“Those Who Believe” 

In many of the past articles I have shown from the word of God how you can receive healing from God. The Bible is clear that not only can believers be healed, but they can be used by God to heal others! In this article I would like to share three promises Jesus made that show that each of us can be used by God to heal the sick.

 Mark 16:17-18- “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

 Jesus sent the disciples out to preach the gospel (tell people about Him) and gave the promise that supernatural signs would follow them. The signs Jesus promised are:

1) Casting out demons

2) Speaking in tongues

3) Supernatural protection (not hurt by drinking things that are deadly, taking up serpents)

4) Healing the sick

 These are amazing promises, but are they for us today or were they just for those who heard Jesus speak? Jesus said that the signs will follow, “those who believe.” When Jesus made this statement He declared these supernatural signs to be promises for every believer. We can also see the phrase, “those who believe” as referring to those who believe for these specific signs. If a person believes they will cast out demons they will begin doing it. If they believe that when they lay hands on the sick they will be healed, they will begin praying for the sick. In my own life I have seen people healed simply by acting in faith on this promise. God confirmed His word, and He will do it for all who believe.

I want you to notice that Jesus said that when we lay hands on the sick they WILL recover. If Jesus had said, “may recover” I would have a reason to doubt whether the person I pray for will be healed or not, but since Jesus said, “will” I am called to believe that when I lay hands on the sick and pray the prayer of faith they will actually be healed because the One who cannot lie has promised.

 Jesus said that they will recover, but He did not say it would be immediately. I have seen God instantly heal people, but other times it happened later. I once prayed for a person and the symptoms did not immediately go away. I felt a peace from God that the person had been healed and I encouraged them to trust that God had done it and that the symptoms would leave at a later time. Later that day a question crept into my mind: “Why didn’t anything change? Maybe they weren’t healed because I did something wrong.” I began praying about this and the Lord spoke into my heart, saying, “They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” I knew that God was telling me that the person had been healed and that I was to trust Him. I learned two important lessons from this experience: First, regardless of what I see I can trust God to keep His promises. He is always faithful and I must refuse to allow feelings or appearances to shake my faith. Second, I was reminded that the results are not up to me. I am simply to be obedient to the Lord’s command to pray in faith and trust Him to bring the results. A person is not healed because of my faith, but because God in His mercy flows through me to heal them.

 Mark 11:24- “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

This is an amazing promise, and when we believe it for what it plainly says we see that there is great power in prayer. I have seen the instructions given here by Jesus to be especially helpful when praying for healing. First I would like to point out that “whatever” includes healing. Second, I would like to mention the fact that Jesus said that we are to believe as we are praying. Some translations say, “have received” and that is the intended meaning. When we are praying we are to believe that we already have what we are asking for. Jesus said that we are to believe this WHEN WE PRAY. Most people don’t believe they have the answer until they see it, but Jesus reversed the order, telling us to believe that we have the answer before we see it. He promised that when we do we will have the answer in our experience. In 1Peter 2:24 it says that by Jesus’ stripes we WERE healed, so this verse gives another reason to believe that the ones we pray for are already healed. When we pray for someone to be healed, or for our own healing, we are simply believing what God said and asking Him to do what He already said He will do and that He is eager to do. This must be our mindset if we are to follow the instructions given in this verse.

John 14:12- “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Jesus said that those who believe in Him will do the works (miracles) He did. If you are someone who believes in Jesus, that means you. Nowhere does the Bible say miracles would end. God still heals the sick today, and He can heal the sick through you!

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Healing is God’s Will!

Hebrews 13:8- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

This short verse is one the Lord has used to teach me that I can trust Him to heal the sick in answer to my prayers. When I think of this verse as it relates to healing I often find myself thinking if another verse:

Matthew 9:35- “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

This description of Jesus’ ministry tells us that He healed “every sickness and every disease.” When I compare this verse with Hebrews 13:8 I find in God’s word a reason to believe for healing every time I pray for healing. If someone has something that seems “small” like a headache or a bad back I can pray with confidence that God wants to heal that person. If someone has a life threatening disease like cancer I can pray in faith because Jesus healed “every sickness and every disease” and He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” In Genesis chapter 20 we read of a king named Abimelech being healed in answer to the prayers of Abraham. Abimelech asked Abraham to pray for him only after God told him to ask Abraham to pray for him. That prayer for healing, which was the first one recorded in the Bible, was God’s idea. Healing was God’s idea, not man’s. It is my belief that it is always God’s will to heal. In the gospels every time someone asked Jesus to heal them, He did. Not once do we read of someone asking Jesus to heal them without being healed. If that’s the case and Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, what will He do today when someone asks for healing?

