Does God Heal Today?

Does God heal today? That question is one we all ask at some time or another. Especially when someone we love is given a terminal diagnosis. Most of us have heard stories of "miraculous" healings of people we know. I put "miraculous" in quotes because we still wonder if the person's recovery was the result of a misdiagnosis or medical intervention, or simply a response to fervent prayer. Or a combination of all three. It is impossible to disentangle them.

The Christian never doubts that God heals.

When Jesus came, he introduced the kingdom of God to this world, accompanied by signs and wonders. When God’s kingdom arrives in its fullness at Jesus’ second coming, our healing will be complete. In the “in between” time, sometimes we are healed and sometimes we are not. In today’s reading, we see evidence of God’s healing power at work.

Surrounded by a crowd so large it threatened to crush him, Jesus focused on two individuals—a woman with an incurable medical issue, and a man whose daughter was critically ill.

In the end, the crowd became witness to Jesus’ power over sickness, and the skeptical mourners outside Jairus’ home observed a stunning display of Jesus’ power over death itself.

Jesus' days on earth were marked by spectacular healings, including Lazarus, Jairus' daughter and the widow's son, in which people were even brought back from the dead. But even these people eventually died.

Do you need healing? Whether you timidly seek to just touch the hem of Jesus’ cloak, or desperately fall at Jesus’ feet and cry for help, Jesus knows your need and has the same compassion and power today to work on your behalf.

Respond in Prayer

Compassionate God, who hears our cry and heals our diseases, give me faith to trust in you and courage to make your name known among those who need your touch. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bill Bonikowsky

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®).