Will God Still Grant Me a Miracle If My Infirmity Is Caused by My Foolish Mistakes?

Question: Since my infirmity is a result of my own personal negligence and now my health is ruined, can I still expect a miracle of healing, or must I now suffer the consequences of my sin and foolishness? I feel guilty and ashamed and believe this is a cross I must bear as punishment for my sins. I believe God is teaching me a lesson through this, so if that's true, does that mean He wants me to stay sick?

Answer: Good questions. How I answer them makes a big difference in how I pray for an individual. Must they first confess their sins? Does God want some to walk in their infirmity for the rest of their lives? Are there steps I might need to take to help the person remove the darkness from their spirit and souls so they can receive God’s healing rays in their bodies? What would those steps be? How might I go about taking these steps?

According to Jesus, sin can bear a physical consequence of infirmity. Jesus said to a lame man whom He had just healed, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you" (Jn. 5:14). 

I believe we all know that neglect toward our bodies can result in poor health. A few examples could include defiling our bodies with rich food (Dan. 1:8), sexual encounters outside of marriage, harboring anger, bitterness, jealously or fear in our souls, etc.

However, the Bible demonstrates that God in His great grace still extends miracles regardless of our personal responsibility in causing the sickness or whether we have identified all causative sins and confessed them.

Let’s take a look at just one example from Scripture of the paralytic who was lowered down from a roof and experienced an instantaneous miracle, with there being no mention that he first confessed his sins, even though he clearly had sins which Jesus specifically forgave him of.

… They let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." …He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" (Mk. 2:3-12 NKJV)

The fact that Jesus said “your sins are forgiven” would indicate there was sin in his life. We know that when we have sin in our lives, it tends to produce a sense of alienation and separation in our hearts toward God. Feelings of guilt and shame and fear, which are all forms of emotional darkness, can hinder God’s healing rays from enlightening our spirits, souls and bodies.

No Alienation!

So Jesus began by instantly removing all sense of alienation and separation by calling him “Son!” Wow! I am not alienated. I am accepted by my heavenly Father, even though I am imperfect and sinful and my sins have brought infirmity to my body. He still reaches out to me and calls me His son! Amazing! Astounding! Thank You, Lord, I am Your son and fully accepted, just as I am!

Then Jesus freely extends forgiveness: “Your sins are forgiven you.” Wow! Unmerited favor! There wasn’t even mention that the man had identified all his sins and/or repented of them. Simply God’s grace being extended! Amazing! All emotional guilt, negative thinking and demonic darkness are instantly driven back by the invasion of these words, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This reminds me of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus didn’t put her down. No guilt or condemnation. He simply said, “Go and sin no more” (Jn. 8:11). So we bask in the acceptance, release, and freedom of the God who loves mercy (Micah 5:8), and know that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).

Oh how we need to be freed from self-judging! This is done through the healing rhema words of Jesus Christ. Every time I do two-way journaling, I experience this wonderful freedom, over and over again. It releases a constant healing experience within my soul. I am loved and accepted unconditionally, just as I am. Make two-way journaling a part of your daily experience.

So now, I can live in mercy toward myself, rather than judgment. Since God loves me unconditionally, I can come into agreement with Him and accept His unconditional love and love myself unconditionally. I declare, “I stand cleansed of all my sin by Christ’s shed blood. I put on Christ’s robe of righteousness (Gal. 3:27). It is spotless white. I glow with righteousness. I radiate the glory of Christ everywhere I go.”

Declaring myself decked out in Christ’s robe of radiant white is in itself a powerful healing experience. Try it. Do it daily. You have to see yourself some way. You are either picturing yourself as a miserable sinner, or you are picturing yourself radiating with Christ’s righteousness. Seeing the right picture heals me from the inside out. God is healing my soul, removing its darkness by turning on the light. I am going from darkened thinking, to thoughts of loving acceptance.

So now the darkness in this man’s spirit and soul have been dealt with. Jesus removed his sense of alienation and guilt, instantly, miraculously. Now Jesus goes after his body, speaking life to it and commanding him to do something he has not been able to do. Jesus says, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." So with a step of faith, the man rises, takes up his pallet and goes home. “All were amazed and glorified God” (Mk. 2:12).

