Being Set Free from Illness

Jesus says, "I HAVE GIVEN YOU AUTHORITY... TO OVERCOME ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY; NOTHING WILL HARM YOU". Nothing will harm you includes, bacteria and viruses and cancer cells and addictions, etc. Healing can come from being set free from physical illness, mental illness, depression, spiritual illness or addictions. Jesus says, "IF YOU CONTINUE TO OBEY MY TEACHING, YOU ARE TRULY MY FOLLOWERS. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH. AND THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE". Recently a Medical Doctor was quoted in the news as saying, "Miracles happen every day ... A lot of medicine is outside our control." It is commendable to hear someone has the wisdom to make this comment. God, our creator or manufacturer, is always in control. When a repair person has difficulty in making a repair, frequently they check with the manufacturer. God is our manufacturer. Many people have detailed knowledge about their medical condition. They may tell you what medical stage their problem is in and details about possible treatment, etc.. Often they will tell you why they want to get well, while describing the bad aspects of their problem. If you truly have a medical problem, especially a terminal medical problem, how should a follower of Jesus respond?

First, please be very clear that God can help a person with or without medical care. Involving God does not preclude Doctors. Jesus said, “It is the sick who need a doctor”. If you have a terminal problem and you have hope that God can heal you, people in the world may say you are living in denial. On the other hand, if you have an illness and you do not have faith or hope that God can heal you or even ask God for help, you are denying God. Jesus says, “God can do all things” and to “ask the Father for things in My name”. If you know what Jesus said and you fail to ask God for help in Jesus’ name, you have not just exercised a free option, you have rejected the source for healing and for eternal life. Also, you have denied Jesus and rejected Him and His words. Jesus made it very clear that, “whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven”. Whether you survive your medical problem or not, when you reject Jesus and God, you are rejecting eternal life1.

Second, as a follower of Jesus, we want to seek our healing. We want to ask God in Jesus’ name to heal us and continue to ask or if you believe you are healed, continue to thank God for healing you, until you are certain you are healed. If the need for healing is not life threatening, like a pain in your knee, you may be able to confirm your healing by the lack of pain, with a full range of motion. If your problem involved medical guidance for diagnosis originally, it may be wise to have your healing confirmed medically. If medical people are uncertain and will just say your medical concern is dormant or in remission, consider that an invitation to thank God for your healing the rest of your life. I thank God every day for healing my eyes, and it takes maybe five seconds of my daily prayer time. Foolish people, who do not know what Jesus said, may say “God knows my problem and He will heal me, if He wants to”. Although Jesus said, “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him”. Jesus went on to say, "This, then, is how you should pray…”. Jesus gave us an example that we should ask for our healing, when one time as Jesus was leaving Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus called out to Jesus. Jesus stopped and responded to the blind man. As he came close to Jesus, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Although, it may appear obvious that, the man wanted or needed healing from blindness, Jesus made him ask. He responded to Jesus, “I want to see” and then Jesus spoke and God healed him. God wants us to ask for our healing. Yes, there were times that Jesus had compassion and with God's guidance performed miracles without being asked but most of the time people came or were brought to Jesus seeking healing. Many have healing needs but few will follow up with aggressive persistence seeking healing. Jesus teaches us repeatedly to be persistent and tells us to "Continue to ask". In addition to asking God for healing, Jesus teaches us, "Believers will … place their hands on sick people, and these will get well" 2. Yes, you can place your hands on your self, when you pray. If you are not accustomed to receiving God's healing when praying, you may persist by seeking believers who enjoy praying for people and seeing God heal them. Be sure to have a believer who knows God and believes that God can heal any problem. In addition to praying for your healing, the believer may pray that God will guide you about what you could do to help or facilitate the healing process both spirtually and physically and what you could do both spirtually and physically to stay healed or maintain your healing. A person once asked God for healing for some painful problems with their feet. With God's guidance they bought larger shoes and that aided in the healing of their feet. If your life style could cause a problem, God may guide you to change your life style. If a person wants money to pray for your healing, reject that person and get away from them.

Exercising Faith

Jesus encourages faith and talks about faith playing a role in healing. Be very clear that He is encouraging us to, "Have faith in God". We do not have faith in faith like if we close our eyes, clinch our teeth and believe something hard enough it will happen. It is stupid talk to say you are healed when obviously you are not healed. Faith is not stupid talk. We read that once when Jesus was teaching, "the power of the Lord was present to heal". Once people were trying to touch Jesus because "healing power" was flowing from Him. One time a woman who had been sick for twelve years, touched Jesus clothes and was healed. Jesus asked who touched Him because He said,"I felt healing power go out from Me". When you have received prayer for your healing, you may exercise your faith by saying, "I have received God's healing power and it is at work in me now". Then, it is good to continually thank God for His healing power at work in you2.5.

demons? sin?

