Divine Healing 

     The roots of this “mystery” go back at least 3500 years to the time of Moses. Exodus 23:25 “You shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.” Of course that’s a Biblical reference which blocks today’s Darwin crowd. But for those who have FAITH, the roots of Divine Healing are plenteous. Deuteronomy 7:15, Psalm 107:20, Isaiah 53:5, Jeremiah 30:17, Matthew 8:16-17, Mark 16:17-18, and of course Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And if J.C. is the “author of life”, with “all power” today, then D.H. is no problem. Jesus did a lot of healings during his 3 yr. ministry, then told his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.” John 14:12  
     Well, I personally didn’t know much about the Biblical roots of D.H. in Army basic training, but I had a terrible flat foot problem which caused me to pray in desperation. Some kind of mysterious strength just flowed thru the pain while I was marching & I was able to continue on. That convinced me. See “My Miracles” link 33. I experienced and witnessed other D.H. as a young believer in Christ. Years later my elderly aunt shared her D.H. story. She was in the convent preparing to be a nun when T.B. got her lungs – about 1940. Her mother & those nuns prayed for her healing which came to pass. She couldn’t stay in the convent so got married, but was advised by doctors not to have children. Well, she had a healthy nine, and lived to be 87.
     For the sake of inspiration there are two cases of D.H. in the gospels which seemed to challenge even Jesus Christ. Those are the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader, Mark chapter 5, and Lazarus, a personal friend of Jesus, John chapter 11. Both times Christ wasn’t able to get to the sick soon enough & they died waiting for his visit. How sad – but according to scripture Jesus raised both back to life. That’s way beyond healing in my opinion. Maybe the message is this – if J.C. is involved, you’re covered even if “worse comes to worse”. Now I want to believe these awesome stories because believing the WORD is the essence of saving faith. Too many today want to scoff at the WORD & its truth which kills faith, and blocks divine healing, or getting anything else from God.
     For the sake of reality, where is D.H. when folks have prayed & believed to no avail? God’s response to any prayer request is either yes, no, or wait. We should BELIEVE for healing because it is a benefit of being Christian, and EXPECT to receive. But if there is no evidence of the good stuff, maybe God’s answer is “no”. He is sovereign, so that’s His option. I prayed believing for eye healing early on & my eyes stayed blurry & I continued wearing glasses. But a couple years later my glasses saved my eyes from molten lead which shot in my face. But other healings I have received. Some just take time. I believe we should pray for our healing needs first. After a reasonable time (different for all), then go to the doctor. But even then D.H. isn’t done – God is able to bless the hands & mind of that doc. I suppose missionaries & poor folks that have minimum medical available would be in a higher priority with God for D.H. . . . But God can heal today, - anyone, any place, any time.  (Especially when standard medical today is mainly about money.) 
     The best shot for any believer who needs & wants D.H. is to apply the scriptural formula:
-   “According to your faith be it done to you.” Jesus said that, Matthew 9:29
-   “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” James 4:8a
-  “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. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James 5:14-15  
In today’s world that board of elders might throw ice water on the seekers faith if they don’t believe in D.H. That’s why it’s important to be in a Bible believing church. To receive Divine Healing we need to be close to Christ and His Word. Choose Jesus, He is Alive.

Other interesting titles:  www.gospelnotes.net – index is link 0                                   * * F. J. Stone * *
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