Spirit, soul and body all healed in one miraculous explosion of divine radiant power! Unmerited grace, favor and blessing are all pouring forth from the throne of grace.

An Explosion of Divine Grace Healing Spirit, Soul and Body

I would like to suggest that the explosion of divine grace which releases a miracle does so by also releasing unconditional love, compassion and mercy, which frees people from their sense of alienation toward God, their guilt and shame and finally their physical infirmities.

The explosion of divine grace instantly brings healing to the spirit, soul and body. We see an amazing victory over the forces of darkness which have entrapped the individual. God’s glory is on display. God’s Kingdom is advancing. It is present in your midst, and the forces of darkness have been defeated! All who see this demonstration of glory and power glorify the God who is alive and in their midst. This is the best way to turn people toward God that I know of.

So in this miracle, the first thing dealt with was the sense of spiritual alienation, and that was healed with Jesus’ words of unconditional acceptance, “Son.” You are My son, and I fully accept you just the way you are. This is followed by removing guilt from one’s soul. This task is completed as God’s light permeates his negative attitudes and beliefs. Then God’s power and light touch his body and in an instant he is miraculously healed as he gets up and walks.

When releasing a miracle, we extend God’s complete compassion and healing power, not based on the individual’s perfection or absolution of sin. It is a free gift. We extend love, the favor of divine acceptance, the offer of complete removal of guiltiness, and the gift of a physical miracle. All are extended simultaneously. All may be received simultaneously, or some parts may be rejected. It is a complete, compassionate offer of unmerited grace. It is God’s complete Christmas present to the world. Mankind is free to accept or reject it.

I love the way Steve Stewart said it, as he trained and led us in ministering miracles to the sick in India. He said to them, “Of course you’re included! Of course God wants to heal you!” What warming, healing, faith-building words! There is no reason we can’t use these powerful words as we minister miracles to those who are sick.

So Is There a Place for Repenting of Sins to Promote Healing?

Yes, there is. I would suggest especially as we move from ministering miracles to ministering what God calls “gifts of healings” (1 Cor. 12:28). Some of these gifts are more of a “process healing” (therapeuo in the Greek), meaning therapeutic measures are taken to bring the healing. Some of these processes will involve repentance of sinful behavior and attitudes and adoption of new behavior and new attitudes. Various “Gifts of Healings” are discussed in this blog.

A clear Scripture showing that there is a relationship between repenting of sin and receiving healing is found in James 5:13-16.

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Summary – Let God Guide as We Minister Miracles and Gifts of Healings

So here we have it. The solution to a dichotomy in Scripture where in the case of a miracle, no confession of sin was necessarily required, but in the case of a healing, the confession of sins may be necessary. So God can do it either way. Both ways work. I would surely recommend and utilize both.

If you think God wants you to learn something while you are infirm, you can certainly ask, “Lord, are there any lessons You want me to learn? Are there any sins You want me to repent of? Show me the root cause of this sickness, and the corrective steps You would have me take.”

Then fix your eyes on Jesus (Acts 2:25), tune to flow and record what He reveals to you. Submit it to your three spiritual advisors for confirmation and once confirmed, act on it. Using these steps will keep you from falling into false demonic guilt and self-introspection which is not biblically sound. God reveals sin. We don’t go digging around for it.

Let’s ask God to direct us as we minister miracles and gifts of healings. However God instructs us is perfectly fine. We follow His lead.

Our passion is, let’s see people healed! Let’s show the compassion and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and let’s see lives transformed and people amazed at the God Who is alive, compassionate and powerful in their midst. Let’s see this happen on the streets. Let’s pray for those in pain, whenever we see them. At least let’s offer to pray. Most will take us up on our offer.

In the last two weeks I’ve had a serviceman and a person in a restaurant both take me up on an offer to pray for healing for them, and they were extremely appreciative of the offer and the prayer. And I didn’t have any ulterior motive, other than for them to experience a compassionate touch from the compassionate Christ. Try it!