Continuing the study on faith for total healing, this message corrects several common misconceptions: that spiritual gifts are what make healing happen, that a person prayed for should feel instantly and permanently better, that prayer alone guarantees healing, and that God is obligated to heal indiscriminately. It shows instead that healing is often a process in which the individual’s faith and confession must be sustained after prayer.
Scripture Reference
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth
Key Points: Sustaining Faith After Prayer
- Sickness is described as originating from a spirit before it manifests as physical disease, so recognizing it as demonic in nature is presented as the starting point for standing against it in faith.
- The gift of discernment is shown to work by raising a person’s faith to the level needed to receive healing rather than performing the healing itself, since it is faith, not the gift, that brings healing to pass.
- Testimonies from earlier healing revivals, including restored hearing, corrected speech, and healed paralysis, are given as evidence of what faith working through prayer accomplished in the past.
- Healing is described as often being a process rather than an instant event, with the body going through a shrinking and swelling similar to what happens naturally when tissue dies, which can cause a person to feel worse before the healing is complete.
- Losing a healing is attributed to unbelief allowing the spirit to return, sometimes bringing further affliction, so sustained confession and faith are presented as necessary to protect what was received in prayer.
- Both the person praying and the person being prayed for are said to need faith, since James ties healing to the prayer of faith rather than to prayer alone.
- God is shown not to heal indiscriminately, taking time with individuals and requiring a sincere and rightly motivated request, illustrated by Hezekiah giving God a reason to extend his life.