Devotionals

God Heals

Luke 8:1-2
ESV
Women Accompanying Jesus
8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

Luke 13:11
ESV
11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.

Psalm 103:2-5
ESV
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

From the verses in Luke, we understand that some sicknesses are from evil spirits.  Though not every sickness is from demonic spirits, some are just because we live in a fallen world. We have sickness and health issues because of many reasons. An example is if I stand outside during a rainy day I'll get sick, maybe catch a cold or fever. This has nothing to do with any spiritual attacks but is just a result of our broken world. If I stand near radiative waste and had an unhealthy lifestyle then I can get cancer or diabetes. If someone in my family had a chronic illness I can inherit it and get it too. These can all be things as a result of our broken world.

There is also the oppression of the enemy. We see this in the book of Job of how the enemy was able to attack Jobs's health, we see this a lot in the new testament where Jesus would cast out demons from people who were oppressed by demons to have diseases. There are also sicknesses and diseases that come from demonic and evil spirits. There are spirits of sickness and disease that sick to bring many of the children of God to premature death and hinder them from advancing in their callings.

So there are health issues we shouldn't just accept but refuse in prayer, asking for God's healing and if there is revelation it might be a spiritual attack, to reject it.

God can allow us to go through tough times with sicknesses not to harm us but to strengthen our faith and trust in Him. My mother got cancer and it was one of the toughest moments of her life. She often wondered why God allowed this to happen but one day she got completely healed after staying in the hospital for months with her newborn baby without her husband by her side in a country she didn't know the language of that well.

I can't begin to imagine how difficult this must have been for my mother to be in hospital, unable to see her son because he was premature and alone in a foreign country but God helped her and now she is a fearless woman of God that no matter how many obstacles and threats the enemy tries to do in her life she is unshakable in her faith in God.

God can heal every sickness and disease. He might not be temporary because your testimony will inspire so many people and He is allowing things to prolong not just to edify others one day but to strengthen you in a deeper level of faith.

But this doesn't mean we should stop believing in the healing power of a God. God is still a healer. God can heal every single disease in this world when we trust He is able. For those who are sick, it might seem like God is nowhere to be seen but He is right there and in due timing, He will heal and He'll give you the strength to keep on going and not break in faith.

It's not God's will to see His people oppressed by sicknesses and diseases. One of the works Jesus did was to heal the sick.

Matthew 4:23-25
ESV
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Jesus said to His disciples

Matthew 10:8-9
ESV
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,

We as Jesus' disciples have the authority over every demonic attack against our lives and the lives of others. Every sickness and disease needs to bow down before His powerful name. So press in. Keep praying and believing that every time you kneel, cry and ask God for healing that He hears and wants us to preserve in prayer. My mother didn't get healed in the first month or couple of months but He did heal her eventually and that terrible time was temporary and not forever.

Job 2:7-8
ESV
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

We need discernment to be able to distinguish when something is a spiritual attack or a fleshly reaction.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
ESV
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Here Paul was praying for God to heal Him from a throne in His flesh yet God didn't. God didn't take away that message of satan because God wanted Paul to remain humble. There are times when God can allow something to happen to us or stay with us for reasons only He knows.

But the thing God highlighted to me is how Paul prayed 3 times. Paul made a sincere and earnest request to be delivered with faith. He had the faith that as he prayed he could be delivered. Many times we can pray the opposite way, we pray passively not fully believing and then, later on, claim it to be God's will. Here Paul prayed boldly but God now informed Paul that this was something He has allowed for a reason, God confirmed and spoke saying His grace is sufficient.

What I learned is that if we have an illness we should pray boldly with faith that God can heal us and we as Children of God have access to healing in the power of Jesus. If God truly has allowed something for a season, He will give us the grace to be able to continue and also confirm if it's His will. When we earnestly seek Him in prayer and desire His healing, God will reveal to us His will because He answers when we ask and doesn't ignore us.

I encourage you to pray regarding your health issue and do so in faith, earnestly not just for yourself but for your future generation knowing God can heal you and heal you completely and if He doesn't want to, He won't ignore your prayer but pray He confirms it to you. If God doesn't confirm His will, keep praying for that healing with bold faith. God is a healer He won't just ignore His title but speak on it. God won't allow His reputation to be at stake for no reason.

Pray always for discernment, revelation and direction over everything in life. If there is any spiritual attack connected to a health issue, reject it. If you're struggling with your health, cry to your God who is and Healer and keep praying continuously in faith that it is His will to heal his children and He can do it. If He reveals that He is allowing that issue for a season then ask for strength to learn and continue moving in faith.

But we shouldn't just look for healing here on earth but look up to our forever home.

Where sickness, disease and death are no more. Where demons do not reside and where peace is the blanket that covers us all. Where we are with our saviour in everlasting joy and the tears of pain and sorrow are long forgotten. A time of peace, not war. A time of joy, not sorrow. A time of dancing not weeping.

We look up to the day when we get to be with our saviour and all is restored.

-etty