What happens when God does not heal?
Sunday morning, a lady attended our church. We didn’t know her name. We thought she was a new visitor who had not attended our church before. But we were wrong about that.
After the morning service had concluded, the lady approached my wife and introduced herself,
'You won’t remember me’ she said,
‘But about 12 months ago, your church advertised a healing service in the newspaper. Although I didn’t attend church myself, I decided to come to your healing service.
I was on my own and responded to the invitation to get up out of my seat and walk to the front of the church to receive a healing prayer and you’ she said to my wife
'are the person who prayed for me’. My wife couldn’t recall the occasion.
‘I understand why you wouldn’t remember me,’ said the lady.
‘But I remember you’ she said.
‘And I have visited your church again this morning because God told me to come and tell you what happened 12 months ago. I still have cancer. I am under the care of a specialist, and the treatment is going well.
‘But’, I really want you to know when you prayed for my healing, I decided in my heart there and then to become a Christian at the very moment. I went home that day and the following Sunday I determined to attend a church near to where I live. I gave my life to Jesus. It’s a year now since I became a Christian, I am born again, filled with the Holy Spirit and love my new life.
God has asked me to come and tell you today, what happened to me 12 months ago in your church. I also want to thank you personally for praying for me. I am very happy and grateful to the Lord for His salvation’.
Healing for the body in Jesus’ name, didn’t occur. But salvation for the lady’s soul came about. The grace of God came down from heaven, and the lady received her redemption lift. Myself, my wife nor anyone at the healing service 12 months ago knew nothing of this lady’s story. I am so pleased the lady returned to our church to tell us her story all those years ago. Because it shows that sometimes God does more behind our backs than in front of our faces.
The absence of visible miracles does not mean Jesus has abandoned anyone or ignored their prayers. Heaven continues to offer unexpected blessings even now.
As for here and now on earth? Let this AI summary also be an encouragement to you when we think that God does not heal us physically or answer our prayers offered in faith.
AI ‘When God does not heal physical illness, it’s not interpreted as a lack of faith or punishment, but rather as an invitation to rely on His strength through suffering, cultivating endurance, deeper spiritual intimacy, and hope for eternal renewal.
Such experiences can serve to display God’s grace in weakness and trust in a greater, sovereign purpose, as outlined in this TGC Africa article and this Desiring God article.
Key Perspectives on Unhealed Suffering
- Purpose Beyond Physical Comfort: God may value spiritual growth, dependency, and refinement of faith more than immediate physical comfort.
- Theological Perspective on Suffering: A lack of healing highlights the need for a robust "theology of suffering" rather than just a theology of miracles.
- Strength in Weakness: As noted in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, God's grace is made perfect in weakness, enabling individuals to rely on divine strength rather than their own.
- Reflecting God's Glory: Enduring illness with faith can serve as a witness to others, demonstrating that peace is possible even in brokenness.
- Eternal Perspective: The ultimate hope is the final healing and restoration, when death and disease will be eliminated (Revelation 21:4).
- Sam Storms +4
Common Spiritual Responses
- Honesty and Lament: It is acceptable to feel angry, frustrated, or disappointed, and to bring these feelings to God in prayer, as seen in the Psalms.
- Trusting in God's Goodness: The lack of healing does not indicate a lack of love from God. Believers can trust that God is loving and knows what is best, even when they do not understand.
- Suffering is Not Abandonment: Jesus himself suffered, indicating that affliction is not a sign of being forgotten, but a reality of a broken world.
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