If Healing does not Manifest

Notice what the title of this blog does not say. It doesn’t say, “If Healing Does Not Come.” I believe healing always comes when an individual asks for it, but it doesn’t always manifest. And there is a myriad of reasons why this is true.

It certainly isn’t because God is fickle—that He gives healing to us and then takes it back. In some instances healing doesn’t manifest because of a lack of knowledge about healing by the individual asking for it. In other instances, people just get tired of the fight against sickness and disease and give up. Others open the door to sickness and disease through unrepentant sin in their lives. Still others get close to death, have a vision of Jesus or heaven and decide there is nothing on this earth to hold them or to compare to the glory that is waiting for them. Sometimes the devil exploits the weakened physical condition of overworked Christian ministers and attempts to take them out. We see this as the case with Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25-30.

These are just a few of the reasons some people fail to see healing manifest in their lives. Several years ago, I heard Kenneth E. Hagin preach a message called, “The Secret Things Belong to the Lord.” His text came from Deuteronomy 29:29, (NKJV), which says: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” In his message, Brother Hagin told the story of his sister who had died of cancer in her fifties. He and his wife had ministered to her the principles of faith that had brought healing to hundreds in his meetings. They had prayed the prayer of agreement with her and were convinced she was trusting God for healing. Then, suddenly one day she died after having slipped into a coma.

Her death was quite a shock to Brother Hagin. While he was praying and asking God why his sister died and what could have been done differently to help her receive the manifestation of her healing, Brother Hagin had a vision. He saw a beautiful young lady walking up a path toward heaven. When she turned around, he saw that she was his sister. She looked to be about 25 years younger, Brother Hagin recalled. She glanced and said: “Don’t feel badly, Ken, that you couldn’t get healing to me. You didn’t fail. There are some things I cannot tell you now that you will understand later on. Tell my children that I love them and that I’m just fine.” Brother Hagin came out of that vision with Deuteronomy 29:29 resounding in his spirit.

Honestly, I thought he was preaching false doctrine at the time. I was young and very idealistic about what I believed. I was certain if we walked in faith and in the Spirit like Jesus did we would see everyone we prayed for healed. Certainly, there would be no premature deaths. It was not long after that we discovered that Willie Mae, the primary babysitter for our young children, had been diagnosed with cancer. She was a good Christian and a member of a denominational church. Some of her family members were not walking close to the Lord at the time, so my wife and I made ourselves available to minister faith and healing to Willie Mae. We were convinced when she received the manifestation of her healing and got a clear doctor’s report, it would be a sign to her family that would draw them to Jesus and cause them to receive salvation.

After several weeks of our ministering the Word to her, Willie Mae announced to us one day, “If God wants me to be healed, then I’ll be healed. If He doesn’t, then I won’t.” It wasn’t long after that she passed away. That same Scripture Brother Hagin preached came back to me, “The secret things belong to the Lord.” We didn’t enter into judgment that Willie Mae had no faith. Her faith was to go home and be with the Lord. No matter how much we preach the truth, we do not have control of people’s lives or wills.

I have heard a lot of messages preached on the book of Job by teachers and preachers who attempted to explain the reasons Job was in the mess he found himself in (fear, unbelief, putting his children before God, etc.). The goal of each of these messages was that we could learn from what Job did wrong and avoid facing the same type of tragedy and crisis. Certainly there is truth that we can glean along these lines, but I don’t believe that is the primary message. I am convinced the primary message of the book of Job is to help us respond to God in faith and trust when life’s circumstances do not line up with our theology. What do we do when life throws us a curve that is much different from either what we have prayed or what we have believed? The bottom line is that Job maintained his trust in the Lord and eventually prayed for his condemning friends. The results were that his situation turned around and he received double what the devil had stolen from him.

What do we do with our apparent “faith failures?” That is the purpose for this last chapter. You know what I am talking about—those situations when you prayed for someone and they died or they have not improved significantly in months or even years. Let me share with you some simple keys I have learned over the years that have helped me stay in faith and maintain my trust in the Lord when circumstances are going “haywire”.

1. First of all, don’t blame God or allow yourself to get angry at God. I performed a funeral a number of years ago for a 40-year-old woman who had died in an auto accident. She was born again and now was in the presence of God. I encouraged the large, grieving crowd at the funeral service that it was not possible to honor their friend and loved one by becoming angry at the Lord she was now so happy to be with. God is not our problem. He is good and just and right all the time. He is not to blame. When you and I get to heaven, we will discover that is true, so we might as well agree with it now because God’s Word declares it is so. If anything, focus your anger and blame at the devil by serving God with all your heart and by ministering life and health to others.
2. Second, don’t allow the situation to separate you from God’s love. Determine that nothing satan or people throw your way in life will convince you that God does not love you. The apostle Paul says it so well in Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV):

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Refuse to allow anything temporal to affect your relationship with God.

3. Third, don’t allow your doctrine to be shaped by your experience. A lot of good and sincere people attempt to interpret the Word of God based on their experience. That is not good theology! It is never wise to give your personal experience greater authority than the Word of God in your life. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4).
4. Next, worship God. When disappointment, loss, or tragedy happens to us, we have two choices: Either worship God or become bitter.

Several years ago, a couple in our church lost their daughter in a tragic auto accident that happened in another state. One of the leaders in our church graciously provided his private airplane to fly this man and his wife to pick up their granddaughter who had survived the accident. On the way to their destination, the man knelt down in the aisle of this small plane, lifted his heart and hands to heaven and worshiped God. In the midst of the greatest loss he had ever experienced, he chose to surrender his pain to God through worship. I cannot remember any single event that has humbled me as much as this man’s response to personal tragedy. Whenever the enemy comes to steal from us and we respond in worship instead of drawing back from God, it reinforces satan’s defeat.

5. Finally, keep praying for the sick. Failure in praying for the sick is no different than failure to see a lost person saved that you shared your faith with. If someone I shared the gospel with dies without Jesus, I am not going to stop witnessing to the lost. In fact, that will motivate me to be more resolved to share my faith with others. We should approach healing ministry and praying for the sick in the same fashion. Whenever I have prayed for someone’s healing and they die, I become more resolved to pray for others’ health to be restored so that the enemy won’t have opportunity to keep them from finishing their course with joy.

Immediately prior to Jesus’ departure and return to the Father, He left us an irrevocable assignment: Preach the gospel to the lost, set captives free from demonic bondage, and minister healing to the sick (Mark 16:17-18). If you accept this assignment, the Holy Spirit will confirm His Word with signs following in your life. Many lives will be spared. People’s destiny and inheritance will be discovered. Jesus will be pleased.

My prayer for you, and more importantly Jesus’ prayer for you from the right hand of the Father, is that you take these wisdom keys and with confidence go out and unlock healing doors for sick and hurting humanity. Amen.

Adapted from Greg Mohr’s book, Your Healing Door.