Healing - Our Responsiblity or God's?

In the short time I've been interested in the subject of healing, a thorny problem has repeatedly confronted me. I did some thinking on it. Here's what I found out: the Christian world is divided into two camps; or three, if you count those who take the middle ground. At issue is a centuries-old debate about man's responsibility and God's sovereignty; Calvinism and Arminianism. These mind-sets and arguments have infected the waters of healing.

I won't bore you with a long discussion on the theological points of this argument. If you're interested in learning more, you can google it. I had an old friend who insisted on arguing his Calvinistic world-view with me every time we met. He drove me crazy. God mercifully removed this 'thorn in the flesh' from my life. I've never had a desire to return to this debate.

I'll summarize for you the basic points of these two views; Calvinism was named after the reformer John Calvin. It's main emphasis is on the sovereignty of God. There are varying degrees to which adherents follow this teaching. Some are moderate, some are quite extreme; to the point of stating that man is without free will. Arminianism, takes it's name from Jacobus Arminius. Followers of Arminianism stress the reality of man's free will and tend to minimize the sovereignty of God. Both sides will cite piles of scripture verses to support their view.

If the bible gives support to both sides; perhaps both arguments are valid. In searching the bible, that's just what I found. In several passages, the bible reveals the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in the same passage. I'll give an example.The first part of this verse (in teal) stresses man's responsiblity, the second (in red) discusses God's sovereignty. "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

Here's another verse, again I'll show man's responsibility in teal and God's sovereignty in red: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” ( Acts 2:36 )

I particularly like this verse because the free will of man is bracketed inside the sovereign will of God. There are other similar verses, but I think you get the point.

I'd like to offer my conclusion on the matter - both views are right in what they affirm, and wrong in what they deny. Calvinists are right when they say that God is sovereign over all He does. They are mistaken if they believe man has nothing to do with making it come to pass. Likewise, an Arminian is right in saying we must apprehend for ourselves all that is available in God, but he is dead wrong if he teaches that God is not in charge of things. Much of this foolishness has found it's way into modern teaching about healing.

Calvinism in Healing

Over-emphasis on God's sovereignty is perhaps the biggest problem in healing today. Most people who dare to ask God for healing eventually utter the words,"thy will be done..." It's essentially equal to, "I don't know if I'm worthy of healing, or if God even hears my prayers." Particularly in more conservative streams of the church, there's a pervasive teaching that we can never really know if it's God's will to heal anyone. It stands as a kind of wall between us and God, preventing us from coming boldly before the throne of grace and asking for His healing grace to make us whole.

I'll suggest to you my personal feelings on the root cause of the problem and let you decide for yourself. For centuries the church has been led by 3 of the 5 types of leaders Jesus appointed to the church - the pastor, teacher and the occasional evangelist. (See Eph. 4:11) The apostle and prophet have been absent. I see the apostles as spiritual mothers and fathers who help the church grow into maturity. The prophet is essentially the 'eyes' of the church, taking revelatory information from God and passing it on to the body. The absence has created two problems; one is a perpetually immature body, the other is a body that is blind to the will of God.

In the last century the prophetic gift has slowly been restored to the body, though not yet to fullness. The last 30 years or so has brought a gradual restoration of the apostolic. As we see these gifts restored, there has also been an interesting change in healing. In a recent interview, Bill Johnson and Randy Clark both noted a dramatic upward shift almost every year in the number of people and the kinds of diseases they have seen healed. They both report sudden healing of diseases no one ever saw healed in modern times, and in great numbers.

One of the key tools to healing is prophetic revelation. Healers who are given detailed information from God about medical conditions, demonic oppression, childhood problems and such are in a much better position to see breakthrough than those who pray without them. There is much we can know about God's will in healing specific problems. It's our responsibility to ask and receive then act on it. In the words of Todd White, "God reveals it, to heal it."

