Question on Healing

[artsylady]

I have a friend who I believe is the worst burn survivor in the world. After the fire, he had to have his feet amputated. He can't hear very well and his hands are 'fused' I guess for lack of a better term. His name is Joe Philion. some may have heard about him 15 years ago - he made international headlines and was from the Orillia Ontario area. It's 15 years since the fire and Joe has had over 100 skin graft operations. Of course at the time, Joe had many prayers and he lived. Many times over he was supposed to die. He never died. Now it looks like he has an infection and may die.

I was talking to a friend in July who told me that Joe could be healed. I don't know why that strikes me as strange. I asked "could he grow feet back"? She said 'of course". She said that in third world countries, amazing healings like this happen all the time, but we don't see a lot of them here. Anyway, since July I have been thinking about this a lot. I do know that God can heal Joe. I don't know if it's God's will but I've so many times wondered why God kept him alive all this time. His quality of life was so poor all of these years. I am seriously more and more thinking that God wants to heal him - get his feet back, his hearing back, heal his skin - all of it.

Am I crazy? Should I have this kind of faith? Does God still do these kinds of healings? I know you're all going to say yes here. I don't know why I'm struggling so much with this. Please help. I know you are all very caring people of great faith but since I'm so close to the situation, it's hard for me to see reality. I don't want to give him or his family false hope. I'm really struggling with this and have been for a few months. I don't know why I just didn't post this earlier.

[ayin jade]

Artsy. this year I have seen people survive illnesses that from a medical perspective, I still cant beleive they survived. The Lord can do anything. Does He want to in your friends case? That is really the question. There is someone in my area who qualifies as the worst burn victim ever, and yet through those burns, he has a strong marriage filled with love, and been an inspiration for everyone. Pray for him, get others to pray too. There is no reason you need to tell them what you are praying for, unless God leads you to.

(The guy in my area is Jason Schecterle, if you want to look him up. It was a locally famous/ infamous event. A cop, trapped in a squad car when it was hit by another car. It burst into flames. He basically had no face left, or ears or anything, and his hands were fused too.)

[artsylady]

Yeah. I'll put in a request. I don't know what God wants to do but I know I've been feeling this way for three months now. I really don't know why I've been waiting.

[Jedi4Yahweh]

Does He want to in your friends case? That is really the question.

Of course God wants to heal him. What kind of God do we serve that would not want to heal him and use it for is glory. This is the same as asking does God want me Deliverd, Saved, and Forgiven.

The answer is: YES < YES < YES

The word Salvation also means: Healing

The real question should be: Will you Pray and Believe God?

[Guest glorytothelord]

We have a friend who is very firm in his belief that you must be healed straight

away, even though his wife, who recently passed away had many operations over the later years of her life. Now, as his niece is ill, I have told him this may not

be G-d's time for healing. It has not been His will that I be healed - I have had

epilepsy for many years now. It was not His will for Paul to be healed either.

But how do you know that your friend will not be healed. G-d does wondrous

things, doesn't He

Glory.

[apothanein kerdos]

Can God physically heal him and grow his limbs back? Absolutely he can! But why in the world would God do such a terrible thing?!?!

You see, your friend (assuming they are a Christian) has an absolutely amazing testimony, that through all of this he is able to praise the Lord. That right there is the miracle. Why are you seeking a miracle when a miracle has already been performed? Why do you seek the signs of the Lord when the the sign is already there in every breath that this man takes?

If God's Will called for this man to be physically healed, then this man would already be physically healed. God's Will is soveriegn and absolute, we can do nothing to bring it about or to hinder it. It happens regardless of our involvement. God will allow it to be sidetracked for a while (and in the case of the lost allow them to run away from it), however He always brings us back to it. Thus if it was in God's Will to heal this man physically, then it would have been done or will be done. However, we know that God has already healed this man and given him an amazing testimony, thus, the true miracle has already occured.

Hope this helps.

[Willow]

hmmm......it is God's will that none should suffer.....however is it in his plan?

