Opinion column

When we ask Jesus for healing

James Knight has been studying accounts in the gospels of people being healed by Jesus, and believes we can learn lessons from those stories as we seek His help.

Christians suffering from ill health - or knowing someone who is - and seeking prayer for healing have been a common pattern in my life in recent years. Some people I know have been healed, some haven’t yet – and most of us know someone in need of healing.
 
This got me thinking about the people Jesus healed, and whether there are any common factors among them that could help here. When we look across the Gospel accounts, the people Jesus healed were so diverse and varied that there isn’t an obvious single “profile” of a person He healed.
 
Now, of course, not everyone in the Bible who was healed asked for healing (those raised from the dead are an obvious example). But for those who did ask for healing, there are evident common factors in the individuals – namely, the following three:
1) They knew they needed help
2) They believed and trusted that Jesus could help
3) They moved toward Him in some way and were willing to receive
 
I think that triumvirate can form the basis of good consideration in our own lives, especially if we need physical or emotional healing, or know someone who does and want to encourage them.
 
Taking those three factors in turn: Are we fully aware of the help we need across our lives, and what we need to bring to Christ? Do we believe and trust that He can help – and perhaps even more profoundly, that He will help if we come to Him in the right way? And, lastly, are we ready to receive His healing in a way that includes all the elements of transformation He wants to impart to us?
 
Don’t get me wrong, through no fault of their own, some people never get full physical healing in this life - perhaps because God is working in other profound ways during a particular condition, disability, or illness. But I think if we can answer ‘yes’ to those three questions, and are willing to come to God with our hands open, ready to receive over time everything He wants to bless us with, we can be sure that He will continue to meet our needs.
 
As we reflect on this, I have two more encouraging things to add. The first is that even the qualities we may currently lack – qualities that might be impeding the full blessings (and sometimes healing) He wants to give us - He will give us if we ask with sincerity of heart and a desire to grow.
 
And the second is that Jesus never turned away anyone who came to Him. Not once. The outcome may differ, the timing may require our patience as we listen for longer and develop further, and some of the mystery of apparent silence may remain, as He does things around us that we don’t fully discern. But His heart does not change, nor does His promise of a full life for those who love and trust Him, and come to Him daily with a resounding ‘yes’ to those questions.
 
The above image was created by AI.

James Knight is a regular columnist for Christian community websites Network Norfolk and Network Ipswich. He also blogs regularly as The Philosophical Muser, including his Philosophical Muser You Tube channel, and contributes articles to UK think tanks The Adam Smith Institute and The Institute of Economic Affairs, as well as the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). 

The views carried here are those of the author, not necessarily those of Network Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users.