Transforming Truth:

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”  —James 5:14-15 (NKJV)

My sweaty, thin frame trembled as the small crowd of Christian brothers and sisters encircling me drew closer. Their whispered prayers intensified in volume as steady, warm hands were placed on my shoulders, head, and chest. We were gathered in what was known as the “healing room” of a large local church that my friend—the only person I knew in the huddle—regularly attended.

I’d never been to a service at this church or heard of a healing room before my concerned friend mentioned it. Because the practice was unfamiliar to me, I hesitated to accept invitations to join her there for prayer about the physical anxiety symptoms I was experiencing. I was still struggling to believe that a Type-A, self-sufficient, blogging homeschooling mother of three like myself could be suffering from anxiety-induced ailments.

Will the Healing Room Make a Difference?

However, after three months of battling escalating symptoms with every natural remedy recommended to me with no relief, I’d lost a significant amount of weight, which attracted my persistent friend’s attention. Hoping to avoid my doctor’s recommendation to try anti-anxiety medication, I joined her in the healing room that night. With trained prayer warriors and anointing oil present, just as the apostle James had instructed (James 5:14), I pleaded for God’s intervention, believing that divine healing could be part of His plan. 

“And the prayer of faith will save the sick,” James told the early church (James 5:15). However, supernatural healing did not take place that night. And while I continued to pray for complete recovery, feeling confident that God would lead me to a medication-free finish line, my decade-long battle with generalized anxiety eventually required medication to manage. 

Why Isn’t It God’s Will to Heal Me?

Have you been pleading with the Lord for physical healing? Are you struggling to understand why God would allow it when you could be so much more productive and effective without a physical limitation holding you back?

I know what it feels like to desperately hope that God’s response to your prayers to remove or heal a limiting weakness will be different than what He told the persistent apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians 12:8, Paul expresses his frustration about the “thorn in the flesh” he had been given: “Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.” 

It was a reasonable request for a faithful apostle consumed with fulfilling his role in the great commission. He was going about the Lord’s work every minute of every day, under constant threat of physical persecution (which he endured many times). Why wouldn’t he ask the Lord to be relieved of this hindrance? It seemed like the obvious solution.

Although I initially struggled to understand why I wasn’t healed in the healing room that night, the Lord transformed my expectations of His goodness through my battle with debilitating physical anxiety. As much as I wanted complete healing and lasting relief from physical anxiety symptoms, I realized that God had another plan to show His glory and strength through my affliction. 

I still believe that God can and does heal today. And it’s wise to follow the guidance in God’s Word when we pray for healing. However, divine healing isn’t dependent on the strength of our faith, the way we pray, or the place we go to pray. It’s about His plans and what will accomplish His purposes—in our lives and the lives of those we can impact.

Prayer: Gracious Heavenly Father, Your Word tells me I can come to you and pray for physical healing as the apostle James instructed. However, I also understand that the healing You offer isn’t guaranteed by performing specific practices, nor is Your healing limited to restoring health to my body. You promise me spiritual healing from my fallen state as a sinner, and because of the sacrifice Jesus made, I am already healed. No matter what happens to my physical body, I know I will spend eternity with You without the presence of pain, sorrow, or death. Thank You, Jehovah Rapha, the LORD who heals, for restoring me to an eternal relationship with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Have you ever needed healing from God? If so, what did you do about it?
2. Do you ever struggle to understand why God would allow physical suffering when it seems that it would be more productive to heal you immediately? If so, ask God to show you a way to better understand what He is doing.

Join the Conversation: Share your reflections and thoughts about this topic in the comments below. I’d love to pray for you if you share a prayer request!

*This devotional was published on Crossmap.com as part of the DayBreak Devotions series.