There are 2 kinds of Healing.  There is Natural Healing, which God in His mercy makes available to everyone.  Then there is Divine Healing which is a special blessing God offers to His faithful believers.

When God designed and created all living creatures, He knew that flesh would be vulnerable to damage and disease.  So He designed into each creature, a process whereby the body would heal itself from a limited amount of damage and disease.  Had God designed Natural Healing to cover all damage and disease, Man would not have learned the important lessons of caution, danger, protection, suffering, compassion and many other things, needed to complete our basic training here on Earth.

The other kind of Healing is Divine Healing.  Many people think God first offered this Divine Healing through Jesus.  But God has always wanted to Heal His children.  As far back as Exodus, God offered Divine Healing to His chosen people, the Israelites.

Exodus 15: 25-26  Although God had previously blessed select
individuals with Divine Healing, this was God’s first blanket offer of Divine Healing for every Israelite.

One thing that’s very important to understand, if you review God’s original offers here in Exodus and Deuteronomy, Divine Healing is for Sickness and Disease.  It’s not for a broken leg, an open wound, or the deterioration of the body due to old age.  You can certainly pray for those conditions, but anything other than Natural Healing would fall under the category of a Miracle, which God may or may not grant, not under God’s gift of Divine Healing.

Now when God came to Earth, in the form of Jesus, He took a new approach in dealing with Mankind.  Instead of making a covenant with a whole group of people, like the Israelites, God chose to offer His covenant to each person individually.  So each person must decide whether to accept or reject a relationship with God.

Unlike the old covenant offered to the Israelites which required Righteousness on their part, this New Covenant requires Faith, on our part.  The New Covenant which God offers to us, is first and foremost about Salvation.  Most Christians know and understand that they are saved by Faith.  That means when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord by Faith, in return God promises us Salvation, which is eternal life with God.

As with the old covenant offered to the Israelites, the New Covenant also includes an offer for Divine Healing.  And as the old covenant required Righteousness to attain Divine Healing, the New Covenant requires Faith, just as it does for Salvation.

That sounds simple enough.  One might expect that most Christians would take advantage of such an offer.  They’re already believing God for their Salvation, by Faith.  Why not Divine Healing?

Well, think about it this way.  Real Faith is easier to muster for some things, than for others.  If you were offered a thousand dollars to drive your car down the street, without wearing your seat belt, you would probably have enough faith in your driving ability to accept that offer.  On the other hand, if you were offered that same thousand dollars to drive down the street blindfolded, you might not have enough faith in your ability to do so without killing yourself, and therefore pass on the offer.

It’s all about consequences, cost, risk, and what’s at stake.  When a new Christian accepts God’s offer of Salvation, the cost is a promise of Faith.  To many people promises come cheap.  They understand that there’s more to Salvation than just saying “I believe”.  You have to act on your faith as well.  But they also know that at any time, they can walk away, if they change their mind.  So what’s there to lose?

Even long time, faithful Christians know that God’s offer of Salvation, is really the only game in town.  There are no other offers for eternal life.  It’s either Eternal Life with God, or death and destruction.  That’s kind of a no-brainer.  And the cost for that Salvation is simply to live your life on Earth, loving God and loving other people.  So what’s really on the line?  Faith comes easy, when you don’t have much to lose, or any other options.

Divine Healing though, is another kettle of fish.  You might ask “So what’s the big deal?  If I believe God for my Divine Healing, and I don’t get it, I’ll just go to the doctor”.  But it doesn’t work that way.  Let’s take a closer look at the way Divine Healing works.

 First of all, there’s no manual.  Perhaps the closest thing to it, is found in the book of James.

James 5: 14-16  The Apostle James explains it this way.

Say your prayer in your own words, but just as an example, you might say it something like this.  “Heavenly Father, thank you for all of the ways you’ve blessed me.  I ask that you forgive my sins, and help me with my shortcomings.  Father, I come to you today, because I need your Healing.  I’m having pain in my side, that won’t go away.  I have no idea what it is, but I don’t need to know, and I don’t care.  You know what it is, and I ask you to Heal it, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.  Father I love you, and I thank you for it.  And I believe that I receive, in Jesus name.  Praise God.”.

However you say it, the key is, you must be 100% sincere.