We must stop thinking that God's will is a secret we can never know, or that God's plan is completely outside our understanding. Words of knowledge, dreams and other sources of revelation are at our disposal if we pursue them. Even more so, we must believe that God wants to heal a great many people, whether we know it or not.

Arminianism In Healing

My wife suffers from chronic neck pain. She's had more people pray for her in the last year than I can count. Like many people, she's grown weary of it for several reasons. One reason is the comments she receives from some of the people who've prayed for her:

"You need to learn how to receive your healing."

"Jesus paid the price already, you simply need to believe you're healed and you will be."

"The bible says by his stripes you were healed- that means in God's eyes it's already done."

"You have to take your healing by force and refuse to let the enemy steal it away from you".

"Maybe there's something blocking your healing like bitterness or unforgivenness that you need to repent of."

Need I say more?

These are some of the 'helpful' observations we tend give to our bewildered friends when they aren't healed. Like Job's uninformed friends hurling accusation at him, needing an explanation for failure, we blame our brother or sister. It's all on us...man's responsibility. I've found that most people who operate in the gift of healing are extremely Arminian in their thinking, almost to the point of excluding God's sovereignty from the equation. This seems very destructive to me for a couple of reasons.

I've noticed how my wife tends to avoid certain people when they come around. They'll always ask about her neck pain, always offer to pray for her and always offer some observation about a lack of faith or some other problem what's preventing her from being healed. It doesn't take much of this to completely discourage people from seeking prayer. The afflicted person feels condemned and worthless, feeling that the pain of their affliction is better than the disappointment and hurtful, accusing explanations they always hear after they aren't healed.

A man suffers paralysis from a stroke. Over the years he frequently receives prayer for healing, to no avail. One day he's approached by a well-meaning would-be-healer.

Healer: Mind if I pray for you to be healed?
Paralytic: I've had a lot of people pray for me in the past, but nothing ever happened.
Healer: Well, I believe God wants you healed. The bible says, "By his stripes you were healed, that's past tense, it already happened so we need to bring that reality into your body today.
Paralytic: I think God has a purpose for me to be like this. I think he's trying to build character into my life through trial and difficulty.
Healer: Sickness and suffering are of the devil! God wants all his children to be healthy, and the enemy wants to keep you in bondage, we can set you free today.
Paralytic: If God wanted me healed, why didn't he heal me already?
Healer: Healing takes faith. Jesus said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to the mountain move, and it will be done. Maybe there wasn't enough faith to heal you before.
Paralytic: Maybe God doesn't want everyone healed all the time. Don't you think there might be reasons for some people not being healed?
Healer: Jesus is my model - he healed everyone who came to him. I believe it's possible for us to do the same.
Paralytic: OK, you can pray for me.
(a moment of silence for prayer)
Nothing happens
(More prayer)
Nothing happens
Paralytic: Thanks for trying, God bless you.

Which of these men did you feel was more correct in his thinking, or which did you identify more strongly with? Both men have a biblical basis for their beliefs, but each saw the problem from a different perspective. The healer was convinced he could do something to make the paralysis leave. The paralyzed man felt God was in control and had a divine purpose for his condition. Both were right in their thinking. But each of them could only see one side of the coin.

Healers can be blind to the idea that there may be a divine purpose for pain, sickness and suffering. But the the bible teaches that pain, suffering and affliction can be redemptive. The story of Job is a good example. He was a righteous man who loved God. Satan accused Job of serving God out of selfish motives. The only way that God could prove that Job's heart was in the right place was by allowing him to go through a season of loss and sickness. God permitted Job's sickness for a defined period of time and for a specific end.

We often tell people after they're healed, they have a responsibility to keep their healing. I'm not saying there isn't some truth to this idea, but the person is right to ask - if God is powerful enough to heal me, why isn't he powerful enough to keep me healed? Once again, it reveals a theology that leans too much in the direction of man's responsibility, and ignores God's part.

