HOW DO YOU PRAY FOR HEALING?
By Ernest O'Neill
How Do You Pray For Healing?
By Rev. Ernest O'Neill
I think the second thing to see is in Matthew 8:14-17.
"And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and served him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases."
The second thing to see is that Jesus has, in fact, borne our sicknesses and carried our pains in His own body. He did so not only on the physical Calvary cross in 29 A.D. but in the Cross -- that took place before the foundation of the world when the Lamb was slain. So the second thing to see is that Jesus has actually taken those sicknesses. He has taken them and He has borne them away and destroyed them so the world may say we die of sickness but it is God's permitted sickness that kills us. It is not the sickness itself. It is God using sickness.
The second thing is that Jesus has borne our sicknesses and carried our diseases and that He heals. He healed here all who were sick. He healed Peter's mother-in-law. There are many instances of this healing in this book. And we know ourselves of many instances where God has healed in response to prayer. He healed my mom of cancer in response to prayer. So God heals. He does heal. It is right to go to God and it is right to ask in full faith that He will heal our loved ones and our friends and if you say to me, "Well, how do you pray?" You pray with full faith. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and he'll get nothing from the Lord.
You go forward not with your head full of theories, or pious precedents. You go with a whole heart saying, "Lord, I know you have borne our sicknesses and carried our diseases. I know it is not this sickness or disease that need to kill me. If I go at all, it is because you allowed the thing to continue in me because you need me in the next world. But Lord, I ask you to heal me and make me whole." You go with a whole and complete heart to it.
If you say to me loved ones, "Well, do you not think you need something from the Lord personally?" Well, you've to go by the word of God. You've to go by the word of God and ask God in full faith. Sometimes He may give you a complete assurance that this person will be healed, sometimes He may not. All you can do is go before God with a whole heart and a full faith and ask Him for healing.
Now, it is not your place or mine to be the clever ones in this. That's not our responsibility. It is not our place to be able to explain to everybody, "I know the Lord is going to heal this person." It plays to our pride. It is not our place to be able to explain what God will do and what He won't do. If you say to me, "Does He not sometimes give to some people a complete assurance so that He can use that to bring glory?" Sometimes He does, but not always.
Nevertheless, just because you haven't that assurance, that doesn't mean you do not go before Him on the basis of His word and ask in all the faith that you have on the basis of His word. You do, loved ones. Whenever somebody is sick, you go before the Father and you say, "Lord Jesus, You bore this sickness. You carried this pain. I know this has no control over my loved one. I know you healed Peter's mother-in-law. I know you healed all who came to you. I ask You Lord Jesus to heal my loved one or to heal my friend completely." Our place is full, complete faith in God.
Brothers and sisters if you say to me, "Oh no, I need a mathematical, logical, philosophical proof that this works before I ask." Loved ones, you are demanding to be God. What you're demanding is not faith. You're demanding a logical simultaneous equation that you can prove by the knowledge of your mind. That isn't what God has promised us. God has said, "Come to me, ask me in full faith and then leave this with Me. Bow to me and know that I will do what is best in this situation."
So the second thing is to see that God has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains and it is no big thing for Him to heal us completely. Our place is to ask for complete healing.