Christ The Healer: Lesson 2
It is the gospel, which the Holy Spirit says, “is the power of God unto salvation,” in all its phases, both physical and spiritual. And the entire gospel is for “every creature” and for “all nations.” The gospel does not leave a man in uncertainty praying with an “if it be Thy will”; it tells him what God’s will is. The Holy Spirit’s words, “Himself bare our sicknesses” (Mat8:17), are just as truly a part of the gospel as His words, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1Pet2:24).
Neither the spiritual nor the physical phase of the gospel is to be applied by prayer alone. Seed is powerless until it is planted. Many, instead of saying, “Pray for me” should first say, “Teach me God’s Word, so that I can intelligently cooperate for my recovery.” We must know what the benefits of Calvary are before we can appropriate them by faith. David specifies: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy diseases.”
After being sufficiently enlightened, our attitude toward sickness should be the same as our attitude toward sin. Our purpose to have our body healed should be a definite as our purpose to have our soul healed. We should not ignore any part of the gospel. Our Substitute bore both our sins and our sicknesses that we might be delivered from them. Christ’s bearing of our sins and sicknesses is surely a valid reason for trusting Him now for deliverance from both. When, in prayer, we definitely commit to God the forgiveness of our sins, we are to believe, on the authority of His Word, that our prayer is heard. We are to do the same when praying for healing.
After being sufficiently enlightened by the promises of God, then, by simply believing that our prayer is heard —before we have yet experienced the answer, as Jesus commanded in Mark 11:24, and following this with the observation of Hebrews 10:35-36 — we can always bring to pass the fulfillment of any Divine promise. It is God’s will for every Christian to successfully practice Hebrews 6:11-12.
Between the time we definitely commit to God the healing for our body, and the completion of our healing, we can, and should, learn one of the most valuable lessons of our Christian life. And that lesson is, how to observe Hebrews 10:35-36. Only Divine promises can make our faith steadfast. After Jonah had prayed for mercy, he did not cast away his confidence because there was yet no visible proof that his prayer was answered. No, he held fast his confidence and added to it, in advance, the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Jon2:9). In Hebrews 13:15, the Holy Spirit commands us all to the this “continually.”
God’s promises work their wonders while we see and act on eternal realities (on His promises, His faithfulness, etc.) and refuse to be affected by temporal things to the contrary. God always fulfills His promises when He can get the right cooperation. He always accepts us and undertakes for us when we observe Mark 11:24 and Hebrews 10:35-36. “With long life will I satisfy him” is God’s promise to be appropriated by all (Psa91:16).
From F.F. Bosworth's outstanding book, "Christ The Healer" by Revell
