6

Whose faith is it, then?

praingchurchmanWe have seen up to this point, multiple ways by which God heals. In some instances, the process is initiated by men, and in others, it is dependent on the gifts of the Holy Spirit working through others. A common thread however, is the passionate desire of the minister and/or the seeker and the belief that God can, and desires to heal. In Hebrews, the writer declares,

He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6)

When people read this, self doubt often arises, based on a self-appraisal of their faith. Many feel their faith is not sufficient to receive from God. I’m not sure how to break this to you, but there’s truth to the fact that faith is important. James declares,

1:6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

This lets us know that faith is important. Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:5). Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, most churches do little to teach or preach healing, so it can be an uphill battle for congregations and congregants alike in the area of faith for healing.

However, here is the good news. Remember Jesus’ response to the disciples after they failed to drive out a demon from a boy?

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

The fact is you don’t need a huge amount of faith to move mountains, or to increase healings for that matter. A mustard seed-sized faith will do. Besides, faith doesn’t come from willpower, it comes from hearing. So the more I feed myself with the Word on healing, the more faith automatically grows in my heart. People with strong faith for healing are not mystics – they have simply embraced the Word on healing over and over again.

The second encouraging fact is that my healing is not always dependent on my faith. Sometimes it can be partly or almost wholly dependent on the faith of another. We can enter the Prayer of Agreement with another believer for healing or we can receive healing primarily through another’s spiritual gifts and faith.

Remember also when Jesus healed the blind man who didn’t even know who He was? Clearly, the blind man’s faith was not a factor, nor was the cripple’s faith at the Gate Beautiful. Isn’t it great that in the Body of Christ, we can minister to each other?

So feed your faith constantly with God’s Word, to be able to minister to yourself and to others. However, don’t be reticent or prideful about being healed through the faith and gifts of others. God can, and will work through others to bless you.

Filed in: Featured, Healing Theology, How Jesus Healed, Ways People are Healed Tags: , , ,

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6 Responses to "Whose faith is it, then?"

  1. Cody says:

    Your blog is very encouraging. I and my fiancee have been discussing healing. We are both believers in the Lord Jesus. I have desired the gift of healing off and on for some time. (Knowing of course that it will never be ME who does any healing work, it is always Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God the Father but earnestly desiring this spiritual gift as Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 14:1.) Recently it came up in a discussion we had with friends and my spirit was moved again.

    What God has been teaching me recently is the connection between faith and healings. God has been working on building my faith.

    I am also asking for a lot of discernment of the spiritual realm. I am going to be working at a summer camp for children with disabilities and diseases this summer and I have always wondered how many of these children are afflicted by demons or spirits of infirmity rather than just some chemical imbalance, etc.

    Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for a great blog altogether and especially this post has been very encouraging!

    Cheers,
    Cody

    • author says:

      Dear Cody,

      Thanks for your email. I’m glad that some of the writings here have been of some encouragement to you. It may well be that you have a calling and or gifting in the area of healing. The fact that your thoughts are on the kids you will have a chance to minister to means that you have that vital ingredient of compassion that marks all who are used in the healing ministry.

      I pray that the Lord increases your boldness and anointing in the area of healing, and that gifts of healing, faith and miracles be manifested in your life for the benefit of those you will meet, for His Glory. Amen.

  2. Thanks for this. Your posts cover so much in relation to healing… it’s very helpful and eye opening and I hope it will be faith building to many.

  3. Nikos says:

    I enjoyed this article because it shows that someone besides the person who is sick can believe and healing can come. However, there seems to be a need for some agreement on the part of the sick person to receive healing from anothers faith. IOW, when I pray for a person who does not have the faith to believe, but I reach out for that person, doesn’t that person need to at the least believe in the concept of healing and accept my prayers? This is the way I am understanding it. Or is it possible to pray for someone who does not believe at all in a God who heals and rejects my prayer of faith and yet on the basis of my faith be healed? I am thinking that there needs to be an agreement with the sick person I am praying for that shows his/her desire to be healed.

  4. AM says:

    I would like to request that you stand in agreement with me that I have been healed by the stripes of Jesus in the areas of health and trying to conceive. In Jesus Mighty name!

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