If, in fact, Christ has purchased healing for us as well as forgiveness under the New Covenant, then my next question might be, “Since I have been taught the opposite for years, how do I come to have faith in my heart for the healing that is mine?” Let me offer a few thoughts on that.
First of all, I need to study the word of God until I am convinced that scripture does indeed teach that Christ not only purchased forgiveness by his blood but also healing by his wounds for every believer. Until I am certain that this proposition is true, my faith will waiver in moments when I need to operate by faith rather than sight. I would recommend reading some books on healing. I have already recommended F.F. Bosworth’s classic book, Christ the Healer.
Secondly, I can ask for the faith to believe in my heart what I now believe in my head. Paul declares, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Rom.12:3). If my measure of faith is given to me, then I can ask for a greater measure. I will need to cooperate with God in the growth of my faith, but ultimately, faith comes by grace like anything else. In the same way that we can ask for more wisdom, more of the Spirit, etc., we can ask for an increase in faith for healing.
Thirdly, we need to consistently confess what we now believe to be true. This is a primary way tin which we cooperate with God for the increase of our faith. Paul speaks to this as well when he says, “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom.10:8-10).
This verse suggests a causative connection between confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart. Verbally declaring something consistently over time tends to write that truth on our heart. The declaration of God’s word has power. The writer of Hebrews says that God’s word is living and active (Heb.4:12). As we declare his word, it operates not only in the atmosphere around us but also on our hearts. The Holy Spirit can then take that and give our heart a revelation of that truth. As the Spirit uses our verbal declaration of God’s truth to bring revelation to our hearts, our faith increases. Our part then is to speak in ways that are consistent with God’s truth regarding his healing for us.
The fourth thing we must learn is to live by faith and not by sight. This means that when we begin to experience illness or pray for healing that does not come immediately, we still stand on the promises of God that he is in the process of healing us. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (Jn.14:12-14). We know that healing is God’s will. We know that if we ask for anything that lines up with his will he will do it. Therefore, if we have asked with any faith, he will do it. Jesus reserved the timetable for himself, but we can say with certainty that he is in the process and our healing is in the pipeline.
Lastly, our faith is often undermined when we don’t see what we have asked for immediately. Sometimes, God is simply in the process and our answer has been ordained. However, we must also consider the possibility that something in the spiritual realm is in the way of our answer. We are told in 1 Corinthians 11, that some Christians were sick because they were defiling the Lord’s Supper by taking it when they did not love the brethren and were even abusing them.
In James 5, we are told that if any among us are sick, they should call the elders of the church to pray over them and their prayer of faith will raise them up and if they have sinned they will be forgiven. This tells us that although our own prayers can bring healing at times, some illness is to be overcome by the prayers of spiritual leaders. Again we are told that some illness lingers because we have unrepented sin in our lives that we have not confessed to others- – sin that needs to be forgiven before healing can manifest. Hidden sins, unforgiveness, unbelief, bitterness, etc. that we have not confessed and dealt with through the cross can hinder our prayers and our healing.
In Daniel 10, we also see that demonic spirits can hinder the answers to our prayers as well. Generational curses from our “fathers” and sin curses or word curses from our own actions or from our own mouths can also get in the way if they are not dealt with through the cross. Before we start declaring the healing power of Jesus over ourselves, we should take a spiritual inventory to see if something in our present or our past may be hindering that grace from operating in our lives. James underlines this necessity of repentance and confession when he tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed (Ja.5:16).
As we conclude this short series, my hope is that the Holy Spirit has borne witness with your spirit that the in heritance of every believer in Christ is healing. The ultimate expression of that is to walk in divine health but we are not promised that we will never get sick. However, we are promised that Christ bore our sins, sicknesses, and infirmities on the cross and that healing is available to every believer who can receive it by faith. As we think this truth, speak this truth, pray this truth, and teach this truth we are sowing seeds from which we will eventually reap a harvest of faith and healing. If you are ill now or struggling with some infirmity, may Jesus impart healing even now for the sickness he has already carried away.
