Why does God not Heal Everyone?

The Bible is very clear on the nature of God being omnipotent. It means God can do anything for He is an all-powerful God. Jeremiah 32:27 says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” God is telling us that there is nothing He cannot do, for with God everything is possible (Matthew 19:26).

We read all the miracles and wonders that God has done not only in ancient Israel but even during the New Testament times; miracles of deliverance and healing. God even raised people up from the dead. Yet today, we hear and read stories of believers who prayed for healing but did not get healed. And we are left wondering why. Why does God not heal everyone who asks in faith for healing?

God is Our Healer

The power of God to heal physically is illustrated in the lives of certain Old Testament characters like Hannah who was healed from barrenness (1 Samuel 1:9-20), Naaman who was healed of leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-14), and Hezekiah whom God healed from a terminal illness and was granted additional 15 years to live (2 Kings 20:1-7).

Moving on to the New Testament, we read eyewitness testimonies of at least 30 individual healing of Jesus Christ recorded in the four gospels. Below are some of the more well-known healing miracles of Jesus:

• Jesus heals a man born blind in John 9:1-41
• Jesus cures the woman who has been bleeding for 12 years in Matthew 9:20-22
• Jesus cures a man of an evil spirit in Mark 5:10-20
• Jesus heals 10 men with leprosy in Luke 17:11-19
• Jesus heals a paralyzed man in Mark 2:1-12
• Jesus heals a man who was deaf and mute in Mark 7:31-37

We have no reason to doubt that God can heal everyone of any disease; that healing is for everyone. After all, Jesus Himself bore our sins in His own body, took upon Himself all the punishment for our iniquities, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). But why is it that many people, including firm believers in the Lord and in His promises, do not receive their healing?

Christians who are suffering from terminal illnesses, particularly cancer, have been praying and believing that Jesus will reach out to heal them but it seemed like God was deaf to their pleas. Doesn’t it say in Mark 11:24 and Matthew 21:22 that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer as long as we believe we have already received it?

When people do not receive their healing, does it mean they do not have faith? I’ve seen people who have more faith than we could ever imagine, yet they did not receive their healing.

Nabeel Qureshi: Christian Apologist (1983-2017)

On Saturday, September 16, 2017, Nabeel Qureshi, a Christian apologist, and former Muslim, has gone home to be with the Lord at the age of 34 after enduring a yearlong battle with cancer. Nabeel was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in August 2016 and was told by the doctors that the clinical prognosis was quite grim. They gave him about 6 months to live.

However, he believed that God is not yet finished with him but is in the process of refining him. Nabeel gave this announcement on his Facebook page on August 31, 2016, the same day that his book “No God but One: Allah or Jesus? A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity” was released.

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Dear Friends and Family,

This is an announcement that I never expected to make, but God in His infinite and sovereign wisdom has chosen me for this refining, and I pray He will be glorified through my body and my spirit. My family and I have received the news that I have advanced stomach cancer, and the clinical prognosis is quite grim.

Nonetheless, we are going to pursue healing aggressively, both medical and miraculous, relying on God and the fact that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

In the past few days my spirits have soared and sank as I pursue the Lord’s will and consider what the future might look like, but never once have I doubted this: that Jesus is Lord, His blood has paid my ransom, and by His wounds, I am healed. I have firm faith that my soul is saved by the grace and mercy of the Triune God, and not by any accomplishment or merit of my own.

I am so thankful that I am a child of the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed in the Spirit. No, in the midst of the storm, I do not have to worry about my salvation, and for that, I praise you, God.

Unfortunately, this means I am no longer able to engage in traveling ministry for the time being. I am canceling almost all my speaking events, with a few exceptions. From this point on until such a time as the Lord might choose to heal me, I intend to blog or vlog about my journey with cancer, transparently offering my heart, thoughts, and struggles in case they might encourage others and glorify God.

I will no longer be with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, though it has been an absolute privilege to be on the team for the past 3 years. My third book, No God But One: Allah or Jesus?, launched today, and I still intend to write my next book, 20 Questions Muslims Ask and the Answers that Convert Them. Beyond that, the Lord knows.

Friends and family, may I ask you to fast and pray fervently for my healing? I do not profess to know the will of the Lord, but many of my close friends and confidants are convinced that this is a trial through which the Lord intends to bring me alive and refined. May His will be done, and may I invite you to seek Him in earnest, on your knees, fasting on my behalf, asking our Yahweh Rapha for healing in Jesus’ name.

And as you pray and fast, “I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:18-20).

