Building Faith for healing
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)
According to the above passage faith comes by two things. 1) by hearing, and 2) hearing by the Word of God.
Let’s look at both things.
Faith comes from hearing
It’s interesting that the word hearing is mentioned twice in the short passage at top. Hearing is something you do with your ears, you hear something. Why is that important to faith? Because when you hear stories of God’s miraculous works of healing faith springs up in your heart. Your faith grows. Someone once said, faith is more than what is taught, faith is caught.
Hearing comes from the Word of God
“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark. 11:22-24 ESV)
A testimony to help build your faith for healing
About twenty years ago, I heard a pastor's wife give a beautiful testimonial of how God’s Word had brought miraculous healing to her. She had pancreatic cancer, was very weak and extremely emaciated, and her body had turned an alarming yellow. The doctors told her there was nothing more they could do to help her and sent her home to die. She told how she then looked at her hopeless situation and what she decided to do. She said to herself, “No, this isn’t right! This isn’t how I believe. And I’m not going to die like this! I believe Jesus can and will heal me.”
She remembered a wonderful verse of Scripture that seemed very powerful and applicable to her situation:
“My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight; keep them in your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body.” (Proverbs 4:20–23)
So she boldly put a plan together
First, she got out her Bible and looked up all the healing verses. She then got a tablet and began writing all of them there in her own handwriting. As she wrote them, she thanked God for them and claimed each one for herself.
Second, she went through her photo albums and found photos of her looking strong and healthy. She posted them on her walls all around her home so she would constantly see herself as healthy, strong, and completely well.
Each day she again wrote the verses out by hand, prayed over them, and continued to thank God for healing her.
Through this daily process, she became filled with hope and faith
Day after day, she repeated the process, and each day she continued to live and improve slightly.
Over time, her health improved dramatically
When she returned to the doctor, no cancer was found in her body. It’s been more than twenty years, and she’s still healthy and praising God for it. You can read her story in her book, Healed of Cancer, by Dodie Osteen (find it on Amazon).
Therefore
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” (Heb. 12:2 KJV)
“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:22 ESV)
“if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move...” (Matt. 17:20)
“But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” (Luke 8:50 ESV)