Q: How do you know why a healing won’t come whether it is because of a lack of faith, a sin or because it is a faith and wisdom building circumstance?
A: This is a great question. We often pray for healing of loved ones, friends, and ourselves. These prayers may be offered because of physical, emotional or spiritual difficulties. Often times we wonder, “Why hasn’t God answered our prayers?” Or, “Why is this person sick in the first place?”
This question is really two-fold. The first deals with how God answers prayers, and the second deals with sickness as a result of sin.
Let’s try and unpack the second question, which I think, leads us to the answer of the first: “Why is this person sick in the first place?”
The disciples asked Jesus this same question in John 9:1-5:
“1As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."”
Jesus told the disciples that this man was blind not because of a sin, but “that the works of God might be displayed.” There are some people who are quick to blame sickness and disease on sin, and that is not always the case. Can sin cause sickness? Yes, indeed. There are many physical affects of sin. For instance, cirrhosis of the liver can be caused by alcoholism. A sexually transmitted disease is the result of sexual promiscuity.
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is faithful to forgive us of our sins, and to make us spiritually clean, however, He is also just. He may not choose to remove the physical affects of our sin even though we have been forgiven.
Sickness isn’t always the result of sin, however, there may be times when sickness or disease may be a result of sin. But why, when we pray for healing, does it not always come?
Can a lack of healing come from a lack of faith? There are many who say that God doesn’t answer prayers for healing because either the person praying for healing, or the person who is to receive the healing doesn’t have enough faith. If everything that God did depended on my faith, we would be in a world of trouble.
Romans 3:3 says, “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” There are over 1,800 promises in the Bible. You can be assured that God intends to keep each and every one! Isn’t it great to know that God is still faithful even when we are not? Our lack of faith may not be the ultimate reason for a lack of healing. Remember what Jesus told the disciples? “But that the work of God might be displayed in him.”
Sometimes, it seems as though God doesn’t hear our prayers, or that He doesn’t answer our prayers. In reality, it may be an opportunity to show His greatness. I know a young lady whose brother died of cancer. At first, she was really upset that God didn’t answer her prayers to heal her brother. After a period of time, she became convinced that God chose her brother to have the cancer, because he was strong enough to handle the difficulties. God used her brother’s cancer to bring the family closer to each other, and to grow her faith in Him.
Lack of faith? God is faithful whether we are or not!
James 1:2-4 says:
“2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
To conclude, we must always consider what we are going through as a faith building circumstance, always a wisdom building circumstance, and always an opportunity for God to show himself great!
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