Are there hindrances to healing?
 Things than hinder a healing work:
If God makes so many promises about healing, why does it seem so evasive in our lives and churches? There seems to be a number of reasons, or hindrances, that curtail the Lord’s hand in our lives. Sometimes there is a lesson from God to learn before we proceed in the journey. These are some common hindrances.
Prayerlessness
Prayerlessness can obviously lead to a lack of healing in our lives. When we fail to pray, we are acknowledging our self-dependency. When we pray, the opposite is true. James 5:16 states that we should pray for each other so that we may be healed. James states that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. He points to the example of Elijah, who stopped the rain, and then started it again by prayer.
Prayer is the key to releasing the power of God in our lives. It is the price we have to pay. Many people desire to be healed, but haven’t taken time to come before Father. Some desire the Lord to work through their lives in healing ministry, but fail to pray in their own spiritual journey. Prayer releases the power of God as we acknowledge our absolute need of Him. It is for this reason that James calls those who are sick to gather with the Elders of a church and be anointed with oil. James tells us that the prayer of faith will restore the sick one.
Disunity
Disunity has a dulling effect on the release of the Lord’s presence in and through our lives. How can Jesus take us any deeper in power while we choose to forgo the deepest level of Christian expression? First Corinthians 13 tells us the most excellent way in the Christian life is love for one another. Jesus said the mark of a believer is love for one another. Disunity quenches the Holy Spirit in our lives. The critical thoughts and statements we entertain about people grieve the Lord. He often waits till we come clean before Him in this matter. Rarely will we see major works of healing in churches that are racked with division. The Epistle to the Ephesians in 4:3 tells us to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit creates unity; we are called to maintain it. When we dwell in disunity, we just forfeit the deep things of God.
Doubt
God does not put His blessing on doubt. He cannot bless doubt. Sometimes He chooses to work despite it, as He did with Thomas. But God has told us He is a God who rewards faith. God’s Word says without faith it is impossible to please Him. Faith does not operate by sight, but by standing on the promises of God. It was community doubt in Jesus’ hometown that kept Him from performing many miracles.
When we come to the Lord in prayer for healing we are asking God to change circumstances! We come with a sense of expectation that God will move, and ask Him to heal. We cannot approach illness by sight, because we often still see its symptoms. We are choosing to believe what Jesus says despite ailments or hurts. The Epistle to James in 1:7 tells us that when we doubt we are not able to receive from the Lord.
It is our experience that faith in the Lord grows over time. The faith level in our life does not stay stationary. It seems to fluctuate over the weeks and months. You may believe God for small things today, but over time you may be able to believe Him for greater things! We remember the individual who cried out to the Lord, “Increase my faith!" This is a wise prayer.
Self
The Lord has told us in Isaiah 42:8 that He will not share His glory with another. This is one of the most important lessons in unlocking deeper levels of effectiveness. Only the Lord can receive the glory for anything special that happens in and around our lives. When we try and take glory, the Lord cannot trust us with a deeper level of anointing. Not only does it take the attention away from Him, it hurts us spiritually.
The Lord will often test His children in this area. It is always good to be very clear that the Lord is doing the healing, and He receives all the glory. Great ministries are easily curtailed when individuals begin to draw attention to themselves rather than God.
Lack of Worship
God’s Word tells us that we enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. We pass into His mighty presence as we continue to worship. God is actually said to inhabit the praises of His people.
When the name of Jesus is lifted high, the Holy Spirit is sure to follow! He delights to be where praise directed to the Father and the Son is rich and real. Paul tells us in First Corinthians 5:4 that there is a time we can discern when the “power” of Jesus is present. I imagine we can become so used to powerless meetings, that we consider it the norm. Meetings change as worship to the Lord intensifies.
Lack of Hunger
Jesus told His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. The Lord looks for hunger in our lives. Often sports teams are said to win because of a keener sense of hunger to achieve. It is the same in our spiritual lives. At times we desire the Lord to heal, but we really are not hungry for Him, or His righteousness. It is the hungry and the thirsty that are filled. I often ask God to develop that hunger in my life. It is just so easy to try and fill that void with things that have no eternal value.
Heart Issues
It may come as a surprise, but the Lord is more interested in our heart than our body. There are times when the Lord will desire to get a message to our soul before sending a message to our body. We often desire that our bodies will be healed, but God is looking at the heart. Sometimes our trials make us awaken to our need of God. Infirmity has a way of refocusing our world, and can drive our hearts to Him.
Sin
God tells us in Psalm 66:18 that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, He won’t hear us. It is pretty simple. Sin in our heart distances us from God. God is often more interested in seeing us let go of sin, than seeing us let go of a cane! The Lord’s goal in our life, after all, is to bring us into the image of Jesus. It is good to join with David the Psalmist who asked the Lord to search his heart. | 
