Does God Want Us Healed?
The short answer is yes! The Lord is our healer, and from the earliest accounts in the Bible, He reveals Himself as such.
In Exodus 15, we read of the deliverance of the children of Israel from Pharaoh and Egypt. Nearly two million Israelites are in the desert under Moses’ leadership. They are thirsty and come to the bitter waters of Marah. The Lord directs Moses to throw a stick into the waters, and they are made pure.
The Lord then makes an ordinance or covenant with Israel that if they follow Him faithfully, He will be their healer
“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” Exod. 15:26 NKJV
The phrase “I am the Lord who heals you” is from the Hebrew Jehovah Rapha, one of God’s covenant names. Rapha means to bind together, as by sewing together, to mend, to make new, to heal.
God reveals Himself as Israel’s healer, a theme continued throughout the Bible. God is humanity’s healer. I discuss this passage in depth in my book “Receive Your Miracle Now!”
Later, King David would write in Psalm 103,
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases… Psalm 103:2-3 NKJV
The Lord promises to forgive all our sins, every type of sin. In like manner, He promises to heal humanity of every type of illness and disease. Once again, He is the Lord our healer!
In Matthew’s gospel, chapter eight, just after the sermon on the Mount in the preceding chapters, Jesus comes down from the mountain and demonstrates God’s desire to heal all. He first encounters a leper, then a Roman officer who has an ill servant, and then Peter’s mother-in-law. They bring many to Jesus who need healing, and He heals them all. Once again, the Lord our healer!
Matthew 8:1-3 “I am willing…”
When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Many theologians and non-theologians discuss and debate whether it is God’s will for people to be healed. Given all the discussion, one would think the Bible is unclear on this issue. Would it surprise you to know that the Bible is very clear?
Would it surprise you to know that the question of God’s will relating to healing is only directly referred to once in all the Scriptures? Therefore, what does God say in this passage?
If Jesus is asked whether it is God’s will for people to be healed and He gives an unclear response, you can understand why there could be confusion on this topic.
The good news is that the question was asked simply and straightforwardly: “Lord, if you are willing…” Jesus’ answer was even more concise: “I am willing.”
In my limited years of praying for the sick, I’ve found that one of the challenges of ministering to people is convincing them that God wants them healed.
While hindrances to healing, such as unforgiveness, can exist, God desires for us to be made whole, to be healed in spirit, soul, and body. That said, not all will be healed, but this does not nullify the truth that God desires to make all whole and well. Ultimately, in Christ, we have the hope of the resurrection and new bodies, which is our ultimate healing.
No different than the reality that God desires all to be made right with Him, or to be saved.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Pet. 3:9 NKJV
Notice Peter states that God is not willing that anyone should perish. God desires that all be saved, but unfortunately, not all will respond to God’s salvation through Christ.
In this passage from Matthew 8, Jesus meets a leper.
Leprosy was an incurable disease in biblical times. It would be the equivalent of AIDS today. Not only does leprosy slowly kill a person, but it is also highly contagious, and every leper was therefore quarantined.
I love Jesus’ ministry. He was not afraid of this disease. He saw it as any other sickness—an enemy of God, and therefore, it needed to go. Jesus, not even pausing to think that the man wouldn’t be healed, touched the man and pronounced, “Be clean!”
Can I encourage you to see the simplicity of this passage?
A dying man, with an incurable disease asked a profound theological question: “Does God’s will include healing?” Jesus’ response was quick and to the point: “Yes!”
This is the only passage in the Bible where the question is asked and, therefore, the only place where the answer is given. God is willing to heal!
Not only is God willing to heal, but He also appears to want to heal men and women of every kind of sickness and disease, again a reference to Psalm 103:3.
Whether the root cause is an accident, demonic, generational, or whatever. Whether you are in a little or much pain, whether there is a name for your disease or not, whether the doctors say it can be treated, or whether it is life-threatening or inoperable, His will is simple, straightforward, and obvious. It is revealed to us in this passage. “I am willing!”
