Jesus heals many people of their illnesses and casts out demons in the Gospels. Praise the Lord! The apostle Paul also heals people and casts out demons in the Book of Acts. Praise the Lord!
Then, in 2 Corinthians 12:7–9 (NIV), Satan's messenger attacks Paul, and he suffers from a "thorn in the flesh." He prays repeatedly about it, yet he is not healed. Praise the Lord?
Trophimus, Paul's fellow missionary, is left sick in Miletus (2 Tim 4:20). And Timothy suffers from a repeated stomach illness without divine healing (1 Tim 5:23). Praise the Lord?
So, why is it that God heals some people but not others?
The truth of the matter is this—there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question except that God is sovereign. He knows what is best for Christians, and He decides whether it would suit His purposes and glory to heal someone of their ailments (John 9:3; 11:4 NIV).
If this answer seems unsettling, here are four truths that might help the reader come to terms with this answer.
Divine healing is not guaranteed in this life.
There is a lot of bad theology out there that teaches that if believers have enough faith, they are guaranteed physical healing in this life. They should name and claim their miracle because they have a right to be healed.
But if this were the case, then why was Paul not healed of his "thorn in the flesh"? It would be rather presumptuous of us to assume that the man who healed others in Acts did not have enough faith to claim his own healing! And why didn't he simply wave his magic wand of faith and heal Timothy and Trophimus?
Is there physical healing through Jesus's crucifixion? Some would claim yes based on Isaiah 53:5: "by His stripes we are healed" (NKJV). But healing takes place in many forms, most importantly, healing from sin. If physical healing is to be included here, there is no guarantee that it will take place in this present life.
Claiming the right words does not force the hand of God to move on one's behalf.
God is not manipulated by a person's claim to be healed by faith, nor by a person speaking out "the right words" to get Him to answer them.
Not even praying "in the name of Jesus" guarantees physical healing. The sons of Sceva, who did not serve Jesus, tried to cast out a demon by employing Jesus's name. It did not work. In fact, things did not go well with them (Acts 19:13–16 NIV).
Now, of course, if they had served Jesus, there might have been a happy ending here. And Jesus himself encourages praying in his name (John 14:13–14 NIV). Likewise, James encourages the sick to call for the elders of the church to pray for them and anoint them with oil for healing (James 5:14–15).
Nevertheless, all prayers must bow down to the sovereign will of God. If a prayer is in accordance with God's will, one may expect Him to answer it (1 John 5:14–15 NIV). Not all prayers, however, are in accordance with God's will (James 4:3 NIV). Even Jesus's prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane was denied. Instead of avoiding humility and suffering up ahead, it was God's will for Him to die on the cross (Matthew 26:39 ASV). God's plan always turns out to be the better one for the sake of humanity.
God reserves the right to say ‘no’ to prayer requests.
God the Father essentially said "no" to His own Son's prayer at Gethsemane, and the Lord basically told Paul "no" when he requested release from his thorn in the flesh.
To be sure, Jesus encourages his disciples to have the type of faith that removes mountains (Matthew 17:19–20; Mark 11:22–24 NIV). He also wants them to persist in prayer to receive the thing requested (Matthew 7:7–11; Luke 11:2–12; 18:1–8 NIV).
The only problem is that sometimes God's answer to such prayers is "no." Christian faith and persistence do not override God's answer, even when it is an answer the Christian does not want. If it is a no, then Christ's followers are to imitate Christ at Gethsemane and say, "not my will, but your will be done."
The Lord told Paul after refusing to take away his thorn, "My grace is sufficient for you." In other words, Paul would be able to handle his hardships, and the Lord would work mightily through Paul's weakness (2 Cor 12:9–10). The results speak for themselves—Paul reached many nations with the gospel, he wrote many letters in the Bible, and he performed many miraculous deeds.
If the Lord says no to a prayer, believers can trust that something good will come of it. God has something better in store for them, and for others through them.
This life is not all there is.
If healing does not take place in this life, Christians are assured that there will be a future resurrection to come. When the Lord returns, there will be no more pain and suffering. The present frail body with all its ailments will be healed and transformed. Death itself will be defeated (Revelation 21:4; 1 Cor 15:20–28 NIV).
So, once again, why does God heal some people but not others? The answer is that God is sovereign, not the believer's faith. Yes, by all means, believers should pray and trust for divine healing. But ultimately, if God decides not to heal, they can trust that He has a higher purpose for them.
Their resolve should be like that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before being thrown into the fiery furnace. They trusted that the Lord would deliver them, but even if He decided not to, they determined already that they would still serve God and not bow down to other powers (Daniel 3:16–18 NIV). Praise the Lord!
