Faith And Healing

We know that faith plays some sort of important role in healing. We've developed some popular terms to show that we understand the relationship exists, such as "faith healer" or "faith healing." Yet many of us don't understand precisely what role faith plays in healing. Many don't know exactly what "faith for physical healing" is.

As a result, the average Christian tends to think that healing the sick is something that is available only to great men and women of great faith. The average Christian feels he can't move in healing prayer because he doesn't have enough faith for it. He thinks of verses like, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6), or he remembers Jesus telling the disciples that they could not heal the demonized boy because they did not have enough faith (Matt. 17:19-20). People feel that they don't have that type of faith, and they don't know how to obtain it, so they refrain from praying for the sick.

What I'd like to do in this teaching series is to take a look at the role that faith plays in healing prayer. I'd like to dispel a few myths and show people how easy it is to develop the type of faith necessary to pray for the sick.

Let's start by looking at a few Scriptures that show Jesus considered it important to engage the faith of those He healed.

In Mark 10:51-52, a blind man came to Jesus for healing. It must have been fairly obvious what the man wanted. Jesus could have simply healed the blind man while he stood there passively. But Jesus choose not to do that. Instead He asked, in verse 51, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the blind man answered, "Rabbi, that I may receive my sight."

I believe Jesus wanted to get the man involved in the process and that is why He asked him a question. All of his life, the blind man had been a victim because of his handicap. He finally did something proactive in coming to Jesus, he had exercised some portion of faith to simply come to Jesus. But now that he was there, standing before the Master, he became passive again. He may have been falling back into his victim mentality and wondering if Jesus would bother to heal him. Jesus decided to engage the man, getting him out of the passive (victim) role and building his faith.

In verse 52, Jesus did something very interesting. He did not pray for the man or lay hands on him. He simply said, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." All He did was to give the man a simple command. That left the blind man with a choice. He could get upset that Jesus did not reach out and touch him and heal him. Or he could obey the simple command to go his way, trusting that as he obeyed, his eyes would be healed. And that is what he chose to do.

Jesus had activated his faith in the conversation, and now the man chose to activate it more. And his simple obedience in faith was instantly rewarded. Verse 52 says, "And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road."

It seems that Jesus' priority in this encounter was to engage the man's faith. That was what led to the man's healing.

Jesus used a similar tactic with a whole group of blind men in Matt. 9:28-30. The passage says, "And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' They said to Him, 'Yes, Lord.' Then He touched their eyes, saying, 'According to your faith let it be to you.' And their eyes were opened." Again, He engaged their faith before He healed then, and then He healed in response to them extending their faith.

Jesus made a similar comment to a woman He healed in Luke 8:48. He said, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

From this, we conclude that faith pleases Jesus. In fact, Jesus had words of great praise for the Roman centurion who demonstrated faith. The centurion wanted his servant and dear friend healed. He was convinced that if Jesus commanded it, it would happen. And Jesus recognized that as faith. Luke 7:9 says, "When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!' "

As a result of seeing this man's faith, Jesus praised him publicly for it. And then He healed the man's servant. You might say that Jesus "got excited" about this man's faith; it made Him happy. Faith tends to do that, it tends to please God. In fact, Heb. 11:6 indicates that we need faith to please God. Faith plays an important role in every aspect of our walk with God. And it plays an important role in our ability to pray for the sick and see them healed.

But what exactly is it that we put our faith in? Do we have to have a great confidence that a person will be healed before we pray for them? Do we have to be assured that we have "enough faith" in our ability to believe that God heals the sick? Is it about us, about our level of faith? Or is it about God and His faithfulness?

The apostle Peter dealt with the issue just after he and John had healed a lame man by the entrance to the temple. Peter said, in Acts 3:16, "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."

What was Peter saying here? Was he just being wordy in trying to communicate that Jesus healed the man? Or was he saying more? Look at the phrase "His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong." What made the man strong? Was it the name of Jesus? Or was it faith? Or was it both? Faith certainly played an important role in this. But what was the faith placed in? Was it placed in Peter's ability to heal the sick? No, it was not.

The faith that resulted in healing was placed in "the name of Jesus." Putting it another way, we don't have to have faith in our ability to heal the sick. We need to have faith only in Jesus.

In fact, as soon as we start to put faith in ourselves, in our level of faith or in our ability to pray for others, we have taken our focus off of Jesus. That is what happened to Peter when he tried to walk on water. At first he was doing great, but then he took his focus off Jesus and began to look at the waves. He became afraid and began to sink and Jesus had to rescue him. The good news is that Jesus did rescue Peter. He rebuked him for his lack for faith, for looking at the circumstances instead of looking at God. But He did rescue him. Likewise, when you step out in faith you will find that Jesus will be there to rescue you if you begin to sink. He is faithful, He is reliable and He is dependable. In fact that is what faith is all about. It is about knowing the character and nature of Jesus and putting our trust in Him instead of in the circumstances.

Faith is learning to take Jesus at His word and to know that He will back up His word because of who He is. Jesus sent the 12 disciples out to heal the sick and cast out demons in Luke 9. In Luke 10, He sent out 70 others with the same instructions. Jesus backed up the 12 when He sent them out. Jesus backed up the 70 when He sent them out and they came back rejoicing that sickness and demons were subject to them in Jesus' name. Then Jesus sent out ALL who would come to believe on His name in the great commission. He instructed us to heal the sick and cast out demons and proclaim the good news. Faith is knowing that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). Faith is knowing that healing is about Jesus and His agenda to build God's Kingdom. Faith is knowing that He will back us up today just like he backed up the 12 disciples in Luke 9 and just like He backed up the 70 in Luke 10.

Faith was never supposed to be about us or our abilities. Faith was always supposed to be about Jesus and about how reliable, faithful and truthful He is.