Beloved, It is God's desire that we are whole in body and spirit. Apostle John wished it:
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2
Sadly, we often time refuse to be whole; we only want portions of wholeness; what we feel like we may benefit from at the moment.
Refusal to be made whole! Imagine that. Often, we seek only healing or deliverance. But God wants to deal with the whole man and heal body, soul, and spirit. It is not enough to desire physical healing only. That is not the only purpose of Jesus:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19
Because man is body,
soul, and spirit, the concept of wholeness implies dealing with all of these.
We cannot emphasize physical health apart from our soul and spirit nor healing
apart from salvation. God is a spirit. He relates to you through your spirit. Your
spirit governs your physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional life. Your whole
life is spiritually based. Because you are a spiritually based being, healing
of the body begins in the spirit.
When God created man,
man's spirit was to be the governing power of his life on earth. It was to have
supremacy over the mind and body and bring them together into a unified whole
man in which God would live. Originally, in the Garden of Eden, man was in
close spiritual relationship with God.
In prohibiting access
to the tree of knowledge in the Garden, God was forbidding man to live on the upper echelon of physical and intellectual knowledge. When man sinned his spirit was
submerged and he chose to live by his intellect. When his mind ascended above
the spirit and took over, the spiritual part of man ceased to function
as the source of his response to God and to life. From that time, there was a
separation of spirit, mind, and body, which resulted in a lack of harmony
between man, his environment, and his creator.
Healing is more than
the absence of sickness. It is more than a healthy body.
It is the return to proper functioning of every part (body, soul, spirit; including the mind, emotions etc.) in harmony with every other part, the environment, and the Creator.
Lack of decision and desire. Imagine that! At some point, the lame man had to make
a decision.
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? John 5-6
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? John 5-6
Some people do not want to be healed. They enjoy the sympathy, pity, and attention they receive from being sick. Some receive medical benefits through pensions or legal settlements and they do not want to lose them. Others have a great desire to go be with the Lord and do not want to be healed. Some people use their sickness as an excuse to avoid work and manipulate others.
Deal with such issues
with compassion. Do not make people feel guilty for having these feelings.
Their sickness has allowed them to exist emotionally until they could be led to
a better way of life.
Problems with requests. There are sometimes problems with
requests for healing that hinder its manifestation:
First, and most
basic, is that sometimes we do not ask for healing. We turn solely to medicine for
help or to friends for comfort:
. . . ye have
not, because ye ask not. James 4:2
Ö NOT ASKING SPECIFICALLY:
Sometimes, prayers
are hindered because they are not quite right; inappropriate or out of place.
. . . ye ask
amiss. . . James 4:3
When you are
"amiss," you are not specific in your prayers. You did not hit the
target correctly.
Sometimes, we pray
with the wrong motive:
Ye ask and
receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4:3
Some people want to
be healed, but do not want to change their sinful, worldly, uncommitted life
style. They want to be well so they can go back to doing their own thing.
People should
consider these questions:
> What is your motive for wanting to get
healed?
> Is it so you can return to
self-centered living?
> Is it so you can rush around doing good
works instead of accomplishing God's specific purpose for you?
The Bible identifies
several other factors that will hinder receiving answers to your prayers:
- Sin of any kind: Psalms 66:18; Proverbs 28:9; Isaiah
1:15; 59:1-2
- Idols in the heart: Ezekiel 14:1-3
- An unforgiving
spirit: Mark 11:25; Matthew 5:23
- Selfishness, wrong
motives: Proverbs 21:13; James
4:3
- Power hungry,
manipulative prayers: James 4:2-3
- Wrong treatment of
marriage partner: I Peter 3:7
- Self-righteousness: Luke 18:10-14
- Unbelief: James
1:6-7
- Not abiding in
Christ and His Word: John 15:7
- Lack of compassion: Proverbs 21:13
- Hypocrisy, pride,
meaningless repetition: Matthew
6:5; Job 35:12- 13
- Not asking according
to the will of God: James 4:3
- Not asking in Jesus'
name: John 16:24
- Satanic hindrances: Daniel 10:10-13;
Ephesians 6:12
- Not seeking first
the Kingdom: Matthew 6:33
Sometimes we do not
persevere (continue) in prayer long enough. Apostle Paul himself had at first preached
while being ill (Galatians 4:13-14)
and was later healed.
Prayer apparently had no immediate effect on Epaphroditus who almost died (Philippians 2:27) and
Trophimus who was left behind ill (2 Timothy 4:20). Yet they both eventually recovered. (Note also that Apostle Paul continued to pray for the sick despite that in these cases there was not immediate healing.)
Prayer apparently had no immediate effect on Epaphroditus who almost died (Philippians 2:27) and
Trophimus who was left behind ill (2 Timothy 4:20). Yet they both eventually recovered. (Note also that Apostle Paul continued to pray for the sick despite that in these cases there was not immediate healing.)
Some people think if
you ask more than once for healing it is lack of faith. Jesus did not teach
that persisting in prayer showed lack of faith:
- He encouraged perseverance. (Luke 11:1-13)
- He teaches the importance of persisting in prayer in the parables of the inopportune friend. (Luke 5-8)
- and the widow and the judge (Luke l-8).
The example of Daniel
also encourages perseverance. God heard his prayer from the first time he
prayed it, but Satan hindered the angel who was sent with an answer.
The Prophet Elisha
prayed one time for fire to fall from Heaven, but he had to pray seven times
for rain to fall. Do not give up if healing does not occur the first time you
pray. Remember that there are the "asking, seeking, and knocking"
levels of prayer. Sometimes you ask and get an immediate answer. Other times
you must seek and continue to knock to receive an answer.
In the natural world,
people will go to doctors and hospitals many times until their physical problem
is resolved. Why do they lack the perseverance to continue to seek divine
healing from God?
Remember: The battle
for the body is spiritual warfare manifested in the physical realm. Continue to
persevere in prayer until you know your petition is heard. When you have that
confirmation in your spirit, then begin to praise God even if you do not yet
see visible results:
> Jehoshaphat and the
children of Israel began praising God in a loud voice before they actually saw
the answer to their prayers.
> Jesus thanked God in
advance for raising Lazarus.
> Once Abraham had
assurance of the promise of a son, he did not keep on praying. He believed and glorified God.
07/22/15
05/27/19
01/13/21
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