There are three important aspects to healing:

(1) Appreciate that it is God's will to heal you. 1 Peter 2:24 -- Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Psalm 103:3 -- Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.

Matt 8:17 -- that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Isaiah 53:5 -- But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Exodus 15.26 -- . .. I am the Lord that healeth thee .

James 5:14 -- Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. The scripture does not even suggest that God is prepared to leave anyone sick if they come to Him in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is God's wiII to heal the sick.

(2) Don't be misled into believing that your sickness can bring glory to God, and that God will heal you at the 'right' time. People who think like this often quote the scripture "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose" (Rom 8:28). Your sickness is not good. A child of God should not be bound in any way, but should be free to speak the WORD of GOD boldly: "If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32.)

In 3 John:2 we read, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth". Don't be misled, it is healing that brings glory to God, not sickness. A much better testimony is to be kept in health - believe for health. In 2 Peter 1:3 we read, "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness (God has never been sick), through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue (" excellence - and being sick is not excellent) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises (Is 53:5..and with his stripes we are healed): that by these ye may be partakers of the divine nature (John 16:33 "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world";

1 John 5:4 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith"), having escaped the corruption that is in this world through lust".

(3) Believe that God's will is not just a principle or a philosophy, but positive action - "and with his stripes we are healed'' (Isa 53:5).

Accordingly, put faith into action - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen", Heb 11:1 - Faith produces evidence of things not yet seen.

Abraham had God's word. "but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir" (Gen 15:4). God's word promised Abraham an heir, and the scripture says "Abraham believed God, and It was accounted unto him for righteousness (Rom 4:3). At this time there was no evidence of this heir - in fact it looked (sensual reasoning) impossible. The scripture says of Abraham "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb" (Rom 4:19-20). Abraham was not trapped Into trying to reason out the situation. He did not consider how difficult it was or how special his particular situation was - he simply believed God's word, and waited for the evidence. We must not be trapped into these thoughts either, and best we don't start to plan the way God is going to bring about our healing. We must simply have the attitude, God's word says I am healed, I believe God's word, and therefore the (physical) manifestation will follow.

The scripture teaches that faith is a gift from God, and that we all receive the same measure faith. Eph 2:8 -- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it (faith) is the gift of God: Not works, lest any man should boast.

Rom 12:3 -- For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man (among you - the Spirit filled) the measure of faith.

Now if we all have the same measure of faith, how is it that some are healed and others are not? Has God taken His faith away from some? No! God does not give faith then take it away. The Bible says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb 11:6), and "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him" (Heb 10:38). So, would it make any sense to claim that God had ever taken faith away from anyone? Clearly not.

On one occasion the disciples came to the Lord and said "...Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). The Lord replied (Luke 17:6),''lf ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you". The Lord is not saying that if you have a little bit of faith you could do this thing - that is silly, we have the measure of faith; but He is saying, use faith like you use a grain of mustard seed, plant it, put it to work and expect a mustard plant to grow. The Lord went on to say. "But which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself and serve me, until I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?" The Lord is saying that faith is like a servant - keep it at work, out in the field (world) and also make it serve you. In Mark 4:26-29 the Lord is teaching on the subject of the kingdom of God, and likens it to a seed planted in the ground. He describes the nature of farming and how the farmer plants his seed, "And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how" (Mark 4:27). The Lord has drawn the analogy between faith and a mustard seed (in Luke 17), and when we plant this seed (put faith to work) there is nothing more for us to do but reap the harvest. Don't go digging the seed up to see if it is growing and don't expect a cabbage to grow when you plant a potato. You will get exactly what you believe for. "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them''. (Mark 11;24), and "Verily, verily I say unto you, What- soever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full". (John 16:23-24).

So let's get back to our question - Now if we all have the same measure of faith, how is it that some are healed and others are not?" The problem with this question is that it compares two situations, only one of which really exists. We are all healed. The Bible says so. The one question God won't answer, or tell us anything about, is "when'. To say someone Is not healed not only denies the promise of God, but it also is putting a time limit on God fulfilling His promise .

Faith is in one sense different from the other gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in 1 Cor 12. All the other gifts of the Holy Spirit are things which can be identified at a point in time. Faith exists between two points in time - in the space between the point in time when we ask God for something and the point in time when we receive it. Faith, being the evidence of things not seen, exists in the interim until we receive, and see, the things hoped for (Heb 11:1). Faith is a lack of natural reaction to circumstances (11 Cor 4:13-18). Faith does not waver (James 1:6-8) - faith cannot be measured by a stop-watch. The results it brings are certain, and faith sees their arrival. That may be immediately and it may not be - but faith fixes on those results, and is above question until proven victorious.

How then do we build up our confidence in using faith?

"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the WORD of GOD" (Rom 10:17). Without the preaching of the WORD we would not have received faith, or the knowledge of how to use it. The WORD of GOD is the key to our confidence (faithfulness) to use the faith of God.

And in Prov 4:20-22 we read: My son attended to my words: incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart .For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

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