What Does God Believe About Divine Healing Today?

Direct Answer: God believes divine healing is still active today through Christ's Atonement. It's a privilege available to all believers through prayer and faith. While God's power to heal hasn't diminished, He works according to His sovereign will and timing for His glory.

---

If you've ever sat in a hospital room here in Memphis, you've probably wrestled with this question. Maybe you've prayed for someone you love in the 901, asking God why healing feels so near yet sometimes so far away.

I want to talk straight with you today. Not with religious platitudes or easy answers, but with biblical truth that meets you right where you are.

God Hasn't Changed His Mind

Here's what I know for certain: God's character doesn't shift with cultural trends or medical advances. The same God who healed the sick in first-century Jerusalem is the same God working in twenty-first-century Memphis.

Scripture tells us clearly in Hebrews 13:8 that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." That includes His heart for healing. When Jesus walked the earth, He didn't heal people because it was trendy or convenient, He healed because it reflected His Father's nature. Compassion. Restoration. Wholeness.

The Assemblies of God has consistently taught that divine healing remains an integral part of God's plan for His people today. It's not a relic of the past or something that expired when the last apostle died. It's woven into the very fabric of the gospel message.

The Foundation: Christ's Atonement

Let's get to the theological heart of this. Divine healing isn't just a nice bonus feature in the Christian life, it's connected directly to what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Isaiah 53:5 prophesied it hundreds of years before Jesus was born: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Matthew 8:16-17 shows Jesus fulfilling this prophecy: "He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.'"

When Jesus died and rose again, He paid for both spiritual salvation and physical healing. Both are part of the Atonement package. That doesn't mean we always receive physical healing in this life (we'll get to that), but it does mean God provided for it.

Healing Is for the Whole Church

One of the beautiful truths in Assemblies of God doctrine is that healing isn't reserved for super-spiritual Christians or people with perfect faith. It's described as "a privilege of all believers."

James 5:14-16 gives us clear instructions: "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up."

Notice it doesn't say "if you're sick and you happen to be Billy Graham." It says "anyone among you." That includes you. That includes your neighbor in Cordova. That includes the person struggling with chronic pain in Bartlett.

The gifts of healing mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:9 continue to operate in the Church today. I’ve watched God strengthen people through prayer, restore hope, and carry families through long seasons of waiting and treatment.

The Role of Faith (It's Not a Formula)

Let's clear up some confusion. Yes, faith matters in divine healing. Jesus often connected healing with faith. To the woman healed of bleeding, He said, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace" (Luke 8:48).

But, and this is crucial, faith is not a magic formula that forces God's hand. It's not about saying the right words with enough intensity or "believing hard enough." That turns faith into a religious work, and it puts crushing guilt on people who pray and don't see immediate healing.

Faith is simply trust in God's character and His promises. It's believing He can heal, even when we don't know if He will heal in the exact way or timing we hope for.

Sometimes people aren't healed because of unbelief (Mark 6:5-6). Other times, deeply faithful people aren't healed for reasons only God understands. The apostle Paul had a "thorn in the flesh" that God chose not to remove despite Paul's prayers (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

God's Sovereignty Matters

Here's where it gets personal and sometimes painful. God doesn't heal everyone all the time, and that doesn't mean He's stopped caring or that His promises failed.

Look at John 5. Jesus went to the Pool of Bethesda where crowds of sick people gathered. The text says there was "a great number of disabled people" there, blind, lame, paralyzed. Jesus healed one man. One. Not the whole crowd.

Why? Because God works according to His will and for His glory. His purposes are bigger than our immediate comfort, and sometimes His "no" or "not yet" is driving toward something deeper than physical healing.

Some are healed instantly. Some experience gradual healing. Others aren't healed this side of heaven. All three scenarios can coexist in God's sovereign plan without contradicting His promises or His character.

What This Means for You in Memphis

So where does this leave us practically? Here's what I believe God wants you to know today:

Keep praying for healing. Don't let disappointment or confusion stop you from asking. James 4:2 reminds us, "You do not have because you do not ask God." Bring your sickness, your pain, your diagnosis to Him. We have a prayer team ready to stand with you.

Trust God's character more than your circumstances. When healing doesn't come the way you expected, God hasn't abandoned you. His love isn't measured by your medical report. Romans 8:28 still stands: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him."

Stay connected to your church family. Healing often comes through community, through the prayers of others, through anointing with oil by elders. Don't isolate when you're hurting. The body of Christ here in the 901 is meant to carry each other's burdens.

Receive medical care without guilt. Pursuing divine healing doesn't mean rejecting doctors, medicine, or treatment. Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14), and God uses medical professionals as instruments of His healing. It's not either/or; it's both/and.

The Ultimate Healing

Finally, remember this: every believer will experience complete healing. If not fully in this life, then absolutely in the resurrection.

Revelation 21:4 promises a day when God "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

That's not a cop-out or spiritual bypass. It's the bedrock hope that anchors us when earthly healing feels elusive. Jesus is returning, and when He does, every broken body will be made whole, every sickness will be gone, every tear will be dried.

Until that day, we pray, we believe, we trust, and we keep pointing people to the Healer.

---

Want to go deeper?

Need prayers? Text us day or night at 1-901-213-7341. (Note: This line is for prayer and pastoral support, not emergency services. If you are in immediate danger or need urgent help, please call 911.)