Is my faith enough to stand for the healing or salvation or deliverance of another person? š¤
Itās often taught that the person weāre praying for also has to be in faith.
If that were the case, that leaves little hope for the mentally incapacitated, children, unborn babies, or unsaved people you simply want to see healed. It also leaves zero hope for raising the dead. š¬
The scripture passage that is always used to back up this statement is when Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth:
Mark 6:5 – He could do no mighty works there (in Nazareth) except that He laid His hands on a few sick people. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.
This seems to indicate that a personās unbelief is more powerful than Jesusā faith to heal.
However, letās dig deeper into scripture and add some context to this passage.
Everywhere else that Jesus went in His ministry, He healed them ALL:
Matthew 8:6 – Many were brought to him and He healed ALL who were sick
Matthew 12:15 – Great multitudes followed him, and He healed them ALL.
Matthew 14:14 Large crowd came to Jesus and he healed (all) their sick.
Matthew 19:2 – Great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them (all) there.
Matthew 21:14 – The blind and lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them (all).
So why couldnāt Jesus āheal them allā in Nazareth?
Hereās why:
Nazareth was Jesusā hometown.
The Nazarenes were greatly offended at Jesus, because He was merely the carpenter son of the local family, and who did He think he was, performing miracles and operating in such wisdom? (Mk 6:1-3)
They didnāt believe He was the prophesied Messiah, and were so enraged at his teachings that they even drove him out of the city and attempted to throw him off a cliff! (Lk 4:16-28)
We can come to the conclusion that the reason Jesus could do no mighty works in his hometown was because the people were so offended and full of unbelief that Jesus – that kid from up the road – had any wisdom or power, that they DIDNāT EVEN COME to hear him preach.
The few that DID come, however, got healed (Mk 6:5). If they had all come, they would have all been healed, because Jesus ALWAYS healed them ALL.
Jesus referred to this unfortunate situation in the parable of the Great Supper in Luke 14:16-24 where a man prepared a great feast and invited many, but everyone made excuses as to why they couldnāt come.
In verse 24 Jesus concludes that āNone of the men who were invited shall taste my supper.ā
They were given the opportunity to come, but they couldnāt be bothered, and they missed out on the feast that had been prepared for them – the feast of healing, deliverance, and salvation.
There are, however, many examples of Jesus and the disciples healing people WITHOUT their permission or even knowledge, because there was a person standing in faith FOR them:
šš¼ Jairusā daughter – Jairusā faith (Mk 5:21-43)
The centurionās servant – the centurionās faith (Lk 7:1-10)
šš¼ Noblemanās son – Noblemanās faith (Jn 4:46-50)
šš¼ Widowās son who was dead – Jesusā faith (Lk 7:11-14)
šš¼ Gentile womanās demon-possessed daughter – Womanās faith (Matt 15:21)
šš¼ Lazarus raised from the dead – Jesusā faith (Jn 11:1-44)
šš¼ Man who was paralysed – his friendsā faith (Mk 2:1-12)
šš¼ Lame man at the gate Beautiful – Peterās faith (Acts 3:6)
Jesus even healed the demon-possessed son of a man who openly admitted his unbelief (Mk 9:25) because Jesus used his faith.
I can tell you so many testimonies of people who have been saved (wilfully unbelieving atheists/involved in the occult), healed of terminal diseases (and who didnāt even know they were being prayed for) and set free from years of addictions, ungodly lifestyles and other bondages through no cooperation of their own – simply through the faith of ONE PERSON prepared to contend for and break the grip of the devil over them. šš¼š„
God says, āWill their unbelief make the faithfulness of God ineffective? Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar.ā (Rom 3:3)
The only time unbelief is a hindrance to faith is when itās our OWN unbelief. (Mk 11:23) š¬
Unbelief is present when weāre double-minded (we have faith but weāre constantly thinking about the problem/what we can do about it), not bridling our tongue (we have faith but weāre also talking about the problem), or we simply give up because weāre moved by what we see instead of keeping our eyes fixed on what we donāt see (the thing weāre believing for). (Js 1:7, Js 1:26, Heb 10:23, 2 Cor. 4:18)
The disciples couldnāt cast the demon out of the boy because of their unbelief – not the boyās unbelief and not his fatherās – THEIRS. (Matt 17:20).
Part of our great commission from Jesus is to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons – thereās no conditions on this expectation – except that we BELIEVE! (Matt 10:8) š
If the person youāre believing for has faith, awesome! If they donāt, we can have faith for them. The prayer of faith (your faith!) will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. (James 5:15)
āIs not my Word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock to pieces?ā (Jer 23:29)š„šØ
One person determined and committed to stand in faith on Godās Word for the salvation/healing/deliverance of someone else is enough to get the job done.
Thatās how much God loves His children and wants them saved! ā¤ļø
Thatās GOOD news! š„³šš¼
(P.S. And next time that ākid from up the roadā offers us wisdom or prayer, weād better take it!š)
āāāāāāāāā
Listen to āHow To Pray Effectively For Othersā, Episode 72 on Faith Talks with Emily Preston podcast,
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