I've been surrounded by Christianity my entire life. Being raised in a Christian home, always attending church, and being in private school has shaped me and help me form my beliefs. Though I don't believe the only reason I am a Christian is because of the way I grew up, I am very grateful for having grown up this way and having such a strong, firm foundation of my faith.

There are a lot of different denominations of Christianity. I am a non-denominational Christian who attends a Baptist university. Many of my extended family members are Catholic; these are just a few of many denominations of Christianity.

Even within different denominations, people can hold varying personal beliefs. One such belief regards "word of faith" which essentially says that a Christian can speak into existence anything that is aligned with the will of God. So if you are a Christian and you need money, healing, a restored relationship, or anything else that you believe is in God's will, you can speak it and it will manifest.

While I desire God's will to be done in my life, I know that the way/timing in which I receive His will may not fit my idea of how that should happen.

I have dealt with multiple chronic health issues over the years. I want to be healed; it is something that I and a lot of other people have prayed for a lot.

I have not been healed yet.

I don't believe God takes delight in seeing His children sick or hurting, but I also believe that He sees the big picture. Maybe being healed right now would eliminate ministry opportunities. Maybe being healed right now would only give me what I want in the moment, rather than allowing me to grow. Maybe God's will is for me to be healed, just not right now.

The main problem I have with this philosophy is that to me, it seems self-centered, selfish. It seems like a person who believes this really just wants whatever they want and will speak whatever they want to, instead of truly finding out what God's will is and speaking that. It also seems like they want whatever they are asking God for to happen immediately and not necessarily in God's timing.

If we always got exactly what we asked for in the timing that we asked for it, how would we ever grow or learn or become more Christ-like? It is for our benefit and growth that we don't always get what we want because, as humans, we are prone to focus so much on ourselves that we forget we are in a relationship with the God of the universe, our Creator, our Savior. I don't see how asking God for something and always receiving it when and how we want it helps us become stronger. While I don't like being sick and would prefer to be healed, I know that struggles make us stronger. I know that God won't waste the pain, the hurt, the sickness that inflicts me because He is always good and faithful. I believe and trust that He can heal me at any moment if it is His timing, but as long as it is not His timing, it is my job to stay faithful to Him and draw closer to Him. Perhaps there are lessons I can learn more clearly through this adversity than I could if I were in perfect health.

I say all this to say that I respectfully but firmly disagree with the word of faith ideology. It has not rung true in my life; thus, due to my experiences, I don't believe it to be true. However, I recognize that we all have unique experiences and I am sure there are good arguments out there from people who believe in this. I cannot deny what someone has experienced. All I can do is explain my perspective, listen to other perspectives, and use those various perspectives as an opportunity to learn and grow and seek out the truth.