Hindrances and Barriers to Healing

We are fully confident that God is both able and willing to heal. But in order to receive God's healing there are conditions that we have to meet. God will not heal anyone at any time unconditionally. A lot of desperately sick people failed to receive their healing because they failed to fulfill God's conditions. There are also hidden barriers in their life. But before we look at the conditions and barriers revealed by the Scripture let me list here some observations concerning the total provision of God.

God's total provision for all human needs

The following points are what came to my mind and they are not exclusive. But I believe they will help us to understand better the total provision of God for all human needs - including healing and good health.

1. The main instrument by which God provides healing is His Word.

The psalmist said, "He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction" (Ps. 107:20, NKJV).

His Word has healed people in the Old Testament and His Word will continue to heal in our time. Therefore we can never bypass the Word and receive God's healing. There is power in the anointed preaching of His Word and so just by listening to the Word being preached some people might receive healing without actually being prayed for.

2. Another thing the Bible says is faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So if you need healing but you don't have the faith to receive that healing; if you will listen carefully to what the word of God says it will impart to you the faith that you need to recieve your healing.

3. God has provided for every human need through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He has provided forgiveness of sin; He has provided healing of sickness; He has provided a means to meet every single need that can occur in the life of any person. God has not done a lot of different things to achieve His purpose - He did only one thing, once and for all, when He sacrified His only Son Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. Therefore there are no more barriers on God's side. In other words, the cross removed every barrier on God's side toward men. If there are any barriers left they are left on our side. And so it it extremely important for us to identify these barriers and remove them before we come to God to receive the healing that we seek after.

4. First of all let us just look at the clear statement of the Word of God, in Isaiah 53, that through the death of Jesus on the cross healing is already provided. Isaiah 53 is a prophetic preview of the suffering of Jesus written approximately 700 years before Jesus actually suffered.

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for your iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4, 5, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice that there is both the spiritual and physical aspect of God's provision. The spiritual side is stated: "He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities". Jesus took the punishment that is due to us that we might be forgiven and have peace.

The physical side is stated: "He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed". Griefs and sorrows are sickness, disease, anxiety and affliction.

Notice also that Isaiah 53:4, 5, was stated twice in the New Testament - Matthew 8:17 and 1 Peter 2:24.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the provision of God

I have mentioned in my previous message that it is the Holy Spirit who administers to us that which has been provided by Jesus. In John 16 Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit. He told His disciples that when He left them and went back to heaven He would send the Holy Spirit to take His place with them.

"He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14, 15).

Clearly the Holy Spirit is the administrator of God's provision for us. God has a wonderful store house filled with everything we are ever going to need but the keeper of the store house is the Holy Spirit. He is the One who takes from God the Father and makes it available to us. He is the One who actually imparts it to you. So if you want to receive what God has provided for you, you must learn how to relate to the Holy Spirit. We will not get from God any more than we can receive through the Holy Spirit.

One of the pictures of the Holy Spirit we have in the New Testament is that of a dove that descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Matthew 3:16). It is also a symbol of tender and devoted affection (Song of Solomon 1:15; 2:14). It is a very timid bird and therefore easily frightened.

We have to conduct ourselves in such a way that we honor the Holy Spirit, be sensitive to Him and respect Him. One thing the Holy Spirit does not like is disorderliness in a healing meeting. The Bible says God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33).

Common Barriers to healing

1. Ignorance

We are talking about ignorant of what the Bible teaches; ignorant of what God has already provided for you and ignorant of how to receive it. There are many warnings in the Scripture about ignorance and two of them are from the prophets.

A. The Lord said through Isaiah, "Therefore my people have gone into captivity. Because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished and their multitude dried up with thirst" (Isaiah 5:13, emphasis added).

Due to their lack of knowledge and ignorance God's people have gone into captivity, both physically and spiritually. Multitudes of professing Christians and Churchgoers today have gone into spiritual captivity. They are in captivity because they don't know what God has provided for them and don't know how to receive God's provision.

B. The Lord said through Hosea, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being a priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children" (Hosea 4:6, emphasis added).

Again this is a picture of many of the professing Christian Church today. Notice that Christians are made priest and kings to God the Father (Revelation 1:6).

2. Unbelief

It is not enough to have heard the Word of God and have understanding in what God was telling you, but you have to believe it it.

The writer of Hebrews said, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:12, 13, emphasis added).

There are two strong words here - "Evil" and "Sin". An unbelieving heart is an evil heart in the sight of God.

Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, "And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ..." (John 16:8, 9, emphasis added).

Therefore unbelief is not just a harmless weakness, but it is both of evil and of sin. We need to repent and renounce it before we can minister and receive healing.

3. Unconfessed sin

Solomon said, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

Without the mercy of God no one could minister or receive healing.

The psalmist said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Ps. 66:18).

When there is unconfessed sin between God and you, God will not hear any of your prayers including your prayer for healing.

4. Unforgiveness

Jesus said, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25, 26).

Obviously Jesus was talking about a barrier that keeps God from forgiving you and from answering your prayer. If you have any unforgiveness, any resentment, any bitterness in your heart against anyone, before you go further you must forgive and lay down that resentment and bitterness. Your forgiveness is not for the sake of another person primarily, but for your own sake. The one who resents suffers much more than the one who is resented!

5. Occult involvement

This concerns the involvement of all kinds of satanic supernatural activities, superstition, fortune telling, worshipping the dead and various kinds of magic and charm. This includes anything that dishornor Jesus and honor Satan.

Moses warned the children of Israel about serving false gods and their images in Exodus 23.

Moses said, "You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you" (Exodus 23:24, 25, emphasis added).

Think of all the promises of God if you break away from the occult and serve the Lord only. Not only you will receive your healing but enjoy good health as well - your food and water will be blessed as well!

6. Unscriptural covenant

The children of God must not make any unscriptural covenant with people who are in some way associated with false gods.

Moses said, "You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods" (Exodus 23:32).

The most common is the involvement in Freemasonry. This is a precise example because in Freemasonry you link youself with some terrible oaths with people who worship false gods. Whether you are involved with Freemasonry personally, or someone close to you is involved, or your spouse, your parents are involved you need to renounce that and severe all links and contacts with it.

7. The effects of a curse

It is beyond the scope of this message to consider how a curse could come upon a person.

But Solomon said, "A curse without cause shall not alight" (Proverbs 26:2).

The following is a list of indications that there may be a curse over a person's life. A curse not only affects individuals but members of the entire family from generation to generation until somebody learned how to cut the curse off.

A. Mental or emotional breakdown.

B. Breakdown of marriage and family alienation.

C. Barrenness, a tendency to miscarry, or related female problems.

D. Repeated or chronic sicknesses of hereditary nature.

E. Continuing financial insufficiency.

F. Being "accident-prone".

G. A history of suicides and unnatural or untimely deaths.

Paul said, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galations 3:13, 14, emphasis added).

The fact that Christ became a curse for us we need not be under a curse anymore. And so we can be released from any curse so that we can receive the blessing of the Spirit through faith. Healing is a blessing of the Sprit through faith. In other words, if a curse becomes a barrier to our healing we can remove it by appropriating what Jesus has done for us on the cross.