God who heals (Jehovah Rapha)

"I am a God who heals. I heal broken bodies, broken minds, broken hearts, broken lives and broken relationships...I rarely heal all the brokenness in a person's life...Nonetheless, much healing is available to those whose lives are intimately interwoven with Mine. Ask and you will receive."

Jesus Calling

Sarah Young also says in today's devotional that there are steps that we should take to be healed:

1. live close to God

2. God will prompt us for what to ask for--ourselves and others

3. ask

4. trust fully

5. be thankful for the restoration that has begun.

Psalm 103:2-3 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not His benefits--who forgives your sins and heals all you diseases.

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

II Corinthians 12:7-9 To keep from becoming conceited because of these surpassing great revelations there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.

Matthew 7:7 Ask and it shall be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be open to you.

##Healing... this is a hard subject. There has been a great deal of damage done to many people over the years in regard to this doctrine. There is damage done by those who say that God wants to heal all your brokenness-- mind, body, soul, but you must have faith. This sounds pretty close to what Sarah wrote about today, but the difference is in the all. We have Paul's testimony in II Corinthians that God chose not to heal him of his thorn in the flesh. God does not always choose to heal in our lifetime. But there is a time coming when we will be made whole again!

The other end of the spectrum is those that say that healing was just for during Jesus' time. It was used as proof that what He said was true. Healing was used to testify to Jesus being sent from God, but the scripture plainly states the disciples were healing people after Jesus' death and resurrection. I find no scriptural basis for saying that healing is not available today. I believe that God is healing everyday.

With that said, I do have some questions about healing. Do you ask 3 times believing like
Paul did, but if you are not healed, then you accept that you are not going to be healed. Or do you keep asking until God tells you that He is not going to heal your need because He will gain glory through your weakness.

Maybe my questions come from not walking close enough to God and listening for when He tells me to pray for something. I do believe that I have experienced healing of broken relationships and having a broken heart, but I would like my mind healed from depression. Guess I need to spend some time with God talking about this!

What do you think about healing? What has been your experience? What are you asking God to heal you from?