Another danger exists in putting too much emphasis on our part of the healing process....pride. I won't go into great detail, but I'll simply say that when we place an emphasis on man, we take the emphasis (and the glory) away from God. That's a danger we must continually be mindful of.

My wife and I have been discussing her chronic pain. She came to a sober realization about it. Prior to suffering from her condition, she had no way of identifying with others who suffer long-term painful conditions. She confesses that its given her a deep empathy for people who suffer like this. She also knows there's no way she would have been able to enthusiastically support my calling to minister to the sick, had she not been through this ordeal. Most of the motivation I have to see people healed comes from seeing my family suffer from various diseases. John G. Lake had a similar motivation; many of his family members died at a young age, including his wife. I'll go as far as to say that many people who work in healing would never have thought about it, until suffering and sickness became a familiar part of their life. God is able to work His redemptive purposes through sickness, suffering and affliction, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory". 2 Cor. 4:17 (See also Philippians 3:10, James 5:9-11, 1 Peter 1:5-7 )

I love the way Todd White ministers healing to people. He's my personal role model here on earth, Jesus is my heavenly one. But Todd (in my opinion) is extremely Arminian in his approach to healing. When an amputee wasn't healed after Todd prayed for him, Todd blamed himself. I guess it's better than blaming God or the amputee. But I see a problem, either way. Todd was taught that it's God's will that everyone can and should be healed - always. Jesus is our example and Jesus never failed to heal anyone. This belief naturally means that if we pray and the person isn't healed, it's either a problem with us, or the person we prayed for. We already discussed blame directed at the sick person. I think it's equally wrong to blame ourselves. Todd feels that the failure lies with his thinking and belief system. He says that when he gets his heart and mind perfectly aligned with God's will, everyone he prays for will be healed. I hope he's right. But, I'm not betting on it. I have to give my man a lot of grace, he's a fairly new believer and this issue may never have crossed his mind.

The heart of the matter is a shallow understanding of God's purpose in allowing sickness to exist at all. We, as healers must wake up and accept the fact that not everyone will always be healed and there may be a divine plan unfolding that we are ignorant of. I'm not suggesting that God is some perverted deity who enjoys watching us suffer. He isn't. But we can't ignore the fact that God has a time, a season and a reason for all that he does. I think the best approach is to acknowledge both God's sovereign plan and our responsibility in bringing it to pass. We need not blame ourselves, the sick person or God when healing doesn't happen. Recognizing both God's sovereignty and man's responsibility provides a safe and healthy theology for those who endeavor to heal the sick.

The Supernatural (normal) Christian Life

I wonder how Luke’s practice as a doctor was impacted as he watched a carpenter go from town to town healing everyone who came to him. I think he would have been envious. I know I would have been. Jesus modeled for His disciples an incredible thing. For 3 years he went about doing amazing miracles. One day he turned to them and said, “Ok, now it’s your turn. I want you go and do all the things you saw me doing.”

He modeled the kind of life we are all invited to follow. It’s been given to us the authority, power and opportunity to participate in all the miracles Jesus performed. Before he went to be with His Father, he said, “he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

Yes, Jesus wants us to live the same supernatural lifestyle he did. If you’re skeptical, please hear me out. I’d like to explain why I think we aren’t doing so. Jesus knew his disciples wouldn’t have the courage (faith) to do the miracles unless they watched someone else do them first. He was their model and every time they watched another miracle, they believed a little more that they might be able to do the same thing. Their faith had to grow and it did. After years of watching Him the disciples had the faith to do it themselves. We fear that God won’t back us up if we attempt something that requires supernatural power. We fear the embarrassment, shame and ridicule that come with failure. So we never try. And we seldom see others doing it either. It’s imperative for us to have a model who shows us that it can be done.

