The death of someone we love is among humanity’s most painful experiences. This pain is more profound when our faith prevents us from anticipating the death. When we’ve prayed passionately and consistently, privately and corporately, unswervingly trusting that He would heal … if He does not heal, our mourning must also encompass the death of an approach to our faith. We knew healing would result in God’s glory. We knew healing would be for the good of her husband, or his children, or her mother, or their faith. Our minds were certain God was able to heal. Our hearts were certain God was willing to heal. Why did He not heal? Why did He not do as He always did in the Bible? Unfortunately, I have no definite answer for the first of these two questions. But I do believe an in-depth consideration of the second question can guard against some harmful answers to the first, and aid in our faith’s recovery from this trauma.
This second question contains a very popular Biblical myth. The myth is that God always affirmatively answered prayers for healing in the Bible. Let’s take a brief look at some counterexamples:
David
When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”
1 Kings 1:1-2
In this passage David, a faithful servant of God (Acts 13:36), contracts a chronic illness. Since he died at 70 (2 Sam. 5:4), this occurs in his 60s, which wasn’t particularly old for his time period (2 Chron. 24:15). We can logically assume that David, and others, prayed to the One “who heals all [his soul’s] diseases” (Psalms 103:1-3). In this same chapter the prophet Nathan visits David (1 Ki. 1:15, 22) while Abishag is attending to him. But unlike the prophet Isaiah and king Hezekiah (2 Ki. 20:1-6), this prophet has no announcement of healing for the king. David was not healed. Rather, he received palliative care based on the “medical” advice of his attendants and eventually died.
Elisha
Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
2 Kings 13:14
This faithful man of God suffered from a long-term illness until he succumbed to it. What I believe is striking about this passage is that neither Elisha nor Jehoash seem to be shaken by the reality of Elisha’s terminal disease. Though Elisha has seen God raise the dead, he conveys no certainty that God will heal him of this illness he is “suffering”. Certainly Elisha does not doubt God’s ability to heal. Certainly we cannot doubt Elisha’s desire to be healed. It would be to God’s glory. It would be for the good of Jehoash who needed this spiritual father. But Elisha does not seem to have been confident that God always uses His power to intervene according to our desires.
Job
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Job 2:3
Job’s story is one of the most dramatic Biblical illustrations of God negatively responding to one of His faithful children. As readers, we’re given some insight into the why of his story. But Job was not given this. Job, like us, had to endure the pain of our first question. However, Job did not hold the myth of our second question. Job knew that faithfulness to God did not guarantee God’s supernatural intervention according to Job’s will.
The phrase in bold is quite revealing. According to God, sometimes there is suffering in this world “without any reason”. The context of the phrase clarifies that He is referring to any reason that is humanly discernible. There was clearly a cosmic reason given in the story but none that Job and his friends were able to discern. It is therefore reasonable that there is still suffering and pain and death in this world for which there is no humanly discernible reason. No definite answer to our first question.
Trophimus
Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.
2 Timothy 4:20
Trophimus assures us that this is not just an Old Testament reality. From this brief statement we can conclude that Trophimus was a traveling companion of Paul whom Paul wanted to continue with him beyond Miletus. However, Trophimus contracted some sickness that was severe enough to prevent him from traveling. We can reasonably conclude that Paul, wanting Trophimus to continue with him, would have prayed for healing. But God, who had healed people through handkerchiefs taken from Paul’s body (Acts 19:11-12), did not heal Trophimus, and, contrary to Paul’s will, he was left in Miletus.
Timothy
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
1 Timothy 5:23
Timothy, Paul’s young, faithful spiritual son (1 Tim. 4:12; Philippians 2:19-22; 1 Tim. 1:2), suffered from chronic illnesses. We can be sure that Paul, Timothy, and the many Christians they served prayed passionately and consistently, privately and corporately for God’s healing. Timothy was with Paul when his handkerchiefs and aprons brought healing from diseases and demons (Acts 19:11-12, 22). Timothy was with Paul when he raised the dead (Acts 20:4-5, 9-10). Timothy was with Paul as he preached and worked miracles in Derbe, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, and more. But despite being so close to a man of such faith and power, Timothy was not healed. And in this passage we find Paul, like David’s attendants, offering palliative “medical” advice.
The health challenges of Timothy alone are enough to debunk the myth that God always affirmatively answered prayers of healing in the Bible. Though we may prefer otherwise, the God of the Bible does not always supernaturally intervene in answer to the prayers of faith. I believe this realization can help us guard against harmful answers to that first question – Why did God not heal? Common answers given to this question include, “We didn’t pray enough”, “We didn’t believe enough”, “We didn’t fast enough”, “We or they have unconfessed sin”. While these statements are based on truths, it can be harmful for us to presume that outcomes are entirely based on our beliefs and actions. This is not to ignore our obligation but to put it in its proper light. It can be true that our mustard seed faith was sufficiently sincere and yet still, “without any [human-discernible] reason”, God chose to not intervene.
I believe this realization can also aid in our faith’s recovery from the trauma of negatively answered prayers of healing. Though it is often difficult to admit it, holding to this myth undermines our faith in God and the Bible. If God supposedly does not change and yet I am clearly seeing Him treat me differently from how He treated the characters of the Bible, either He or the Bible is wrong. Though it does not reduce our pain, realizing that the pain we are experiencing is similar to the pain that God’s faithful children have endured in all ages can provide some degree of peace with Him.
Finally, we are encouraged to focus on Jesus’ experience as we go through pain in this life (Heb. 12:1-3). He prayed with faith beyond measure that His loving God would remove His cup of suffering (Matt. 26:39-46). And yet, “without any [human-discernible] reason”, God chose not to intervene. Jesus knows what it is to feel the pain of God’s negative answers to prayer. He does not promise it will be easy, but He does promise to be with us (Matt. 28:20) and to keep us in His perfect peace (Isa. 26:3; Jn. 14:27).