Did Gloria Copeland Really Say Not to Get the Flu Shot?

Last week, Gloria Copeland recorded an encouraging message praying for those who have the flu, and she also talked about how to stand against the flu in faith. You may have noticed from news reports and social media comments that there are a lot of people who do not agree with our stance on the Word of God, including healing and the flu. This has led people to question if you can really have victory over sickness like the flu.

Let’s Clear the Air

Let’s clear a few things up about Gloria’s talk about the flu.

Gloria did not say or imply that you shouldn’t get a flu shot or see a doctor. Gloria and Kenneth Copeland Ministries value medicine and doctors and would never counsel someone not to seek medical care. In fact, the ministry has a professionally staffed medical clinic on site at its world headquarters in Texas that provides free medical care to the almost 500 employees who work there and to their families. So, medical care—in addition to prayer and faith in the healing power of Jesus—is a regular part of what the Copelands teach and practice.

Gloria did not say that if you had contracted the flu, you were a bad Christian who did not have enough faith or who did not pray enough. On the contrary, she said a prayer of healing for those who had the flu.

Gloria did not say that by simply speaking words, you will not get the flu. Instead, she demonstrated how to resist the flu by expressing out loud what the Word of God says about your healing. Here is a link to healing Scriptures for health and strength.

It’s easy to see how some people would misunderstand Gloria’s statement about there being “no flu season” because she was speaking the language of faith. Learning to speak that language comes from sincere study and desire to be like God, who calls things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17). The language of faith understands what the natural circumstance is (in this case: the flu season), but chooses to confess the desired result based on God’s Word (instead of the natural circumstance).

Believing in your heart and speaking with your mouth are how the law of faith works. See the teaching on faith by Jesus in Mark 11:23-24. Additionally, healing is one of the many benefits of being a child of God (Ps. 103:1-5), but healing doesn’t just come automatically. We have to learn how to resist the devil and stand for what rightfully belongs to us as Christians. This is what it means to fight the good fight of faith, and this is what Gloria was demonstrating in her video talk about the flu.

It’s true, as Christians, we should not talk like the world any more than we should live like the world, and when we put these principles into practice, the results are outstanding.

So, can you resist sickness? Can you be healed of a disease or a virus like the flu? Absolutely! How do we know? Because God says so. His Word is always right, no matter what anyone or anything else says. We have plenty of testimonies from people just like you who have put these principles into practice and have been healed by God’s almighty power.

So, are you ready for your healing? Are you ready to experience wholeness from head to toe? If so, here are some basic things from the Word of God that you need to know.

6 Things You Should Know About Healing

There is a good possibility that you’ve heard messages or have handed down traditions contrary to what the Word of God actually says about healing. Anything contradicting what the Word tells us will undermine your faith and prevent you from receiving what Jesus provided through His finished work at Calvary and His resurrection.

In Matthew 15, Jesus warned that putting traditions or our own uniformed opinions about the truth of God’s Word. When He said, “you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition” (verse 6).

While there are more than 100 Scriptures that talk about God’s desire to heal, Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 are good foundational verses to begin meditating upon to build your faith for healing.

So, if you’re ready to break away from anything but the love, truth and healing that Jesus provided for you, remember these six things:

1. God Is Glorified When You Are Healed, Whole and Ready for Service

Jesus said in John 15:8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” Nowhere in the New Testament will you find an example of God receiving glory because of someone’s illness. However, you do see God receiving glory when Jesus healed the multitudes.

Just look at this passage in Matthew 15:30-31:

Great crowds came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and placed them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them, so that the crowds wondered when they saw the mute speak, the maimed made whole, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Healing, not sickness, glorifies God.

2. God Never Uses Sickness to Teach Lessons

Nowhere in the Bible does God say that we learn or mature as Christians by suffering sickness, disease or turmoil. Not once in the New Testament does it say that sickness is the teacher of the church. Instead, the Bible says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

The Word of God, not illness, is designed to teach you. Additionally, you have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you who is the Spirit of Truth. John 16:13 says He will guide you into all truth.

