When we pray for a sick person, especially someone suffering from a serious disease such as cancer, we often hear people pray like this:
“Lord, we pray for the complete healing of Mr. Chacko. But ultimately, let Your will be done in his life.”
At first, this sounds like a humble and spiritual prayer. However, it raises an important question:
When we pray for healing, are we genuinely praying in faith for healing, or are we leaving the outcome completely open because we are uncertain about what God wants to do?
This is something we need to examine carefully.
1. What Are We Actually Asking God For?
Suppose Mr. Chacko is suffering from cancer, and Mr. Robin is praying for him.
Mr. Robin says:
“Lord, please heal Mr. Chacko completely. Remove this disease from his body and restore his health. But Lord, let Your will be done. Whatever You decide—whether he is healed, remains sick, or even dies—let Your will be done.”
We can understand the humility behind such a prayer. We are not saying that we should never acknowledge God's sovereignty. God is God, and we are not.
But there is another question:
What exactly is the object of Mr. Robin's faith?
He says he is praying for healing, but at the same time he is already accepting every possible outcome. He is not specifically believing and expecting the healing for which he is praying.
His prayer has two possible directions:
“Lord, heal him.”
“But if You don't heal him, that is also fine.”
Therefore, the person may be praying for healing without actually exercising faith for healing.
The issue is not whether God can answer the prayer differently. The issue is what the person is believing while he is praying.
2. What Is Faith?
The Bible gives us a clear definition of faith:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
— Hebrews 11:1
Faith has an object and an expectation.
Faith does not mean that we can force God to do something. Neither does faith mean that we know everything God has planned.
But when we come before God with a specific request, faith means that we genuinely trust Him for the thing we are asking.
Consider another person, Mr. James.
James hears about Mr. Chacko's illness and prays:
“In the name of Jesus, I pray that Mr. Chacko will be completely healed. Let this cancer leave his body. Let his strength return. Let every affected part of his body be restored. Lord, heal him completely.”
James has a clear objective:
He is asking God for the healing of Mr. Chacko.
His prayer is not divided between several possible outcomes. His heart is directed toward one specific request—healing.
That is what we mean by praying in faith.
3. Faith Gives Direction to Prayer
A prayer of faith has a definite direction.
If someone is praying for healing, his prayer should be directed toward healing.
If someone is praying for salvation, he should pray specifically for salvation.
If someone is praying for restoration, he should pray specifically for restoration.
Faith does not mean praying vaguely.
Imagine someone asking:
“Lord, please provide a job for John. But if You don't want him to have a job, let him remain unemployed. Whatever happens, let Your will be done.”
There is nothing wrong with submitting ourselves to God. But if we are specifically praying for a job, we should actually believe God for provision.
The same principle applies when praying for healing.
4. What Does “Your Will Be Done” Mean?
Jesus taught His disciples to pray:
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
— Matthew 6:10
This is an extremely powerful prayer.
But notice what Jesus is teaching us to pray.
He is asking us to pray that the reality of heaven would be manifested on earth.
When we look at heaven, we do not see sickness, disease, pain, death, oppression, or suffering.
Therefore, when we pray for a sick person, we can confidently pray for healing and restoration.
We can say:
“Father, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in Mr. Chacko's body as it is in heaven. Let healing, restoration and life be manifested in him.”
This is not a prayer against God's will.
It is actually an appeal for God's kingdom and His restoring power to be manifested.
5. Jesus' Ministry Gives Us Confidence to Pray for Healing
When Jesus encountered sick people, He did not normally respond by saying:
“Perhaps it is God's will for you to remain sick.”
Instead, He demonstrated compassion and healing power.
The Gospels repeatedly show Jesus healing the sick, restoring the broken, and delivering people from suffering.
Matthew 8:17 says:
“He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
Jesus also said:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
— Matthew 7:7
James 5:15 says:
“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.”
This gives us a strong biblical basis for praying for healing with faith.
6. The Problem of Being Double-Minded
James gives us another important principle:
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
— James 1:6
And he continues:
“That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
— James 1:7–8
This is important when we examine our prayers.
Suppose Mr. Robin prays:
“Lord, heal Mr. Chacko.”
But inside his heart he is thinking:
“Maybe God will heal him, maybe He won't. Maybe he will continue to suffer. Maybe he will die. We don't know what God's will is.”
His prayer is divided.
His words are asking for healing, but his expectation is uncertain.
That is what makes the prayer double-minded.
Faith, on the other hand, gives direction to our prayer.
7. Faith Does Not Mean We Control God
There is an important balance here.
Praying in faith does not mean that we are commanding God or controlling the outcome.
Faith is not saying:
“Because I prayed, God must do exactly what I said.”
God remains sovereign.
Faith means:
“I believe in God's goodness, God's power, God's promises, and God's ability to heal. Therefore, I will pray boldly and specifically for healing.”
There is a difference between faith in God and confidence in our own prayer.
