The question about why some people are healed and others are not when people pray is one John Piper struggles with. 

In response to a question from a Desiring God podcast listener about the sovereignty of God and how much confidence believers in Jesus should vocalize when praying for someone to be healed, the renown theologian pointed to Jesus, who was the “perfect pray-er.”

Even in the hour of Christ’s most anguished desperation, in the garden of Gethsemane before he was crucified, Christ prayed “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

“Clearly, it was not sin for Jesus to add that qualifier. He didn’t sin,” Piper explained.

But the interplay between divine wisdom and the confidence He says those who believe ought to display in prayer is somewhat of a mysterious puzzle.

“We have strong promises from Jesus, in John 15 and John 16 and Mark 11 and elsewhere, that whenever we ask and believe that we have what we asked for, we will receive it. The other piece is Jesus’s words ‘nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.'”

For example, he went on to say, in Matthew 7 Jesus asks his followers if they “who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who…

Nationally syndicated Christian radio host Hank Hanegraaff announced last week on Facebook that after 20 months of battling the deadly disease, his cancer has gone into remission.

In a Facebook video posted on Thursday, Hanegraaff told his followers that he heard the one word he was not expecting to hear so soon: remission.

Hanegraaff said, “The bottom line is I heard a word that I didn’t think I would hear – at least this soon. And that is the word remission.”

The Bible Answer Man host continued saying, “So, for the first time since I started this battle with cancer 20 months ago, I am finally in remission.” 

“It’s been an interesting journey,” he added.  

According to CBN News, Hanegraaff was diagnosed on April 15, 2017, with a form of cancer called mantle cell lymphoma, and according to the video he spent most of 2017 undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Hanegraaff told listeners that doctors attempted to do a bone marrow transplant on him, but doctors were unable to collect enough cells to perform the procedure. At this point, he said, “we really didn’t know what to do, so we did nothing.”

But then, as the radio host put it, “By God’s grace,” he was admitted into a clinical trial.  

Hanegraaff proclaimed that “Through that clinical trial, I have achieved remission. It has been an extraordinary journey,” he added.

Hanegraaff…

Israel’s Defense Minister resigned his post on Wednesday, citing his opposition to a recent ceasefire with militants in the Gaza Strip. He also called for new elections because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “capitulating” to terrorists. 

In announcing his resignation, Avigdor Lieberman slammed the government’s response to the latest round of attacks from Hamas. He favors direct military action against Hamas.

Lieberman pulled no punches in his public criticisms of Netanyahu’s leadership. In announcing his resignation, he said “The question is why, as far as I’m concerned, what happened yesterday, the cease-fire yesterday, with the negotiations with Hamas, amounts to a capitulation to terrorism. There’s no other way to describe it. It has no other meaning, it is simply a capitulation to terror.” 

He also detailed a number of areas of disagreement with the Prime Minister. He said, “It is no secret that over the past few months, there have been disagreements between myself and the Prime Minister. For instance, my opposition to the [decision] to permit fuel from Qatar to be allowed into the Gaza Strip. I did not want to permit Qatari fuel in [to Gaza]. I thought that this is a mistake. Only after the Prime Minister made a formal written order was I forced to allow Qatari fuel into the Strip.”

Lieberman’s resignation will withdraw his party from the…

Churches and ministries are gearing up to help those in California affected by the major wildfires that are devastating parts of the state.

In recent days, California has experienced the deadliest wildfires in its history, as at least 44 people have perished in the flames, 42 alone from the “Camp Fire” in the northern part of the state.

Fueled by dry weather and heavy winds, the Camp Fire is also blamed for having destroyed over 7,200 structures and burning up more than 115,000 acres, CBS News has reported.

Some ministries have already begun to send aid to the state. Convoy of Hope’s Disaster Services team announced Friday that they were bringing supplies like water, food, and blankets to their facility in Chico, California, for distribution to the needy.

“We currently have product in California from our response to the Redding Fire earlier this year,” said Jeff Nene of Convoy of Hope.

“Our partners in the area have immediate access to bottled water and cots and can start distributing them as needed to help those affected by the fires.”

Adam Edgerly, lead pastor for the Culver City-based Newsong LA Covenant Church, told The Christian Post on Tuesday that while his church is not close to the fires,…