I believe that God can heal anything. Anything! I believe that all we need to do is ask Him and then have the faith to know that He can do it. We must have the faith that He will, whether he does or not. We must stand on His power and cast out our doubts believing God can do the impossible.
What you believe can accomplish more than what you can do. “Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, ‘Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.’ And the young servant was healed that same hour” (Matthew 8:13 NLT).
We don’t have to give the Lord an “out” saying if it is in His will. When I hear people say that, I often sense their own disbelief and their ploy to make it seem as if their prayer was being mindful of God’s will. What they are really saying is that they don’t really believe but don’t want to say that out loud.
Believe like a believer. “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24 NLT).
I pray for the healing, and I ask Him, knowing that He can. Then I expect Him to do it. I don’t expect that He will because of some arrogant thought that I can command His actions. No, my expectations are on what He can do, not what He will do.
When you ask in faith, you will expect to receive, even if you have to wait for it. Jesus taught, “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours” (Mark 11:24 NLT).
We all know there will come a day where He will no longer bring us healing here on earth. This is a great joy as who wouldn’t want to be with Jesus in heaven someday? But as long as somebody has breath, I will use my prayers to ask for their healing.
Pray for good outcomes and work through the rest. “Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers, and remember to be thankful when they come” (Colossians 4:2 TLB).
A few months ago, I published my most recent book, If You Can Believe. In the book, I spoke of some great healing miracles God had done for my wife’s cat Figaro. The Vet had asked us to put him to sleep because of his condition. But we prayed, and he was healed. God answers prayers.
Just before the book was published, Figaro became very sick. He stopped eating and became very lethargic. We prayed over him again to no avail. He kept getting worse. We took him to the animal hospital and they tried to help him. But he was not getting any better.
Don’t look at the waves; look at Jesus. “…Jesus went to them, walking on the sea …Peter…walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out…” (Matthew 14:25,29,30 NKJV).
I had been there before with Figaro, at the end of his rope. It was ten years prior. I was about to publish this book on the power of believing, with Figaro being one of the stories that I had used. I prayed fervently to God, asking that He would let Figaro live to see this book published. But Figaro continued to decline.
We were going to take Figaro to our Vet for another treatment. Mary and I sat next to Figaro in our home and we prayed over him. He could barely stand. He was skin and bones. Finally, he let out a little cry. Figaro never cried. Mary knew right away he was ready to go.
We drove him to our Vet, and they got him ready to put him down. They let us come in to spend some time with him. Then we had them come in to give him the shots. Mary held onto him. She had been his best friend for seventeen years. Figaro died peacefully next to us.
The heart is where love gathers and sorrows pour out. “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4 KJV).
I don’t know how you feel about animals, but in my family, they are family. We were heartbroken. My book got published a month later. In the book, I had written that our job is to pray for a thing and leave it up to God on what He might do. Our faith is lifted with a healing and tested when there is none.
God never fails. God never makes a mistake. Nothing happens by chance or by accident with a sovereign Lord. We don’t have to worry about how He might answer but only pray, asking for what we want. Let God see a faith in you that believes in Him for His power and then is willing to trust Him with His decisions.
You can either worry about it or trust God with it. “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4 NASB).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
Sometimes the answered prayer is not in the direction of our thinking but in God’s and we have to learn to see the way he needs us to see. Sorry for the loss of you pet, they are indeed family.
As it turned out God answered the prayer in a way we never imagined. With Figaro gone we were able to get a dog again and the Lord blessed us with a Burnese Mountain Dog. We could of never gotten this dog with a frail old cat at home. Though we miss Figaro, our new Samson is such a blessing to us.
This encourages me so much, Paul. Praying that He can do a thing, yet leaving the doing in His hands is most likely another way of saying, “If it be your will,” similar to Jesus praying three times for the cup to be taken from Him. We just lost a son to cancer, praying for a miracle healing while watching his body succumb to the ravages of disobedient cells stealing his nutrients, vitality, and lacing him with pain. “Our faith is lifted with a healing and tested when there is none.” Faith is perfected by the things we suffer. James 1:3-4 We deeply miss Isaiah, and grieve unsaid words and lost opportunities, but we know He is with our Lord Jesus and that we will see him again. We also know this: God’s plan laid down from the beginning of time is perfect and complete and praising Him in the difficult thing brings Him glory and defeats the enemy. Thank-you.
Oh, Susana, I am so sorry that you lost your son. Yet I am so encouraged by your wonderful response in how the Lord allowed this to happen. This is the mature faith, one that trusts in all that God does, whether it lines up with what we prayed for and longed for, or it does not. I hope someday you might read a book I just wrote last year called If You Can Believe. I spoke much on this concept in that book, as I believe there is power when we believe, but I believe that God yet stands sovereign in what He might do. Let me know if you would like me to send you one or you can find it on Amazon. Thank you so much for you heartfelt words of wisdom in dealing with God through the most painful of times.