Though clearly revealed throughout the scripture, the Heavenly Father’s Will is that we should be healed, yet some who seek healing, fail to receive it.
Some of the reasons are:
1. Insufficient instruction
Ignorance concerning the healing power of the Gospel-
(Rom 10:7). Many have sought healing from Christ before they heard or knew enough of the Word of God. They have not had a steadfast faith.
We have seen that God’s way of producing faith for healing is the same as that of producing faith for salvation. This is the way for any other blessing. It is the truth of the written Word that sets us free. Freedom is the truth known, understood, received, acted on, maintained and steadfastly believed with an appropriating faith.
The Word of God is the”precious seed”, the “imperishable seed”. It is the seed that has the power. It never fails to do its own work. It must be known and received in faith and kept in the good ground, the only place the good seed can grow. The seed cannot work in us unless it is in us by our having known and received it.
God said, “I am the Lord that healeth thee”, and promised to take away all our sicknesses. But He first said, “If thou wilt diligently hearken……and do all”. This means to be diligent in the matter of knowing, understanding and practicing what God says in His Word on the subject of healing. We must know what God offers to us before we can expect to receive it from Him. The knowledge of God’s Will should precede faith for His will to be done. God’s Will in His written word, the Bible is perfect healing of our bodies. Those seeking healing can say when tested “It is written”,(1Peter 2:24) they can quote God’s promises to satan. This settles the question of God’s Will. Without this, their faith cannot remain steadfast. It is the Word of God that produces faith for healing.
2. Lack of united prayer
Most of God’s dealings with men, both in saving and healing, are by the outpouring of His spirit and through a spirit filled united and praying Church. His method is revealed in the promise,” I will pour out my spirit”, and the statement, “They were all filled with the spirit”. A spirit filled and praying Church produces an atmosphere in which it is easy for God to work. This makes it difficult for the devil to interfere. This atmosphere is the Holy Spirit Himself. Then the power of God is present to heal as it was at the beginning in the New Testament times.
3. Breaking Natural Laws
The failure of some to receive healing is because of the breaking of natural laws. Natural laws are God’s laws and they are as divine as are His miracles. Nature is God in action, but not miraculously. Because of their ignorance of natural laws some are not supplying their bodies with the required nourishment, or they may be overeating, while asking God to heal them of stomach trouble, and thereby hindering the answer to their prayers. After God had revealed Himself as Jehovah Rapha, our Healer, the conditions He imposed were that the people observe His laws of health. There are times when sufferers who are ignorant of dietetic and other simple requirements need the advice of someone who is qualified to give advice in such matters.
4. An evil spirit must be cast out.
Some are not healed because their affliction is the work of an evil spirit that must be cast out. Jesus did not heal the epileptic disease but cast out the epileptic spirit. He also cast out the deaf and dumb and blind spirits. He says of those who believe, “In my name they shall cast out demons”. Many times people are instantly delivered when the afflicting spirit is rebuked in Jesus Christ’s name or by His authority.
5. The sick person’s sin
Some fail to receive healing because they regard iniquity in their heart. These people should learn to say with David, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”. God has not promised to destroy the works of the devil in the body while we are clinging to the works of the devil in the soul. Unconfessed sin hinders people from receiving God’s mercy. His Word tells us, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy”.
6. An unforgiving spirit.
An unforgiving spirit or holding a grudge, hinders some from receiving the Lord’s healing. Jesus said, If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses”. The first thing we need and the first thing God wants to grant us is the forgiveness of our sins, but God cannot forgive us when we will not forgive others. If He cannot forgive us, He certainly cannot heal us. The afflicted are healed when they forgive those who had wronged them.
7. Lack of diligence.
Some have no diligence when seeking God for healing. God “is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. People just ask once and then give up, when they do not see results. They ought to continue to thank God for healing them, steadfastly believing that God’s promises are true.
8. Seeking miracles, not healing.
Because of improper instruction, many fail to be healed because they endeavor to confine God to miracles. Because they are not made well and strong in an instant these people cast away their confidence. God differentiates between a miracle and a healing If every man, wasted with disease, were made strong and well in a moment, there would be no healings. They would all be miracles. Paul speaks of gifts of healings and also of miracles. Jesus Christ could do no miracle in Nazerath because of the unbelief of the people, but He did heal a few sick people there. Confusing healings with miracles is a very common hindrance to healing.
9. Watching symptoms
Some weaken their faith by watching their symptoms. Instead of doing this, they should become strong in faith, like Abraham, by looking unto the promise of God. God has made His word the only basis for faith. Some people defeat their own healing by making their feelings the basis for faith.
10. Failure to Act on Faith
People fail to receive healing because they do not act their faith. “Faith without works is dead”. It is not God’s turn to move until we have faith with corresponding actions.
(Mark 11:22) Have faith in God. We should think faith, speak faith, act faith. To the blind man, Jesus said, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”. This act gave the man an opportunity to exercise faith in heart, mind and body. He was not healed until he had first given the visible expression of his faith. He believed the healing was his before it was manifested. It was the same with Naaman, the leper, and also with the ten lepers. Jesus said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests”. As they went, they were cleansed. A visible expression of faith, including their heart, mind and body was required before their healing was manifested. Some miss being healed by reversing this divine order.
11. Lack of faith.
Some are not healed because they substitute their belief in the doctrine of divine healing for personal faith- to be healed.
12. Lack of confidence.
When tested, some people cast away their confidence. They fail to see that, as with Abraham, their faith should be perfected by the test, not destroyed.
We are partakers of God’s promises on the condition that we hold the beginning of our confidence steady until the promises are fulfilled (Heb 10:35) If the Word of God is the reason for our faith, then it is never right to cast away our confidence in it.
13. Failure to receive God’s promises
Some are not healed because of their failure to receive the written promise of God as His direct Word to them. They fail to recognize that faith interprets the Word of God as the voice of God (Ps.138:2) “Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy name”.
14. Waiting for healing to believe
Some will not believe that their prayer for healing has been heard until they have experienced and seen the answer. (Mark 11:24) We shall have them after we believe God has heard your prayer. As Jesus said, “I thank thee that thou hast heard me”, while Lazarus was still dead; so we should be able to say, “I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me”, while we are still sick. “Ye shall have them”, is your answer from Jesus. It is also your proof that your prayer has been heard.
Faith interprets the Word of God as the voice of God. God has not promised that our healing shall begin before we believe that He had heard our prayer. “If we ask anything according to His will, he heareth us”. If this is true we must believe that our prayer has been heard when we pray we must be able to say “we know we have the petitions that we desired of Him, not because we see the answer, but because God is faithful, who also will do it”.
Abraham did not keep on praying for the birth of Isaac until the child was born. Instead, he kept on believing and glorifying God for His Word in the matter.
Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel had made an end of praying. They were all praising God with a loud voice for the answer of their prayers before they went out to do battle with the three great armies. Their faith was the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1).
It was a steadfast faith that brought the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham became strong in faith by looking continuously unto the promise of God.
If we allow our trust to become inactive, it will weaken; if we keep it active, it will continually grow stronger.
15. Focus on improvement, Not on God’s promises
Some hinder God by basing their faith on their improvement after prayer rather than on His promise. They do not realize that there is no other reason for faith as good as the Word of God. They do not understand that God wants to train every Christian to believe Him when everything they can see, except His promise , is to the contrary.
