Prayer for Healing

Here at The Viking & The Lioness Ministries, we believe many things from the Word and put those things into practice in our daily lives. Two of those things are:

1. We believe that God hears us when we pray and always answers those prayers.
2. We also believe that God has already provided healing for us in the atonement of Jesus Christ; whether we need that healing in the physical, mental, emotional, mental, social, or financial realms... we ALREADY have it.

Let’s look at these truths one at a time. Firstly, we believe that God hears us when we pray based on MANY scriptures, but we will use this one for an example from 1 John:

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 4:14 (NKJV)

And in the next verse (1 John 4:15), we see the reason that we believe that He answers us every time:

“And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” - 1 John 4:15 (NKJV)

While many religious teachers teach that this verse doesn't mean that we always get what we ask for and that God sometimes says "No," we cannot accept that as truth because it directly contradicts this verse, and God always says what He means and means what He says. So if you ask Him for something according to His Word, He WILL answer that prayer guaranteed.  There is one caveat, however: I must be honest in evaluating this verse and others and acknowledge that it doesn't say that God will answer those prayers exactly how WE envision those answers coming to pass. He will answer those prayers in a way that His love for us dictates... a way in which the answer will be a blessing rather than a curse. So, when we pray, we fully expect and believe that He hears us AND that He will answer those prayers and petitions in a way that blesses our socks off! The answer may come in a different form than we could have imagined, but it WILL come, and we can rely on that fact. What an amazing Father we have in heaven!

And the second thing we believe is that God, through the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, has already declared and provided healing for us in whatever realm we may need it: Spirit, Soul, or Body. Again, we believe this because we see it in many scriptures, but we'll use these two as examples:

4 “Surely He has borne our griefs [i.e., "diseases, griefs, or sicknesses"] and carried our sorrows [i.e., "pains"]; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.” [i.e., "cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, X thoroughly, make whole."] - Isa 53:4-5 (NKJV)

This Old Testament prophecy looks forward to what Jesus would accomplish in His atonement for our sins; it is looking forward in time to future fulfillment. In the second scripture, we see in 1 Peter where he refers to the Isaiah prophecy above, but with a subtle change in the tense. Look:

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed.” [i.e., "to heal, cure, make whole"] - 1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV)

Notice how he changed the tense there. What Isaiah pointed to in the future, Peter now refers to in the past. Both scriptures point to one singular event: the beating, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We believe these scriptures with all of our hearts, and no matter what attack comes against our mind, emotions, or body, we firmly hold fast to this as the final Word of God on the matter.

These truths, when you combine them, may leave you with many questions. If it doesn’t, then you weren’t paying attention!

The biggest question that many of us have in considering these verses as the truth, which we acknowledge that they are, is the one of practicality. This question has many variations, but it goes generally like this, "I have been praying for an answer for a long time, and if these things are true, then why do I still suffer from _______ (fill in the blank)?" And while the answer to that question also has many variants, the core reason is very easy to explain. We find the answer in 2 Corinthians:

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” - 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

The primary responsibility of the believer is found right there in that verse. We must first KNOW the truth. What has God said about my situation? And then we must understand that we cannot determine truth by things that we can "see, taste, hear, smell, or feel"... from our physical senses... we must determine every truth by faith in God, and in what He has said in His Word, trusting that IT is the final truth. Truth stands above the physical reality that we can perceive. This means that we cannot look to any of our physical senses to verify whether God's Word is true. We must believe that it is true no matter what we perceive around us. There is a second part of this answer, and to find out the next part, let me ask you this: How have you been praying for the answer? In faith, believing that you already have that healing, or in unbelief, thinking that you have yet to receive that healing? This may not make much sense to you so let me illustrate with this analogy.

Let’s envision that you needed to borrow my car one day, so you came to me, asked me, I agreed and handed you the keys. We then talk for a while about other things, and then needing to leave, you turn to me and ask me if you can borrow my car again. How might you expect me to respond to that question? I think I might have a bit of a confused look on my face as I remember already agreeing to let you borrow it and even giving you the keys.

Make the connection here to the discussion above about how you’ve been praying. We need to KNOW that God has already stated that you were healed 2000 years ago when Jesus took those stripes on His back. His Word couldn’t have stated that any clearer.

So then, if God has declared your healing, and you go to Him and ask Him to heal you, aren’t you asking in unbelief? Aren’t you NOT believing what He stated very specifically in His Word? How can we expect to receive our miracle if we aren’t operating in faith? (See James 1:5-8)

Now then, if this is the truth and if our bodies are showing an illness or disease or pain… ANY infirmity at all… how then are we to pray? We recommend that you begin with Thanksgiving for the healing that God has already provided and acknowledge that you know and believe what He has stated in His Word (“The car keys that He has already given you”). Then follow Jesus’ instructions in Mark 11: (“Put the keys in the ignition and turn it on and drive!”)

23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” - Mark 11:23-24 (NKJV)

When you begin to speak in faith without doubting… watch out, because THAT is when you will begin to see those things begin to come into the reality of your life and in your body! We recommend you read the story of the paralytic in Acts 3:1-9 for an example of Jesus’ disciples following those instructions. Notice in that story that they did not stop and pray and ask God for anything in that moment. What did they do? They spoke to the infirmity in that lame man. And they believed it so much that they immediately reached and assisted him in standing up.

We encourage you, brothers and sisters, to really consider these truths. Take a hard, honest look into your heart and mind. Do you really consider God’s Word as THE final truth in your life and circumstances? Do you really walk by faith in Him and His Word alone or does the reality that you can perceive with your physical senses drown out that truth and cause you to doubt God’s Word? Do you practice using the authority that He gave you to speak to the things around you and in your body in order to bring those things to pass or are you passively waiting for Him to do something that He has commanded YOU to do?

Begin to put these truths into practice in your life today and don’t quit until you see the manifestation of everything that you’ve been seeking from the Lord.

We love you and are praying that you find and walk in EVERY blessing that our Lord paid such a huge price to purchase for you!

The Viking & The Lioness