Yes, sometimes, demons or Satan will cause a physical illness or a mental illness or a spiritual illness or an addiction. If you do not have a two-way communication relationship with God or if God’s spirit is not in you, how can you know? If sin or a sinful life style, preceded the onset of your problem, it is a good possibility that demons are involved. Note: Jesus teaches that sin can also be what you think or feel. If a medical expert cannot explain the cause of your problem, it is a good possibility that demons are involved. A description identification like the word cancer is not an explanation of the cause. Ask what caused the cancer? Suggestions of possible situations that are correlated with the onset of a problem are not necessarily explanations. We can seek explanations online, which may make it more obvious when the medical industry cannot explain many of the problems they have identified. Jesus says, "I have given you authority ... to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you". Nothing will harm you includes, bacteria and viruses and cancer cells and addictions. Do not allow limited medical knowledge to rob your faith. If you are unsure if demons are involved, take authority over them “in Jesus name”, it will do no harm. If in doubt, cast it out. A man was paralyzed and Jesus healed him by forgiving his sins. Peter’s mother-in-law had a fever and Jesus “rebuked the fever”. One time Jesus healed a man after inquiring if he wanted to be well, who had been sick for 38 years and the man did not know who Jesus was, so faith could not have been an issue. Later, Jesus told him, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you”. Note: sometimes we have difficulty in being healed or the healing being completed. It is always good to examine your life and be sure that you have sin out of your life. Consider when you ask God to guide you regarding keeping or maintaining your healing, that sinning can cause a reversal of your healing or a more serious problem. Jesus encountered a woman who had been sick for 18 years, resulting in being bent over, unable to stand up straight. After her healing, Jesus referred to her, as whom, “Satan has bound”3. Demonic involvement cannot be determined by reason or logic. If in doubt, cast it out.

How do you deal with demonic problems? Jesus says, “Believers will ... drive out demons in My name”. Yes, just like when praying for healing, if you are not used to praying for healing or taking authority over demons, you may want to seek out people who are. If you know you have God’s spirit in you, because you have ministered God power with healing or because you pray in the spirit language, etc., you may want to try driving out demons like Jesus said you can do. First, say forcefully, “In the name of Jesus, I command every demon in and around me, to shut up, leave and not come back!” If you feel spiritual movement, persist. You may address a description by saying, “In the name of Jesus, I command every cancer cell in my body to die and leave my body now!” You may seek God’s guidance on how to pray. Cells are alive and God may guide you to command in Jesus’ name undesirable cells to change or die. When you persist in taking spiritual authority, remember that one time there was a reference to seven demons coming out of a person and another time a name was used that implied thousands of demons. Continue to persist, until you feel no spiritual movement and God guides you to cease. Please remember that sin including sinful thoughts can work against spiritual warfare and have the effect of inviting demons right back. Do not be timid! Be forceful when taking spiritual authority, remember Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me”. As a follower of Jesus, you have access to His authority4.

God can cause medical problems

At times God causes medical problems or opportunities for miracles as Jesus shares, "THIS MAN WAS BORN BLIND SO THAT GOD'S POWER COULD BE SHOWN IN HIM". Another time Jesus had just heard that His friend Lazarus was sick and He responded, "THIS SICKNESS WILL NOT END IN DEATH. IT IS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO BRING GLORY TO THE SON OF GOD". When we encounter someone with a medical problem, we may express sympathy or we may ignore them or we may give them unsolicited medical advice or we may suggest God can heal them, giving them the opportunity to ask for prayer, etc. What if God caused their medical problem so that God's healing power could be shown? How do you respond when you encounter a person who could be healed by God? Some people are bashful or hesitant. Some are concerned that God may not heal the person. Some may feel like if God doesn't heal the person it reflects on them. Many of the reasons for not mentioning the possibility of healing may fit the category where Jesus tells us to "deny" ourselves. As a follower of Jesus, God may guide you to mention that God can heal them; we may mention that Jesus says, "all things are possible with God". It can be sad, if people do not respond to God but our job is to obey God and let Him do His thing.

Is it more difficult to pray for someone who has died or someone who has a medical problem from birth? Remember Jesus is very clear that "anyone believing in Me shall do the same miracles I have done". Jesus was correct regarding the sickness mentioned previously about Lazarus, when He stated, "This sickness will not end in death". Although Lazarus did die, in the end four days later, he was miraculously raised from the dead, after Jesus thanked God. It takes faith to obey God if he tells you to pray for someone who has physically died. It may take equally strong faith to pray for someone born blind or some other medical problem from birth. Next time you encounter a person needing healing and personal concerns make you hesitant to say anything, consider that the opportunity for their healing may be present "so that God's power could be shown" or "for the glory of God". Also consider that if you keep quite, the person may miss being healed. You may be that person's only chance at being healed. With that thought in mind, ask yourself what personal concerns are more important than being available to serve God at that moment? Then ask God to guide you, if He wants you to offer to pray for them and/or guide you on how to pray. 5

1. Lk 5:31; Mk 10:27; Jn 16:26 (IC); Mt 10:33 (NKJ); Jn 8:31-32 (IC)

2. Mt 6:8-9; Mk 10:46-52 (NI); Lk 11:5-8; 18:1-8; Mt 7:7 (IC); Mk 16:17-18 (TE)

2.5 Mk 11:22; Lk 5:17 (KJ); Lk 6:19; 8:43-47 (TL)

3. Mt 5:21-22, 27-28; 9:1-8; Lk 4:38-39; Jn 5:1-15; Lk 13:16 (NKJ); Lk 10:19 (NI)

4. Mk 16:17-18 (TE); Lk 8:2, 30; Mt 28:18 (NI)

5. Jn 9:2-3; 11:4 (IC); Mk 8:34; 11:27 (NI); Jn 14:12 (TL)

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