This is the place I’m at right now. I’ve never been a supernatural person. I’m more of a book collector/ believer. I like systematic theology, doctrinal statements, apologetic arguments and I sometimes believe the bible is the 4th person of the trinity. It’s just easier that way. But God is not a book, a collection of theological statements, a world view, a concept, a force or anything else I want him to be. He’s an intelligent, funny, creative, loving person who wants to spend time talking to me, hearing my ideas and using His power to change people through me.

In reading about the Christian experience of the first century, I see a large gap between where they were and where most of us are now. Paul asked his friends in Corinth (rhetorically) about their practice of spiritual living when they came together. They were all eager to prophesy, sing psalms, speak in tongues, teach, etc. (1 Cor. 14) Paul told them “my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:4-5) The disciples of Jesus routinely worked in the realm of healing and miracles, also demonstrating God’s power. It seemed to be the ‘normal’ Christian life. I know many of us believe the signs and miracles of those days have ceased. I once thought so myself.

I see two things that challenge this idea. It’s hard to support that teaching with scripture. And there are people today who are still working in the realm of miracles. If one takes an honest and objective survey, you can’t conclude that everything miraculous is a hoax. Some of it might be, but there seems to be validity to much of it. If any of these things have really happened in modern times, i.e. miracles of healing, angelic encounters or resurrections from the dead, then we must conclude they haven’t passed away. That presents a challenge to us. If these things are valid today in any small way, perhaps God wants them expressed in a larger way. If God’s desire is to show his nature through the power of miracles that means the normal or expected Christian life might be a routine display of the supernatural. Does that challenge you?

It challenges me. For many of us, our experience with God is confined to occasional worship, occasional study of the bible and occasionally praying to a God who seems distant and unpredictable. It isn’t very supernatural; most of us are content with this kind of experience. We are very ‘Greek’ in our world-view. Unlike most of the world, our western culture is based on rationalism and pursuit of understanding. Reason has replaced supernatural revelation. As a society, we are anti-supernatural. We prefer to think about God rather than experience Him. We’d rather read about him than hear His voice, we’d rather recite a learned pattern of prayer that converse spontaneously with our creator. We’re afraid of the supernatural. It’s an intimidating and risky proposition. The closer I draw into relationship with God the more I lose control of the terms and conditions of the experience.

We like the idea of God as long “god” conforms to our ideas of divinity. When I’m confronted with something outside my understanding of “god” I’m quick to find something to shoot down the threatening idea before me. I want God to be neatly defined, logical and predictable. Most of us in the west really believe God made the universe, and is busy with other things right now. Yes, He’s out there and He hears us when we pray (sometimes) But we think it’s rude to interrupt or He’s to busy running the universe to be bothered with our affairs on a constant basis. We ascribe to a kind of deism that’s really not biblical.

More ‘primitive’ cultures of the world are exactly the opposite. They are extremely spiritual. They expect the supernatural to collide with their daily affairs. They pay a lot of attention to dreams, visions, demons and angels. Magic, voodoo, curses and spells are a big part of their cultures. They may have some incorrect understanding, but their life is very supernaturally oriented. We see them as ‘primitive’ and they may be so in philosophical or technical knowledge. But in the realm of the spirit, we are far more primitive. The apostle Paul noted there are basically two kinds of mind-sets; Greek and Jew. Greeks seek wisdom, Jews seeks signs and wonders. (1 Cor. 1:22) There are those who prefer knowledge and those who prefer displays of supernatural power.

Unfortunately the church always seems to fall into one camp or the other. There is the generalization (sorry) against the charismatics that they are only after the supernatural and don’t develop sound theological understanding. The other camp is content to develop great depth of understanding but they neglect the supernatural. I think it’s best if we have a balance of both. Sadly, few of us do.

