I’m not the Benny Hinn type, but I do pray for healing quite often. And I do it rather simply:
“Lord, heal _______ according to your will.”
It might sound as if I’m praying that because I simply do not know the Lord’s will in a situation. From my finite perspective I have no idea if the Lord has purposed to heal a person. While that is true, that is not all that I am communicating whenever I pray that the Lord heal someone according to His will. It’s actually a prayer that is jam-packed with theology and hope.
All believers will ultimately be healed
I know that whenever I pray for healing in the life of a believer that it will always ultimately be answered. I know this from Revelation 21:4 (among other places). I know that one day, “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”.
Therefore, when I pray that the Lord heal someone according to His will I know that He is going to eventually answer that prayer. That might mean that my prayer for healing in the present is not answered—because God is going to answer the greater prayer—ultimate healing.
God heals in the present as a preview of His ultimate healing
Yet, sometimes God does answer our prayers for healing in the present. The Lord is kind and gracious. He binds up broken hearts. He causes cancer to disappear. He clears up cloudy minds. Yes, our great God wipes away tears even in the present. And he does this as a preview of things to come.
Therefore, I am praying that if it be the Lord’s good pleasure that He would provide healing in the present. When he answers these prayers it helps us to see that God is actively involved and concerned—not only for our future but also for our present. When he does not provide present healing we know that He is still good—and He has answered our prayers for ultimate healing.
What about unbelievers?
When I am praying for an unbeliever that God would heal them according to His will, I am not only praying for temporary healing. I am praying that they would come to know Jesus Christ and that their greatest problem would be answered; namely separation from God.
I know that while they remain in rebellion that they have no promise of ultimate healing. Instead it is the opposite. This present suffering pales in comparison to the suffering that is to come. Therefore, I pray that the Lord might use this to draw them to himself. I’m praying that they would experience ultimately healing because they have been rescued by Jesus.
This is what I’m praying for whenever I ask God to heal somebody according to His will.
Let’s not be uncomfortable in praying for healing. Let’s be bold. In my mind praying for healing is the same thing as praying Maranatha! So let us approach Him with confidence and hope, knowing that our prayers for healing in the life of believers will always ultimately be answered.
I don’t think “according to your will” is a bold prayer. In my mind, Romans 8:26 releases us to simply ask God for what we want, knowing the Holy Spirit will intercede with us according to God’s will.
When our children asked us for something, they simply told us what they wanted. We didn’t expect them to qualify everything with such a “disclaimer”.
Also, saying that death equates with healing is demeaning to the power of God to heal, today. When He doesn’t choose t heal, it’s His choice and it’s OK. Even if we didn’t like it.
Bob, I agree with you. Praying “Lord, heal John according to Your will” isn’t really asking for anything. Of course, God’s will will be done, but what about our will? Certainly prayer is part of the work of bending our will to God’s will, but it’s also the opportunity to let God know our desire. So praying “Lord, heal John if You want to” misses the opportunity to share your heart with God. I believe that God expects that out our prayer. But, we also need to temper our prayers with “I want my will to be done, Lord, but… Read more »
The point of the article is to say that whenever we pray “according to your will” we aren’t simply praying–“do what you want, God, I don’t really care”. God knows far better than us what is best. He fully knows my heart and my desires. And I will express those to the Lord as well. But at the end of the day I’m going to say, “Lord, you know best”. But saying, “according to your will” isn’t saying “Heal my brother or don’t heal my brother”. It’s saying, “Lord, only you know if you are going to heal him in… Read more »
Jesus prayed this way in the Garden. I’m comfortable with acknowledging to God that I might not understand the whole situation and I appreciate his involvement in applying wisdom to answering my prayers. It reminds me of this tidbit from the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles: “Interesting fact: The Lord had told Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, who was deathly sick, to prepare to die (2 kings 20:1). When Hezekiah broke down, cried and prayed to God, The Lord added 15 years to Hezekiah’s life. Three years later his son, Manasseh, was born. If Hezekiah had accepted death when first… Read more »
Quoted from the article on Manasseh at aboutprophecy.com. I found it with this search string: “most evil king of Judah”
This idea is taught well in James 4. There are some aspects that are not taught well or practiced well in the West today, but you have the right idea, Mike. Many people read verses like “You do not have, because you do not ask.” (James 4:2b) as admonitions to ask God for whatever we want. Then they look at James 4:3 as an indication that if we didn’t get what we wanted from God, we just didn’t ask him the right way. This idea of prayer is wrongheaded. Prayer is not a means of getting God to give us… Read more »