Philip, one of the young men whom I disciple at church, is 17 and his father passed away four years ago from cancer. Philip has one of the most real faiths that I know for a teenager. He will freely discuss with others his struggle to come to grips with the loss of his dad and how to love God through his experience. He inspires me by his dogged determination to seek God through his process. And yet I find myself asking many of the same questions that he has. Why didn't God heal his father, a deacon and respected leader in the church? Why would so many prayers seem to go unanswered? Did everyone in the church lack the faith necessary to see a miracle happen? Was God on vacation when Philip's dad died? Why would a loving God allow sickness to ravage the life of a dedicated Christian man - part of the family of God?
These are very loaded questions, and God frequently doesn't tell us why things happen. He simply calls us to trust Him and obey. But I am glad that God doesn't mind me asking tough questions. The real question is am I ready for His answers?
Healing has been on my mind lately as I think about summer ministry plans, and the topic resurfaced tonight at the Jerni, a small group for young adults at my church. Darla, one of the leaders, talked about her struggle to trust God when it comes to praying for healing. She talked about losing the sense of childlike faith that allows us to believe in the impossible. Reason keeps many of us from living in the fullness of God's power and will. I appreciated Darla's honesty because I certainly struggle with praying for healing. What happens if nothing happens? What do you do then?
After trying just about everything, I have come to believe that the outcome doesn't really impact the action. Regardless of whether or not a person is physically healed, God desires us to seek Him, be transformed into His image and faithfully build His kingdom. If you pray for a brother to be healed and nothing happens, you continue to seek God and believe in His power. You listen for God's direction and praise Him for everything that He has done. If the brother is healed, you would do much of the same things although you wouldn't keep on praying for healing. You would though continue to praise God, believe in His power and ask Him to reveal truth through the experience. We focus on the outcome, but God focuses on the process.
When I look at Jesus, He never prayed "Lord if it be Your will heal this person" type of prayers. Jesus simply spoke to the body or evil spirit and commanded it to be restored and/or delivered from the power of sickness and death. Jesus prayed in faith. Why could He do this? Well, Jesus said that He did nothing without the Father. He walked in such close communion with God that He did not have to guess what the Father's will is. He simply knew it because they are so close. Jesus calls us to experience that same level of oneness with God. A big reason why we don't pray with power today is because our relationship with God is so intermittent and shallow. Remember when talking about casting out evil spirits, Jesus told His disciples that "This type only comes out by prayer and fasting." He basically insinuated that they did not have the power to do the miracle because they were too far from The Power Source.
We want simple formulas and explanations for everything. But sometimes people are not healed for multiple reasons. There could be sin blocking the effectiveness of the person's prayers. God could want to do a deeper work in the person's life by bringing them through instead of delivering them from the sickness. There could be a lack of faith. God might want to use someone's sickness or death to draw others to Himself. Health problems can bring unity and community among a people who would otherwise be divided or preoccupied with less important, material things. Diseases and death can bring perspective to someone who tings that they don't need God. There are almost an endless list of reasons why things might not work out as we hope. But we should do the same regardless the outcome - trust God.
A big problem is that people tend to approach disease and sickness from a "man" focus instead of a God focus. It's really all about God and His glory not man and his problems.
Instead of automatically assuming what God wants me to pray, I am starting to go to God and ask Him to reveal what I should pray. Then I will listen to see what God places on my heart. As I have faith to pray, I then take authority in the name of Jesus and pray whatever God leads. This gives the boldness and confidence to pray without concern for the outcome. I am obedient. God does the rest. And I continue to believe regardless of the outcome. Maybe I missed it, maybe God's miracle will come further down the road, or maybe God is doing something completely different than I had first imagined. It just doesn't matter I will continue to believe in God no matter what happens. Honestly, there are times when my faith falters, and in those situation, I take it back to God and ask for His forgiveness and power to work in my life and the life of those I am praying for.
Sometimes people are not healed because God uses their sickness to mold them or give them an experience that can help them minister to others. Once you've had a bad illness, you typically can have a better chance to know how to relate to others who are suffering from disease or sickness.
Increasingly, I have noticed that God likes to involve His children in the miracle process. Recently, a good friend of mine, Dana Klevgard, volunteered to donate half of his liver to save the life of his brother in-law, Terry. People throughout the city prayed for Terry's liver to be healed miraculously without surgery. But when the day came, Dana acted in faith as he let the doctors do the operation and give part of his liver to Terry. Which would be bigger miracle that would give God more glory - Terry being healed without surgery or Terry fully recovering because Dana dared to risk his life, suffer serious pain and go through a significant recovery period without pay? I can make a case for either one. The fact that such an operation is even possible is almost unbelievable. The fact that a healthy liver can grow back to almost full size is a miracle. In this instance, God chose to press Dana to serve, which has had a profound impact on his entire family. The good news is that both Dana and Terry are recovering nicely without any real complications. Prayers were answered, and God involved Dana in making the miracle happen.
I don't believe that we have to feel stuck between the options of name-it/claim-it theology and half-hearted, ambiguous prayer. There is a balance between the two extremes. God wants us to act in faith to believe for what we don't yet see. And He also wants us to avoid judging our actions based on the outcome. He simply calls us to listen and obey. Regardless if a physical healing occurs, if we act in faith with good motives, God will accomplish a greater purpose. Unfortunately, sometimes we don't recognize it until it is too late.