Because of uncertainty concerning God’s willingness to heal, many people pray for healing saying, “If it’s Your will.” The Bible mentions one person who asked for healing and said this. In Matthew 8:2-3 we read, “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” When the man said to Jesus, “If You are willing You can…” Jesus said, “I am willing,” and healed the man. It was God’s will to heal this man who had leprosy and it is still His will to heal the sick today. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I believe He is saying to all who need healing: “I am willing…” If you need healing it is God’s will to heal you. When teaching on healing I have often used the illustration of someone holding a gift, telling a friend, “This is for you.” That’s what God is doing with healing. He is waiting for you to reach out and take it by praying in faith for healing. Won’t you receive your healing today?

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“Have Faith in God”

 The apostles were amazed to discover that a fig tree had withered away at Jesus’ command, and He used this opportunity to give them this promise to teach them how they too could release miracles into the earth by speaking in faith, and in today’s article we will take a look at what Jesus said concerning this subject.

 Mark 11:22-24- “So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.’ ”

 Jesus’ promise as recorded in this verse is simple yet powerful. Jesus said that whoever says and believes will have what they say come to pass. His use of the word “whoever” means anyone, including you and me, can do what Jesus said we can do here. This promise was not just for those present when Jesus was speaking, but is for whoever speaks in faith. Imagine Jesus standing in front of you and saying these words directly to you, making this promise to you. Imagine Jesus Himself teaching you how to work the same miracles He worked during His ministry. That’s what He was doing when He made this promise. In the book of Acts we read of the early Christians healing people by speaking to them, either telling then they were healed or telling them to get up. I believe that when they did this they did it believing what Jesus said as recorded in Mark 11:22-23. This promise spoken by Jesus is just as much for us today as for the apostles. This promise can be a reality in the life of any Christian today if they will “believe and say”.

 Jesus said that we are to believe as we are speaking that what we say is going to happen. One thing the Lord has taught me since becoming part of the healing room ministry is to believe for healing at the moment I am praying for someone. Before you ask the Lord to heal you or someone else, get it settled in your heart that God’s promises to heal are true and that when you lay hands on the sick and pray in faith they will be healed. Expect it every time you pray regardless of what you are praying for, who you are praying for, or what others may say or think.

Jesus began this teaching by saying, “Have faith in God.” This tells us that we are to focus on God. Keep your focus on God, not feelings or circumstances or even the times you may have prayed without anything happening. Look beyond all of those things and focus on God, believing that He can’t lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), never changes (Hebrews 13:8), and who gives good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11; James 1:17). The record of Jesus’ words in Mark 11 aren’t the only time Jesus taught that we can speak in faith and change things around us. Luke records a similar statement made by Jesus:

Luke 17:5-6- “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’ ”

Jesus’ words here reinforce this promise and give us insight on another “trap” to avoid by telling us how much faith is needed. While some may think they need a great level of faith for miracles Jesus said here that it only takes “faith as a mustard seed.” I’ve never seen a mustard seed, but I understand that they are very small. What Jesus was saying was that even if we have a small measure of faith we can operate in the miraculous, changing things with our words. We are to “have faith in God” and keep our focus on God, not our feelings, circumstances, or our level of faith. The book of Romans says that everyone has a measure of faith, so even if your faith seems as small as a mustard seed look beyond yourself and above your feelings and circumstances and look to the Lord who heals you (Exodus 15:26).

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“Goodwill Toward Men”

God is still in the miracle working business and He is a good God who is committed to doing good to His children. If you need healing God has a miracle for you today. It is my prayer that this article helps you to receive the miracle God is eager to give you.

Luke 2:14- “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Jesus had been born in a manger in Bethlehem and angels appeared to shepherds to announce the birth of the long awaited Messiah. The angels ended this announcement with the phrase, “…goodwill toward men!” By using this phrase the heavenly host declared that God’s plans for humanity are good.

The following verses describe the shepherds’ visit to Mary, Joseph, and the newborn King of Kings:
“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:15-19)
 
The shepherds, “made widely known,” what had been said to them about Jesus. We are told that everyone who heard was amazed but Mary, “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Everyone heard and was amazed, but Mary treasured the words that were spoken and thought about them, pondering in her heart the things that had been spoken about the One who was born to seek and to save the lost.

