REASON FIVE: OBSTACLES TO HEALING PRAYER

Posted by John I. Penn on 20th May 2022

Dr. John I. Penn, D. Min.

When healing or restoration does not take place, where do people place the blame? Who gets the glory when healing happens? Could there be obstacles to healing prayer?

Some of you may have noticed that in none of the articles “Why Healing Prayer Works,” there has been no mention of the concept of whether healing is the will of God. If restoration is in the atonement, this is a mute issue. The Bible is silent on this issue. Restoration is a part of God’s redemptive process. As stated earlier, healing and salvation are the two sides of the same coin. Again, restoration is transformative and holistic. The term holistic means complete or whole and universal. Jesus died for the entire world (John 3:16). God’s salvation is the ultimate restoration. Restoration is God's response to sin that occurred in the Fall. The apostle Paul states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). As stated earlier, salvation is God’s response to sin.

When a person is born again, all the negative factors of the Fall event have been dealt withthrough Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection. Jesus' atoning death dealt with the sin issue of human beings, thus breaking the curses that were part of God's judgment against the first family and the earth (creation). The serpent (Satan) remains under God’s judgment. Angels cannot participate in God’s salvation. God decided that the Fall would be corrected and atoned for through the woman’s seed. That seed is Jesus, God’s healer-redeemer, the Messiah of Israel. Thus, all the prophecies of the Old and the New Testaments would be fulfilled through Jesus.

Jesus restored to health everyone who turned to God to be healed, except a few sick folks (Mt. 13:58). This is a significant point to remember. When healing does not happen, the fault is never with God but with people and not on Jesus’ power or ability to heal people. The New Testament states, ”Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). Jesus reminds us that only a “little or small faith” is necessary to connect our needs to God's miracle-working power. Jesus said it this way, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Mt. 17:20). Jesus clarifies that we can speak to those obstacles that need to be moved in our lives, which hinder us or stand between our needs and God’s power. Jesus got pretty upset with his disciples, who had struggled with their lack of faith to heal a boy possessed by an evil spirit. The evil spirit had prevented the boy from speaking (Mk. 9:14-29). Jesus healed the boy with a verbal command, commanding “the deaf and dumb spirit to come out of him, and never enter him again” (Mk. 9:25).

Having said all of this, I would suggest that in addition to the lack of faith, there are many obstacles on the part of people for not receiving their healing, all of which, I believe, can be overcome. Why? Restoration has been provided in the atonement. Healing is to be received—appropriated. Did Jesus ever raise any questions to God about whether healing should not occur? Of course not. Healing is a means of grace. Grace is coupled with God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. You do not have to deserve grace to receive it. All this has to do with God’s kingdom work, which was accomplished through Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Let us be clear, Jesus or God is always the object of our faith. Our faith is in Jesus’ power and ability to perform healing miracles. Jesus said over and over that your faith had made you well. Jesus said it to the woman with the bleeding problem (Mk. 5:25-34), to the leper (Mk. 1:0-45), and to blind Bartimaeus (Mk. 10:45-52). Jesus was amazed at the faith of the four men who brought the paralytic to him to restore. (Mk.2:1-12), to name some examples.

n my pamphlet, What Everyone Should Know About Healing, I suggest eight obstacles to healing grace. The obstacles include unworthiness, fear, ignorance, unbelief, unforgiveness, sin, unresolved grief, and misinformation. You may read my comments on each of the obstacles listed above on my blog on my website. Go to www.my-book-store.com to learn more.