Can you imagine a world with no chronic pain? No emotional trauma? No terminal illness? God created this world pure and perfect in the beginning, but sin introduced death, decay, and disease. Physical health is something we often take for granted until it begins to fail, and mental wellness is a critical part of our well-being, too.
When we’re in need of healing, what does the Bible say? God’s word is filled with many verses on health, for a variety of circumstances. Some Scriptures are a cry of desperation; others are practical reminders of how to live a healthy life. Many address how Jesus’s death and resurrection offers spiritual healing, and some verses are for when healing doesn’t happen – how to hold on to faith when it feels like your prayers for health have gone unanswered.
12 Powerful Bible Verses on Healing
These are some of the passages about healing in the Bible that can offer you encouragement and hope:
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Jeremiah 17:14
O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!
Psalm 41:3
The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.
Psalm 73:26
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
Psalm 103:2-4
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
Proverbs 3:7-8
Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
Proverbs 12:18
Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.
Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
Proverbs 4:20-22
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.
I Peter 2:24
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
James 5:16
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Why haven’t I experienced healing?
Remember that not all healing looks like we would expect – sometimes, cancer is still terminal, illness remains chronic, and we might carry emotional trauma for years or even a lifetime.
As believers, we’re all promised healing one day, when our lives on earth end, and we’re reunited with Jesus. Revelation 21:4 describes the healing promised to us in the next life, when there is “no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
If your healing doesn’t happen during your lifetime, know that it isn’t a lack of faith on your part or something you did wrong. God’s intent isn’t to punish you but to love you and draw you closer to him so that he can carry you through whatever is keeping you from full health.
Remember that even the apostle Paul suffered with a chronic health condition. He writes in 2 Corinthians 12:5-10 how he asked God three times to remove a particular “thorn in (his) flesh”, and each time, God answered, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
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For more thoughts on issues like chronic pain, read What’s the Purpose of My Pain? and to find gratitude during your health journey, check out 4 Ways to Have More Gratitude Every Day.
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