Does God still heal today?

This morning, with my eyes half open, I reached for my phone and began mindlessly opening apps trying to wake myself up. I rolled over and began going through my Timehop reel and saw this photo.

So many memories came flooding back, and so did photos from my high school mission trip to St. Mary, Jamaica.

I found myself longing for the days where I could sit in a room with my best friends, an acoustic guitar, and make silly videos.

God did so many wonderful things that week, but there is one story in particular that I still find myself telling every time a specific topic comes up: Does God still perform miracles today?

Maybe by now you’re thinking, “Oh gosh, this girl is radical emotionalist, of course miracles don’t happen—they probably didn’t even happen in the bible!”

I’ve taken as many theology courses as my uni degree will let me, and I know this is an area where people love to get academic and logical. But if we’re being honest, there’s nothing logical about miracles. That’s kind of the point of them, don’t you think? Donkeys talking? Lame people walking? Raising dead people?

Those are just stories illustrating a deeper point, right?

Hiking up a small mountain trail on a stupidly humid day in Jamaica, I noticed our bus driver, Paul, limping behind our group. He was struggling to keep up. He had told our team that he had a pinched nerve in his spine was unable to sit, drive, walk, or do anything really, without pain. I believe he said this had gone on somewhere between 5-10 years.

I was compelled, so I turned towards my friend Grace, and said “Let’s go pray for him!” Without missing a beat, we both made our way to Paul, eager to pray. We took him aside and asked if we could pray that God would heal his back and he agreed. As we began praying, we were approached by some leaders/teachers from our school. They told us to stop praying for him and to keep walking with the rest of our group. And my little seventeen-year-old brain went into a frenzy.

Jesus, is this what it’s like to be persecuted?! 

Does that mean this man can’t receive his healing?

I have to obey them but I have to obey You, what the heck do I do?

So I turned to Grace and said, “Who cares if we can’t sit with him, let’s still pray as we walk up the mountain!”

We began boldly praying for Paul’s healing. (occasionally side-eyeing the end of the trail where the teachers were keeping him from us. lol.)

For a few minutes, nothing happened. We kept praying.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see someone sprinting up the trail.

IT WAS PAUL.

Paul couldn’t run! We picked up our pace but even we couldn’t keep up with him! Eventually we got to the end of the trail, where he had begun going around to friends and strangers, declaring to the people that God had healed him!

We explained to him that God still does these things today, not just in a book written thousands of years ago. He received Jesus after that and I can confidently say that was one of the best and most memorable days of my life.

Scripture tells us that He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

And Jesus said it himself:

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12

So here’s the good news: You don’t have to go on a mission trip halfway around the world to see a miracle. The same God healing sick people in Jamaica is the same God living in your heart. If you want to see miracles, find a church community and mentors who teach and implement what the bible says about these things.

You can step out in faith and pray for your little brother that has a nasty cough, or for your aunt that is battling breast cancer. God loves to heal, and responds to faith. Your need for a miracle no matter how big or small, matters to God and he delights in answering your needs.

*If you want some more scriptural references about spiritual gifts I’ve got ‘em listen below:

• 1 Cor 14
• Luke 9:1
• The entire book of Acts
• 1 Cor 12