Divine Healing Is a Process. How Can You Participate?

⌚︎  4 min. read
Have you ever prayed for a sick person to be healed? If you are walking with Jesus, this is unavoidable. Jesus healed people and called believers to do the same (Joh. 14:11-14; Luk. 10:9; Mat. 10:1, 8; Mat. 28:20). If you have prayed for the sick, or received prayer for healing, you likely discovered divine healing can seem mysterious!  What do you do if nothing happens? Does this mean it’s not God’s will, or that you're the problem?

But what if there’s another perspective–a hope filled one…what if lack of instant results DOES NOT mean God isn’t working? What if your prayers actually do play an essential part in seeing the condition completely healed as you continue to apply faith and pray?

What I’m suggesting is that we need a perspective of seeing divine healing as a process, emphasizing the “ing” in “healing.” I’m not suggesting the process has to be slow–most of Jesus’ healing miracles happened fast–but I am saying if it’s not fast, don’t give up! Healing can be progressive, and that’s ok! When you realize this you will be encouraged to persevere—even when you don’t experience fast results.

How does progressive healing happen?  Commonly, through impartation. In divine healing, impartation is the Holy Spirit releasing life through a believer to heal the sick. The idea here is that because believers are vessels of the Holy Spirit, they can impart healing grace, or “life,” by the Spirit Of Life (Rom. 8:2).  

Jesus calls the thirsty to come to him and drink living water. He also says those same people who believe in him will have streams of living water flowing out from their inmost being (Joh. 7:37-39)! Jesus turns us into walking sprinklers that saturate everything around them with life! It’s the Holy Spirit flowing through you that heals sick and broken bodies.

To further illustrate impartation, picture someone with a garden hose filling a bucket with water.  This is a process.  If you turn the hose off too soon, the bucket won’t be completely filled.  This is similar to how healing comes through impartation.  As you pray in faith in Jesus' name, the living water begins flowing out of you–like turning on the hose.  Sometimes you “fill the bucket” quickly, resulting in a near instant miraculous healing. Other times it is more gradual and progressive, requiring prayer multiple times over an extended period of time.

This perspective is very powerful! When faced with lack of results, instead of abandoning expectation, it allows for faith to keep working!  Sounds biblical, right?  This allows you to walk by faith, not by sight (2Co. 5:7).  It allows for genuine faith to persevere until the process is complete. It allows you to know by faith that as you pray in Jesus' name life is being imparted and healing is occurring. If the condition isn’t healed yet, that’s ok, the process isn’t over yet. You have permission to pray as many times as needed!

This is biblical. Jesus prayed twice for a blind man because after the first prayer the man was only partially healed. So, Jesus put his hand on him and prayed again to impart more life until the man could see perfectly (Mar. 8:22-25).

The prophet Elisha prayed multiple times when he raised a boy from the dead. First, he sent his servant to place his staff on the boy.  There was no instant noticeable change. Elisha then went to the boy and imparted healing life by stretching himself out over the lifeless body.  Eventually the boy's body began to grow warm as life flooded in.  Then Elisha paced in the room, until he again stretched himself out on the boy's body, and the boy came back to life (2Ki. 4)!

Let’s get practical. There are different ways you can receive and impart life. For example, in the Bible we see healing result from life imparted through touch. Jesus told his disciples that believers would heal the sick through their hands (Mar. 16:18).  

Another example is items becoming impregnated with life after touching a believer.  Jesus' clothes and Paul's handkerchiefs were able to heal the sick and drive out demons (Luk. 8:44; Mar. 6:56; Act. 19:12)!

Anointing with oil is also used in healing the sick (Mar. 6:13; Jas. 5:14).  Throughout the bible anointing with oil is an act of consecration.  If handkerchiefs and clothing can carry the supernatural life of God to heal the sick, why not oil used in this holy ordinance?  

Speaking is another way to impart life.  At times, Jesus healed with a word (Mat. 8:5-13, 16).  This makes sense--the bible says his words are "spirit" and "life" (Joh. 6:63).  

Additionally, there are accounts of healing when people received communion.  How? The bible says, “by his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5; 1Pe. 2:24). Life can be released through faithfully receiving Christ's broken body.

This list is not exhaustive.  Our God is too creative for that!  The key ingredients are life and faith.

Healing is a process. Life imparted in these ways can be powerful and fast, or it may be gradual over time.  Healing may happen in 30 seconds, or over 30 years. In either case, by faith, thank God for what He’s doing until you see complete healing.  Keep dispensing and receiving living water until each situation is filled with life!  Remember, as you walk by faith, not by sight, you will continually grow in effectiveness as you grow in your partnership with the Spirit Of Life.