I think this is part of God working all things together for good. I don't want to take away hope for healing. Could you imagine? He would make headlines again!!! They would show pictures of him losing him feet.....then a picture of him shoe shopping 15 years later....... come on!!! WOWOWOWOW

But!!! Only God can see the present course he is on.....will more glory be brought to Jesus with him healed or not? Our present sufferings are nothing compared to the eternal paradise we will live in. No pain, no suffering.

So, hope for the best. Love hopes all things, endures all things, love never fails. Love your friend enough to say "Lord, Thy will be done, but I also hope that will include full restoration for my friends body"

It is not wrong to hope, it would be wrong to get mad when you think God isn't doing anything. God is sustaining him daily through his life as it is now. That is something. We must hope for the best, pray for the best, and praise the Lord no matter what.

just my 2 canadian cents worth

:hug: Wills

[Botz]

artsylady...I completely disagree with what SJ has written ..apart from..

Can God physically heal him and grow his limbs back? Absolutely he can!

I think in reality what you ask about is a very difficult real life situation.

As a Christian we know intimately through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost the L-rd who created the Heavens and the Earth...our personal testimony is that we believe beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus rose again from the dead...and that NOTHING is too hard for HIM.

As you mentioned we hear of many great miracles that mostly seem to happen in foreign lands....but our desire is to see true miracles to the glory of G-d in the West...there are a smattering but they seem the exception rather than the norm.

As Willow has said...it may be G-ds plan to take this dear man who has endured such physical disfigurement and suffering to glory...but unless this is revealed we still need to pray for a miracle.

The thing about the situation is that you are not on your own and neither should you try to shoulder the responsibility to prove your faith or demonstrate the power of G-d (unless your faith is so exercised that miracles are common place)...you have the local Church and leaders...and those that have devoted themselves to prayer near you that can uphold this man in prayer...and you can ask us here to have a specific day of fasting and prayer that G-d would deliver this man from death and heal him...according to His mercy and power.

My Pastor advised me once that when praying for somebody with a terminal illness or disease he would first of all mention just once that it may be their time to die and they should get right with G-d...but that from that moment on he would not mention it again but pray in faith that the person would be healed. I think out of about 14 people that he prayed for some years back now that all had terminal cancer....2 were totally healed and 12 died.

Our one dilemma is that we do not want to give a person and those that love him false and unrealistic hope and then have to explain why G-d did not heal the person when we had been praying that He would...I am working through this myself but I believe it is mostly covered by my Pastors advice.

When Jesus sent out the disciples to the nation of Israel He said

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Or ...

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Within the Church much of the responsibility of praying for the sick lies with the Elders who should be tried and tested Believers.

James 5:14 Is any sick among you? 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:

Jam 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Jam 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

One should note that the Elders should be asked to come by the person who is sick if possible.

I hope this helps a little more...and that G-d will be glorified through this mans situation. :hug:

[alecia]

First of all.. God can do anything.

But that doesnt mean He WILL do everything..

Im sure that some people have gotten limbs back.. as I said, God can do anything, but I dont think He will heal every single person that asks, and I know not everyone WANTS to be healed.. Stacey Conor, a lady who had no arms, said "dont fix me, Im not broken." I know, having lost limbs myself.. that it is traumatic.. but for many people, after having accepted that loss, suddenly having limbs that grew back would also be traumatic! It would be great if I hadnt lost them to begin with but, I dont want them back.. Even though I feel the loss sometimes and feel down at times, I have accepted it, I am still me, Im still a person and I still have a purpose somwhere..

So dont fix me.. cause Im not broken..

[Can Do (Phil 4:13)]

I have been living with a very destructive illness for the last 3.5 years. Only recently has the Lord decided to heal me. All things work for good for those called according to His purposes. That's in the Bible (somewhere in the NT). Since it's in the Bible, it's good enough for me Only God knows His purposes, we are just to try and live according to His will.

Faithie :hug: