Stephanie Pavlantos: Is Healing for Real?
LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.
~Psalm 30 :2 ESV
Has God healed you? Do you believe He still heals today?
I have had physical conditions that I have prayed for healing. But I’ve seen no change yet. Others, I’ve received healing.
For instance, I had TMJ, which is when the joint in my jaw becomes inflamed and often slips out of the joint. This is a painful condition. After my jaw popped out while flossing my teeth, I prayed and asked Jesus to heal it. For about two weeks it felt great. It stopped dislocating and I could yawn and floss my teeth without pain.
But then, one day while I was reading my Bible, my jaw suddenly went out. I immediately asked God why. “I thought you healed my jaw, Lord, why is this happening? He spoke to my heart with the words, “Don’t believe satan’s lies.” I rebuked satan and his lies and told him, “Yeshua (Jesus) has healed my jaw and nothing you do can change that.” My jaw has been fine since that day two months ago.
Why doesn’t God always heal our bodies? There is more to healing than we can understand. God knows whether the healing or the suffering will keep us close to Him. Does the pain or the healing give testimony to Jesus? Does the pain bring you closer to God in complete dependence or will the healing bring you closer to God? Only God knows which one it is.
Are we sabotaging our health by our lifestyles? For instance, has God put people and doctors in your path to instruct you about eating right, yet you ignore them? God has given us many good fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean meats to eat. We need to make informed healthy choices.
Our sin can make us sick. Even critical attitudes, bitterness, and unforgiveness can affect our health. We open a door to demonic spiritual influence through our sin.
For instance, my friend complained of her heart palpitations. She made an appointment to see her doctor. Meanwhile, we prayed for healing. Within a few days, the heart palpitations had stopped, but within two months they were back. When we prayed again, the Holy Spirit dropped a line into my heart: “Her heart problem is a heart problem.” This friend was dealing with bitterness and resentment, which she confessed to me later. Once she asked for forgiveness, her heart problem went away.
Once God heals us, satan can attempt to make all the symptoms return, leaving us feeling like the healing was not real. Without knowledge of satan’s’ ways, tricks, and deceit, he can steal what Jesus has given us. We must not allow satan to steal our healings!
I was once praying over a man who wanted prayer for the healing of a family member who had cancer. The Holy Spirit surprised me by saying, “I will not heal him on this earth. I’m taking him home.” I wasn’t sure I heard correctly, so I ignored it. The next morning, I began praying, and again the Holy Spirit stopped me with, “I will heal him in Heaven.” I stopped praying for his healing and instead prayed for the family. The man passed away a few months later, He is perfectly healed in the arms of Jesus. So, our physical healing can be instantaneous, over time, or in Heaven. It is God’s decision.
In the Greek, sozo means saved. It includes physical, emotional, and spiritual salvation:
Sozo means: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction, rescuing one (from injury or peril), to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health, or to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue.
https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G4982/sozo.htm
The woman was healed from a bleeding disorder when she touched the fringe of Jesus’ prayer shawl in Matthew 9:21 ESV…
For she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well [sozo].”
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g4982
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save [sozo] the lost.
~Luke 19:10 ESV
Jesus came to find us and to save us by giving us eternal life, healing of our hearts, souls, minds (emotions), and bodies, and by rescuing us from the evil one. He is our hope, our Savior, and our Refuge. He is our sozo. He is our ultimate healing.
Share how Jesus has saved/healed you.
Heavenly Father, I love and trust You. You know my wounds, pain, and afflictions. I ask for healing of my body, soul, and spirit.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Genre: Non-fiction
Copyright 2021: Is Healing for Real?: Stephanie Pavlantos: All Rights Reserved.