Obtaining and Retaining Divine Healing

In this chapter I wish to give the reader a little information on how to obtain and retain Divine Healing.

There are two ways of bringing healing into disrepute and crowding it out of the world. The first way is to continually run to the physician and never apply to God for it. We must ever remember that healing was in the atonement as well as salvation. What saith the scripture "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53: 5). "Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses" (Matt. 8: 17). Notwithstanding healing being in the atonement, we do not receive it unless we believe and apply for it, just as we did to get salvation.

The next way of bringing it into disrepute and crowding it out of the world is to receive it and afterward doubt it away. By so doing we wreck our own faith in it, and also the faith of others.

The woman who had the issue of blood, spoken of in Mark 5: 25-34, is a beautiful example for those seeking healing. Let us observe a few helpful things about her. 

1. She believed Christ had the power to heal her completely. She did not let the nature of her disease, nor the long period which she had suffered with it, stagger her faith, nor limit His power; but she said (verse 28), "If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be WHOLE." This is the place where so many fail in obtaining complete healing. Because the disease is chronic, or because they have had it a long time, or because the earthly physicians say it is incurable, they limit God and fail to obtain the blessing. Friend, God can heal you of a cancer just as easily as He can of the headache.

2. She did not only believe He could heal her, but also believed that He was willing to do so. You will notice, in reading the life of Jesus, that He never refused to heal a single soul that ever applied for healing. Now we are told in Paul's letter to the Hebrews, that "He is the same yesterday, today and forever." Therefore, if He did not refuse any then, He will not refuse any now, otherwise this passage would not be true. The fault lies in our unbelief, not in Him. "All things are possible to him that believeth."

3. She went further still, and did not stop at simply believing He was willing, but believed He would. "If I may touch His clothes I SHALL be whole." Now, friends, you may have been anointed time and time again for healing, but always failed to obtain it. No doubt the trouble lies right here. You made feelings your foundation, rather than faith. After the oil was dropped on your head, you tried yourself to see if you felt any better. So as you did not feel any better you concluded that you were no better. But this woman did not do this. Her confidence was based upon touching Him and not on how she would feel. If you would say, after reading Jas. 5: 15, 16, and meeting the conditions, "Jesus heals me this moment," and would stick to it, you would surely be made whole.

4. The next thing that is worthy of your attention is the great opposition she met in reaching the Savior. Mark says, "She came in the PRESS." If we would get healed, there are lots of things to press against. The first is the doctor and remedies. The second is public opinion. The third is past failures to obtain healing. The fourth is future fears, i. e., fearing the disease will return again after you declared it was gone. But do not let any of these things move you.

The next information I wish to give is, how to keep healing after receiving it. The first point is, believe and count it done from the moment you are prayed with and anointed, no matter how you feel. The devil will be sure to attack your feelings for several days after you are healed, and sometimes cause you to feel apparent symptoms of the disease, but do not give in to him. He is only trying to break down your faith. You must stand your ground and count it done, and thus, after a week or two of testing and failing to destroy your faith, he will leave you again. James says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

The second thing necessary to retain it is to continually act your faith, i. e., act like you are healed. Do not lounge around and act like a sick person, but get up and act your faith. As soon as Jesus healed the man at the pool, he put him to doing something-"Take up thy bed and walk"-that is, act like a well man.

The third thing necessary to retain healing is to testify to it every opportunity you get. Mr. Fletcher lost the experience of holiness five times by not testifying to it. The Psalmist says, "Make known His deeds among the people." Hundreds have lost healing at this point, and after they have lost it the devil will tell them they never had it in the first place and thus discourage them from seeking it again, but if we tell it, our faith will be strengthened, our healing perfected and others encouraged to come to God for healing.