Why would God not heal someone....

[love child]

...after they've prayed often and earnestly, believing, hoping and year after year, this person is still not healed?  Could it be that God won't remove their "thorn in the side", because God is using that thorn to keep them humble???

[Mama Etna]

There could be any number of reasons why you have not received a yes answer to this particular prayer.  It may not have anything to do with keeping them humble.  In Paul's case it was:

For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. -- 2 Corinthians 12:6-8

I too have a thorn - food allergies.  If I didn't have them I would eat so much that I would be fatter than I am now.  Only God knows the heart of the person.  Perhaps it is to build the character of the person.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28

We will probably never have all the answers until we get to Heaven.  The last verse sums it all up very well.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -- 2 Corinthians 12:9

[R. Hartono]

3 hours ago, love child said:

...after they've prayed often and earnestly, believing, hoping and year after year, this person is still not healed?  Could it be that God won't remove their "thorn in the side", because God is using that thorn to keep them humble???

My beloved school friend died of leukemia in 1979. She prayed n gave her life to Jesus n all school friend prayed for her but she passed away.

It took me to the year 2012 to finally understand that God did not desert her, God gave me a vision of her self in beautiful shining white dress n shining face. It wasnt a dream.  Im sure you wont believe this. She is waiting for the sound of trumpet where the dead will rise first.

Edited December 2, 2021 by R. Hartono

[Billiards Ball]

14 hours ago, love child said:

...after they've prayed often and earnestly, believing, hoping and year after year, this person is still not healed?  Could it be that God won't remove their "thorn in the side", because God is using that thorn to keep them humble???

A chief reason often overlooked is that if God answered every prayer, "Yes, I shall now" or even a single category of prayer such as healing, He could less effectively sort those who seek truth from those who seek destruction.

[Billiards Ball]

14 hours ago, Mama Etna said:

There could be any number of reasons why you have not received a yes answer to this particular prayer.  It may not have anything to do with keeping them humble.  In Paul's case it was:

For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. -- 2 Corinthians 12:6-8

I too have a thorn - food allergies.  If I didn't have them I would eat so much that I would be fatter than I am now.  Only God knows the heart of the person.  Perhaps it is to build the character of the person.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28

We will probably never have all the answers until we get to Heaven.  The last verse sums it all up very well.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -- 2 Corinthians 12:9

The verses you gave were outstanding answers! So I would simply delete "we won't have all/enough answers this side of Heaven", rather, what you meant was "we will have a more enlightened perspective in Heaven".

[love child]

3 hours ago, Billiards Ball said:

A chief reason often overlooked is that if God answered every prayer, "Yes, I shall now" or even a single category of prayer such as healing, He could less effectively sort those who seek truth from those who seek destruction.

Bless you, Billiards Ball.  I have often thought that one of the main reasons why God would not heal someone is simply to keep them humble?!?  Those that He does heal, I often think, He uses for His testimony?!?  But when you have a debilitating, social ailment (like MS or Parkinsons), I can't imagine that these would be left in place just to keep a person "humble"? 

Well, scripture does say, that God's thoughts are not our thoughts and that God's ways are not our ways.  We are to just trust Him.  Amen.

[LearningToLetGo]

Perhaps the answer has less to do with God and more to do with faith?

Quote

 

Matthew 17:20 (ESV)

20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

 

 

[missmuffet]

20 hours ago, love child said:

...after they've prayed often and earnestly, believing, hoping and year after year, this person is still not healed?  Could it be that God won't remove their "thorn in the side", because God is using that thorn to keep them humble???

Sometimes God uses our suffering for His glory

Romans 8:28

 

 

It is not always God’s will to heal a person physically. A person may sincerely pray and truly have faith that God can heal, but if it is not God’s will to provide the healing at that time, then no healing will come (see 1 John 5:14). Sometimes God’s blessings come in other ways besides physical healing.

If it were always God’s will for people to be healed, then everyone would be healed every time he or she became ill. If good health were always God’s will, then Christians should never die. We can’t blame someone’s malady on a lack of faith, for we know, biblically, that God sometimes uses illness to accomplish His will. Also, it’s not just wayward believers who get sick. Paul “left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Timothy 4:20), and Paul himself had a physical ailment that the Lord declined to heal (2 Corinthians 12:7–9).

Often, Christians have an over-simplified idea of healing. They think that, if they are sick, they have only to ask God to heal them and, because God loves them, He will heal them straightaway. Healing is seen as proof of a person’s faith and of God’s love. This idea persists in some circles in spite of the truth that every mother knows: a parent does not give her child everything he asks for every time, no matter how much she loves him.

