be clear, when Isaiah says, “By his woulds we are healed”, he’s not referring to physical healing. He’s referring to the spiritual healing that comes through faith in Jesus. Because in that moment of faith, the greatest miracle of healing took place as your sins were washed away and spiritually speaking, you were reborn. In that moment, through the blood of Jesus, God healed you spiritually.

What that means then is, if you’re a Christian, then the most important healing you need has already taken place. Because of what Jesus did for you, you no longer have to fear death. Because when you die, yo won’t die, instead you will be with Him.

The question then is, “If we are spiritually healed, why do we still get sick? Why do we still die?”

One more principle, and to be honest, this is a principle that could sound crass, but it’s true.

Principle #3 - Even if God heals you physically now, you’re still going to die later.

That sounds kind of insensitive doesn’t it? But here’s what I mean by that. Let’s say you have cancer, and you pray that God heals you, and He does. That’s great! But here’s the reality check. You’re still going to die of something. It might not be cancer, but it will be something else that takes you out at a later date.

Instead you’ll be reborn into a new body that is free form the stains of sin. But until then, we have to deal with a sin stained world.

Now, why is that? two reasons:

when you die physically, you won’t die spiritually. Because one day, when we are with Jesus, there will be no more sickness, no more disease, and no more death. John the revelator puts it like this:

#1 - Because Jesus didn’t die and rise again so you could be physically healed and live forever on earth. He died so you could be spiritually healed and live forever with him.

#2 - Like it or not, even though Jesus has healed us spiritually, even though you’re a Christian now, until we are with him, we still live in a sin stained world and our physical bodies are still affected by the death and decay of sin. That’s just the way it is. And until Jesus comes back and totally annihilates death, mankind is going to have to live with the earthly consequences of sin. And unfortunately, the earthly consequences of sin affect all of us.

All that to say, while all sickness is the result of sin, Jesus is the answer for ultimate healing. Because when we are one day with Him, there will be no more sickness, no more disease, and no more death. John the revelator puts it like this:

The good news though is, when you die, you won’t die spiritually. John the revelator puts it like this:

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

All that to say, before we talk too much about healing, we need to have a good understanding of where sickness ultimately comes from, what the ultimate answer to our sickness is, and when we can expect to be ultimately healed. And the reality is, ultimate healing wont’ come until we are with the Lord, whether by His return or our physical death.

Everybody with me?

So, with that as our basis, let’s ask the question people often ask when it comes to healing.

Question - Why doesn’t God heal in every situation.

That’s the question, right? And while there are a number of reasons why God doesn’t always heal, here are a few I think we need to be aware of and will maybe help us as we pray for healing tonight.

#1 - Sometimes God doesn’t heal us because of sin in our life.

Again, probably not a popular thought. But listen to what James says about this.

James 5:14–16 ESV

James 5:

James says in order for a sick person to be healed, they need to deal with their spiritual sickness first. In other words, God is more concerned with your spiritual health rather than your physical health.

Now again, that might sound insensitive, but think about it for a second. Long term, what’s more beneficial for a physically sick person. That God would give them a temporal physical healing, because as we said, it’s temporal, that person is still going to die of something. Or that God would heal them spiritually as they confess their sins and receive an eternal healing.

I think the answer is obvious. God would rather we be healed spiritually first. So what James is saying is, if you want God to heal you, maybe a good place to start would be with your spiritual issues versus your physical issues.

And I think this is where a lot of what I would call Sunday morning Christians miss it. Christians who aren’t “All In”, Christians who entertain sin in their life, and then when something bad happens, or when they get sick or find out they have cancer, they want God to heal them. And it’s not that God doesn’t want to or isn’t going to heal them, but in that moment God is more concerned about your spiritual issues. He’s more concerned with the sin your entertaining. He’s more concerned with your blatant disregard for what is holy and right. And what he really wants is to heal you of that first. But for that to happen, you have to confess that your sick.

Now, some might say, “Does that mean God is punishing people because of their sin?” No, not at all. Because the reality is, some people are sick because of their sin. Paul says this is the case. In , Paul says there are a group of Christians in the church at Corinth that aren’t taking their walk with God seriously. As a result, when they come to church they are taking communion in dishonoring way. In other words, they say they are following Jesus, they say they are All In, but they’re really not. They’re just going through the motions. And so Paul says this to those half hearted Christians:

1 Corinthians 11:30 ESV

30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Paul says, “You know what, some of you are sick, and some have even died because you’re playing church.”

