Bible verses about healing
Scripture speaks of healing for the body, the mind, and the nation, and does not always promise it in this life. Psalm 147:3 says he heals the broken in heart; James 5:14-15 instructs the sick to call for prayer; Jeremiah 30:17 promises restoration of health; and 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 records a request for healing that was answered with grace instead.
12 verses about healing
3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Psalms 147:3 (KJV) →14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:14-16 (KJV) →17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Jeremiah 30:17 (KJV) →5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) →8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (KJV) →26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Exodus 15:26 (KJV) →2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psalms 103:2-3 (KJV) →28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (KJV) →22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 (KJV) →2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
3 John 1:2 (KJV) →18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Psalms 34:18-19 (KJV) →4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) →
Healing is asked for plainly
James 5:14-16 gives the most direct instruction: if anyone is sick, call for the elders, pray, anoint. There is no suggestion that asking is presumptuous. The Psalms ask constantly and without hedging. What the passage adds in verse 16 is communal — confess your faults one to another and pray one for another — which places healing in the context of relationships rather than private petition.
When healing does not come
This has to be said carefully, because a great deal of harm has been done by teaching that unhealed illness indicates insufficient faith. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 is the clearest counterexample in Scripture: Paul asks three times for something to be taken away, and it is not. The answer he receives is my grace is sufficient for thee. Paul is not rebuked for asking, and the outcome is not treated as a failure on his part. Psalm 34:19 says many are the afflictions of the righteous — many, not none — before it says the Lord delivers out of them all.
Healing of mind and heart
Psalm 147:3 is about the broken in heart and their wounds, and the verb — bindeth up — describes ongoing care rather than an instant. Proverbs 17:22 observes that a merry heart does good like a medicine and a broken spirit dries the bones, which is an unusually direct link between inner state and physical health. Matthew 11:28 offers rest to the heavy laden. None of this replaces medical care; Luke, who wrote a fifth of the New Testament, was himself a physician.
Scripture quoted from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Esther reads the ESV, NIV and NLT in the app.