Under biblical grace, it is perfectly legitimate for one to pray for healing, provision, and deliverance from suffering. That is not an issue. Our God is good and He hears our cry. Christ is our redemption and salvation into new life.
What is problematic is the false presumption that we will always be healthy, wealthy, and free from suffering because Jesus has paid the price for all that—He who was healthy became sick for us so we will always be healthy now; He who was financially rich became poor for us so we will always be rich now (“rich” here biblically speaks of divine privileges, not finances as hypergrace would have it); and He who was impassible became suffering for us so we will not need to suffer now. That is the false presumption of over-realized eschatology: for there is no biblical evidence that Jesus did all that on the cross, in the fleshly terms that our ravenous consumerist mindset would have it. Quite the contrary, the cross was about sin and its judgement resulting in future restoration that was inaugurated but never fully manifest until He comes again.
Conversely, we do not seek in prayer for sickness, poverty, and suffering either. That is masochism, not biblical faith. Biblical faith moves us to seek God in all earnestness. And paraphrasing a godly pastor whose sermon I heard recently: we do not seek suffering; we seek God. And when we seek God, suffering seeks us. How true! As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we encounter trials and tribulations as part and parcel of our walk of faith. We bear our own cross, in participation with the cross that Jesus carried. The world, our sin, others’ sin, and the devil can come against us, even as they came against Jesus with all their might. We are not exempt. And the more we bear the light of Christ in proclaiming His gospel—the true one, not the fake hype—the more will we face the persecution of this fallen world. Christian history is packed with many godly examples. But in the midst of suffering, God is with us. Nothing can ever pluck us—we who are truly saved—out of His nail-pierced hands that bled for us (see e.g. Romans 8:29-30; Hebrews 13:5-6; Deuteronomy 31:6-8).
A cross-shaped life is not just for the few and chosen, it is for all who follow Christ. The word “Christian” means one who is like Christ. The crux is this: do we really follow Him or do we demand He follow us? Biblical grace saves and empowers us to follow Jesus. Hypergrace damns and seduces us to make Jesus a genie for our desirous attachments. Vigilant we must be, lest we destroy ourselves forever.
