Have you ever prayed for someone to be healed and nothing happened? Many believers can relate to this. Perhaps you had fasted, prayed, and gone out for evangelism, fully prepared to heal the sick, confident that no devil could stand against you. But then, you prayed for a man’s leg to be healed, and nothing changed. You laid hands on a deaf girl, and she remained deaf. The discouragement settled in, and over time, you began avoiding sick people altogether, no longer wanting to pray and risk disappointment.
If you have ever felt this way, consider Jesus’ experience in Bethsaida. This was the Son of God praying for a blind man, yet the healing didn’t happen instantly. Should Jesus have questioned His anointing? Should He have doubted His divinity because the man’s sight was only partially restored at first? Many believers, when faced with a similar situation, begin to question their calling.
Some have completely stopped praying for the sick because they grew weary of not seeing results. They wonder if God’s promise in Mark 16:17-18, that believers will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover does not apply to them.
Recently, my husband and I had a conversation with our spiritual father, during which he shared a perspective that freed me from the pressure of expecting every person I pray for to be healed instantly. He said that when he prays for the sick, his focus is not on making sure the healing happens no matter what. Instead, he simply fulfills his responsibility to pray and leaves the results to God. If he prays for ten people and only one gets healed, he rejoices over that one and moves on.
I was amazed. This is a man who has seen countless healings and deliverances, yet he remains unfazed when results don’t happen instantly. If such a seasoned minister can maintain this perspective, then who am I to question my calling when things don’t happen as expected?
Lessons from Elijah and Elisha
Elijah was undoubtedly a powerful man of God. No one questioned his calling. Yet, in 1 Kings 18:42-45, when he prayed for rain after a long drought, he had to pray seven times before he saw even a small cloud forming. This was a direct promise from God (1 Kings 18:1), yet it still required persistence. Imagine if Elijah had stopped at the second or sixth attempt, questioning whether he had truly heard from God!
Similarly, in 2 Kings 4:32-35, Elisha prayed for the dead son of the Shunammite woman. The first time he stretched himself on the child, nothing happened. It was after he prayed and stretched himself on the boy a second time that the child sneezed seven times and came back to life.
Baba Omolehin’s Story of Persistence in Praying for the Sick
I recall listening to a sermon by Baba Omolehin where he shared a remarkable story about a young girl in his wife’s orphanage. She was brought in by her parents as a baby with a severe deformity. Unlike other babies who naturally stretch out after birth this child remained curled in the exact position she had been in her mother’s womb. At first it might not have seemed alarming but as she grew she remained bent. Over time her condition worsened until her legs began to touch her head.
To carry her one had to lift her like a basket. Though she had buttocks she could not sit. Feeding her required searching beneath her twisted form to locate her mouth. She could not talk. Whenever visitors came to the orphanage they would hide her because her condition was so rare and inexplicable. In fact at that time only three known cases of this deformity existed in the entire world.
Yet once every week the caregivers at the orphanage placed the child in the center of the room and prayed and fasted for her healing. They cried out to God to recreate her trusting in the power of the One who made her (Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me”).
They Did This for Years. Even when they saw no change they did not stop (Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”). They did not question God. They did not doubt their calling or the authority He had given them over sickness (Mark 16:17 18 “And these signs will accompany those who believe In my name… they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.”).
The Miracle
Then one day a loud scream rang through the orphanage. Everyone rushed out wondering what had happened. When they reached the girl’s room they saw light around her. She was shaking and stretching. Before their eyes she continued stretching until she fully straightened out. Her feet and hands previously deformed began growing to normal size. Flesh started forming on her legs developing to the correct proportion. Then something even more astounding happened. She tried to stand. At first she struggled but after a few moments she stood up. She took one step. Then another. Then another. She walked straight to Baba Omolehin’s wife who was weeping in awe.
Then for the first time in her life the girl spoke. The child who had never spoken in seven years, the child who had never walked, the child whose body had been curled up from birth stood, walked and spoke all on the same day. What shocked them even more was that she understood everything being said. Though she had never responded she had been hearing all along.
Baba Omolehin’s wife took her to school and space was made for her in a class. To their amazement she understood the lessons immediately. It was as though God had created a brand new human being in a single day. This miracle was not an instant one it was the result of years of unwavering faith and prayer. The caregivers could have given up reasoning that since nothing had changed for years nothing ever would. But they held on. They continued to pray believing that God was able. And in one moment God did the humanly impossible.
Get Back into Service
I believe God is calling many who read this reflection to get back into the place of prayer and service. Do not let past disappointments stop you from praying for the sick. There is no shame in not seeing an instant miracle. It is not a do-or-die affair. If you pray for one sick person and nothing happens, move to the next one, even if you must pray for 100 people before you see a breakthrough.
Be at peace knowing that God is the Healer, not you. Your part is to be ready and willing at all times to release the anointing. Prepare yourself through prayer, fasting, and the study of God’s Word on healing (Romans 10:17: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”). Immerse yourself in the healing accounts of Jesus in the Gospels, letting faith rise in your heart. But in the end, remember that results are in God’s hands.
So, take courage. Step out again. Pray, believe, and leave the rest to God.
