Let’s not forget the famous passage in Matthew 28:18–20, known as the Great Commission, where Jesus commanded us to: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ We are told not just to make converts and baptise them, we are told to make disciples and to teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded us to do; and that includes healing the sick. Jesus commanded us to heal the sick.
Now, having said that, it is not always God’s will that sick people are healed. Sometimes it is God’s will that people are healed and sometimes it’s not. We don’t know why that is; it’s all part of the divine mystery, but one thing I regularly find to be true is the more people we pray for, the more people are healed. The apostle John helps us to get a proper perspective on this issue: In 1 John 5v14-15 he says, ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.’ Again, sometimes it’s God’s will that people are healed and sometimes it’s not. One of the consequences of the Fall is that sickness, disability, disease and death are a reality for everyone. And unless Jesus returns beforehand, everyone who is alive today will eventually die as a direct result of some kind of health related issue, even if we just wear out. Again, it is not always God’s will that people are healed but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for healing. Even when people are not healed, they are often still touched by the compassion and love of God, or by the presence and peace of God, ministered to them through the one who is praying.
R. Ian Seymour, Empowered Personal Evangelism, Weybridge: New Wine Press (2014), p.177
Let’s not forget the famous passage in Matthew 28:18–20, known as the Great Commission, where Jesus commanded us to: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ We are told not just to make converts and baptise them, we are told to make disciples and to teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded us to do; and that includes healing the sick. Jesus commanded us to heal the sick.
Now, having said that, it is not always God’s will that sick people are healed. Sometimes it is God’s will that people are healed and sometimes it’s not. We don’t know why that is; it’s all part of the divine mystery, but one thing I regularly find to be true is the more people we pray for, the more people are healed. The apostle John helps us to get a proper perspective on this issue: In 1 John 5v14-15 he says, ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.’ Again, sometimes it’s God’s will that people are healed and sometimes it’s not. One of the consequences of the Fall is that sickness, disability, disease and death are a reality for everyone. And unless Jesus returns beforehand, everyone who is alive today will eventually die as a direct result of some kind of health related issue, even if we just wear out. Again, it is not always God’s will that people are healed but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for healing. Even when people are not healed, they are often still touched by the compassion and love of God, or by the presence and peace of God, ministered to them through the one who is praying.
R. Ian Seymour, Empowered Personal Evangelism, Weybridge: New Wine Press (2014), p.177
