The Bible is rich with power and offers boundless possibilities for health and a long life. It contains 7,487 promises to us. As Christians, we are to “inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12).

The Bible is God’s spiritual book of medicine for all people on earth. Jesus said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) There is power in every word that God has spoken—or given to us in the Bible. And the Word contains spiritual life and health-giving power. It is “living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore it says: “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20) “For they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh.” (Proverbs 4:22) God’s Word has the power to heal, to keep disease away from us, and thereby give us a long life! (Exodus 23:25; Proverbs 3:2) But for the Word to have effect, it needs a start to a healing process. Seeds that are not planted have no power. Here are eight important elements in a healing:

1. Preaching is important

The Word must be sent out through preaching: “The word of faith which we preach.” (Romans 10:8) And the preaching must have the right elements of faith. Here are some key points:

2. Focus on the sick

The Word must have specific recipients—here: sick people who need help. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15) A nobleman said to Jesus: “Sir, come down before my child dies!” (John 4:49) A Syrian woman “came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’” (Matthew 15:25) Both received answers to their prayers.

3. Time for meditation

The Word must have recipients who receive the Word in the right way: give it attention by meditating on it: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2) You are now in a healing process with open lines to heaven. It is important to take time with the Word, meditate on it day and night—until healing is a fact.

4. Plant the Word

The Word must have recipients who not only meditate on it but also absorb it, plant it in their heart and in their illness, and make themselves one with it. Say to yourself: “Now I plant God’s healing word into my heart and into my illness. Now the illness will shrivel up and die.”

5. Ignite the spark

When listening to the Word continuously, meditating on it and planting the Word in soil that is clean and good, one must ignite the spark. This happens when one confesses the Word: “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10) You are now in a healing process with healing as the goal of faith. Confess loudly to yourself at least ten times a day: “By His stripes I am healed.” “He forgives all my iniquities and heals all my diseases.” In doing so, you give room for God's healing power to flow into you.

6. The seed needs water

Once the right elements of faith have come into place, the healing process can start. All seeds that a farmer sows in the soil need daily watering to live and grow. Gratitude and praise are two important spiritual vitamin injections for faith: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Worries are sand in the machinery. It is a faith-killing, toxic element that drains the power of faith. Jesus said: “Do not be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36)

7. Hold fast

Another important element is to endure in faith until faith manifests with a miracle. The Bible says: “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” (Revelation 3:11) Stand firm on the Word, for there will always be a spiritual battle. The devil is interested in “devouring” the Word that is sown by casting doubt on the truth of the Word: “Has God indeed said?” (Genesis 3:1). This is especially true when we must wait for an answer to prayer. An example: A woman I had prayed for at a meeting experienced nothing then and there. Before she went out the church door, she said something that would harm her faith: “So I wasn't healed!” She said “alas” instead of “thank you” and thereby closed the faith channels! She should have said: “Now I have received prayer, now God will heal me. Thank you, Jesus, for the healing will come. Thank you for your promises are yes and amen!” She lacked an important element in faith: the correct confession! Jesus said: “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Living faith is seeing with our spiritual eyes the answer to prayer before it manifests physically. Incorrect confession will lead to loss and defeat: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) Choose life—confess positively—according to God's promises.

8. Spiritual “stop signs”

To experience healing, we must stop the leaks of faith and replace the negative words with the “preaching of faith”: “The word of faith which we preach.” (Romans 10:8) For doubters have no promise of answered prayers: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:6-8)

You are welcome to go through these points several times, until faith takes root in your heart, and from that comes healing.