Joni Eareckson Tada struggled with this issue for a long time. As she recounts in her book Joni, she sought physical healing of her quadriplegia. She prayed and fully believed that God would heal her. In her words, “I certainly believed. I was calling up my girlfriends saying, ‘Next time you see me I’m going to be running up your sidewalk. God’s going to heal me’” (quoted in an interview with Marvin Olasky, January 17, 2013). Yet Joni is still in a wheelchair today. Forty-five years after the accident that left her paralyzed, God has still not healed her. Her perspective is one of great faith: “God may remove your suffering, and that will be great cause for praise. But if not, He will use it, He will use anything and everything that stands in the way of His fellowship with you. So let God mold you and make you, transform you from glory to glory. That’s the deeper healing” (quoted on Grace to You, October 16, 2013). Some feel that God will never heal anyone miraculously today. Others feel that God will always heal a person if he or she has enough faith. But God will not be put into either box.

We need to understand that healings, even in the Bible, are very rare indeed. For the first 2,500 years of biblical history, there is no mention of any healings whatsoever. Then during the life of Abraham we have a possible healing, although it is only implied (Genesis 12:17–20). Then we have to wait until the life of Moses, who performs a number of signs to authenticate his authority as God’s leader. However, the only healing associated with Moses is Miriam’s cleansing from leprosy (Numbers 12:13–15).

In the covenant God gave to Israel, there were a number of provisions to regulate their lives, and there is an emphasis on physicality and material things in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 28, God promises to reward Israel’s faithfulness with freedom from disease. This is the clue to the meaning of miracles in the Bible. God promised Israel health, long life, children, flocks, corn, grapes, etc.—and victory over their enemies—if they stayed faithful to the Lord. At the same time, God threatened them with sickness, barrenness, disease, drought, famine, the loss of livestock, and enemy occupation if they forsook the Lord. This is the context of Israel’s relationship with sickness and healing. The promise to be kept “free from every disease” in Deuteronomy 7:15 was specifically part of the Mosaic Covenant with Israel under the theocracy; such a promise is not given to the church.

With the coming of Christ, we have the fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant (Matthew 5:17) and a reversal of the effects of Israel’s spiritual backslidings. Wherever Christ went, He healed the sick, but this was not just because of kindness on His part; His healings were always a sign from heaven of Christ’s authority as Messiah (John 7:31). He was giving Israel a taste of the kingdom of God (Luke 11:20). Those who refused His authority were often left sick (Matthew 13:58). At the pool of Bethsaida, for example, Jesus healed only one in a huge multitude (John 5).

The apostles were also given the specific power to heal the sick, and for thirty-seven years they went everywhere healing those who heard their message. Again, their miracles, including healing, were confirmation of the truth of the gospel the apostles proclaimed.

The twelve apostles did not heal everyone, either. Often, there were Christians left unwell in spite of the apostolic power. Paul says to Timothy, “Use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23). Why didn’t Paul just lay hands on Timothy and heal him? It wasn’t because Timothy didn’t have enough faith; it was because it was not God’s will to heal Timothy that way. The healing ministry was not for anyone’s personal convenience; rather, it was a sign from God—to the Jews of the Old Covenant primarily—of the validity of the apostles’ message.

We are not living in the apostolic days today. Of course, God can and does heal today when He wants to. The question we need to ask in any given situation is, what does God want? Does He desire to heal the individual in this life, or does He have another plan to show His glory through weakness? Someday, all sickness and death will be eradicated (see Revelation 21:4). Joni Eareckson Tada will walk again. Until then, there is a greater healing, the cleansing of sinful hearts, that God performs every day.

https://www.gotquestions.org/God-heal-everyone.html

Edited December 2, 2021 by missmuffet

[other one]

i can only give you my personal experience.

My wife has M.S.   She was headed downhill very quickly and I asked Him to heal her.   Every day for some time.   He did kind of tell me she would be OK, but he would not heal her to her old normal self.   Well I got rather frustrated with him one afternoon and went out back and pretty much got in his face over it....  Yelled and screamed and shook my fist in his face.   Expecting a bold of lightening at any moment and I would have disserved it, I finally demanded if he wasn't going to heal her that he should have to tell me why....    Well in a very soft loving voice that I know could not have come from me he simply said and I quote, "Sam,  Sam, Sam,  that's between her and me and it's really none of your business."

So I have to think that sometimes it's in that persons best interests that they are not healed...  and it's way not my place to speculate why. She managed to drag herself through college and was a kindergarten teacher for 20+ years even though she was handicapped.   Through it all and even today she's one of the deepest loving faithful Christians I know and has been a super example to hundreds of people she's come in contact with all the time in the classroom. There is literally no telling how many lives she's changed throughout the years showing her love for the Lord even though she struggles with life some days.

 

[johnthebaptist]

23 hours ago, love child said:

...after they've prayed often and earnestly, believing, hoping and year after year, this person is still not healed?  Could it be that God won't remove their "thorn in the side", because God is using that thorn to keep them humble???

Perhaps the Lord wants that person to make a change in their life.