Why Don’t They All Get Healed?
Every night, many physically and spiritually ill people
come to our crusades. Many testimonies of healing and deliverance are
shared during the meeting. These stories inspire the faith of the
people.
But out of the hundreds that come to the crusades, only a
small percentage usually get healed. I am often asked why. For an
answer, let’s take a look at what happened when Jesus visited the pool
of Bethesda (see John 5).
A great number of disabled people were there—the blind,
the lame and the paralyzed. But Jesus directed His attention to only
one. He came to this invalid man and asked him, “Do you want to get
well?” If Jesus were with us physically today, we would probably ask
Him why He healed only this one man when there were so many others ill.
In this case, and in all others as well, we need to believe by faith in
God’s sovereignty.
I can’t say that the reason for not being healed is a
lack of faith. I’ve seen many people come to our meetings without any
faith, just out of curiosity, and God healed them anyway. Some have
come up to the platform rejoicing and trembling and saying, “I didn’t
believe. I came here just to make fun of you, and God healed me.”
In most passages, the Bible indicates that Jesus healed
all the sick. “Many followed him, and he healed all their sick” (Matt.
12:15). “And the people all tried to touch him, because power was
coming from him and healing them all” (Luke 6:19). I examined these
texts in an attempt to find an answer to the question that is often
asked me. One thing I realized is that all the people who were healed
had gone directly to Jesus, looking for healing.
Nowadays, many go to crusades or churches to find such
and such a person instead of looking for the Great Physician, our Lord
Jesus Christ. That is a mistake. They want the healing, but not the One
who heals.
I know this is true because in one of my last crusades
something incredible happened. At the end of the meetings, I always
come down from the platform to pray for people. But that evening as I
began to pray and lay my hands on people’s heads, they started to take
my hand, one after the other, almost dragging me toward them. I had
never experienced anything like it in all my years of ministry.
When I went back home, I told my wife what had happened
in the meeting. With great insight, she replied, “Remember when we were
newly converted? Who did we ask to pray for us? Our bent knees were
confessing our dependence on God. We never depended on anyone’s touch.”
If people are in search of Jesus’ healing, they will
surely be healed. But if they are in search of Annacondia, they will
not. That’s why I reiterate in my meetings, “Here is Jesus.” If they
are able to understand what I mean, they will be well.
And we have witnessed incredible healings, such as that
of the veteran from the Falkland Islands’ war who came to some of our
meetings. The young man had lost half his skull in one of the battles,
and the doctors had replaced it with a platinum plate. God formed the
bone again at our meeting. But not only that. The platinum plate
disappeared. This miracle affected not only his family but also his
entire neighborhood.
“Your Sins Are Forgiven”
I constantly see wonderful miracles of healing performed
by God, particularly through the laying on of hands. But I realize that
many illnesses are the result of a life of sin. Lack of forgiveness is
one obstacle to healing. Sin can also be an obstacle.
One of the best examples of this is recounted in Mark
2:1-12. It’s the story of the paralytic who is brought by his friends
to Jesus. Since they could not get through the crowd to Jesus, they
decided to make an opening in the roof and lower the mat with their
paralyzed friend on it.
Let’s reconstruct this account. The faith of the man’s
friends must have been great. These friends knew that Jesus could heal
the paralytic, but it was hard to get their friend to Him—the crowd
prevented them from coming close, and they were carrying the man on a
mat. After several attempts, some must have suggested, “What about the
roof? We can make an opening in the roof and lower him through it with
some ropes.”
Perhaps the paralytic said, “Through the roof? Well, OK,
I really want Jesus to pray for me. I’ll do what I have to in order for
that to happen.” His friends must have measured the exact place where
they needed to make the opening and then lowered the mat.
Suddenly, as He was talking to the crowd, Jesus saw the
paralytic descending. He could perceive the paralytic’s faith as well
as that of his friends. Their exerting such effort to bring him there
spoke about faith. So Jesus told him, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (v.
5).
Imagine what his friends, and the crowd, were probably
thinking. What would you think? That’s nice, but what the paralytic
needs is healing, not forgiveness!
Of course, Jesus knew exactly what the people around Him
were thinking. “Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this was what
they were thinking in their hearts, and He said to them, ‘Why are you
thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your
sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk”?’”
(Mark 2:8-9).
Jesus knew what was in the heart of that crippled man. He
knew there was a barrier that stopped the healing: sin. So Jesus
removed that barrier and then healed him.
Many times there are barriers between God and His
blessings and us. We all had barriers before coming to the Lord; I had
some, and probably you did, too. We need the ministry of the Holy
Spirit to obtain spiritual deliverance and healing.
Satan brought sin to the world, and as a result came
sickness and death. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and
one of them is sickness. Therefore, we can truly believe that He will
heal our diseases today. Christ carried our sins and our illnesses.
Accept this, and you can be healed. Believe it, and you also can become
a powerhouse of prayer for the healing of others.
Carlos Annacondia is recognized as the “leader” of the
most significant revival in modern world history, the Argentinean
revival. He ministers in massive crusades throughout South America.
Joakim Lundqvist