That’s the Prayer.  Now comes the hard part, the Faith.  For Divine Healing, Faith is displayed by waiting.  Waiting for the manifestation of your Healing.  How long?  That’s the intriguing part.  Of course if you’re in pain, it won’t seem very intriguing at the time.  It might be seconds or it might be days.  It’s all up to God.  But why would it vary so much?  Well, if you always received your Healing in 20 seconds, or in 20 minutes for that matter, it wouldn’t take any Faith.  It doesn’t take any Faith when you’re waiting for a train that always arrives on schedule, because you know it will be there.  And if your Healing always arrived on schedule, it wouldn’t take any Faith to be Healed either.

On the other hand, if God always made you wait for days to receive your Healing, you might question whether it was Divine Healing at all.  Or whether it was just a Natural Healing, like everyone else receives.  So God will sometimes Heal you almost instantly, just to let you know that it’s from Him.

The most important thing you can give God, is your Faith.  The whole New Covenant works on Faith.  So God will help you build your Faith.  And the time between your Prayer for Healing, and its manifestation, does just that.

So if God Heals you in return for your Faith, what’s the quickest way to lose, or not receive your Healing?

Doubt is the opposite of Faith.  How then is Doubt displayed with regard to Divine Healing?  It’s not just sitting around thinking “I hope this works”.  That’s too easy.  So here’s the really hard part.  In Divine Healing, Doubt is displayed by taking medicine — going to a doctor — asking another person for medical advice.  Doing anything like that, is a statement of Doubt that God is not sufficient.  Plus, if you did one of those things, you would never know whether the Healing came from God, or from the drug.

Now you can see why so many believers don’t take advantage of God’s offer for Divine Healing.  It’s not that easy.  With many people, their Faith simply isn’t strong enough.  Taking medicine and going to the doctor are things that have been ingrained in all of us since childhood.  It’s as normal as eating.  Giving that up, for some unknown, mysterious, literally supernatural interaction with the Divine Being, is more than many people can handle.

Many people have tried Divine Healing.  They start out believing, but when their Healing doesn’t come fast enough, they become frightened and lack sufficient Faith to wait.  Even if you’ve used Divine Healing successfully, in the past, you’re not immune to Doubt.  Satan comes along and whispers in your ear, “what if you don’t get it this time”, “maybe you don’t deserve it”, “maybe you’re doing it wrong”.  There are a thousand ways to Doubt.  And it’s scary.  Sometimes it can be real scary.  “This problem with your eye, you could go blind”.  “If you don’t get this thing treated, you could wind up in the hospital.  Can you afford that?”.  “You don’t want to fool around with heart trouble.  Those chest pains could be the start of a heart attack.”  “This thing could kill you”.  “Where would your family be”.

I could go on for days with examples like these.  And then there’s the big one.  You went in for a free wellness visit, figuring you’d keep an eye on your cholesterol.  In case you need to cut down on some fatty foods.  You get the results back from the lab, and the doctors says your cholesterol is fine, but.  Some other test result indicates there’s a good chance you have cancer.  “I’ll make an appointment for you with the specialist”, the doctor says.  Now what do you do? 

Eventually you come to grips with it, and you say to yourself, “God has always Healed me in the past.  I’m going to believe God for this Healing”.  Then you start to have pain in the area where the cancer is suspected to be.  But you hold on to your Faith.  Days go by, then weeks.  The pains come and go.  Now what?  Ninety nine people out of a hundred, would see the specialist.  Are you being Faithful?  Or stupid?  If God doesn’t Heal you, you could die.  Why risk that? Well, it all depends on how strong your Faith is.

So what gives you enough Faith to risk your life on it?  In addition to what the Apostle James said previously, what else do the Scriptures say about Devine Healing?

Acts 3: 16  After Jesus returned to Heaven, listen to how the Apostle Peter explained it to a crowd of people.

What about Jesus Himself, what did He teach us about Divine Healing?  Jesus Healed hundreds if not thousands of people during His time on Earth.  But you might say “that was then and now is now.  How do you know those Healings weren’t miracles like the other miracles Jesus did?”.

