One tradition that has robbed the Church of healing is the practice of praying, “If it be Thy will.” You should know that it is God’s will to heal you before you ever pray. You can know because God’s Word tells you His will. The Word of God is the will of God. “If it be Thy will” is unbelief when praying for healing.

There is no faith in that kind of praying. It is the opposite of faith. If you are praying, “Lord, heal me, if
it be Thy will,” then it is obvious that you don’t know what the will of God is, and until you know what
God’s will is, you don’t have any basis for faith. You are like the farmer who sits on his porch and says, “I
believe in crops. I know they are real, so I’m not going to plant any seed this year. I’ll just believe for my crop to come up.” That farmer will sit there forever! It is a principle of life that first you plant, then you reap.

Many Christians today are like that farmer. They are trying to reap a healing harvest when they’ve not
planted any healing seed. “If it be Thy will” will not reap a healing harvest. It will keep you from receiving
from God. You can know from God’s Word that it is His will for you to be healed.

Another tradition we hear is that healing has passed away. There are no miracles today. God said,
“I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26). We all know that God doesn’t change (James 1:17).
He has not changed since the beginning of time (Malachi 3:6). For healing to pass away, then God
would have to pass away. He is still the Lord that healeth us!

Miracles and the healing power of God are just as available now as when Jesus walked the earth.
You can believe that God heals today. Miracles have never passed away—some people just quit believing.
It takes active faith to receive from God.

There was a time in my life when I knew that healing was real and that God was healing people,
but I didn’t know if it was God’s will to heal me. Just believing in healing is not enough. You must believe
that it is God’s will to heal you. You have to believe that healing is yours, that it belongs to you. “Healing
belongs to me!”

Another tradition tells us that God gets glory from Christians being sick. But the Bible says people gave
glory to God when they saw the lame walk and the blind eyes see. People glorified the God of Israel
when they saw His power in manifestation (Matthew 15:30-31). Jesus said the Father is glorified when
we bear much fruit (John 15:8). Cancer is not fruit. Arthritis is not fruit. The world is not impressed by
your sickness. They are not impressed because you bear up under pain and agony.

They have all the pain and agony they want. They are looking for a way out of sickness and disease—not a
way into it. They have enough problems. They want some answers! People are oppressed by Satan and need deliverance. They want victory in their lives. They want to know how to pay their bills and to be free of sickness in their bodies. That God gets glory from His children being sick makes no sense; but more importantly, it does not agree with the Word.

As believers, we are to be lighthouses of deliverance and help in a dark world. God’s will is that we
show forth His love and power to the world around us in need of help. The Bible says, “Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”
(Matthew 5:16).

The world is supposed to see good works in our midst, not sickness and disease. “That ye may be
blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life…” (Philippians 2:15-16). Our
commission is to give forth the Word of life—that is the Word of God concerning salvation, healing and
deliverance to those around us. Instead, because of the traditions of men, we have tried to tell the world
that the God we serve has made us sick. What a lie to tell on the Father God who is the God of love and
mercy. Jesus said that we are to lay hands on the sick and they would recover. His will is that His Body be
the answer to the problem of sickness and disease.

We have been told to alleviate the problem, not teach people that God wants them sick.

Gloria Copeland