The Mystery of Spiritual Healing

Spiritual Healing Is Difficult to Understand
Why is it that some people receive spiritual, emotional, and physical healing while other continue to wait? God does not provide for everyone in the same way. He provides individual gifts and answers to prayer according to what He feels is best for us. Prayer and a relationship to God is not a little button you push to have instant answers to prayer. You may ask for a new car, or divine healing of a physical problem. Some churches believe that all Christians will be lead, healed, and empowered by God. The problem appears when God does not heal, lead, or empower. They believe it is because of unconfessed sins that block God's healing power for emotional, spiritual, and physical healing.

Most Christians do not believe that illness is caused by unconfessed sin.  Instead, they understand that illness is caused by the nature of this created world. Unconfessed sin can cause physical distress but usually is caused by items we face in this world. Smog, cigarette smoke, carcinogens and other harmful elements, bad genes, germs, or accidents make us ill. Churches who scold their members or shun them if they are not healed after being prayed over can turn people away from the source of their healing. People are driven away from the church because people begin questioning them about areas of life they believe may harbor unrepented sin. This was not the way of Jesus. He healed the sick and showed love to those no one else would love. If you find you are attending a church like this, you should try to change your church from the inside or find another church.

Some churches believe that healing prayers will not be answered if the person does not have enough faith. Some believe that we are entitled to divine healing if we are doing all we can to live in God's will. Taking part in every church service, teaching Sunday school, and serving on the board does not mean that God will intervene in his or her behalf. In that case, Christians would never die! Questions about the faith of the person the church is praying for creates a negative image to those who are seeking healing and the unconditional love that is promised by God.

Prayers for crumbling marriages, emotional and mental health, and physical illnesses have not been answered immediately. Does that mean God is not listening to those he loves? Not at all! Our bodies will eventually break down and we will die, marriages will break apart because one or both partners is not listening to God's voice, and emotional problems may be caused by a chemical imbalance in our body. Many churches and spiritual groups have seen times when marriages are put together again but not for years! It does happen; God just said, "Wait a while." They may never know the reason they had to go through that particular trial. It could give hope and peace to others who are beginning to go through the same crisis.  We know that people have grown spiritually while they watched others trust in God, despite illness and problems in their life.