Can Our Faith Heal Someone Else?

Christians have the power and authority to heal.

If we don’t study God’s word we won’t understand or operate in all that he has made available to us. It is our job as Christians to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, etc. Yes, I said it is our job. If we don’t see these results in our lives, we are missing something in the word. While some of us already know and believe we can stand on the word and our faith for our own healing, we struggle with settling in our heart that we can stand for someone else’s healing. We will get to that next, but first let’s look at what the word says about our power and authority.

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Matthew 10:1

He gave them the power necessary. Jesus delegated God’s power to Christians as we clearly see here. It is God’s intent to have Christians minister these miracles and to behave like Jesus (our example).

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8

Jesus is telling us what to do with the power he gave us.
Healing the sick (along with everything else in this scripture) is a command. When he tells us to do something it is not optional, or a “maybe”. He is telling us to do it, period.
We heal the sick. Jesus told them flat out to go heal the sick. Let me clarify that a little: Of course it is God who does the miracle (it is by his Spirit that lives in us) and we (by faith) recognize this and allow his power to work through us, but we heal the sick!! (We don’t beg God to do anything, we have a part in ministering healing and we do it with the power he gave us access to because he commanded us to.)
Also notice it says “freely give”. This doesn’t sound anything like “every once in a while we may see the miracles of God”. Healing (and the other things listed) should be a part of our everyday walk as a Christian. Interesting we see here that God tells us to freely give. We couldn’t give anything to anyone that we didn’t already possess or have the power to give.
We will get into this more later, but in this scripture it says for us to minister healing to the sick. It doesn’t say we can only minister healing to ourselves!! It doesn’t say teach them this so they can minister healing to themselves because that is the only way they can get healed. If it was necessary for the sick person to fully understand faith and to be able to believe for themselves without any doubt, Jesus would not have put the healing burden on us! This was his command and instruction for us to go out and do. Now of course, the true burden to heal is on God (it’s his power and he is the one that does the “work”), but here I mean we have the burden and the command to go out and minister the healing like Jesus did in cooperation with him.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:17-18

Jesus said the above scripture after he told his disciples “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” So…”them that believe” means any person who will believe what Jesus said, it was not just the disciples that would see these miracles in their ministry. It is any Christ follower from then on!
“And these signs shall follow” – what we see from this is it is not a maybe. This is what every Christian (who will believe it) will see in their walk. It is the norm, not the rarity! It is expected. On the flip side, we also see from this that if you are a Christian and don’t believe these words Jesus spoke, you will not have these signs follow you.
Another important note we learn from this scripture is that Christians do not need the special gifts (of faith, miracles, healing, etc.) to do this. While the gifts have their place, if they were necessary to do this in every case, he wouldn’t tell us that all these signs shall follow any Christian that believes. Christians don’t get to choose which gifts they receive and though every Christian does receive spiritual gifts, they don’t receive all the gifts necessarily. That tells us that you don’t need these gifts to see these results, otherwise what Jesus told us we would do would be impossible. There is more than one way of receiving healing, and standing in faith for someone else’s healing is one of those methods. That does not negate that gifts are necessary to the purpose of God as a whole however. Another important thing to remember is that if a situation needs a gift in operation, God can and does cause people to operate in gifts that they don’t necessarily operate in regularly. Either way, we need to have faith and step out on the word because one of the ways people receive healing is by someone else standing in faith for them (we don’t back off from this just because we don’t feel we operate in the “Gifts of Healings” as that is not scriptural).

Order the Book Now – God’s Laws of Healing

What if the person I am praying for has unbelief?

So this is where it gets sticky for us Christians when we are believing God and ministering healing to someone else. The struggle I have found for myself is this: I know I have the covenant right and promise for myself when I stand on the word and believe God. Since I can see these promises in black and white in the word, I can believe God and come to a place of faith to receive. However, if you can’t find where healing is a promise for someone else without their faith being what it needs to be, then you can’t come to a place of “fully persuaded” yourself in faith for them, because there is that other factor you can’t be certain of. And it seems so many in the faith don’t believe your faith can heal someone else without them having that same faith.

At this juncture, we have to dig in and stay focused on the word. Not any past experience or the experiences of others. The word has final authority no matter what events have transpired to the contrary. Here is what I have found in the word:

We don’t discount the scriptures (and there are many) that say “your faith has made you whole”, “according to your faith, be it unto you”. This can exist and be truth, while not being necessary if there is more than one way a person receives healing. Christians can and do receive healing (and any other promise) when they take the promise in their own faith. I have heard pastors call this kind of faith “faith that takes it”. Jesus never says things for “filler”, he made a point to say these things to people so they (and we) would know this is how the miracle happened. Why did he want us to know that? Because we are supposed to see these miracles in our everyday life and we need to understand how that happens to see them manifest. It is God’s highest desire that individuals understand his word and know how to receive what they need on their own faith, but that is not the only way it happens.
So the scriptures evidencing people who received their miracle based on their faith show us that method of receiving healing. It does not mean it is the only method, and Jesus never said anywhere that it was the only method. Sometimes we learn a lot by what Jesus didn’t say! If we trust God that he has written us an instruction manual, wouldn’t he clearly state that this is the only way a person would receive healing if that was the case? In addition to this, we see other healing miracles that manifested based on either the faith of Jesus or someone else (or both) on behalf of the sick person.

