My dear friend, thank you for this very good question. My short response is “no”, at least not always. I am aware that there are some who feel that when one prays for healing, especially if it doesn’t seem to happen when expected or in the manner expected, that there must be a lack of faith on the part of the one who is praying and suffering. However, the Bible teaches that there are many reasons why God sometimes allows suffering to persist in the lives of His children, and these cannot always be traced to a lack of faith.

Consider all the Christians who live in countries where the Gospel is under attack by unbelievers. Many of our dear brothers and sisters suffer in so many places where darkness and tyranny exist. But now this is not at all to minimize the importance of faith. Indeed, the Bible says “the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).  In Matthew 10:1, we read that the Lord Jesus sent forth His disciples with the power to cast out demons and to heal all manner of diseases. But then in Matthew 17:17-21, His disciples were unable to cast a demon out of a young boy. The father pleaded with the Lord to help, then Jesus had to heal the boy Himself. When the disciples asked why they had failed, His response was: “…Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (verse 20). The Lord had given the disciples the power to cast out demons, and in this case, they failed for lack of belief and for lack of prayer and fasting. So, faith and fervent prayer are certainly important (see Ephesians 6:18 and Philippians 4:6). But lack of faith isn’t always the reason, at least not in total. In 1 Corinthians 13:13, the Apostle Paul, when speaking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, said: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

My dear friend, faith is certainly a critical factor in our prayers for suffering but remember that all prayer must be in accordance with God’s will, and we do not always understand or even know God’s mind and purposes in the suffering that He allows in the lives of His children (Isaiah 55:8-9). 1 John 5:14-15 assures us, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” We can have absolute confidence of our petition to the Lord if what we ask is according to His will. The Lord Jesus taught us to pray “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10), and at Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to His Father “Not My will, but Thine be done”. I clarify this because God will never act against His own perfect will, for He knows what is best for His children, and we do not realize all the implications of our prayers if these reflect only our personal desires or the things we believe are best. Our prayers are certainly always heard, but God will respond according to His perfect will.

There could be many reasons why Christians are allowed to suffer. Perhaps we have been sinning, and God allows some suffering or trial to bring us to repentance. In James 5:16 we read: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Imagine the case of a Christian who refuses to obey God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures, or perhaps is living a careless or dangerous lifestyle, such as abusing drugs or alcohol or some other careless practice. There can be very serious consequences to sin which we might tolerate in our lives, and God might allow us to experience the consequences of our sins so that we learn to obey. And of course, not all suffering is the fault of disobedience or personal sins. When the disciples asked the Lord Jesus if He would tell them who had sinned in the case of the man born blind in John 9:1-3, the answer came back: “…Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” In that portion, the Lord Jesus gave this man his sight, but at the same time He demonstrated to Israel (indeed to all the world) that He was Emmanuel, and the man believed on Him and was saved.

John 11 tells of the death of Lazarus where the Lord Jesus delayed coming to this beloved man until he had been four days in the grave. When the Lord did come and raised Lazarus up, the faith of His disciples was strengthened, and many others believed on Him and were saved. But now consider the case of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, where we learn that Paul had received a revelation from the Lord, but lest he be “exalted above measure,” a thorn in the flesh was given to him, a messenger of Satan to buffet him. In verse 8, Paul “pleaded” with the Lord in prayer three times that the thorn might be removed. However, this godly and faithful man who had healed many others received this response from the Lord, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong,” (see also Philippians 1:12). Paul had much faith, but faith led him to trust in the goodness and wisdom of God come what may, and to bow to the will of God.

So, to sum up, I believe that God’s purposes are right, and God is always good. Our job is to bow to the will of God in full assurance that He knows what is best for His own. We live in a fallen world, so we must expect that there may be times of suffering (John 16:33). Faith is extremely important, but faith does not mean that God will remove our suffering, at least not always immediately or in the way we may desire. Faith would remind us that God is in full control, and He will remove the suffering when His good purposes have been fully accomplished. James 1:2-4 and Romans 8:28 are good reminders for us that God can use even suffering in the lives of Christians to accomplish His very good purposes, and we can trust Him in every situation to faithfully guide us safely home (Psalms 121:3). He will be with us every step of the way (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). Most assuredly, the Lord will answer all prayers of faith brought to Him, but He may not conform to our personal expectations. It should be our prayer of faith that His will is done in our lives, whether in storm or in sunshine.  (SF)  (744.2)