As I began praying for my patients last year, I developed a pattern. I prayed for the patients I thought God wanted me to and I prayed about the things I thought were important. But I didn’t always ask God who to pray for and what to pray about. I developed a formula. It was easier that way. But God began to tell me not to pray for some people. Then he asked to pray for people I didn’t want to (arrggh!). Then he showed me some things in their life that I couldn’t learn from reading their chart; things only He and they knew about. I actually had to begin my calls by having a meeting with God and asking him a bunch of questions first. That forced me to quiet my soul and ignore any internal emotions, feelings, fears, assumptions and anything else that distracted me from hearing and seeing what God wanted to tell me. It forced me to establish a more regular relationship with God and to trust what I heard Him saying. I had to throw away a lot of assumptions I worked hard to acquire.

But that’s the supernatural life. It’s being led by the Spirit of God. I think it was the normal Christian life a couple of thousand years ago. I doubt it’s very normal these days. It’s different, and sometimes it takes me out of my comfort zone. It requires me to let God direct my interactions to the greatest degree possible. If God asks me to pray for the woman behind me in the check out line, I need to trust that He knows it will be received by her and bear fruit. It requires obedience and forces me overcome my own fears.

What I am talking about would have seemed bizarre to me a year ago. Many of us see angelic encounters as weird. We see faith-healing as a hoax, resurrections as phony and third heaven experiences as a deception. We question experiences we haven’t had ourselves. I believe there’s a reason for this. For many of us, our ‘spiritual life’ has been sub-normal for so long, that when someone operating in a truly normal spiritual way, we see it as bizarre. Isn’t it time for a change?

I was in the ER recently, picking up a patient. As I waited for the nurse to give me report, I was aware that in the next room there was a patient who had been resuscitated from cardiac arrest. They weren’t doing very well. Their heart was beating but there was no sign of neurologic activity. The patient was probably pulseless long enough to suffer brain death. The family members were very distressed as they went to and from the room. The doctor struggled to find the words to tell them about the poor chances for survival. It was a very difficult time for everyone.

As I tuned in to hear what God had to say about it, I saw the word ‘resurrection’ in my mind’s eye. I’ve been seeing it more often as I go past rooms where patients have died and/or been resuscitated. God gently told me he wanted me to pray for this patient, though I’m not sure He was planning on a resurrection. I struggled with fear for a while and finally gave in. I approached one of the family members and asked if I could pray for the patient. They agreed so I prayed with them for a complete recovery. I couldn’t hang around to see if anything happened. I had to transport the patient in the next room. As is almost always the case, I pray and run and rarely get to see the results. For all I know the patient may have sat up in bed a few minutes later and asked for a cup of coffee.

The fear that I have when God asks me to go out on a limb is natural. It’s something we experience in unfamiliar places. I don’t want to look weird, and I don’t want to give people false hopes. There are a lot of things I’m afraid of. But not everyone has this fear.

I’ve been thinking about Todd Bentley a lot lately. Every time I think about his life and ministry I hear God speaking to me about mine. Say what you want about him, there’s one thing in his life I’d like to have – his fearlessness. I’ve heard him tell stories about his ministry in Africa that would have scared the hell out of me. He was constantly confronted with large angry crowds that wanted to destroy him, but he stood in the fire and God backed him up. He’s a guy who lives in the supernatural and he does it fearlessly. And that requires a lot of things I don’t have yet. He trusts God a lot more than most of us ever will. That requires a surrendered soul. He isn’t afraid of opposition to his ministry. That requires confidence. We all know about his mistakes, but you and I make them too. I’ve learned from mine, and Todd will learn from his. This isn’t about mistakes, it about success.

I’m convinced there will be a wave of supernatural Christians showing up in unlikely places soon. I think they’re going to turn the world upside down. You-tube is great in that it allows us all to experience the ministry of others who walk in the supernatural. We can learn from their successes and their failures. As we watch others heal the sick, raise the dead, and proclaim the kingdom, it builds faith in us to go out and do the same things. Just as the disciples walked in the supernatural after watching Jesus do it, the folks today are beginning to believe they can do it too. The supernatural life really boils down to a closer walk with God. It should be the normal Christian experience. I’m ready to be challenged, stretched and transformed. Are you ready for a supernatural life?