Month: February 2026

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When prayers for healing seem to fail, part 2

In part 1, I marveled at the wisdom of God to set Spirit and flesh in opposition within us; whereby we yield our flesh life back to Him by surrendering to the cross to live instead the spirit life of His Son. And Jesus who in the garden of Gethsemane showed us the depth and breadth of surrender by yielding to the Father’s will for death by crucifixion, rather than assert His own will to be spared. So many promises of God in the Old Testament for personal health, long life, protection, prosperity – Jesus released them all back to the Father for the fulfillment of God’s will. Truly a promise made is a promise kept; the cross simply defers fulfillment to the next life.

So how is it some of us who in claiming to embrace the cross, fail to surrender our will where it pertains to receiving the promises of God in this life? Can we take time to consider the glaring contradiction of being crucified in the flesh while at the same time demanding God heal our flesh? Or insisting on our will over God’s will where healing is concerned? Surrendered hands that should be nailed to the cross instead grabbing at the hem of Christ or clenching fists to shake at God while demanding “you HAVE to heal me because YOUR word says so”. Whose will is on display in that scenario? Surrender means surrender including your will for the fulfillment of God’s promises in your flesh life. Oh, He may heal your flesh, of course, but it’s out of love for you when He does, not because He promised healing in this life, apart from healing your SPIRIT (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

In taking up my cross to follow Jesus like He asked, it’s been my experience that it’s the unfulfilled promises of God that are the nails in my hands and feet (metaphorically speaking). The simple recognition that while God promises to heal me, His word doesn’t say when. The problem comes when we demand His healing on our time table because with death approaching, we think we’re running out of time. But from God’s timeless viewpoint, our physical death is just the beginning of the fullness of life in the Spirit, whereby here in this life the Spirit may be better served if my infirmity remains. God has simplified my view of His word through the over-arching truth that rules over every other scripture – God owns everything including me (Ps 24:1) and His will prevails over mine (Luke 22:42). Thus this life is designed to provoke our unconditional surrender to Christ, where we, too, can say in the face of the cross “Father, not my will, but thine be done”.

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When prayers for healing seem to fail, part 1

The year 2025 was difficult for my wife Karen who suffers from a variety of spinal health issues. For perspective, she’s lost 4 inches in height since graduating from high school. Now a septuagenarian the concern for her is spinal collapse and spending the rest of her life in a wheel chair. Throughout her painful trial, we’ve persisted with God in prayer with fasting where together we have done our best to keep the faith. It’s taught us great admiration for Job, who resisted the suggestion to “curse God and die” and replied “even though He slays me, yet will I praise Him”. Countless times I’ve told her how grateful I am for her unwavering trust in God to heal her infirmity and remain with me in this life despite her physical discomfort. Some would have given up but not my Karen. She is the wife of noble character.

Both of us were born Presbyterians who in adulthood, experienced Pentecost (Acts 2:4), what is commonly called the second blessing. Since that time, we’ve encountered a variety of beliefs about divine healing the most personally frustrating for us holds that the scripture “by my stripes you have been healed” means every infirmity, whether spiritual or physical, has already been healed by Jesus. Thus when healing does not manifest following prayer, the fault must lie with the person who needs healing. Often the reason cited for failure to heal is lack of faith, un-confessed sin, disobedience, etc. It’s a cruel belief that can leave a person in worse shape than before. Illnesses are painful enough… but illness compounded by guilt and self blame? Downright crippling. Such also paints the picture of a less than loving and merciful God; a stern and indifferent parent who simply watches while His children chase healing like a carrot on a stick.

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