Twelve years later we find Mary, Joseph and a twelve year old Jesus going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast of Passover. After the feast, Mary, Joseph, and many others left Jerusalem, but Jesus didn’t. After a three day search Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple amazing the religious leaders. When asked by Mary about His actions, Jesus simply replied, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (see Luke 2:49) This question reveals that even at age twelve Jesus was completely devoted to doing the Father’s will (so much so that He refused to follow the crowd: staying in Jerusalem while others were leaving). A few verses later we read: “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:51) Just as she had done twelve years earlier, Mary heard what was spoken and kept it in her heart. So far in this article we have shown that Mary heard about God’s good plans for humanity and Jesus’ devotion to doing the Father’s will and pondered these things in her heart.

Fast forward eighteen years: Jesus is around 30 years of age and He, along with His disciples, have been invited to a wedding along with Mary, His mother (see John 2:1-11). The wine ran out at the wedding (which would have been extremely embarrassing to the host) and Mary immediately told Jesus. She actually didn’t ask Him if He would do anything or not: she simply told Him that there was no more wine and when He said that His time had not yet come she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Mary knew Jesus would work a miracle to change this situation, and I believe it was because of the two things she heard and meditated on (thought about) years earlier. She knew that God’s will for mankind is good and that Jesus was completely devoted to doing the Father’s will (and therefore devoted to doing good for God’s people). I believe this helped Mary to expect a miracle. If you need a miracle remember, God is still in the miracle working business and He has good plans for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” There is no situation hopeless, there’s nothing too hard for God to do. God has a miracle for you today and He is eager to give it to you. In addition to all this, there is one more reason to expect a miracle: “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) Mary heard the angel Gabriel make this statement and she experienced the truth of it. Do you need a miracle of healing in your body today? Study and meditate on God’s word until you have such a revelation of God’s goodness and power that you expect miracles. I believe that as you do this you will find that in your life the impossible will become possible.

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Praying for Healing

Mark 5:25-34- “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched My clothes?’ But His disciples said to Him, ‘You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, “Who touched Me?” ’ And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.’ ”  

 In verse 27 we are told that the woman (who had been suffering physically for twelve years) “heard about Jesus.” Jesus was well known for healing the sick, so it makes perfect sense that one of this woman’s friends or family members told her that Jesus was in town and was healing the sick. When the woman heard about Jesus faith rose up within her and she realized that she could be healed. At the moment everything looked hopeless Jesus came and brought hope. Believing for healing begins by knowing that it is God’s will to heal you. This woman heard that Jesus was healing the sick and realized that she could be healed as well. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Do you want to see Jesus as the healer? Jesus said the Scriptures testify to who He is (John 5:39), so find promises of healing in the Bible and claim them as promises for you personally. God’s promises of healing in the Bible reveal Jesus as the healer.

 It’s important to note that the woman knew she would be healed before anything changed. The woman said, “If only I may touch His clothes I shall be made well.” The use of the word shall (will) meant she knew it would happen. There was no question in the woman’s mind about what would happen if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. In Matthew 21:22 Jesus said, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” The word “whatever” includes healing, so because of this promise we have a reason to consider our prayer for healing answered at the moment we are asking.

 To get to Jesus the woman had to push past the crowd surrounding Him. In the same way you may have to push past your feelings, the times you may have been prayed for without being healed, and in some cases teaching against healing to pray in faith. I want to be clear that nowhere does the Bible say we must have a certain level of faith. Jesus said that it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. Rather than become introspective and wonder if you “have enough faith” simply believe that what God says is true, focusing not on your weaknesses, but on His power and His faithfulness.

 In Matthew 14:34-36 we read, “When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.”

 It says here that every sick person in that region was brought to Jesus and everyone who touched the hem of His garment was healed. The healing was offered to everyone: they simply had to touch the hem of His garment as the woman had done. Any time you read about someone being healed in the Bible you are reading about something that is available to you too. The woman in this passage was healed without Jesus even knowing until after she was healed. Why is that important? It shows that while it is biblical to have someone else pray for your healing, you can pray to the Lord yourself and be healed. Praying in faith is the only condition given by the Lord. You can call on the Lord and receive healing today. Jesus is still the healer and He will heal you today.

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“Moved With Compassion”

In the previous blogs I have given two reasons to expect healing: first because we were actually healed at the cross, and second because of God’s power that now flows through His people, and today we will take a closer look at another reason to expect healing: the Lord’s compassion. (The word compassion has commonly been defined as “to suffer with.” The idea is that to have compassion is to see someone suffering and be grieved because of their suffering.)