Well, first of all, when Jesus did a miracle, Jesus chose the time, place, and event.  On the other hand, when Jesus Healed, He Healed every single person that asked and believed.  And He did it, when they asked for it, not when He was in the mood.  He turned no one down.  In fact He even Healed one woman inadvertently.  So why should He turn you or I down?  Remember the Scripture says “God is no respecter of persons” in the King James Version.  But the NIV expresses it better “God does not show favoritism”.

Jesus clearly and consistently made the connection between Healing and Faith, Your Faith.

Matthew 17: 19-20  Here Jesus explains more about Healing and Faith.

This incident shows how difficult it is to have real Faith.  It’s hard to believe, but even Jesus’ Apostles, who were privileged to watch Jesus perform miracle after miracle, in person, were frequently criticized by Jesus for having insufficient or weak Faith.  At this particular event, Jesus tries to impress upon His Apostles the magnitude of what Faith can do.

Before you get too worked up though, it’s unlikely that the “moving a mountain” thing, was meant literally.  Jesus used metaphors and parables many times, to illustrate His meanings.  Even Jesus Himself, didn’t go around moving mountains or reworking the landscape.  He just wanted His Apostles to understand the importance and the capability of Faith, so they would be more effective.

So if Faith can accomplish such monumental things, surely it can Heal us.

One question you might ask.  Why didn’t the people that Jesus Healed during His ministry, need to wait for the manifestation of their Healing, in order to express their Faith?  Jesus always Healed them instantly.  Could it be that Jesus knew their level of Faith?  Or that God required less Faith at the time, since Divine Healing was new to Mankind?

Let’s try to answer this question first.  Why did Jesus Heal people at all?  Jesus Healed out of love and compassion for people.  But also to demonstrate in front of thousands of witnesses that He was sent from God.  It would seem that in order to achieve the latter, instantaneous Healing would be necessary.  A person receiving their Healing 2 hours later, with no one around, wouldn’t have the same effect.

O.K. It all sounds reasonable, but how can you know for sure that Divine Healing is real?  Well, you read the Scriptures.  Of course the Scriptures aren’t written like a legal document, with every i dotted and t crossed, so that there’s absolutely no possibility of mis-interpretation.  But how do you interpret these Scriptures?  Unless you interpret them differently, wouldn’t denying the reality of Divine Healing, mean that you would also need to at least question the reality of Salvation as well?  If Faith doesn’t work for Divine Healing, maybe it won’t work for Salvation.

Well, the one way to know if Divine Healing is real, is to try it.  Take God up on His offer.  See for yourself.  But let’s be perfectly clear.  This is not a recommendation to throw out your medication, walk out of the hospital, ignore your doctor’s advice, or join the Ebola missionaries.  Faith in Divine Healing is something that must be built, one step at a time.  The surest way to fail, or to hurt yourself, is to jump in unprepared.  Before you even consider it, think about it carefully.  It’s no free ride.  And it’s not easy.  At some point, you may find yourself having to make very difficult decisions.  To stretch your Faith to the limit.  Not to mention the fact that many people will say you’re crazy.

Is it worth it?  Well, it’s guaranteed to bring you closer to God.  What’s that worth to you?  And remember, since Faith is the most important thing you can give to God, the more Faith you have, the more value you will be to God, both now and in the Age to Come.  Two other things you can add to this side of the scale.  You’ll save a few bucks on medical bills.  And, without Divine Healing, sooner or later you may find yourself with a disease that Man has no cure for.  There is nothing God cannot do.

Alright.  If you’ve thought this thing through, thoroughly, and want to expand your relationship with God into Divine Healing, here are some thoughts.  First and foremost, Start Slowly .  Don’t wait until you have some major medical problem, to begin.  Start with some minor problem.  It’s a lot easier to have Faith for something small.  And remember, “sickness and disease”.  If it doesn’t appear to fall within that category, skip it.

By now, you understand that it’s all about Faith.  So let’s make sure that you have plenty of it.  Starting with a clear understanding of Faith itself.

Hebrews 11: 1  The Apostle Paul defines Faith this way (1978 translation)

But knowing what Faith is, and having Faith, are 2 different things.  Many people scoff at Faith, as if it’s for fools.  It’s not Faith that’s foolish, but what you put your Faith in.  Blind Faith is foolish.