You see, here’s the deal. At the end of the day, God wants is to lead us to ultimate healing in Him, but He can’t do that if we’re holding on to something that is spiritually killing us.”

Honestly, that’s thinking the worst of God. What God wants is to lead us to ultimate healing in Him, but He can’t do that if we’re holding on to something that is spiritually killing us.”

So, the problem isn’t God is punishing us. The problem is we’re bringing harm to ourselves. In a real sense, we’re the one’s causing harm to ourselves because we won’t let go of the sin in our life. We’re basically saying to God, “God heal me physically while I hold on to the ultimate reason for my sickness.” God heal me, but I’m going to keep sleeping with my boyfriend. God heal me, but I’m going to keep getting wasted on the weekends. God heal me, but I’m going to keep looking at porn. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. God can’t heal you at all if you’re still holding on to what is killing you. So James says, confess it, be done with it, so God can heal you.

All that to say, sometimes God doesn’t heal certain people because there’s a spiritual healing that needs to take place first. And maybe it’s that sickness that brought them to the point of recognizing their need for spiritual healing first. And who knows, in that moment of spiritual healing, God just may heal them physically as well.

In fact, it happens all the time. I mean think about it. A drug addict comes to faith, and in that moment God heals them of their addiction. I know for me personally, when I decided to quit smoking and harming my body, I asked God to deliever me from the addiction, and the next day the addiction was gone. That kind of stuff happens all the time as people confesses their sin and God brings not only spiritual healing, but physical healing as well. So, for some, physical healing begins with the spiritual first.

#2 - Sometimes God allows sickness or pain as a disciplinary measure.

Again probably not a popular thought, but think of it from this angle. As a parent, isn’t it true, while there are times you could eliminate the pain in your child’s life, the pain is necessary for them to grow. That’s true, right? Now, again, I know that’s not a popular idea. Modern parenting is all about removing pain and trouble so little junior and susy can feel good, but that’s part of the problem. Because without pain, without discipline, without consequences, change never comes. And the reality is, sometimes God allows sickness in our lives as a way to make us more dependent on Him. Sometimes he allows sickness to humble us when we’ve become too proud. Sometimes he allows pain to get our attention.

Let me give you a personal example, and one I’m not proud of. In 2011, I wasn’t in a good place spiritually. I had come out of a bad ministry experience and as a result I was angry and full of un-forgiveness. So, instead of turning to God to help me get through that time, I turned to the weight room, and I became obsessed with building my body. It was something I could control and feel good about myself with. And thankfully the Lord loved me enough to discipline me during that time. Because one morning as I was working out, my bicep tendon ruptured and my bicep rolled up to my shoulder. Yeah, it was as painful as it sounds.

Looking back, I can see now that was God’s way of getting my attention. His way of saying to me, “Hey Brad, stop focusing on the physical and get your mind back on the spiritual.” And over the next several months as I had surgery and healed, God began a new work in me. A new work that in May of 2012 led me to MCF. But I can tell you right now, had that injury not taken place, I wouldn’t be here today. Because sometimes God uses physical sickness, pain, and injuries to bring us back to Him.

So, if you’re praying that God would heal you of something, maybe instead of asking God, “Why aren’t you healing me?”, you need to ask Him, “God, what are you trying to teach me?”

#3 - Sometimes God doesn’t heal and allows sickness for His glory.

Again, not a popular thought. But the reality is, sometimes God only heals if its for His glory. We see a great example of this in . In this passage Jesus encounters a blind man. Listen to what happens:

John 9:1–2 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

John says as Jesus passes by this blind man, the disciples make a wrong assumption. Their assumption is that this man is blind because he sinned or somebody in his family sinned. But Jesus says this man is blind for a different reason. Listen to what Jesus has to say about it:

John 9:3 ESV

3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Jesus says, the reason this guy was born blind is for this moment. In other words, he was born blind so that Jesus could heal him. So that people would see the work of God. So that people would believe. Because if we were to go on to read, we’d find out the healing of this man led to many people following Jesus.