            Matthew 14:13-14- “When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”

            In this incident we see that Jesus healed the sick because He was “moved with compassion for them.” I especially like the fact that Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), was MOVED with compassion. That means He felt a compassion for the people that motivated Him to do something. Not once did Jesus simply feel sorry for someone and tell them they needed to learn to live with sickness, He saw them suffering physically and He healed them. If God truly is a God of love- and the Bible is clear that He is- then why would He want us to be sick? Jesus healed every sick person who came to Him regardless of their level of faith or what sin issues they may have had in their lives. He did this because He saw them and was “moved with compassion” and healed them. Another place in the Bible that speaks of the Lord’s compassion as being related to healing is Matthew 20:29-34, which says, “Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.”

            In both the Old and New Testaments the words “mercy” and “compassion” are translated from the same Hebrew and Greek words and that is the case in this passage. The blind men (one of whom was named Bartimaeus) appealed to the Lord’s compassion and were healed of blindness. This raises an important question: Can we expect the Lord to be moved with compassion and heal us today? The Bible gives us the answer to this question:

            Lamentations 3:22-23- “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

These two verses tell us two things about the Lord’s compassion:

            First we are told His compassion doesn’t fail. The word “fail” means “to end” This means the Lord’s is always compassionate. In Psalm 136 we are told in every single verse that God’s mercy “endures forever,” that Psalm has 26 verses, so 26 times in one place we are told that God’s mercy endures forever (never ends). How wonderful that today we can appeal to God’s mercy and compassion!

            We are also told that His compassion is new every morning. This means it never changes. The level of compassion God feels toward us will never weaken. God is just as compassionate toward us as He was toward those Jesus healed in the New Testament. Since this is the case how can we not expect to receive healing?

            Psalm 145:9- “The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.”

            Does it say here that God is merciful to SOME of His works or all of His works? It plainly says that God’s tender mercies are over ALL of His works. You may not be sure if God wants to heal you, but this verse states that God is merciful to everyone. Every person can expect God’s goodness and mercy- and one of the ways God is good and merciful to us is by healing us. In Micah 7:18 we are told that God “delights in mercy.” That means He wants to show us mercy! We are not trying to convince God to have mercy on us He’s waiting for us to receive His mercy. Do you need God’s mercy of physical healing? It’s yours right now. God is waiting for you to take it: in fact He can’t wait for you to receive your healing. He is excited about the idea of you being healed.

Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and forever.” And Micah 3:6 says, “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” God has not changed, so if He was moved with compassion and healed the sick in the Bible He will still be moved with compassion and heal the sick today. The issue is not how we feel but who God is. Get that issue settled and you will find it more natural to believe for healing than to doubt.

            Whether you have headache, a bad back, cancer, or any other condition the Lord is still merciful and compassionate to you and He wants to heal you. The question is not, “does God want to heal?” but whether or not we will receive it.

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God’s Power         

 In this blog I will be writing about God’s power. I believe that this study will help you receive healing and increase your faith.

            Ephesians 3:20-“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”

            This verse by itself says a lot about God’s power, but it says even more when we consider the verse right before it: “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Verse 19) In Ephesians 3:14-19 Paul recorded how he had been praying for the Ephesians to have spiritual strength, to have a greater understanding of God’s love, and to filled with all of the fullness of God. After praying for all of those things Paul remarked that God had the power to do far above ALL that we ask or think. In other words, Paul was saying, “God can do far more than I can ask Him to do or even imagine Him doing!” God has the power to go far above even our highest expectations. When Paul prayed for the Ephesians to be filled with all of God’s fullness, he was praying for them to experience EVERYTHING God had to give them. Romans 8:32 says: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” God has not held back anything from us. Paul prayed for God to give them all He had to give. There’s nothing more to ask than that and after making the biggest request he could think of Paul said that God is able “to do exceedingly abundantly above ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK!” [I don’t believe Paul thought the Ephesians could receive more than everything God had to give: the idea was that Paul wanted them to have a high level of expectation regardless of what they prayed for.] Paul saw no limit to what God could do. He understood that God was not limited by his understanding. God is well able to do things I don’t expect Him to do. The prophet Isaiah made this comment: “When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, the mountains shook at Your presence.” (Isaiah 64:3) Think about God coming down with such power that the very mountains shake at His presence. That’s what Isaiah says happened here, and he says that God came down in power and did awesome things when they weren’t looking for Him to do those things! If God came down in that much power when His people WEREN’T looking for it, how much more will He do when we DO have that expectation? Acts 12:5-19 records the account of Peter being miraculously released from prison in answer to the prayers of the Church. After being released Peter went to where the Christians had been praying and at first they didn’t believe he was really knocking at the door. They weren’t expecting but God released Peter anyway. They had enough faith to pray and apparently that was enough. Thinking about that incident makes me think that maybe- just maybe- God can do whatever He wants to do.

