It's become common to embrace doctrine contrary to the example that Jesus gave as a coping mechanism. I used to preach that as a way to address questions God didn't seem to address and herein lies the birthplace of bad doctrine. I used to teach that when disease and affliction came upon you, if you rebuked it you just may be rebuking God (because He allowed it or else He would do something about it). Of course because it's dangerous to rebuke God, people stopped praying prayers of faith. As time went on, I realized that I had scared people out of standing against disease and left them with one option, to pray that His will would be done. Something happened after that. We stopped seeing breakthrough in healing and miracles and the faith level of the house moved from revival to survival.

So why don't people get healed? There are a few clues that we have from the life of Jesus that give a hint. Jesus touches a blind man who afterward sees men as trees walking. He needed a second touch from Jesus to get the full manifestation of the breakthrough. Persistence. I don't believe it is always a lack of faith on your part. One man who needed a miracles said to Jesus, "If you're able..." questioning even His ability to do it. You don't get much smaller in the faith department than that. Jesus replies challenging the mans ability to believe and then provides the miracle. Another man needing a miracles says, "if you're willing..." basically saying, I know you're able but I don't know your heart. Questioning the nature of God to offer an expression of love in healing. In both cases Jesus provides the miracle building their faith in the process. We also live in a place of great tension where we have promises in the Word of God and yet an enemy that would like to kill both us and the promise. So we have prayers that go unanswered and pain that persists. I believe this is the suffering of the believer is living in that tension between the Kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. The agreement that every believer needs to settle in their heart is that light is ALWAYS superior to darkness. When the man came to Jesus and said that the disciples couldn't cast out the demon from his son and Jesus said this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting, then he neither prays nor fasts for the situation but casts out the demon, He revealed the reason He spent so much time alone in communion with the Father for it afforded Him the anointing and power to overcome every obstacle to the Father's will.

When God said to Paul (who asked that the "thorn" be taken away three times) and said, "My grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness." (NASB) He wasn't saying be happy with what you got, or, hey, at least be happy you're going to heaven when this thing finally does you in. He was revealing to Paul that I have placed divine favor upon you and contained within that grace is the answer to every obstacle that you face. If you not allow your weakness to derail you from pressing in, you will find that place of power that will not only set you free but set free every captive and prisoner around you. Keep in mind that in the boat, Jesus calms the storm and then rebukes the disciples because of their failure to release what He has placed within them when He said, "Let's go to the other side." In the commission He revealed His will and in that commission was contained the grace to overcome every obstacle to His will, yet when the crunch time came, they cried out (prayed) for Him to do what He has equipped them to do and He rebuked them for it. Paul never records anything but asking God to take away this thorn, and true to the pattern of Jesus, it's revealed that He already contained the grace to overcome it. Paul accurately exposes the source of the thorn when he says it was a messenger of Satan to buffet him. 1 John 3 says that the purpose of the manifest presence of Jesus Christ the Son of God was to "destroy the works of the devil". If He lives within you then you are now equipped to live with that end in mind.

The question of the will of God has been answered. The highest measure is the standard of on earth as it is in heaven. Is there Leukemia in Heaven? No. So anything we pray that opposes that standard is contrary to what Jesus told us to contend for. God may have sent you into a battle but He never sends us into a battle we are not equipped to win. For now, however, we press deeper into the unknown for there's still a mystery to this and we haven't fully arrived. When we learn to embrace the mystery and persist in the process, we'll see the greater breakthrough that we all know is coming.