Faith and Healing: When God Answered Immediately and When He Did Not

I know God answered our prayer as we were spinning out of control! That kind of experience builds faith. But when He doesn’t answer right away—that’s when it takes faith.

I was so thankful that we were all still alive that I ignored the tingling sensation that was running through my entire body. Our car had hydroplaned in a downpour on the interstate. As we were spinning out of control, all we could do was pray. Our Heavenly Father was the only help available to us.

As we saw the 18-wheeler headed for us, we prayed harder. We later learned that the driver of the 18-wheeler was also praying that he would not hit us, because there was nothing he could do either. Had the 18-wheeler been a few seconds slower or had we been a few seconds faster, our car would have been underneath his left rear tire and someone in our car would have surely died.

God heard our cries. We were protected from death.

None of us appeared injured. My husband had a black eye for a day or two, but that was the only apparent injury. Our car was totaled, but we were truly thankful.

Painful injuries

However, I woke up on the next Sabbath morning, which was exactly one week after the accident, and I could hardly get out of bed. I later discovered that I had fractured my neck and had three herniated discs in my lower back.

After much prayer, anointing (James 5:14), more prayer, time (years) and therapy (also years), I still suffer with pain daily. Some days the pain is worse than other days. However, I continue to believe God will heal me when it is His will.

God’s concerns

I have come to learn that God’s primary concern is not about the physical pain that I suffer, but about the bigger picture of my spiritual condition.

In Psalm 103 David says that God provides certain things for His people. David says that God forgives all our iniquities, heals us from disease, offers tender mercies, forgives our sin and offers redemption for those who “keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them” (verse 18).

God’s will

But it is God who chooses when and how He will answer our prayers and who He physically heals immediately. My only choice is to obey God and continue to pray for His will.

Jesus Christ prayed in Matthew 26:39, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Even though we know for certain that God heard Christ’s prayer, He did not remove the trial that Christ faced.

I know that God hears our prayers too, and He knows what we need. Christ says in Mark 11:24, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” We must not doubt that God hears; we must know that He does.

The faith to know God hears

To truly know that God hears our prayers is where faith comes into practice. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I cannot doubt. I must know that He hears us.

However, all that I ask must be asked according to God’s will. God’s primary concern is for us to be in His Kingdom forever. He wants me to be developing godly character. So, I have come to learn and more fully understand how to be glad in suffering because “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4, New Revised Standard Version).

Our hope

When the physical pain is excruciating, I have to remind myself that my hope is not in anything in this life. My hope is in the resurrection and the Kingdom of God.

I, like Paul, “consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). God knows what I need physically and spiritually. I know that my physical pain is temporary. I know that eventually God will heal me, and this physical pain will no longer have a hold on me.

So, even though I have not yet been completely healed, I know with certainty that God answered our prayers that day and every day.

Pam Rehm is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area.

For more about faith and healing, see:

• What Is Faith?
• Does God Heal People Today?