God’s revelation for His desire to heal people’s bodies did not begin with Jesus’ ministry. The Old Testament is filled with examples of people who received healing from God. For example, King Hezekiah became deathly ill and received a word of the Lord from the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die of his illness. The king cried out to God to heal him, and God heard his cry and granted his request. After he was restored to health, King Hezekiah wrote this poetic praise:
“What shall I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it. I shall wander about all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit; O restore me to health and make me live! … The Lord shall surely save me; therefore, we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord” (Is. 38:15-16, 20).
The psalmist also acknowledged the healing power of God and praised Him for healing his body: “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up, and have not caused my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You have brought up my soul from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit” (Ps. 30:1-3). CONTINUE
