Written by Cole Denne

If the Holy Spirit gives the gift of healing, then it is worth asking two questions: How do you know if you have it? And how do you use it?

Healing is all over Scripture. Jesus and his disciples healed everywhere they went. Nothing was too little or too great, from fevers to raising the dead. Healing followed Jesus’ people, and it consistently pointed toward the Kingdom of God and the authority of Jesus.

Unfortunately, the Bible tells us much more about who heals than how healing works. Faith appears to matter. (Mt. 13:58; Mk. 5:34) As does righteousness and sin. (James 5:16; Isaiah 58:6-9; 2 Chron. 7:14) Yet, the moment we try to reduce healing to a formula, it slips through our fingers. Perhaps that is because healing is not a mechanism. Healing is a gift from a person. Jesus is our healer. Our role is not to manufacture healing, but to trust Him enough to ask.

That is where faith comes in. Faith leads to action. More than just acknowledging God’s existence, faith is trust, loyalty, and obedience expressed through risk. (James 2:14-26) Jesus loves and responds to our faith, even if all we have is a little. (Luke 17:6)

Yet when it comes to healing, do we pray with faith or fear? We pray long prayers. We repeat ourselves. We try to sound passionate. We plead. We remind the person that God is good. Some of it is genuine hope for healing. But often, if we are honest, we pray this way because we do not expect anything to happen. Fearing the disappointment of unanswered prayer, we offer something that might help soften the blow. Passionate, lengthy, important-sounding words.

Are long prayers for healing an attempt to make up for when Christ “falls short”? A short prayer is risky. “Jesus, heal them now, in Your name. Amen.” Then, followed by the dangerous question: “Do you feel any different?” That kind of prayer leaves the outcome entirely in Christ’s hands. It exposes our fear of disappointment, embarrassment, and our desire to control. It dares to ask if He did anything, as if we truly expect He might.

That sounds like faith. Not certainty that healing will happen, or denial when it doesn’t. Simply confidence that Jesus is good, Jesus is able, and Jesus is worth the risk.

We can all grow in our faith and pray for healing. But what about those who have a healing gift? How do you know? Do you feel drawn toward sick and injured people? Do you feel prompted to pray for them? Do opportunities for healing get your attention, and do you almost feel like you have to do something about it? You might have a healing gift.

But no one really knows for sure until they pray risky prayers. How many healing gifts are a few risky prayers away from being discovered?