Excerpts from Greg Mohr: Your Healing Door, Chapter 3: “It’s Your Move”, Part 2
Nathaniel Van Cleave explains this principle in his notes on “The Ministry of Divine Healing”: That the words “borne” and “carried” (Isaiah 53:4) refer to Jesus’ atoning work on the Cross is made clear by the fact that they are the same words used to describe Christ’s bearing our sins in Isaiah 53:11 and l Peter 2:24. These texts unequivocally link the grounds of provision for both our salvation and our healing to the atoning work of Calvary. Neither is automatically appropriated, however; for each provision—a soul’s eternal salvation or a person’s temporal, physical healing—must be received by faith. Christ’s work on the Cross makes each possible: simple faith receives each as we choose.d
What people believe depends on how much or little they are grounded in the Word. And that knowledge drastically affects what they receive from God. When I was a teenager, our family attended a denominational church that taught us to add the phrase “if it be Thy will” on the end of every prayer we prayed. I am sure they meant well, but all that did was give us an “out” if we didn’t receive an answer to our prayers. That way we could blame God if things didn’t work out as we prayed. I had a nephew who was born in 1974 with complications and died three months later. Our prayers in his behalf were ineffective because all we knew at the time to pray was “if it be Thy will” prayers. This personal loss taught me a costly lesson. What we don’t know can hurt us. Instead of becoming angry with God, I became passionate to understand the truth about healing. In my quest for truth from the Word, I discovered there are situations in which it is appropriate to pray “If it be Thy will,” such as praying for direction about a move, a career decision, or a major financial whenever the Bible is clear about God’s will it is inappropriate to pray that way.
For example, in 1 Timothy 2:3–4, the apostle Paul said: “God… who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This Scripture tells us absolutely that God’s will is for the salvation and discipleship of men and women. We don’t have to question God’s will about this fact. He already expressed His will in His Word. The same thing is true about everything provided for us by the atonement of Jesus, including healing. I don’t have to wonder whether it is God’s will for my life or to add “if it be Thy will” to my prayer for one of the benefits of the atonement in order to sound humble. Whatever has been provided for us in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus is without question the will of God for us.
… healing is the will of God for us, but we can keep and nurse sickness in our bodies if we want to. That does not change God’s mind and will about His desire for us to be well. The will of God is not just going to fall on us like ripe cherries falling off a tree. Our participation in the process is vital.
No promise from the Word of God—salvation, forgiveness of sins, healing, provision, peace, etc.—is automatic, even though each one is the will of God for our lives. We must respond in faith to His promise of health to us. We must take some faith action toward our goal of healing. Begin by asking for it and receiving assurance that it is the will of God for you. Spend time meditating on and confessing His promises relating to healing. Listen for the Spirit’s promptings in taking some step of action that you would normally take if healing were already manifested in your body. We cannot wait for God to do something else for us before we begin to believe we are healed. The sacrifice of His Son that provided healing for us is done. It is finished. We’re not waiting on God. God is waiting for us to believe and take action on our faith.
For my Kids out there 