Perhaps the most common objection to all of this is one that is not based on God’s Word, but on people’s experiences. It usually goes something like this: “I knew a wonderful Christian woman who prayed to be healed of cancer, yet she died. That proves it is not God’s will to heal all.”
We should never attempt to determine God’s will by anything other than His Word. For example, if you traveled back in time and watched the Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years while the land that flowed with milk and honey waited just across the Jordan River, you may have concluded that it wasn’t God’s will for Israel to enter the promised land. But if you know the Bible, then you know that was not the case. It was certainly God’s will for Israel to enter the Promised Land, but they failed to enter because of their unbelief (see Heb. 3:19).
What about all the people who are now in hell? It was God’s will for them to be in heaven, but they didn’t meet the conditions of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. So, too, we cannot determine God’s will concerning healing by looking at sick people. Just because a Christian prays for healing and fails to receive, that doesn’t prove it isn’t God’s will to heal all. If that Christian had met God’s conditions, he would have been healed, or else God is a liar. When we fail to receive healing and then blame God with the excuse that healing was not His will, we are no different than unbelieving Israelites who died in the wilderness claiming it wasn’t God’s will for them to enter the Promised Land. We would be better to just swallow our pride and admit that we are to blame.
As I stated in the previous chapter about faith, many sincere Christians have wrongfully ended their prayers for healing with the faith-destroying phrase, “If it be Thy will.” This plainly reveals that they are not praying in faith because they aren’t sure of God’s will. When it comes to healing, God’s will is very plain, as we have already seen. If you know God wants to heal you, there is no reason to add “if it be Thy will” to your prayer for healing. That would be equivalent to saying to the Lord, “Lord, I know you promised to heal me, but just in case you were lying about it, I ask you to heal me only if it actually is Your will.”
It is also certainly true that God may discipline disobedient believers by allowing sickness to afflict them, even to the point of allowing their premature death in some cases. Such believers obviously need to repent before they can receive healing (see 1 Cor. 11:27-32). There are others who, by neglecting to take care of their bodies, open themselves up to sickness. Christians should be intelligent enough to maintain a healthy diet, to eat moderately, to exercise regularly, and to take necessary rest.