Why Didn’t Jesus Pray? Matthew 8:1-3
There is another wonderful truth that we see from this passage.
It is a truth that is present in every recorded healing in the ministry of Jesus. This truth is noticeable because of its absence from this story and every story relating to Jesus’ healing ministry. Its absence is another proof that God’s will is for us to be healed.
Would you like to know what the missing truth is?
Here it is: Jesus never once prayed before He ministered healing to someone! If you look carefully in the gospels, you won’t find one place where Jesus prayed for someone’s healing!
Not only did He not pray for the people to be healed, but He never stopped to ask God if He should minister. There is a wonderful truth behind this absence of prayer.
Jesus did not pray because He already knew what His Father wanted! He knew that His Father wanted people to be well, so He operated from that premise. Jesus was humble; He was not seeking to gain attention for Himself.
19 Jesus answered and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. John 5:19-20 NKJV
When we pray to God, one of the reasons we pray is that we are unsure of what God wants.
Many of our prayers sound like this: “God, I don’t know what is going on, but You do. Can You please help?” We pray from earth toward heaven—but it is the opposite!
There is nothing wrong with a prayer like this, but it demonstrates that we don’t know God’s will. Knowing what God wants affects how we communicate with Him and act upon the authority of His word and our authority as His children.
We have every right to say, “Lord, Your Word says it is your will to heal; I am asking for your healing presence to come and to heal this person!”
We are to pray and trust God to heal. We should continue to pray, assuming it is God’s desire to heal, regardless of the outcome, as God is the healer. And yes, not all are healed, but that does not mean that God is not a healer or has stopped healing today. There can be hindrances or reasons we don’t understand, but continue to pray and trust God—period!
Would you agree that this prayer is bolder than the previous one? Why is it?
It is because the person saying the words feels they already know what God desires. They know what He has already said on the subject, and they are holding Him to it.
Take that one step further.
Jesus knew what His Father wanted when it came to healing the various diseases and sicknesses that He encountered. Praying would have meant that Jesus was unsure of what His Father wanted in a situation. Praying would have shown that Jesus was unsure about issues such as God’s will, His timing, etc.
Here is the truth in a nutshell: Jesus knew that God wanted everyone to be healed—no exceptions! The Gospels do not record one instance of Jesus turning anyone away who wanted to minister to healing.
Every person who came to Him was cured regardless of their disease; every time, no praying was needed.
He knew that God wanted people well. In this wonderfully concise passage, the leper comes to Jesus and asks for healing. Jesus doesn’t hesitate, ponder the implications, or wonder about God’s will for the man in front of Him. He reached out His hand, touched him, and spoke a healing word over him: “Be clean!”
If you lived in Bible times, Jesus would have done for you what He did for everyone else. He would have ministered to you in some way, and you would have been healed. This is also God’s desire for you today! Come in faith expecting His touch and healing. If the healing doesn’t manifest, persist in faith and prayer, and be open to asking the Lord if there is a hindrance to your healing.
One last thing: while Jesus was on earth, there was no record of Him praying for the sick, but the book of Hebrews teaches that now that He is seated beside the Father, He intercedes for you constantly. He brings your needs to the Father, including your need for healing.
If you need healing today, would you pray this prayer with me?
Dear Jesus, I thank You that You have repeatedly proved that God wants everyone to be healed. Thank You, Father, that Jesus was in tune with You and knew Your heartbeat. I believe that You want me to be well and free from my pain and sickness.
Father, forgive me for questioning Your motives and desires for my friends, family, and me. Please begin to erase every lie that I have accepted into my spirit about what You want and don’t want regarding healing. Eradicate every untruth about my sickness and disease.
I choose today to believe what Your word says: that You are willing to heal me. I accept my healing now based on the unchangeable Word of God. Please come and touch my body and take away every bit of pain and disease because Your will and desire are for me to be healed. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen!