3. Sickness Is Never a Blessing

If sickness were truly a blessing, we wouldn’t be working so hard to rid our bodies of it. Instead, we would welcome it.

Illness is not a blessing. It is a curse introduced to mankind when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. According to Deuteronomy 28, every form of sickness and disease is part of the curse. Those who put their trust in Jesus Christ are redeemed from the curse, because He became a curse for us so the blessing of Abraham could come upon us who are in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:13-14).

4. God Still Heals

While some people might try to tell you that healing has passed away, don’t believe it.

God said, “I am the Lord who heals you” (Ex. 15:26c). He didn’t say, “I was the Lord who healed you,” or “I will be the Lord who heals you in heaven someday.” He said, I am your Healer—right now, today! “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6a).

For healing to have “passed away,” God would have to change who He is. He is the Healer.

So, healing is still available. God is still in the healing business.

5. Healing Is Always God’s Will

God always desires that you be healed, but He won’t force that healing on you. If you want to be healed, you must cooperate with Him. You must believe His Word and act on it.

At the same time, you must resist the enemy, Satan, who seeks to steal, kill and destroy you (John 10:10). He’s the one who wants to see you sick, in pain and unable to do all God has called you to do. That’s why you must resist Him so he will flee (James 4:7). How do you do that? With the Word. When thoughts come to your mind that are contrary to the Word of God, speak the Word aloud. Read about Jesus’ temptation in the desert to better understand how to combat the devil and win (Matt. 4).

Jesus is a perfect picture of God’s will in the earth. One time, a leper came to Jesus for healing. The leper knew Jesus was able, but didn’t know if it was God’s will. Let’s take a look at what the Passion Translation says about this story in Matthew 8:1-3:

“After he [Jesus] came down from teaching on the hillside, massive crowds began following him.  Suddenly, a leper walked up to Jesus and threw himself down before him in worship and said, ‘Lord, you have the power to heal me . . . if you really want to.’  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leper and said, ‘Of course I want to heal you—be healed!’ And instantly, all signs of leprosy disappeared!” 

When you study Jesus’ words “I will” in the Greek language, you learn that Jesus could not choose to do anything but heal the leper because that is His very nature. He is the Healer, so that’s what He does. He heals!

6. God Wants You to Live a Long Life

Proverbs 3:1-2 says: “My son, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you” (AMPC). Those verses paint a picture of what God wants for all of us. He wants our lives to just get better and better. He wants us to enjoy the fulfillment of the promise in Psalm 91:16: “With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

Long life is God’s plan for you!

Yes, you can have victory over the flu and any other rotten sickness or disease that tries to come your way. You will have to be more persistent in faith as the flu is with its symptoms. If you want to know more about how to stand in faith for your healing, check out Healing and Wellness: Your 10-Day Spiritual Action Plan. Let it be the beginning of your journey to God-ordained wholeness!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries has other resources available to strengthen your faith and embolden your stand here: kcm.org/real-help/healing

Testimonies From Our Partners About How They Resisted Sickness and Received Healing

“This week I felt very bad. I was thrown from fever to shiver, and I felt weak. My neuropathologist said it was the beginning of hypertonic crisis and prescribed medication. I decided to watch Healing School with Gloria Copeland on the internet. She said God is no respecter of persons and He freely gives healing to everybody, by faith. The day after watching the broadcast, I had no fever, no weakness. I even could start working in the garden!”  —I.Y. Zaporozhye, Ukraine

“Tests showed I had a growth on my gallbladder and the doctor recommended surgery. We prayed and received healing by faith. Hands were laid on me and I never had another symptom.”  —Terri, Texas

“Many thanks—I had pain in my shoulder for nearly four weeks. I even had pain in my hip last week and could hardly walk, and wasn’t able to do my housework. Thank God I bought the Healing & Wellness LifeLine Kit last year. I used it for the first time and praise God, I am now fine.” —P.B. Hertfordshire, U.K.

“I have never had the flu, Praise GOD.” — @T. Akai4

“I had emergency brain surgery. The Lord Jesus saved my life from a subdural hematoma; I thank and praise God for His healing power.”  —D. Taylor, Arizona