What the Bible says
God made Himself known to Israel as healer: “I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26). David told his soul to “forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:2–3). Notice that forgiveness comes first. The deepest sickness is sin, and God deals with it at the root. Jeremiah prayed, “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved” (Jeremiah 17:14).
In the Gospels, Jesus went about “healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matthew 4:23). When a leper said, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Mark 1:40), Jesus, “moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him” (Mark 1:41). He did not turn away from the sick. His healings showed who He is, and they pointed to the greater work of the cross, where “with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Scripture tells the sick to pray and to call others to pray. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him” (James 5:14). “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:15). Yet Paul asked three times for his thorn to be taken away, and the Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9). We ask in faith and leave the answer to Him.
Whether healing comes now or later, the Lord is near. “The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing” (Psalm 41:3). And “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Believers groan, “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). In Christ there is a sure hope of the day when “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4).
13 verses, King James Version
Exodus 15:26
I am the LORD that healeth thee
26And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Psalms 103:2–3
Who healeth all thy diseases
2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Isaiah 53:5
With his stripes we are healed
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
2 Corinthians 4:16
The inward man is renewed day by day
16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
James 5:14–15
Call the elders to pray
14Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Psalms 6:2
A prayer for healing
2Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
Jeremiah 17:14
Asking God to heal
14Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Mark 1:40–42
Jesus touched the sick man
40And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
Matthew 9:35–36
Jesus’ heart for the hurting
35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Psalms 41:3
God sustains on the sickbed
3The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
2 Corinthians 12:7–9
Paul prayed three times; God gave grace
7And 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. 8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And 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.
Psalms 73:26
When body and heart fail
26My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
Romans 8:22–23
Waiting for our bodies to be made new
22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (public domain). Read aloud by Anthony.