People were healed by someone else’s faith.

Okay, let’s look at these instances. Remember, God is no respector of persons! If he does it for one person, he will do it for another if someone will reach out and believe it. Someone’s faith has to take it! Also, we need to get out of the thought “well that was Jesus”. Jesus came to show us what to do. We should expect to be more like him and press in to perfect patterning what he did more and more each day of our walk. Are we Jesus? No, but he told us we will do his same works (and even greater!). We won’t if we choose not to believe him. We have to believe what Jesus said, and in order to believe that we have to stop looking at our ability as “less than” as though there is no way we can be like him. We are supposed to be more and more like him!

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. John 14:12

Case #1

Jesus heals the centurion’s servant who was dying based on the centurion’s faith. The account of this is in Matthew 8:5-13 and in Luke 7:1-10. Basically the centurion sends word to Jesus that he wanted him to heal his servant that was “sick of the palsy, and grievously tormented” (Matthew 8:6), “was sick, and ready to die” (Luke 7:2). Now watch this very closely…

The account says that Jesus said he would come and heal the servant, but then the centurion said that Jesus just needed to speak the word only, and his servant would be healed. (Read the full account.) What Jesus said and did next is where we can settle in our hearts that it is certain another person can be healed based on our faith.

When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Matthew 8:10

Jesus actually marveled at the centurion’s faith (not the sick person’s faith). Needless to say, this man actually impressed Jesus greatly by his faith. Now watch this…

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:13

“As thou hast believed” – this is clearly stating the miracle was granted based on the centurion’s faith alone.
“so be it done unto thee” – the miracle was done unto the centurion (again based on his faith). The miracle manifested healing in someone else, but it was done (granted) unto the centurion.
This was not an account of a specific miracle that God instructed Jesus to do. This miracle was granted because the centurion desired the miracle, and the centurion had faith on behalf of the person who needed the miracle. This did not happen because God wanted the servant well (although he wants everyone well), again it happened because the centurion put a demand on the healing with his faith out of the centurion’s desire to see the person made well. And we can do the same for those we desire to see well.

Order the Book Now – God’s Laws of Healing

Case #2

This is the account of the paralyzed man that was healed when brought in on a mat by others and lowered through the roof by them to get the sick man to Jesus. It is found in Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26.

Basically it says the men could not get the sick (paralyzed) man to Jesus because of the crowd so they did whatever was necessary to reach Jesus in their faith. They got up on the roof and lowered the man down to Jesus! Now watch this…

…and Jesus seeing their faith…(Matthew 9:2)

This points directly to their faith, the men that brought the paralyzed man to him.
Jesus goes on to tell the paralyzed man (right after he saw the other men’s faith) his sins are forgiven him, and then later in the passage tells him to arise and take up his bed, which he did. However, the point in this is it only references the fact that Jesus saw the other men’s faith and thus that was all that was required. If the paralyzed man had to have the faith the other men did, or if the paralyzed man did have the same faith as the other men and it was the paralyzed man’s faith that caused him to receive the healing, Jesus would have said that directly (as he did in other passages where people received their healing based on their own faith). Jesus is our teacher. We must have faith that Jesus is a good teacher and will tell us things specifically if they are required. Why would he not? He commanded us to heal the sick as we have seen earlier in this post, therefore he would (and has) given us all knowledge in his word to carryout the commandments he has given us. (As well as the power to do it.)

Case #3

The leper that received healing found in Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-44, and Luke 5:12-14

This is a very simple account of this man’s healing:

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:2-4

This man did not have the “faith that takes it” and was healed on Jesus’s faith, not his own. He approached Jesus believing he could heal him, but he was not in faith that he would heal him.
Jesus does not tell this man he must take his healing by faith by instructing or correcting him that he needed to first believe he would be healed in order to be healed because the only way to receive healing would be on his own faith.
Jesus just healed him when he openly approached Jesus for healing even when the man did not have the faith on his own to receive it. Therefore, we as Christians can also minister healing for others with our faith when they are open to God’s healing and desire it.

Case #4

The epileptic boy that was healed found in Matthew 17:14:21, Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-42. So this account is of a father bringing his son to Jesus after he brought him to the disciples and they could not cure him. There is a lot we need to look at in this account so I am posting the entire thing, read it carefully and then we will break the important points down.

And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Luke 9:14-29

What is this telling us?