Our confidence is not in the strength of our words.
Our confidence is in God's power.
8. We Should Not Pray for Healing Without Expecting Healing
Sometimes we say:
“Let us pray for complete healing.”
But immediately afterward we say:
“However, we don't know what God's will is. He may heal him, He may not heal him, and he may even die.”
If that is what is going on inside our hearts, we should honestly ask ourselves:
Are we really praying in faith for healing?
A prayer of faith should have a clear objective.
For example:
“Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask You to heal Mr. Chacko completely. We believe that You are able to heal him. We ask that every cancerous cell be removed, that his body be restored, and that his strength return. Let Your healing power operate in his body. We trust You and believe You for his complete healing.”
This is a specific prayer.
The person praying knows what he is asking God for.
9. Faith Prayer and “Whatever Happens” Prayer Are Different
There is an important distinction between these two approaches.
The first prayer:
“Lord, heal Mr. Chacko. But if You don't heal him, let Your will be done. If he remains sick, let Your will be done. If he dies, let Your will be done.”
The person has not established a clear expectation regarding healing.
The second prayer:
“Lord, I believe You are able to heal Mr. Chacko. I ask You specifically for complete healing. In the name of Jesus, let him be healed and restored.”
Here the request is clear.
The believer has a definite object of faith.
The first prayer focuses primarily on uncertainty about the outcome.
The second prayer focuses on faith in God's healing power.
10. What Should We Say About God's Will?
Perhaps instead of saying:
“Lord, heal him if it is Your will,”
we can pray:
“Father, we believe that healing is Your heart for Your children. Therefore, we ask boldly for healing. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in his body as it is in heaven.”
This allows us to acknowledge God's sovereignty without allowing uncertainty to destroy our faith.
We do not need to approach God as though we are trying to persuade Him to be good.
We already know that God is good.
We already know that He is compassionate.
We already know that He is powerful.
Therefore, we can approach Him with confidence.
11. The Goal of Faith Is Not to Predict the Future
There is another important point.
Faith does not mean that we know exactly what will happen tomorrow.
We cannot say:
“Because I have faith, I know with absolute certainty what God will do.”
That would go beyond what Scripture teaches.
Rather, faith says:
“I know whom I have believed.”
Our confidence is ultimately in God.
Therefore, when we pray for a sick person, we should not allow fear of the possible outcome to weaken the prayer itself.
We should pray boldly.
We should pray specifically.
We should pray persistently.
And we should pray with expectation.
12. Faith Gives Us a Definite Target
Think about an archer.
If an archer has no target, he cannot aim properly.
He may shoot an arrow, but he has no definite destination.
Prayer can sometimes become like that.
We say:
“Lord, do something. Whatever You want. Whatever happens, let it happen.”
But a prayer of faith has a target.
For a sick person, the target is:
Healing.
We pray:
“Lord, heal him.”
We believe:
“God is able to heal him.”
We expect:
“God's healing power can operate in him.”
And we continue:
“We will keep praying until we see the manifestation of healing.”
That is a prayer directed by faith.
13. Our Prayer Should Agree With God's Word
Faith does not come from imagination.
Faith comes from hearing and believing God's Word.
Romans 10:17 says:
“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Therefore, when we pray for healing, our faith should be rooted in Scripture—not merely in our emotions.
We are not saying:
“I want this person to be healed, therefore God must heal him.”
We are saying:
“God is compassionate. God is powerful. Scripture teaches us to pray for the sick. Jesus demonstrated healing. Therefore, I will approach God boldly and pray for healing.”
14. The Prayer of Faith Is a Prayer of Expectation
When we pray for healing, we should not pray merely because we are afraid of death.
We should pray because we believe in life, restoration and the healing power of God.
We should not approach prayer with an attitude of:
“Let's pray, but we don't really know whether anything will happen.”
Instead:
“Let's pray because we believe God is able to do something.”
That is the difference between merely saying a prayer and praying in faith.
15. Conclusion
When we pray for someone who is seriously ill, our prayer should not be vague or divided.
If we are asking God for healing, let us genuinely ask for healing.
Let us pray specifically.
Let us pray boldly.
Let us pray persistently.
Let us pray with faith.
Let us believe that God is able.
Let us believe that God is compassionate.
Let us believe that God has the power to heal.
And let us pray:
“Father, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We ask You to bring Your healing, restoration and life into this person's body. In the name of Jesus, we pray for complete healing.”
Faith does not mean that we deny God's sovereignty.
Faith means that we trust God's character and boldly ask Him for what we believe He is able and willing to do.
The question, therefore, is not simply:
“What if God does not heal?”
The question we should also ask is:
“When I pray for healing, do I actually believe that God can heal, and am I praying with genuine expectation that He will answer?”
A prayer of faith has a clear direction.
The direction is healing.
The confidence is in God.
The authority is in the name of Jesus.
The foundation is God's Word.
And the expectation is that God's healing power will be manifested.
