I have been a believer for most of my adult life, and as such, I have also firmly trusted that God hears my prayers (1 John 5:14). I have especially loved the notion that even when a believer can’t find the words and doesn’t know what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf by making deep, emotional, wordless (yet divinely understood) appeals to the Father (Roman 8:26). Isn’t that so amazing and encouraging? Rest assured, the Lord knows the desires of our hearts, and He is eager for us to share them with Him, just as any loving dad wants to be engaged in such tender moments.

If I’m honest, though, there are times when I face a hurdle while petitioning God. Most of the time, I can talk to God with ease, but when I come to Him with a request for physical healing, I also tend to bring along a side dish of doubt. It’s almost as if it would be too good to be true that God would perform a modern-day miracle and cure people today of their symptoms, ailments, and diseases.

The Gospels, by contrast, offer more than 25 accounts of Jesus healing people who are ill or disabled. Through spoken words, applying materials such as spit and mud, and via physical touch, Jesus divinely remedied ailments that could not otherwise be cured. One could easily assume that there may have even been more healings than recorded, but only so many were written into the scriptures. (I mean, how many miracles does it take to prove that you’re capable of producing them?!) There’s plenty of evidence to confirm that the Lord can restore anyone, even from the depths of death (Luke 7:11-17, Luke 8:40-56, John 11).

So, why doubt? And more importantly, how can doubt be replaced with hope?

I recently took a prayer class at a local church, and we did a deep dive into several ways we can engage with God and benefit from our relationship with Him. It was eye-opening for me to realize how much of the Holy Spirit’s power I wasn’t taking advantage of in my life. After all, the very power that brought Christ back from the grave lives within believers as the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). How much and how often do I allow myself to be a vessel of that? Jesus Himself said that it would be best that He goes away, so that He could send the Advocate (Holy Spirit) to us (John 16:7). With this indwelling, God in Spirit is with us constantly. He lives in us and empowers us in ways we likely can’t even fully fathom, and it should give us great confidence and hope! So, if we lay hands on someone and/or repeatedly and earnestly ask God for healing, He will absolutely hear our request and may even choose to work through us.

Weeks into the class, after much studying and practice, we were given the opportunity to pray for someone who sat at our table and needed healing. For decades, Judy* had experienced repeated bladder infections, pain and inflammation. It was common for her to have 30+ flare-ups per year, and as you can imagine, it affected many areas of her life. Doctors remained baffled and without a plan for her relief. Judy asked us for prayer, believing it could help. We obliged, and we did everything we knew to do, calling upon the Lord to use His power to heal her. We only had one more week of class after that, and Judy missed that final week, so up until recently, I wasn’t sure how she was feeling. Just last week, however, she sent me a message and wanted me to know that she hasn’t had a single bladder infection since our prayer. That was more than six weeks ago – the longest she has been free of this burden for years! Praise God! Prayer works, and God heals! It’s incredibly reassuring, isn’t it? 

So, how can we hold onto hope and keep doubt at bay?

For starters, let’s take a lesson from Peter. When Jesus was on the water and called him out of the boat, Peter met Jesus’ gaze and also walked on water to meet Him (Matthew 14:22-33). It wasn’t until Peter redirected his eyes, looking at the wind blowing the waves instead of Jesus, that he began to fall. Worth noting, Jesus even asked him, “Why did you doubt?” When we keep our sight fixed on Jesus, making Him our focus, He keeps us calm, and He brings peace and order…and He helps us remember what’s important as we pray:

Who God is: He is good beyond our comprehension. He loves us and sacrificed His Son for us, so we could be redeemed and restored to relationship with Him now and forever (Romans 5:8). He can do all things; nothing limits His power or creativity. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; everything and everyone is subject to Him (1 Corinthians 15:27).

Who we are in Christ: We are royalty and heirs. We are priests of the Lord Most High. We are adopted daughters and sons of the King; we are His family. We are beloved. We are citizens of Heaven. We are His; bought with the highest price. We are never alone or abandoned by Him.

He calls us to be His hands and feet to this world: Our lives have purpose to bring glory to God. We are ambassadors for Christ. We are empowered by unique gifts and by the Holy Spirit. God wants to give us the blessing of being used to accomplish His will.

Friends, what gifts we’ve been given with faith! And with faith, we can have great hope; a hope far greater and far beyond the limits of of doubt. Indeed, it is possible that we can do all things though Christ (Philippians 4:13), and both our posture and prayer should reflect that to a world that desperately needs healing of every kind. May we pray boldly and with confidence! He may or may not choose to heal on earth, but He will assuredly draw us closer to Him in the process, and He will absolutely deliver on His promise to fully heal all believers in Heaven. The time WILL come! AMEN!

Lord, Your love, Your goodness, Your might and dominion – they know no boundaries, and at the same time, You crave intimacy and relationship with each of us individually. How amazing You are! Help us to weave You more tightly into our lives, to become more like You, and to avail ourselves to Your will and Your power. Give us confidence in and through You to unabashedly pray for healing, for You are a God of miraculous things! Help us to know You more and to believe fully in Your awesome wonder. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

*Name changed to protect privacy.