Praying for Healing

As missionaries, we are often asked to pray for people. 

Makes sense. 

But then again, the same is true of all believers. 

When a pastor offers our services, we like to turn it around
on the congregation, inviting them to pray for
each other. 

I mean, we don’t
have any special powers, certainly not just because we are “mzungu” (white
people).  But the One we serve does.

As our Creator, God knows all about us – all about our spirits and all about our physical
bodies.  He knows exactly what we need and how best to give it to us.  Plus, He
loves us! 

On the World Race, we visit many homes and churches and
hospitals, and it has become quite clear that a lot of people are suffering.  They
have legitimate needs, like for food and school fees.  They are sick.  They are oppressed. 

So we find ourselves wrestling with certain questions,
trying to reconcile Biblical Truth (which operates like academic theory) with
the practical day-to-day praying that people ask of us.  For example …

Does God really want people to be healed?

Yes. 

Sure, He allows us to suffer the consequences of our
choices.  And things like germs and
infections are a natural part of life. 

But Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).  In
heaven, we will be completely restored, and everything will be perfect.  If
God’s kingdom can truly be manifested on this earth, then we should expect
those same conditions here and now. 
They won’t happen naturally, though, so we, as believers, are
responsible for retrieving them supernaturally – through prayer.  Imagine heaven opening up when we pray; we
can reach up in faith to pull down blessings.   

When we are in intimate relationship with God, we are better
tuned in to His will, so we know what to ask for in prayer.  However, we don’t have to know all the details about what to pray for because God
already knows.  We just have to have the faith and the humility to ask and
trust Him to respond. 

We don’t have to ask “Can
God heal people?” because the Bible – especially the New Testament – is full of
miraculous stories of healing.  Jesus
laid His hands on people.  He simply
spoke the word.  One woman even just
touched the hem of his robe and was healed (Mark 5:21-43). 

And note that it is not
just Jesus doing the healing.  He
gave His disciples “power and authority to drive out demons and to cure
diseases, and He sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick,” (Luke 9:1-2).   He
assured them 

that faith the size of a mustard seed (itsy-bitsy) could
move mountains (Matthew 17:20).  I admit I’m still not sure how exactly that works though.  

It takes faith to ask
for a miracle, and it takes faith to receive
a miracle.  And our faith grows as we exercise it.  Believe He can and will answer.  But don’t give up when the answer you were
hoping for doesn’t come.  We may not see
the fruit of our efforts – in fact, we often don’t get to – but that does not
mean that God isn’t working.  His timing
and His ways are perfect.  Keep praying
expectantly. 

More often than not, the problem for which people need
prayer is not actually physical but spiritual. 
Spiritual problems manifest in
physical ways.

Sin like unforgiveness can turn into cancer, for
example.  That does not mean that everyone who battles disease is to blame.  Please hear me on that.  But our bodies and spirits are connected
while we are here on earth, so they do
affect each other.

Also – I hope this doesn’t come as a shock to some of you,
Americans especially – there are
demons running around this world attacking people.  And they attack both our bodies and our
minds.  People seem to understand that
concept better here in Africa, where there is
a greater emphasis and understanding of the spirit world in general.  Whereas Americans tend to look to doctors
(medical or psychiatric) for solutions, Africans accuse demons for most of
their afflictions.