It all has to do with the nature of faith and the integrity of God's Word.
(1) How can we pursue the requisite faith for divine healing?
Faith is not really something that exists within yourself that you will try to find within yourself. All faith is generated by the Word of God. It is based on His integrity, the integrity of His Word, and His faithfulness to do what He said He would do. Our part is to simply accept and acknowledge the Words He said and know they are true.
"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God."
My understanding is that this means "Faith comes by revelation, and revelation comes by a word spoken by Christ."
It is merely becoming aware of what God said. It is really little more than awareness. Your faith is directly proportional to the amount of revelation you have. How much do you know? The rest is merely knowing that He is faithful to do it. It is knowing that He performs His word. It is virtually automatic. If you know the word and know that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, then you have faith. It has less to do with you and something you are pursuing or the effort you put forth, and more to do with knowing Him, His faithfulness, and His Word. So as to healing, if you know His word on the subject, and know that He is faithful to perform His word, then you will have the faith required to be healed.
(2) How can we know what it feels like to have authentic faith for divine healing? When we think we have faith for healing but no healing results, was our faith flawed or is there an elusive relationship between faith and healing?
I do not see how feeling is a determinate factor here. As to why some are not healed, that is another matter. But the word of God and the will of God should never be questioned. We are required to believe, regardless of anything else. If someone suggests that God does not want you to be healed, and you listen to that and have doubts, then your doubts may be the very cause of no healing. Jesus defined faith for us in Mark 11.
Mark 11:24 RV
24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for,
believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them.
So, according to the theory of some, Jesus does not understand faith. He said we are supposed to believe we have received it
when we pray... not
after we receive it. Valid for healing also. If you desire healing, then you pray and
believe you have received it when you pray. Current teachings about prayer and faith do not teach this. They will have you pray and wait and see what happens. Paul said that faith consists of believing that God is AND that He is
a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If we go into prayer with the notion that God might not reward our diligent effort, not only do we not have faith, but
we are not pleasing God. And that is the prime thing. Faith pleases God.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV
6 But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
But all things considered, why someone may not be healed is none of our business. It is our business to do what God said. He said to pray and believe that we have received. Like the saints of Heb 11 who believed that they received even to their death, they pleased God, having never received what they desired. But they still believed they had received regardless.
(3) How does one seek the will of God for personal physical healing? Can we just tarry for healing in God's presence and assume He wants to heal us? How often is asking for God's will to be done just an excuse to avoid a disciplined pursuit of believing faith for healing?
Exactly As above. See the Word. Know it is true. Know He is faithful and does what He said He would do. Psalms 103 is not an assumption. It is a direct factual statement and if we are to please God, we should accept it as a fact, not merely a "promise."
Psalms 103:2-5 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;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Our stance should be "He heals all our diseases." There may be reasons why we are not healed. But the will of God is not one of them. It is our first and prime act to accept His word as truth. His will is not in question. It is stated clearly and simply in the Word.
There is also the theory that if it is God's will, it will automatically be implemented in the world. IOWs if it is God's will, it will happen. Obviously, this is not true. God's will is that nobody perish and all be saved. Yet that is not happening. People perish and are lost every day. Why? Because it is contingent on faith and corresponding actions. same with the phrase "who heals all your disease." If someone successfully convinces you that this is, in fact, not true; and you deny the scripture... that is called unbelief. You are denying a plain and straightforward scripture. Yes, He DOES heal all of our diseases. There may be reasons why it does not happen to you, but the will of God is not one of them. If nothing else, please God by believing He is your rewarder. But never contradict Him and His word. "Thy word is truth." Believe you have received when you pray. Do not back up on His word. If we back up on God's word, we back up on Him.
(4) Have any of you ever experienced or witnessed the healing of blindness or deafness? I ask this because many biblical miracles don't seem to have any or many modern parallels. Skeptics say if God can't or won't do it now, the reasonable assumption is that He couldn't or wouldn't do it back then. How limited should our expectations be for the performance of spectacular miracles?
Many have. But even if nobody has, that is not a reason to deny His word. These things happen all the time. But there are detractors who not only deny them but discredit the concept altogether. Our expectation should be that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Our expectation should be that we have received when we pray. Some of those same skeptics have based their reputation on denying these things happen today, so they have a self-interest in denying and refuting every reported instance.
It is going to be very difficult to impossible to have faith if we cannot trust and stand on the Word of God. It is essentially all we have. Accept the Word and you will have faith. Deny the word and you will not. Abraham told the rich man in hell that people have the word. If they do not believe that, then they will not believe in miracles either. '
Luke 16:31 KJV
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
(5) The Bible identifies or implies several conditions that should be satisfied for the experience of healing miracles. Yet God is sovereign and sometimes seems to heal people who have not met these conditions. When in need of healing, how important is it to systematically identify biblical conditions for healing and then try to satisfy them?
Yes, there is the law of sowing and reaping for one. Those who sow destruction will reap destruction in the flesh.
Galatians 6:7-8 KJV
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh s
hall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
But we cannot assume that this is the only reason. And the stance of the person praying should be that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If we are to assume anything, it should be that we have received when we pray. Anything else is doubt and unbelief. Bottom line it is our job to pray and believe we have received. It is His job to make it happen. We do our job, and let Him do his. In some cases, if not most, it is between God and the individual. Not our business. "Mind our own business," which is to pray and believe that we have received.