For His Glory, 
Nabeel

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Worldwide Prayer for Nabeel

Nabeel’s announcement has drawn the support of fellow believers in Christ not only in America but in all parts of the world to pray and fast for his healing. Many of them firmly believed that God would come through for Nabeel and he will be on his way to complete healing and recovery. Nabeel then went through the process of radiation to kill the cancer cells but in May 2017 he announced that the radiation didn’t work and cancer had spread to his chest.

On August 14, 2017, Nabeel’s doctors had to remove his entire stomach due to “bleeding issues.” But on September 9, 2017, his doctors have given up on treating his body and decided to put him on palliative care. Two days later, he uploaded his last vlog where he reflected on his ministry and hoped to leave behind a legacy of love, peace, and truth.

When God doesn’t Heal

Why does God not heal everyone who asks in faith for healing? Truth is, we do not know exactly why a person fails to receive his healing. The one time the Bible mentions why people did not receive healing is in Matthew 13:58 and Mark 6:5-6, where the sole reason given is unbelief. Jesus never mentioned anything about the will of God or anything else for that matter. But when someone does receive healing, we hear Jesus commending their faith by saying, “Your faith has made you whole.”

John 3:16 says that God loves everybody which is why He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross. Jesus’ death and resurrection made God’s salvation available to everyone who believes. Believing in the context of this verse does not only mean believing in words but has to be accompanied by action.

This faith which is received by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) is also what is needed to receive what we ask of God. Those who received their healing, whether it be in the Old Testament or the New Testament, have clearly demonstrated the kind of faith that moved the heart of God to heal them.

I believe that Nabeel had as much faith as those people have or maybe even greater. As a matter of fact, I’ve never seen anyone with the kind of faith that he demonstrated. He really believed that it was God’s will for him to get healed even when his body was saying otherwise. Even up to his last days at the hospital, he still held on to the promise of God’s healing for him.

It was indeed heartbreaking to see him lose his battle against cancer. Many Christians around the world fasted and prayed for Nabeel’s healing. How can God not hear the corporate prayer and fasting of His people pleading for Him to heal a dear brother? Wouldn’t it be for God’s greater glory if Nabeel got healed miraculously? So why did God choose not to heal him?

God Knows Best

We do not understand why at times God chooses to heal and at other times He chooses not to. But one thing we can be sure of is God always has our best interest at heart. At times when we do not see His hand, we just have to trust His heart. We cannot fathom God’s thoughts simply because we do not have His mind and His ways are much higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Nabeel wanted so badly to be with his family and to see his daughter grow up while serving God at the same time in his teaching and preaching ministry. But God called him home probably because he has already accomplished the works He has called him to do.  Brother Nabeel has fought the good fight of faith, he has finished the race, and he has kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

Yes, we mourn for the loss of a brother and a great servant of the Lord but at the same time, we rejoice that he is now in the presence of our Lord and Master. The apostle Paul tells us not to grieve for those who have fallen asleep but let us comfort one another because we will all be reunited in Lord when He comes (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

An Inspiration and a Blessing

Since coming to the Middle East in September 2010, I have closely followed Nabeel’s ministry. Living in a Muslim country has challenged me to study Islam on a deeper level in order to have a better understanding of the worldview and ideology that my employers and most of my colleagues hold to. That’s when I came across the life-changing story of Nabeel Qureshi and his journey from Islam to Christianity.

It’s truly a blessing and encouragement getting to know someone who was willing to give up his family and identity in order to follow Christ. I can never imagine the pain he had to endure for betraying the family that he so very much loved and adored. But he did it for the sake of the gospel; he did it because he came to know the One true God who saved him from eternal condemnation in hell.

Final Thoughts

I am just one of the thousands (or maybe millions) around the world who was touched, blessed, and encouraged by Nabeel’s life, ministry, and service to God. As a matter of fact, he’s the one who inspired me to delve into Christian Apologetics when I never had any interest in it.

Even though I did not have formal education in apologetics, my faith in Christ has become much more solid and stronger since learning of the reliability of the New Testament based on historical evidence.

And this is all because of brother Nabeel Qureshi. God has indeed used him as a blessing and encouragement to His people. It’s truly an honor to get to know a great man of God who never wavered in his faith despite his health condition.

I am looking forward to meeting him soon at the rapture, the wedding supper of the Lamb, and the rewarding ceremony.

Nabeel has authored 3 books: “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus,” “Answering Jihad, A Better Way Forward” and his New York Times bestseller “No God but One: Allah or Jesus,” which is the only book ever to win Christian Book Awards for both “Best New Author” and “Best Nonfiction.”