In the Face of Uncertainty

Josh and I prayed for healing for a childhood friend of Josh's a couple days ago who has been told by doctors that he has 1 year to live. As we prayed, we felt "electricity" flowing through our hands and forearms (with various intensities throughout the session), and Josh's friend experienced shaking on the left side of his body for a portion of the time. We commanded evil spirits and sickness to go in the name of Jesus after taking Josh's friend through some prayers to release negative emotions (unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, fear/anxiety, etc.). There are several visible abnormalities due to Josh's friend's condition, but we have not yet seen any visible improvements of these.


Before we prayed for this friend, we had another friend over to our house for dinner and discussed with him our explorations into the spiritual gifts (in particular, healing). This friend was very skeptical, and the conversation ended with him asking us to prove our claims by healing him of 3 conditions. We prayed and have not yet heard of any results of this prayer.

So, what should we do while we wait for the results of these prayers? Are we supposed to "have faith" despite the appearance of no immediate healing results? Are we supposed to pray more? Are we supposed to inspect ourselves for failure?

I don't have a clear answer to this right now, but I do know a few things NOT to do. We shouldn't worry about what will happen. We shouldn't doubt what we know to be true about God's character and promises. We shouldn't speak words contrary to what we've already spoken, thus undercutting the commands we've given in Jesus's name.

So, what will I do while I wait for future status reports from these two friends? I will continue to speak blessing over them. I will continue to seek after God's heart. I will intend to spend more time communing with God and enthroning Him with praise. I will surrender myself to Him and ask Him to give me wisdom in abundance. I will take my thoughts captive to Christ and expel every fear from my heart. For my struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (see Ephesians 6). I will live to bring glory to God, and I will stop worrying about how people think of me. I will live and act by what I know to be true, for this is what it means to live by faith. I won't deny reality, but I will aim to change reality for the better. I believe this is what Jesus wants us all to do.

I will keep you posted on what happens with these two cases. I hope that you will also share with me your experiences with ministering healing by God's Spirit!