The question touches on the complex interplay between faith, divine will, and the role of suffering and healing in the Christian life. The Bible shows us that Jesus and the apostles healed many as a testament to God’s power and mercy, yet not all were healed in every instance. The purpose and timing of miraculous healings are ultimately in God’s hands, not ours.

Paul’s experience offers insight into the mystery of unhealed afflictions. Despite his fervent prayers, Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was not removed. The Lord’s response was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) This passage suggests that God’s purposes, sometimes beyond our understanding, are at work even in the midst of suffering and unhealed afflictions.

Additionally, the mission of Jesus and the apostles, while certainly including physical healing, was fundamentally about spiritual healing and reconciliation with God. Jesus often healed as a sign of the coming of God’s kingdom and to reveal His identity as the Son of God, rather than to eliminate all human suffering or illness. In John 9, when asked about the cause of a man’s blindness, Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3) This suggests that sometimes, God’s purposes in allowing suffering are for the greater demonstration of His glory and power.

The absence of universal healing by faith healers today can also remind us of the already-not yet tension of the Kingdom of God. While Jesus has inaugurated the Kingdom through His life, death, and resurrection, the fullness of that Kingdom, where “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4), is still to come.

Yet, this does not negate the call for Christians to pray for the sick and to exercise gifts of healing in faith. It simply means that the outcome of such prayers and actions is in God’s sovereign hands, and His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). It’s a call to trust in God’s goodness and sovereignty, even when we don’t understand His plans.