Arming The Saints Blog

Have you ever prayed for healing and then secretly wondered whether you might not be healed because you didn’t have enough faith?

I had this very “crisis of faith” when I first prayed for a supernatural healing of my hip. You see, I’m one of the unfortunate few who, despite being relatively young, needed to get a hip replaced due to genetic factors. When I learned of my condition, I prayed passionately. My friends laid hands on me. I spoke positively, as if a healing miracle had already taken place. But when I didn’t get any better, I watched myself, almost surreally, scheduling conventional hip surgery. Where was my faith? Should I have given God more time? My fear, of course, was that my lack of faith had hindered the miracle.

But then two things happened. First, a friend of mine reminded me that our Lord can heal in many ways, including through surgery. This brought to mind my old seminary professor, who once said he could see God’s hand in literally everything – including a lamp, or a table, or a car driving down the road. Surely God has His hand in the extraordinary event that we now take for granted called surgery.

Second, I heard a pastor emphasize the doctors’ often crucial role in God’s healing process. God has orchestrated a doctor’s life of healing as much as that of any other person in any other role, and a doctor following God’s plan will undoubtedly serve by healing. The fact is that throughout the Bible, God used people – both believers and unbelievers – to accomplish his will. And today it’s the same. The key for me was to recognize that an unexplained, immediate healing (akin to the bleeding woman’s miraculous cure after touching Jesus’ robe) and an empirically sensible yet much slower healing through the hands of a surgeon could be equally miraculous.

I believe it takes great faith to receive a miraculous healing without human intervention, but it takes as much faith to put yourself completely in God’s hands and the hands of his earthly servant chosen to minister to you. It’s not a matter of greater or lesser faith. It’s just an overarching belief that God will heal. Whether it’s through a flash of lightning or a surgeon’s hands, God, not the devil, is in charge of the details.

And, looking back, I can clearly see that the details of my surgery were supernaturally miraculous. After the operation, everyone was amazed at my remarkably fast healing. I was back to work after three weeks and walking a mile every day without pain! I also was blessed to have some special time at home with my mom and my husband unencumbered by my usually overly active (i.e., without crutches) lifestyle.

But God really showed His hand through what He had me do during the healing process. Every person who came across my path, from the surgeons, nurses and physical therapists, to my friends and even some strangers, got to hear me talk about God, what He did in my life, and how He had used them to help heal me. It was so rewarding to see those helpers light up when I thanked them for their great service and told them how they were specially chosen by God, who loves them and gave all of them their amazing gifts, to help me with my “miracle.” I’m not sure I would ever have talked to any of them if the miracle meant for me was the instantaneous, “robe-touching” type.

But I am sure that God will have me minster to more people through my experience, “for it is God who works in [us] to act according to his good purpose” and “through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of Him.” Indeed, God continually gives us opportunities to grow our faith and share our experiences with others. Each opportunity is itself a supernatural miracle in which our creator reaches into our lives to provide a glimpse of His overwhelming glory. A need for healing can be one of those opportunities – an opportunity perhaps causing us to wrestle with our faith, but ultimately to help others come closer to God.

So, how much faith do you need for healing? The Bible says only as much as a tiny mustard seed, so keep your eyes on Him, open yourself to growing the faith that you do have, and watch God work. Your miraculous healing will surely come!