Longing for healing

We’ve hurt people. Many awful and destructive reasons have been offered to explain why people sometimes don’t experience the healing (especially physical healing) they’ve longed for. Among them is the “blame the sick person” explanation, under the assumption that the sick person didn’t have enough faith.

Or, that absolute certainty is required for results; and if you don’t have psychological certainty, you don’t get the results you want. Both are non-biblical assumptions. I, myself, have been on the receiving end of this shameful approach, and will not return to places that blame the sick for a lack of faith.

Not only does this accusation lay a terrible additional burden on the sick person, but Jesus often will heal in spite of our lack of faith; substituting his own faith for our lack. This is one of the ways Christ’s power is “made perfect in our weakness.”

A secondary version of “blame the sick person” is telling the sick to “declare their healing,” despite clear evidence that they are not yet healed, indicating something more needs to be done to assist the sick one.

Possible blockages to healing

So I offer you a list of potential blockages to healing, compiled from several intelligent, instructive, well-grounded books on healing the sick. This is not an exhaustive list, but one that I think will bring you hope.

Unknowlingly missing the core problem. We may be praying in the wrong direction, or missing the lever that will lift the burden that results in a more rapid recovery. For example, the root issue may be inner healing, but we’re focused on praying for the physical affliction: So once the inner healing issue is addressed, physical healing can take place.

We may also assume that the problem is an afflicting or tormenting spirit sent from Evil itself, when the true need is for inner healing; or vice-versa. This is why asking God how to pray in any given situation is so important. We don’t assume we know; we ask the Counselor.
Healing comes in layers. Because healing is usually a process, we may have stopped praying too soon, when more restoration was available. This is a hard pill to swallow, but given the complexity of sickness and of humans themselves, why would we think a quick fix prayer would be sufficient in most cases? Staying with a problem allows us to work through the layers.
Someone is missing. There may be an additional healthcare professional, or a person or group, that God wishes to get involved in our healing. Perhaps there is a person who is particularly good at praying for the particular thing that afflicts you. Ask God if there is anything or anyone missing in your healing journey.
Refusal to use healthcare resources available to us. Having said this, some truly helpful resources lie outside of our conventional medicine’s view. Conventional medicine is often quite good at acute care, but sometimes ineffective at healing chronic conditions. And some conventional medical practices are downright destructive, ushering in the likelihood of more disease.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are also practices that lie outside of conventional medicine that aren’t always effective either; so seeking God for guidance is essential.
Failure to care for one’s own body. A body that is healthy means as much to Jesus as a soul that is well. Jesus saves whole persons; not parts of persons. How do we know this? Because Jesus was raised with a healed resurrected body. Michael Green has said:

"The Christian church has sometimes behaved as though only the spiritual element in man was the subject of God’s concern. The actions of Jesus…show that God’s salvation concerns the whole man (Mark 3:4) Indeed the word [salvation] is used most frequently in the Gospels with reference to the healing of disease.” (Michael Green, The Meaning of Salvation)
Generational wounding. What isn’t healed gets passed on. This is true of generational sin and sickness, often passed down to unsuspecting future generations who don’t understand that it didn’t begin with them; rather, the precipitating event or pattern began multiple generations ago.
Our church tribe doesn’t expect healing. Without any expectation for healing, even frail and floundering expectation, little may happen. We’re not talking about doubt and a normal struggle with the messy issues of healing prayer—we’re talking about a stubborn refusal, an entrenched disbelief. Jesus could not perform miracles in his home town because their hearts were set against such things.

RESOURCES:

A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles, by J.P. Moreland
Authority to Heal, by Ken Blue
Healing, by Francis MacNutt, PhD
Healing Prayer, by Chotka and Dunnam
Follow the Healer, by Stephen Seamands