Ultimately, at the end of the day, God is about leading people to Him, and if

All that to say, sometimes God allows sickness so glory can be given to God when the person is healed. So, maybe what some of you need to consider is why you want God to heal you? Is it all about you? What’s your motivation? Again, I think as christians we need to remember that we are his servants. We are here to bring glory to him. And part of wanting to be healed should include wanting to bring glory to God. And if it doesn’t, then I think you need to give some thought to your motivation.

All that to say, I think sometimes Christians ask God to heal them solely for selfish reasons. But what if your prayer was, “God, please heal me so people will know how amazing you are. So people will know how powerful you are. So people will put their hope in you.” Now, that’s a different kind of healing prayer, isn’t it.

Which leads to a fourth reason God doesn’t always heal when we pray.

#4 - Sometimes God doesn’t heal in our time because it’s not His time.

We see a great example of this in with the lame man sitting at the beautiful gate. As we learned in our study of Acts, Peter and John had walked by this guy many times before. But not only that, they had walked by him many times before with Jesus. Meaning, while Jesus could have healed this man, he didn’t. Why not?

Because the timing would have been off. Jesus was saving that healing for Peter and John. For at time when the gospel would be going out. For a time when they could display the works of God. I have to think that the many times Jesus walked by this guy, under his breath he said, “Don’t worry, your time is coming. Someday soon you’re going to be healed.”

So, maybe for you, it’s not about if God is going to heal you, it’s when. Let me put it like this, “It’s about you being healed at the time when God can get the most glory”.

#5 - Sometimes God doesn’t heal because we won’t heal ourselves.

Here’s what I mean by that. The reality is, God gave us each a body to take care of. In fact, if you’re a Christian, your body is called “The Temple of the Holy Spirit”. And the amazing thing about the temple God has given us, is our bodies have an amazing ability to heal themselves. I don’t have time to go into all the details, but if you give your body the exercise and nutition it needs, the body responds.

But the truth is, especially in the American culture, we don’t always take care of our bodies. For example: We don’t always eat right. Or we eat too much of something that isn’t healthy. I know I can be guilty of that. Or we choose not to exercise when we know we should. Or we choose not to eat what we know is good for us because we prefer taste over nutrition. And the result is we end up not giving our body what it needs for longevity and we starve it of the nutrition it needs to self heal.

In fact, studies been done in people who have clogged arteries, and the conclusion was their arteries were clogged because they weren’t giving their bodies the proper nutrition. So the body used what it had to work with. And their body took the unhealthy

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. Years ago Denise and I were up front praying for the sick, and a woman came up to us for healing. And here’s what she said. I am a severe diabetic. I’m not eating right, I’m not exercising, and I’m not taking my medication, but I need God to heal me.

And in that moment we had a come to Jesus conversation. And we told the woman that if she wanted God to heal her, it begins with taking care of her body. Because even if God would heal her in that moment, the source of her problem wasn’t the diabetes. The source of the problem was her unwilling to take care of her body and allow the body to naturally heal her.

You see, sometimes we are looking for a supernatural healing when a natural healing is available. Now, we still prayed for this woman, but we also encouraged her to take care of her temple, and if she did that, she might be surprised by the healing that would come.

#6 - Sometimes God doesn’t heal because we lack faith.

Now, I want to be careful with this reason, because in some circles its been taken too far. To the point that people are told they just don’t have enough faith, and if they could just muster up a little more faith God would heal them. But the truth is, Jesus said all we need to move mountains is the faith of a mustard seed. That’s not a lot of faith. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about how much faith, it’s about do you have faith. You see, it’s going to be one of two things when it comes to faith and healing. Either you believe God can heal you or you don’t.

A great example of somebody who had faith is the woman with the blood issue. She believed if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’s garment, she would be healed. Mark tells us the story:

Mark 5:25–34 ESV

25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

So, you see, it’s not about how much faith, but do you have faith. Do you really believe God can heal you or not?

Now, you some might say, “Ok pastor, what if I have faith, but God still doesn’t heal me? Then what?” Then keeping trusting God. Keep serving God. Keep asking God to heal you. Keep moving forward. Trust that your sickness serves a purpose and trust that God knows best.

Now, at this point you might be thinking, “Wow pastor, that’s all very interesting. But is there ever a time God just heals because we ask him to? Is there ever a time God heals because he feels bad for us? Is there ever a time when God heals just out of sheer mercy for our pain or our fear?”

And the answer to that question is yes.

