Jehovah Rapha

John 14:12 – “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

The focus I would like to talk about here – because it is something I feel called to and also something I believe strongly in – is healing. It is always God’s will to heal. Jehovah Rapha is The God who heals. Yet we still see so much sickness, so many people who prayed fervently and didn’t make it. So I decided to study within the Word to see how Jesus went about healing the sick. What is to follow are really my own thoughts as I studied this. I sought out all the times the gospels described Jesus healing someone where it gave a bit more detail about the how. Here is what I found with a little bit of how I interpreted what I read. Please study this for yourselves also, seek wise counsel, pray and ask Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you. However, what I have found has changed the way I pray and speak to sickness and truly believe I will see greater results because of it.

The gospels are littered with true stories on Jesus healing all who came to him. Jesus came to set people free from their sin and afflictions, to make them whole again in every sense of the word. To restore them to their original design their creator had always intended them to be. This included freedom from sickness.

I first looked in Mark 5:28-34 (also found in Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56) at the woman with the issue of blood. I’m sure those of you who have been in church any length of time will have heard the speaker preach on this more than once. In this case, no prayer occurred. The woman reached out in faith to touch Jesus robe believing in her heart that would be all it needed for her to be healed. She was desperate, he was her only hope. Jesus felt power leave his body, but he didn’t chastise the woman, his response to her was, “your faith has made you well.” The woman’s faith is what enabled her to receive her miracle.

Reading on into verse 36 of chapter 5 we see Jesus heal Jairus daughter. Jesus told Jairus, “just have faith”. He said “talitha koum” which means “little girl, get up”. Jairus daughter immediately stood up and walked around. Jairus was told to have faith to receive the miracle for his daughter. It is important the people we have around us. Are the circle of people we keep around us people who would stand in faith like this for us. Would they reach out to Jesus on our behalf believing for breakthrough and healing. Jesus commanded the girl to get up and she did. He did not need to spend time in prayer seeking if it was God’s will. He knew it was always God’s will to heal. He was confident of his identity and the power of the Holy Spirit. It was already a done deal, he just needed to speak the words.

In Mark 2:1-12 (also found in Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26) we also see how important it can be to surround ourselves with the right kind of people. Here four men carried their paralysed friend to where Jesus was meeting, took him up onto the roof and lowered him in to Jesus. Would the friends you have around you go to that effort for you now? Would you do that for them if they needed you to? The faith of our circle is so important and can be pivotal in you receiving your healing. Jesus told the paralysed man to, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” The man was healed and walked out of the building carrying his mat. Again Jesus commanded the man to do what he has not been able to do. The faith of the man to move and do what Jesus had just told him to mixed with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the miracle and the man could walk again.

In Mark 1:29-31 (also found in Matthew 8:14-17 and Luke 4:38-41) we witness Jesus heal Simon’s (also known as Peter) mother-in-law. She has a high fever and Jesus took her by the hand and helped her sit up, after which she went about her tasks. It doesn’t mention Jesus saying anything to her just that he touched her. Here healing comes by touch.

Mark 8:22 shows how Jesus restores sight to a blind man by spitting on the man’s eyes and laying hands on him. This time the healing isn’t instantaneous. The man states that he can see shapes likening them to trees moving. Jesus places his hands on the man’s eyes a second time and his eyes were opened, his sight was completely healed. If Jesus needs to so something more than once in order for healing to occur then we do not need to be discouraged if healing does not occur straight away. We can stay in faith, take our lead from the Holy Spirit and see healing occur on the second, third, fourth attempt.

When Jesus heals a demon possessed boy in Matthew 17:14 (also found in Mark 9:14 and Luke 9:37-43) the disciples had already tried and could not heal him. Jesus told them it was due to their lack of faith. Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy and it left him. Again Jesus mentions faith as being the pivotal reason as why the disciples could not heal the boy and Jesus spoke directly to the demon and rebuked it.

Jesus heals a man that was born blind in John 9:1 and there are questions asked as to whether the man is blind due to his own sin or the sin of his parents. Jesus makes it clear it is not an issue of sin. This can be a hindrance to receiving our own healing if we are in a position where we believe we are sick due to sin. Partly this indicates we haven’t truly received God’s forgiveness and if we believe this is why we are sick, we may believe we deserve to stay that way. This is not true. Maybe sometimes sickness is a consequence of our own actions, maybe not. I know God never puts sickness on a person to teach them a lesson. God can teach us what he needs to teach us without sickness. God is a healer and loves us so so much, it is always his will to see us healed and whole.

A woman who is crippled due to an evil spirit in Luke 13:10 doesn’t even approach Jesus. It is Jesus who sees her. Jesus is the one to call her over saying, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness”. Touching her, she is instantly made well and can stand straight. I believe this is how God relentlessly pursues us. We may not be looking for him, or seeking him out for whatever reason that may be, but God is seeking us, he is pursuing us, desiring to heal us and make us whole.

Another famous story for those of us whom have been in church circles listening to teaching for a while is the story of Jesus healing Lazarus. This can be found in John 11:38-44. After Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb for days, Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out”, and out he came. Jesus wept at Lazarus, even though he knew he would be raised back to life. It is not a lack of faith to show our emotions. Jesus wept because Lazarus was a dear friend. He felt that emotion. Jesus thanked God for hearing him. Gratitude paves the way for miracles.

When Jesus heals ten lepers in Luke 17:11 they cry out him shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus looks at them and says, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they went they were cleansed of their leprosy. It took faith for those lepers to call out to Jesus when everyone was asking them to quieten down, it just made them reach out even more. They knew Jesus could heal them and so they pleaded for mercy. When Jesus responded they put action to their faith and were obedient to what Jesus had told them to do. Our faith needs to be met with action. It is not faith to believe yet not act on it. We may say we believe God is a healer and will heal – but how many times do we actually pray for it or speak it out or offer to pray for others to be healed. Faith requires action.

There are far too may stories of healing to write them all down here but I feel we can learn some important lessons from those we have looked at. Here are the main points.

1 – Prayer is not a requirement for healing to take place

2 – Our faith is a necessity to receive. Faith as small as a mustard seed is enough.

3 – The faith of those around us can be pivotal – choose your circle wisely.

4 – Speak to the mountain and if you believe it will move. (Matthew 17:20)

5 – Healing can come by touch and the laying on of hands.

6 – It can take more than one action / prayer to see healing come to pass.

7 – Sickness is not always due to sin and it is not a sin to be sick.

8 – God relentlessly pursues us and always desires for us to be healed and whole.

9 – Gratitude makes a way for miracles.

10 – Obedience can be key to receiving the promises of God.

We must be careful not to put God in a box. We can study and see God heal in many different ways, it is not a one size fits all situation. The one thing we can be sure of is that it is always God’s will to heal and never God that puts sickness on people. In everything else we must listen to the Holy Spirit and be obedient to what is asked of us. If we can truly accept out true identity in Jesus, understand the authority we have been given, believing in Jesus – who He is and what He did for us, knowing we carry the power of the Holy Spirit with us wherever we go, then the verse in John 14:12 will be true for us too and we will see greater works than Jesus in our lives as we fully submit to him.