Many if not most believers, depending on their understanding of Scriptures like the one below, would say a resounding “yes” to this question.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
With that in mind, let us examine the instructions which Christ gave to the 70 disciples when he sent them out two by two in Luke 10.
Luke 10:9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
The Lord commanded them to do two things: heal the sick and then proclaim the kingdom of God to them.
Let’s look at the first command to “heal the sick.” They were to heal the sick by utilizing the authority and power which Christ gave to the disciples in Luke 9.
Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Returning to Luke 10:9 we see that the Lord clearly did not command them to “pray for the sick” as we do traditionally today, but rather to “heal the sick” miraculously by applying the supernatural power and authority entrusted to them. To put it plainly, they were not simply to go through the motions of praying for the sick, but they were expected to perform miraculous healings on the sick as evidence to the lost Israelites that the kingdom of God was near. When they failed to heal the epileptic boy in Matthew 17, Jesus rebuked them harshly calling them “unbelieving” and “perverse.”
Matthew 17:14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
Therefore it was clearly God’s will for the sick to be healed when the disciples were proclaiming the kingdom of God to the Israelites.
Interestingly, however, in the second half of Luke 10:9 the Lord did not command the disciples to “save the lost,” but rather to proclaim the kingdom of God to the lost. We understand of course that we do not have the authority to save the lost. Rather salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit in a receptive and repentant heart. But is it God’s will to save the lost?
As argued above, most believers would nod their heads heartily—yes, it’s God’s will for the lost to be saved. Therefore it is equally God’s will for the sick to be healed when the kingdom of God is being proclaimed to the lost. Miraculous healing can serve as the evidence of the truth of the gospel and can open the heart of the lost to Christ.
John 10:37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
John 14:11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
Miraculous works like supernatural healing played a very important role in the ministry of Jesus Christ. They were the evidence of his identity as the promised Messiah.
We understand that it is God’s will to save the lost. Yet He has not given us the authority to save the lost, but only to preach the gospel to them.
In the same way it is God’s will for the sick to be healed when the gospel is being preached. What is different here is that, unlike saving the lost, we have actually been given the authority and power to heal the sick according to Luke 9:1-2. Therefore our Commander-in-Chief Jesus Christ reasonably expects us to get the job done—healing the sick—when the gospel is being preached to the lost. When as already noted above in Matthew 17 the disciples failed to heal the epileptic boy, he was disappointed and rebuked them harshly for their failure.
Therefore we can say with confidence that just as it’s God will for the lost to be saved, how much more is it God’s will for the sick to be healed when the gospel is being preached. We do not need to have any doubt regarding God’s will to heal in this very important context.
Moreover, since it’s God’s will for the lost to be saved, how much more is it His will for the sick to be healed during evangelism when His authority and power are available for disciples—when they can actually heal the sick in the name of Jesus Christ to show the lost who Jesus really is!