In fact, there’s in interesting story in the OT of such a situation. It’s a story about King Hezekiah as he came to the end of his life. Listen to how the story goes:

:2-

2 Kings 20:1 ESV

That’s probably not what Hezekiah was wanting to hear, right? I mean can you imagine, your sick in the hospital, and I show up and say, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You’re going to die!”

Listen to what happens next:

:4-

2 Kings 20:2–3 ESV

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

As you can imagine, Hezekiah is disturbed by this. Like most of us, he’s not ready to die. There’s more he wants to do for the Lord. He’s been faithful, he’s served the Lord with a whole heart, and he wants to continue to do that. So he petitions the Lord. He cries, “God please. Please let me live. Please have mercy on me. Please heal me.” And he weeps bitterly.

Listen to how God responds:

2 Kings 20:4–6 ESV

4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.”

2 Kings 20:1–6 ESV

1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’ ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.”

Before Isaiah gets out of the hospital, out of his mercy and grace, God tells him to go back, and he grants Hezekiah 15 more years of life.

So, yes, God heals out of his love for us. God heals out of our desire to live. God heals us sometimes just because we ask Him to.

Do you see why this is such a complicated subject matter? It’s not black and white. Because sometimes God heals and sometimes He doesn’t. And regardless of whether he heals or not, He always has a reason for his decision. A reason we have to learn to trust regardless of whether we are healed or not.

Because at the end of the day, God does want His best for us. But sometimes His best isn’t instant or temporal healing. Sometimes he takes us on a journey of trust. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray, because we should. But my hope is, when you pray tonight for healing, that you would maybe pray with a different mindset.

Maybe for some, when you come up for prayer, instead of asking for God to heal you, you need to ask God to forgive you. Maybe there’s some hidden sin in your life. Something that is killing you spiritually. Something that is causing spiritual decay in you. And maybe instead of praying, “God heal me”, you need to pray, “God forgive me”.

For some, maybe when you come up for prayer, instead of asking, “God why aren’t you healing me?” You need to pray, “God what are you trying to teach me?”

For others maybe when you come up for prayer, instead of asking, “God how much longer do I need to suffer with this?” You need to pray, “God please use this for your glory. God heal me in your timing. God heal me in a way that brings ultimate glory to you.”

And maybe for some, instead of praying, “God heal me”, you need to pray, “God help me. God help me to say no to candy bars. God help me to say not to that second helping. God give me the discipline I need to take care of my body.”

And then finally for some, maybe like Hezekiah, your prayer needs to be, “God, please heal me so I can keep being used for you. I want to be maximized for you. God please give me greater health for your purposes. Please bring life back into my body so I can continue to serve you.”

To be honest, that’s my prayer. This may sound morbid, but I only want to live as long as God wants to use me. When I’ve done all he’s designed me to do for Him, then I want Him to take me home. To be honest, I have no desire to retire and move to Florida. I don’t want to live one second past my usefulness for the Lord. If I’m not being used by Him, then take me home.

Again, this might sound morbid, but I want God to take me like He took Moses.

Numbers 27:12 ESV

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:14 ESV

14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

God basically says to Moses, “Hey Moses, your time is about up. You’ve done everything I needed you to do. Now go get Joshua so we can make him the new pastor.”

Deuteronomy 34:1–8 ESV

1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8 And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

So, maybe like me, your prayer is, “Lord heal me and keep me healthy as long as I can bring glory to you. Lord give me the health I need to accomplish everything you’ve called me to do. Lord let me live and be healthy for the time you’ve alloted me in this life.”

And I can tell you, if that’s your prayer, then it won’t really be about how long you live or whether God heals you or not, it will be about how you use the time He gives you.

Now, some of you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, but shouldn’t we pray tonight with faith that God will heal us and believe he will?”

With that, I’m going to ask the prayer team to come up, and if you need healing tonight, I want to encourage you to come up for prayer.

And again, I’m not just talking about physical healing. Maybe you need God to heal you emotionally. Maybe you need God to heal you of unforgiveness or anger. Maybe you need God to heal your marriage. Maybe you need God to heal your relationship with your kids.

Regardless of what the healing need is, I invite you to come, and with faith pray that God would heal, and with faith trust his timing, his purpose, and his will.

Question #1 - Why doesn’t God heal every person that asks for healing?

And with the doctrine there are 3 supporting passages:

Isaiah 53:4–5 ESV

Matthew 8:16–17 ESV

16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”