Can God really heal? I pondered on this question for most of my Christian life. Are the testimonies we see were people “proclaim” they were healed by the Holy Spirit real? Is the same God who healed in the biblical days still able to perform miraculous healings? One will never know the answers until they fully surrender healing to the Lord.
I prayed but the person still died, why didn’t God heal them? (Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD). In such situations, we thank the Lord that the individual has received eternal life and no longer has to suffer on earth.
During the early days of my Christian walk, my father (see the blog post: Rejected but not forgotten) was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was a very difficult time for me as I had just entered into adolescence and had only met him once at the age of 8. Growing up, I had a lot of resentment towards him for not playing an active role in my upbringing. I never expected that the next time I would see him that he would be lifeless using an oxygen mask. A few days prior to his operation, he called me and said “Vanessa, you are still so young and I didn’t see you grow up. I am not sure I will make it through this operation”. I remember spontaneously responding: “daddy you will be fine”. After the operation, we were informed that my father’s operation was successful and the tumour was removed.
However, he was in a coma and on life support. I was in the Netherlands at the time on holiday and my family took me to Universität zu Lübeck, Germany where he was. I remember seeing him for the second time after 6 years: tubes around his face and wearing an oxygen mask. I remember touching him and thanking God he was still warm and alive. I never knew that the next time I would see him; he would be in this kind of state. After the visit, my family sat me down and told me I needed to be strong and explained that the doctors where planning on taking him off life support the following week.
I remember thinking to myself: “I refuse to be fatherless at this age, I want to have peace with my father. I want to forgive him, get to know him and give our relationship another chance”. At that point, I went on my knees, I don’t exactly remember the words I uttered. But I begged God not to take him. I grew up having a lot of bitterness towards him for not being an active person in my life. I asked God to forgive me. My only prayer was that he would wake up, and that God would allow me to get to know him. I didn’t want my father to pass away without me ever knowing him. I never told anyone I said that prayer until recently. However, God was faithful and my dad woke up from his coma the following day and they took him off life support.
We went back to Universität zu Lübeck, and it was amazing seeing my father alive: talking, smiling and saying how tall I had become. Three years later, God fulfilled my prayer request and my father asked me if I could come and stay with him and get to know him. I stayed with him for 10 months. Less than a year after that, he passed away. I will always be grateful to God that He allowed me to get to know my father. It was not the most pleasant experience but it allowed me to fill a gap in my heart that I had desired for all my life. Also, I thank God for being merciful for extending his life for 5 extra years after the brain tumour- all glory to Jesus.
If there is a loved one you are believing God for to heal, don’t give up. Surrender them to the Father, He is still able. However, also acknowledge that it is His desire for us to join Him in heaven and that the greatest prayer You can pray for their salvation.
A prayer of healing
Dear heavenly Father,
I thank You for everything that You have done in my life and continue to do. Thank You for waking me up today, for I know it was by Your grace. I come before You and repent of my sins. I repent for the sins I have committed knowingly and unknowingly. I pray that You will cleanse me with Your blood and forgive me. Today, I bring before you (state the persons name). Lord, I know that is Your desire for good things to happen in our lives (Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end). I pray Lord, that You will heal (state the persons name) in the name of Jesus. For in Your word it states that by Your stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). I pray today that Your healing power will manifest in (state the persons name) and that they will testify of your goodness in the land of the living. I pray for (state the persons name)’s salvation, that they will acknowledge You as their Lord and saviour. I pray that You will deliver them from the hand of the enemy and may Your angels protect them from all evil. I speak Your favour over (state the persons name)’s life. I also pray that Your perfect will be done in (state the persons name)’s life and may it be all for Your glory. In Jesus name we pray, AMEN
Post of volumes. Quite a few things to learn from this post here, thank you.
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Thank you sister
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Thanks Vannesa for your labour in God’s Word.
Thanks also for the inspiration this morning to lift my family up in Prayer.
Shallom
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What a beautiful testimony of Gods grace and the healing power of Jesus. I prayed your prayer for my sister and her family, for my sister to be healed from her emotional pain and to find her way back to Jesus.
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Amen and may God heal her in Jesus name 😉
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Great post about our great God!
Thank you for your “follow” and for your great site.
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Thank you for sharing this very personal story! We can and do pray for the healing powers of the Lord for all sorts of things which trouble so many people. But it does have to be in the hands of the Lord as to whether or not they are made better.
I thought it very touching that you had such warm feelings for your father in his time of need, regardless of what had or hadn’t passed between the two of you during your childhood.
Steve
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God bless you Steve for this touching comment.
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It is always a pleasure to visit your page! Have a wonderful day…
Steve
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Hie Vanessa,
May God continue to use you for his kingdom.may souls be touched by your testimony in Jesus name.
Thank you so much
God bless you
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Thank you for sharing this powerful story and prayer. I read the prayer out loud for my wayward adult children. Reading it out loud made it so much more powerful. Blessings to you.
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Amen woman of God
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Reblogged this on Good Devotionals and commented:
Very Encouraging!! Enjoy!
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Very Encouraging! I’m so glad you visited my sight because this post was a great blessing! I Reblogged to Good Devotionals thanks for sharing have a good evening 🍃💙🍃💙🍃
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God bless you Pat
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Yes, I have experienced God’s healing. He certainly answers prayer on behalf of others as this post shows.
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Amen man of God
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This is a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing your experience and the blessing you had in the form of your answered prayer to get to know your dad. It’s hard sometimes to accept that our all-knowing God has bigger plans and our requests may or may not be granted. We just need to know that He hears us.
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Thank you for your encouraging comment. Only God knows what is best for us and is always faithful
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God gave us the power to heal ourselves through prayer. I believe if you pray with faith God will listen and grant you healing if only it is his will. God has plans for everyone. You could also ask people to pray for you. One community that does that is http://testifyforchrist.com/prayer-for-healing/
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Amen i totally agree with what You are saying. At times we forget that God has given us the power to heal ourselves through prayer. Thanks for the reminder
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Maybe this will help pray for healing, strength, and protection
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