The Bible contains many scriptures that offer indisputable proof that it is God’s will to heal everyone. Let me list three of the best:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases (Ps. 103:1-3, emphasis added).
What Christian would dispute with David’s declaration that God wills to pardon all our iniquities? David, however, believed that God also wills to heal just as many of our diseases—all of them.
My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body (Prov. 4:20-22, emphasis added).
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick , and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him (Jas. 5:14-15, emphasis added).
Notice that this last promise belongs to any who are sick. And notice that it is not the elders or the oil that brings healing but the “prayer of faith.”
Is it the faith of the elders or the sick person? It is the faith of both. The faith of the sick person is expressed, at least in part, by his calling for the elders of the church. The sick person’ unbelief could nullify the effects of the elders’ prayers. The kind of prayer James wrote about is a good example of the “prayer of agreement” that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 18:19. Both parties involved in this kind of prayer must “agree.” If one person believes and the other person does not believe, they are not in agreement.
We also know that in several passages the Bible credits Satan for sickness (see Job 2:7; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38; 1 Cor. 5:5). Thus it would stand to reason that God would be opposed to Satan’s work in His children’s bodies. Our Father loves us much more than any earthly father ever loved his children (see Matt. 7:11), and I’ve never yet met a father who desired that his children be sick.
Every healing performed by Jesus during His earthly ministry, and every healing recorded in the book of Acts, should encourage us to believe that God wants us to be healthy. Jesus frequently healed people who sought Him seeking healing, and He credited their faith for their miracle. That proves that Jesus did not single out certain exclusive people whom He wanted to heal. Any sick person could have come to Him in faith and be healed. He wanted to heal them all, but He required faith on their part.