First of all, the boy himself did not get healed on his own faith. Nowhere does it ever show the boy had any faith for his own healing and the father is the one who was reaching out to Jesus on his behalf.
The father did not have the faith for the boy to be healed either! He said to Jesus “…but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us”. This is not faith that takes it. Now Jesus did respond “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” However, here he was telling the man that anyone who had this faith could do what Jesus was doing, and the boy was healed on Jesus’s faith because the man answered back “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” This shows us that faith and unbelief can exist at the same time, but that is for another topic. Sticking to the fact that others can be healed based on our faith: The man never came to a place of “faith that takes it”, and more importantly the boy who was the one who was sick did not act on any faith. Nowhere does Jesus say the boy who was sick was healed on his faith. This is another account where Jesus healed someone based on Jesus’s faith, not the faith of the sick person (which we have been given the command and power to do as well) when the person sought out the healing and was open to it.
Here is something interesting directed at those administering the healing: Jesus was not happy that the disciples were unable to deliver the boy. He expected them to be able to heal this boy, period. Read the following again and we will then look at this fact in more depth because it is important to us who are believing for others to be healed. Let’s look at it in Matthew’s account:

And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. Matthew 17:16-17

When the father told Jesus the disciples could not cure his son, Jesus wasn’t just annoyed, he was really upset at that. He called his disciples “faithless” and a “perverse generation”!! He basically went on to say how long do I have to deal with you or put up with you. As in, why haven’t you gotten this?!
This clearly tells us as Christians that God expects us to be able to do these things. There is no question of should we, are we able, or anything of the like. The response of Jesus to his followers being unable to manifest the miracle was major frustration. How could we ever think we are not to minister healing and deliverance and see it work. Jesus was not having it when it didn’t work!!

Okay, but it is also important for us to understand as Christians ministering healing or any other miracle why it didn’t work. Let’s look at that now:

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:19-21

First thing is first, Jesus said the disciples could not manifest the miracle (as they had been commanded) because of their unbelief. He did not say they were unsuccessful because of the boy’s unbelief that they were ministering to (and the passage doesn’t say the boy had any faith). He did not say because of the boy’s father’s unbelief (and the passage shows clearly he did not have the faith that takes healing). If the manifestation would only happen if the person who needed healing must have faith, then Jesus would have said this when the disciples directly asked why it didn’t work!! He also did not say only he himself (Jesus) could do it. He said it was because of their unbelief.
The disciples were surprised that they could not minister the miracle! Remember, they had already been performing miracles and that is why they asked Jesus why they couldn’t do it in this case.
Something important we see as a Christian ministering healing is that Jesus said “this kind” didn’t go but by prayer and fasting. He was not talking about a demon here, he was talking about unbelief. This tells us certain unbelief we can’t overcome and get rid of in our walk of faith without incorporating fasting in our lives! This is a teaching moment to us who are believing for healing for others!! This is a fact, if we aren’t fasting regularly, we should be! If the disciples weren’t an exception to this, neither are we.

There are more cases of people receiving healing throughout the bible where they did not clearly have the faith to take the healing on their own. Another thing to contemplate is there is more than one account of multitudes of people where Jesus healed them all!! There is no way every single one of those people came to “faith that takes it” on their own to receive their healing. I believe they must have been open to receive as we have seen in some of these instances and as it shows in other cases in the word, but it is extremely unlikely they were all healed on their own faith in these multitude accounts. If they weren’t healed on their own faith, and faith is necessary for miracles to manifest, they had to have been healed on Jesus’s faith (which means people can also be healed on our faith).

What about when Jesus couldn’t heal people in his hometown because of their unbelief?

Yes, we have to address this because the word does say this! So let’s look at exactly what it says so we can understand how it hindered Jesus from being able to perform miracles on behalf of the people.

And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Mark 6:1-6

Yes, it says Jesus could not (not that he would not) do any mighty works. Therefore the word clearly tells us the people blocked his power to heal, and in these types of circumstances it would effect us ministering healing the exact same way.
We reconcile this account with the others already noted in this post in this way: There are different kinds of unbelief!! Jesus already told us that in the last account I noted regarding the epileptic boy. What we see in this passage here was that the people had a different attitude than other people that did get healed even when they didn’t have faith. These people by their comments were basically stating “who does he think he is”, “isn’t this just the carpenter, Mary’s son”. Then it goes further to say they were offended in him. They didn’t just struggle to believe that it was possible to be healed supernaturally, or wonder if it was God’s will to actually heal them, they outright mocked Jesus, rejected him, and became offended in him! In a person who reacts this way, we will not be able to minister healing to them, and this type of unbelief will not allow us to operate in the power of God on their behalf. If it wouldn’t work for Jesus, it won’t work for us. At the same time, we have seen many accounts in the word where people were healed on someone else’s faith which means they did not have the faith to receive it for themselves. If the person is open and receiving of the gospel you preach, and desires God to heal them even if they struggle to get to the place of “faith that takes it” on their own, they can be healed based on your faith.

Remember the centurion and go before God based on that word! If he did it for the centurion, his law would have to also give you the same result. What did Jesus say to the centurion regarding healing his servant?

Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. Matthew 8:13