Why does the pain/injury come back?

Something that is common is that pain/injury may come back after a healing. Has that ever happened to you? I understand that this can be very frustrating and the question that automatically comes to mind is, why is this happening?

There are three common reasons for this:

1.The person who was healed continues with the same thing that caused the injury or that the root of the pain or problem is still present.

ex 1;
Someone you pray for has back problems because of the bad conditions of their work environment . You pray for the person and they get healed but they continue to work in the same conditions which caused the back problem in the first place. So the problem occurs again.

ex 2;
A person has back- and knee problems due to obesity. You pray for the person and they are healed. But the back and knees will continue to be burdened if the person is still overweight. This can cause back and/or knee problems to occur again! In such a case, you can pray that obesity or the root of the problem to go. It doesn’t always need to be spoken out loud for emotional reasons, but pray in faith that God hears prayer.

2. Something Demonic

When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation. – Matthew 12:43-45

That a spirit leaves a person and comes back is more common among unsaved people than believers. Because unbelievers are under the Satans dominion and they are usually more opened to ungodly lifestyle. The demons then find it empty, swept, and put in order, and ready to come back into the person (Matthew 12: 43-45, Luke 11: 24-26, Acts 26:18, Ephesians 2: 2-3, Col. 1:13, James 4 :7).

What can you do?

a) If the person is not a believer, there is really nothing to do besides praying every time the disease (injury) comes back. Recognize these occasions as an opportunity to demonstrate God’s power and believe that these opportunities will be a wake up call for the person.This is also a great opportunity to continue sharing the Gospel, and praying for the person to come to know the truth.

b) If the person is a believer, then theach them to exercise their God-given authority over the disease or injury.

c) If there are believers who live ungodly lifes and open themselves to the forces of darkness, then one should talk to them. Many believers have a will to live a life for God but they fall over and over again into ungodliness. It is therefore important to help, encourage, and lift up the person so they can be on the right track again. In this case, preach grace, and also apply points a and b – that is, continue to pray for the person and teach them to exercise their divine authority. However, there are many cases where believers really have experinced God but are not interested in repenting. Then it is important to rebuke and bring correction. In some cases, it is good not to pray for them until they have repented in their hearts (Matthew 12: 43-45, 1 Tim. 1: 18-20, 1 Cor. 5).

3. A third reason why a pain/injury returns is that the person was never healed from the begining. Maybe they only experienced a feeling that they were healed, but it was not the case. It is therefore important that when you pray, you really try to find out if the pain or the issue is still there – and if it is still there, keep on praying! (Mark 8:24-25)!

Aly-Sam Botros