Does Jesus Still Heal Today?

Debbie W. Wilson, a Bible teacher and former counselor, has helped many women find victory in life's battles. But what happens when the battle is health? Is there anything the believer can do? In this Practical Theology UPGRADE, Debbie answers the question with two examples and solid scriptural counsel.  "Have you ever wondered," she asks, "if Jesus heals today?"

This is a question I (Dawn) considered early in my cancer diagnosis. My conclusions, like Debbie's, brought me greater understanding, peace, and abiding joy. 

Debbie continues . . . 

In the Gospels, Jesus initiated healing for some and healed others because they asked. Some were healed with just a word; others had to participate in their healing, such as wash in a pool or pick up their mat and walk.

But what about today? Does Jesus heal today?

God healed my father-in-law from chronic back problems in an instant.

He was working late in his small grocery store one night when an inexplicable current zinged down his spine. His back pain vanished. He bent and twisted without the usual pain. For the ultimate test, he strode over to the meat lock

Ed Wilson’s healing didn’t come in response to a healing service, but it did follow an extraordinary act of obedience.

Grocery stores make more profit from non-perishable items than from perishable food. Cigarette sales generated significant income for his small store and took up relatively little space. Before the FDA warning on cigarettes, a conviction grew in him not to sell cigarettes anymore.

People thought he was crazy. But he couldn’t shake the conviction.

Instead of letting the cigarettes run out, one night he loaded his store’s supply and took them out into the Arizona desert to burn them.

My husband never forgot how sick the family was the next day—or his father’s sacrificial act of obedience.

The next week God healed Ed’s back.

Should We Ask for Healing?

The Bible tells us to pray for healing.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:14-16 NIV). 

Last week, our Bible study gathered around our sister to pray.

Before we prayed, I read and discussed James’s instructions.

1. “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call.”

The sick person had asked for prayer.

2. “Call the elders of the church to pray over them.”

The church is not a building but a body of believers—“the called-out ones.” The Bible calls believers a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).

We have the authority to pray for one another.

Paul reminds us there is neither Jew or Greek (not based on ethnicity or physical birth); nor slave or free (not based on socio-economic standing); nor male or female (not based on gender) (Galatians 3:28). We are one in Christ Jesus.

3. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Righteous means we have right standing before God. This is based on what Christ has done, not on our worthiness.

Faith in Jesus make us righteous and produces a desire to please Him in our actions.

4. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

We bowed our heads quietly and asked the Lord to search our hearts so that we could come before Him with clean hearts (1 John 1:9).

5. “Pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.”
.
Oil, in the Bible, often symbolizes the Holy Spirit.

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6 NIV).

Humans don’t have the power to heal, but nothing is impossible with God.

I anointed our sister with a small amount of Frankincense oil on her forehead and wrists, and quoted Isaiah 53:5: “by his wounds we are healed” (NIV).

6. “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.”

We gathered around her and prayed over her in Jesus’ name.

Our sister prayed too. She thanked God for her healing.

Whether here or in heaven, she WOULD be healed.

We ended singing, “Amen, amen….”

None of us will forget that holy moment when our prayers and tears mingled as the presence of the Holy Spirit poured over our sister.

Jesus heard us, and we trust Him to do more than we can ask or imagine.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV).

If Jesus didn’t still heal today, would the Bible tell the sick person to ask for prayers?

Debbie W. Wilson is an award-winning author, Bible teacher, and former Christian counselor who speaks and writes to connect fellow sojourners to the heart of Christ. Learn more about her books, connect with Debbie, and find free resources at debbieWwilson.com.

Graphic adapted, original photo courtesy of Canva.

Lessons Learned During Sickness

Yvonne Ortega loves to help women move forward from the broken places in their lives, having experienced tough times herself. In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, she invites us to think about how we experience the brokenness of sickness.

Yvonne asks, “I hate being sick, don’t you?

"Sickness means I’ll miss events I looked forward to attending. If the doctor says the illness is contagious, I dread it even more."

Going through two years of recurring illnesses, I (Dawn) know what Yvonne means. When we are sick, it's just plain hard. But God brings wisdom in those tough times too!

Yvonne continues . . .

Days of being alone are not my preference. If a cough grips me and makes talking difficult or impossible, that adds to my torture.

One of my friends emailed me, said she’d pray for me to get better soon, and told me to talk to God.

I do that every day in my quiet time. I didn’t need a burning bush experience like Moses had or to be knocked to the ground the way Paul was. I longed for social interaction with my friends in town.

I learned three lessons—or rather had a refresher course in those lessons—during that illness. I offer them to you as tips.

1. I learned to ask for help.

I like to help others, but I don’t like to ask for help.

However, I was too sick to drive to the doctor and the pharmacy. I had to ask a friend for a ride.

I longed for a Green Passion Power Smoothie from Panera, my favorite restaurant. Once again, I had to ask a friend for it. God made me and you as social beings. He made us into the body of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 12:26, the Bible says, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 

2. I asked God what He wanted me to do during my sickness.

I sensed He wanted me to listen to a set of mp3s from a conference I had attended. After listening to almost every session and several twice, I asked Him again.

That time, I felt led to take three days as a personal retreat at home. I had planned to go to the beach for a personal retreat, but sickness prevented that trip.

As I rested with my Bible, journal, and pen and listened to praise and worship music, I sensed God’s presence, power, and purpose in allowing me to be sick. I drew closer to him. 

James 4:8a says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”  

That personal retreat blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.

3. I grew in patience.

Patience tops the list when it comes to difficult lessons.

I had hoped to recover overnight.

Unlike instant coffee, instant oatmeal and microwave popcorn, my recovery didn’t happen fast.

James 5:7–8 says, “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”

I don’t pray for patience because I don’t want the tests that will follow to help me develop it.

Since I live in an imperfect world with imperfect people, and an imperfect body, opportunities to learn patience will come my way.

I pray I learned the lesson, so I don’t have to repeat the same one.

What will you do the next time you’re sick?

Yvonne Ortega is a bilingual speaker, author, professional counselor, certified teacher, and speaking coach. She is the author of Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief, Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Forgiveness, Moving from Broken to Beautiful: 9 Life Lessons to Help You Move Forward, and Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer. Yvonne’s passion is to help women facing life transitions or challenges move from broken to beautiful through God’s Word. Her books are available on her website, www.YvonneOrtega.com

Graphic adapted, courtesy of mopje at Pixabay.