LESSON SEVEN: God’s Healing Word

“My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 
Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 
for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.”
(Proverbs 4:20-22)

(Note: It is important to read and become familiar with each scripture in this section. It is also a good idea to have printed pages of these scriptures which can be given to those you pray for. This will add to the building up of your own faith as well as the faith of those you pray for.)

Prescription For Healing

The words from Proverbs 4:20-22, written so many centuries ago, are God’s prescription for healing. The Word of God, meaning the Bible, brings life and health to the whole body.

Deut 8:3 He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Luke 4:3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

In the above scripture, Jesus is quoting the verse in Deuteronomy. The meaning here is that only through the Word of God does one really have life. Bread might sustain our bodies but the Word of God is life and health for our whole being. Jesus is the bread of life that nourishes and sustains us.

John 6:35 I am the bread of life.

Jesus is the Word of God. If you never learn anything else, learn this, that Jesus and the Word of God are one and the same. When you speak the Word of God with belief, Jesus is right there speaking. You cannot separate Jesus and the Word of God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.
4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Faith

When praying for the sick and infirm, faith is a major factor. You must have faith that is built on the solid Word of God. You know in your heart that you are saved through Jesus. How do you know this? You believe it because it is revealed to you in the Word of God. You are saved through your faith which is the gift of God for whosoever shall call on the name of Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:13 Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 15:11 We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved.

Romans 10:9 If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Just as you believe and have faith in your salvation because of the saving Word of God, so too must you have faith in the healing Word of God. As you read and speak God’s healing Word over and over, it will take root and become solid within you. Why? Because it is built upon the solid foundation of God’s Word.

It is important to build people’s faith when you pray for them. To do that, you need to present to them God’s Word. Teach them God’s Word. Give them scriptures to read and learn. Encourage them to read healing scriptures every day until it becomes a part of them.

Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Messiah.

Faith comes and grows through the Word of God.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Heb 11:6 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.

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

A brief word about faith: Faith is so very important. However, we often give others a burden on having great faith. Kathryn Kuhlman, who had one of the greatest healing ministries of modern times, said that she didn’t have great faith but had only a little faith in a great God. It’s not the size of our faith, the strength of our faith, or who we are that heals. We just need a little faith in a great God because it is His strength and He is the one who heals. It is His Word and Jesus is the Word.

Jesus said we only need the faith the size of a very tiny mustard seed. One of the greatest faith killers is to tell people they didn’t get healed because they didn’t have enough faith. If a person even reaches out to request prayer, there is that little mustard seed of faith present in their request. Many times during healing services people have been healed as they are walking up to the front to get prayer. They put a little faith in a great God into action.

Faith isn’t something we can quantify or hold in our hands. Biblically speaking it means action/ works/ deeds. When a person asks for healing prayer they are acting in faith. When you pray for another you are acting in faith. There is a difference between faith and belief. You can believe that God heals but, if you do not act upon that belief it does you no good. You must put your belief into action/ works/ deeds as faith. Consider the following from the book of James.

James 2: 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

God And His Word Are One

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through Him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The Word Of God Consecrates

1 Tim 4:5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

God’s Word Is True

Num 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

God Keeps His Promises

Josh 23:14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Rom 8:8 For I tell you that Messiah has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs

You must believe in your heart that God is faithful. You believe in your salvation but, do you fully believe the other promises? If you say, “He might heal,” then you are really saying God is not faithful and that He is a liar.

Covenant Promises for Healing

Who is covered under God’s Covenant promises and who is not covered?

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

Many times there is a failure of healing to occur because of a lack of understanding, or lack of knowledge, in God’s will concerning healing. God wants His people to be healed and to be in good health so much, that He made a covenant promise concerning it.

Ex 15:26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

God wants to bless His people. Sickness is not a blessing but a curse. The Book of Deuteronomy chapter 28 lists out many curses, including several types of sickness and disease. Then, in verse 61, it includes every sickness and every plague not already covered as a result of the curse for breaking God’s law. We can see that all sickness is a curse.

Deut 28:61 The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.

GLORY TO GOD!!!! Jesus has taken care of the curse for us by taking it all upon Himself. Galatians 3:13 tells us that Jesus, the Messiah, has redeemed us from every curse of the law.

Gal 3:13 Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

What does Gal 3:13 mean to you? Write your answer in your notebook.

Our modern way of thinking is far removed from the Hebrew thought process of the first century. As such, this verse is often taught as meaning God’s law, as described in the Old Testament, is a curse. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The curses being referred to here are literally those listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, as well as curses mentioned in many other places. If and only if we are in Covenant with Christ we are redeemed from the curses listed in God’s law.

Other Covenant/Promises Of Healing

Is 53:4 Surely He took up our infirmities (disease, grief, sickness) and carried our sorrows (anguish, affliction, grief, pain) yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced for our transgressions (rebellion, sin), He was crushed for our iniquities (perversity, evil, fault, iniquity, mischief, sin), the punishment that brought us peace (welfare, health, prosperity, peace) was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (mended, cured, repaired, made whole).

1 Pet 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.

Jer 30:17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD…

Ps 30:2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

Ps 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Ps 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases

Ps 107:20 He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Ps 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Matt 8:17 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Rom 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Messiah from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Healing In Communion

1 Cor 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread:
24 And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

“Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you.” As we saw in Isaiah 53:4-5, the body of Jesus was broken for our healing and His blood was shed for our salvation. If we look at the Greek words for salvation (Soteria) and save (Sozo), we find they not only include saving but also health and healing.

Soteria: rescue or safety, deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.

Sozo: to save, i.e. deliver or protect (lit. or fig.):–heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

There are many stories of people who have had their health redeemed by taking communion, often by doing it daily. However, communion is serious and should never be taken lightly.

1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

Authority And Power

God has given us authority to do many things. We need to take hold of this authority through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Rom 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Messiah from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Notice what the above scripture says, “They will get well.” Not they might get well.

Word of caution: This verse has been discussed previously but it must be stressed again that it does not mean we should purposely handle poisonous snakes or drink poison.

John 14:12 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Faith And Trust For Healing

We can have faith and trust that God wants to bless His people, which includes healing and living in good health as part of that blessing.

3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health

John 10:10 I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

We can also trust that what God says is true. God’s word can be counted on. Neither is He going to change His mind. He wants you to be blessed, He wants you to live in health.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not.

We Must Ask

Sometimes we do not receive healing because we have not asked for it. It is important to have the person you are praying for to take an active part in asking for healing. Sometimes people will say something like, “What ever your will is Lord, that’s what I want.” Asking needs to be more specific: “Lord, I am asking for you to heal my sprained ankle and take the pain and swelling away.” When you look at how many times Jesus said to ask, it must be important. You must ask to receive.

James 4:2 you have not, because you ask not.

Matt 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you;

Matt 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Matt 18:19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”

Matt 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Testimony

Testimony is so very important! When linked with the Word of God, it helps build up faith. Through hearing the testimony of others, people began to realize that God is working which builds up their hope and faith. Testimony overcomes adversity.

Rev 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;

Matt 8:4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

45 Stories Of Healing

The following scripture references contain stories of healing. These are testimonies to what has happened and shows what can still happen for those who believe.

Why are Biblical stories and testimony important?  Write the answer in your notebook.