1 Corinthians 1: 18  In his letter to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul puts it this way.

The more time you spend in the Scriptures, the more your Faith will grow.  It’s that simple.  The Scriptures hold the testimony of thousand of believers, and how they exercised their Faith, frequently in the face of death.  And how God rewarded their Faith.  When you understand the sacrifices that these people made, just to display their Faith, it makes our display of Faith for our own benefit of Healing, seem pretty shallow.

Hebrews 11: 32-40  Listen to how the Apostle Paul, describes some of them.

Throughout Abraham’s life, God spoke with him, and told him many things.  God also made promises to Abraham.  Not little promises.  Promises that could not happen by natural means.  Promises that seemed almost impossible.  And a number of these promises were not fulfilled until many years later.  Yet Abraham believed God, and even though these things took a huge amount of Faith, Abraham never gave up.

Start with Genesis 12, and read the account of Abraham’s life.  You’ll see that his name was Abram, and God changed it to Abraham.  And you’ll learn that every time Abraham exercised his Faith, God blessed him for it.

Then just devote 15 minutes a day, more if you can, and read on through the Old Testament.  You will see your Faith grow stronger every day.

The consistent practice of Divine Healing can lead to a state called Devine Health.  This condition is a state where sickness and disease rarely touches you.  Although Divine Heath is a wonderful blessing, as you can imagine, it does have one drawback.  That is, the lack of sickness and disease, eliminates the need for Healing, which in turn eliminated the need to pray and use your Faith to be Healed.

Faith is like a muscle.  The more you use it, the stronger it gets.  The danger here, is that the reverse is true as well.  Going for months or years without having to exercise your Faith, will weaken it.  Your Faith will regress.  Thus putting you in a vulnerable position to ward off any new attack of sickness and disease.  Especially if it’s something really serious.

So if you’ve been blessed with Divine Health, be sure to exercise your Faith in other ways, to be ready for that next attack.

All Healthcare plans have exclusions, and Divine Healing is no exception.  The problem is, you don’t get a policy.  So there is no comprehensive list of exclusions.  At the risk of repetition, the first thing to keep in mind, is anything outside of “sickness and disease” is probably an exclusion.

There are many types of pain caused by a wide variety of physical ailments.  Bruising, restricted motion,  like carpel tunnel syndrome, neck pain that can result from staring at a computer monitor from a bad angle, arm pain resulting from holding your arm in an unnatural position for extended lengths of time.  These ailments are not “sickness or disease”.  They are caused by a physical impact or repeated motion.  Repeated motion ailments in the arm, neck or hand, can be incredibly stubborn and last for months, even years before they finally Heal Naturally. 

Any physical tearing of muscle/ligament/joint, a hernia for example, is not “sickness or disease”.

Damage to the body, caused by accidents, cuts, scrapes, burns, are not “sickness and disease”

Back pain, which can be caused by a multitude of reasons, is probably not “sickness or disease”.

Another thing.  When God created the World, He put into effect a series of Laws.  There are Natural Laws, like the laws of physics.  And there are Spiritual Laws, like the law of Sowing and Reaping.

Galatians 6: 7

Divine Healing does not trump Spiritual Law.  So you can’t deliberately put yourself in risky or inappropriate situations, and expect God to bail you out through Divine Healing.  We are all expected to take reasonable care of our bodies.  In the same vein, if you ignored your mother’s warnings as a child, and didn’t brush your teeth regularly, don’t expect Divine Healing to cure that abscess caused from tooth decay.

All of these things will either Heal Naturally, or require traditional medical treatment.  Use good judgment.

Unfortunately this is not a complete list of exclusions from Divine Healing.  It’s intended to give you an idea of the kinds of things that are not part of this blessing, for various reasons.  It’s important to remember that Divine Healing is a blessing, not something we deserve.  So don’t be disappointed by the exclusions.

It would not be appropriate to recommend Divine Healing to anyone.  Medical issues are very personal, and can have serious consequences.  Each person should make their own decision as to how they wish to approach them.  Please do not construe any of what is written in this work, as being medical advice.  This work is not qualified to offer medical advice.  Please also understand that this work is not advocating abandoning traditional medical treatment.  Neither is it suggesting that anyone ignore the advice of a physician, or not see a doctor whenever you have a concern. 

All that being said, Divine Healing is a blessing that can give a Christian a unique and more personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.  It is something that only you can decide to undertake, after carefully considering all of the factors involved.