            What amazes me the most about Paul’s comment in Ephesians 3:20 is the phrase: “…according to the power that works IN US.” Paul realized that God had so much power that we can’t even imagine what He has the ability to do, and then Paul stated that God’s power is working in us! As a believer in Jesus Christ who has been filled with the Holy Spirit, this power is in me! Since this power is working in me, how can I not change from glory to glory (2Corinthians 3:18)? Since I have this power in me, how could I ever pray for a sick person and not expect them to be healed? Jesus said that when I lay hands on the sick they will recover (Mark 16:18) – this is because of the power of God that is working in me. Any Christian can demonstrate this amazing power. So next time you pray for someone, remember what Paul said in Ephesians 3:20 and expect God to do more than you could even dream of asking for- in fact I believe that the more you think about this verse the more you will find yourself expecting God to actually do those things you once thought were impossible. With all of this in mind I would like to share one more Bible verse that will help us to expect God’s power moving through us in greater ways: “…all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

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 You Are Healed

Matthew 8:16-17- “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.’ ”

           A study of this short account of one the instances Jesus healed the sick gives us a foundation for believing for our own healing, and it is my prayer that reading this blog helps you receive your healing.

            The prophecy referred to here by Matthew is Isaiah 53:4, which says, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.” We must read both verses to have an understanding of the Lord’s promise to heal. In Matthew chapter 8 it is clearly stated that the prophecy referred to physical healing (which you may not realize if you only read the prophecy in Isaiah). The words “griefs” and “sorrows” would have been better translated as “sickness” and “pains.” This fact in addition to the explanation given by Matthew as he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit makes it clear that Isaiah was referring to physical healing when he wrote these words in verse 4.

           The statement in Isaiah is part of a prophecy of Jesus’ sufferings on the cross for our salvation. When we consider the two verses together in light of the context of both verses it becomes clear that Jesus suffered not just for our forgiveness, but also our healing. There are some who claim that the passage in Isaiah refers only to Jesus’ healing of the sick during His ministry while He was on earth. First we must remember that Isaiah was talking about how Jesus would suffer for our salvation, and second we should note how Isaiah said, “He has borne OUR griefs [sicknesses] and carried OUR sorrows [pains].” Isaiah included himself in the prophecy. Isaiah prophesied that Messiah would suffer to bring both forgiveness and healing to all who believe.

          The word “borne” implies a complete removal of the thing borne. The healing Jesus accomplished at the cross is as complete as the forgiveness He accomplished for us. Whatever physical problem you may have in your body, Jesus took it from you and completely carried it away.

          So what does all of this mean? It means that regardless of how they feel, every Christian is healed at this moment. One of the keys to receiving healing is realizing you were actually healed 2000 years ago. Maybe you don’t feel healed, but I encourage you to look past your feelings and remember what God says. Trust in the Lord and call on Him in faith for your healing. As you do, your feelings will change and you will experience  the healing that God says  is already yours.

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“It Is Finished”

When Jesus was on the cross He said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30) declaring that the work was done and the debt for sin had been completely paid. Now the sin that once separated humanity from God has been dealt with and we can approach a holy God as our Father and receive forgiveness, healing, and countless other blessings from Him.

Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),”

The “curse of the law” is mentioned in Deuteronomy 28 where God gave the children of Israel a list of the consequences of sin and sickness is mentioned numerous times. In fact, Deuteronomy 28:61 reveals that every sickness is part of the curse. This verse in Galatians tells us Jesus redeemed us from that curse. Since sickness is part of that curse we have been redeemed from sickness!

In other words “it is finished” as far as our healing is concerned. This is confirmed in 1Peter 2:24: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed.” Here it says we WERE healed. We are already healed at this moment because, “It is finished!” You may ask me, “If that’s the case, why do I still feel sick?” Jesus did the work, but we must receive it. We do this by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouth- just as we do to receive forgiveness!

You are healed right now, and because of this you will see the symptoms go when you pray the prayer of faith. Start declaring that by His stripes you are healed. Or better yet, declare that by His stripes you WERE healed. Declare this by faith and watch the symptoms leave!