Question: I pray for my family and friends whenever they are sick. Why are some healed and not others?
Answer: Let me say first of all that, if you are praying for someone’s healing and they have not received it, my heart goes out to you. None of us wants to see our loved ones suffer.
The letter of James, chapter 5 verses 14-15, says this:
“Is anyone sick? He should call for the elders of the church and they should pray over him and pour a little oil upon him, calling on the Lord to heal him. And their prayer, if offered in faith, will heal him, for the Lord will make him well.”
Based upon those verses, we could call that a promise that we should be acting upon in faith. That is what you are doing when you pray with faith in your heart for someone to be healed. I have personally seen many people who were healed as a result of God’s merciful intervention in response to prayer.
It’s those times when our prayers don’t seem to work that prove more difficult. To be honest, I’m not sure why some people receive healing in response to prayer while others seemingly do not. But two things I do know I would like to share with you.
- It is not the unhealed person’s “fault” that they are still sick. Neither is it the fault of the one who has prayed, as if to say that they did not have enough faith to accomplish the job. There are many things in life that we can’t seem to explain, and this is one of them.
- It makes no difference how a person receives their healing, as long as they are made well. In other words, medical intervention is just as valid as miraculous intervention. A person should never hesitate to make use of God’s healing hands as expressed through a doctor’s care.
I hope this helps you. I will keep you in my prayers.
Dr. Steve Rahter
Praise Tabernacle
Egg Harbor Township
