Healed?

I was recently told that the condition of my wife's current state of health was due to a lack of faith (in short)

affliction (n)
A condition of pain, suffering, or distress. /syn trial
A cause of pain, suffering, or distress. /syn burden

infirmity (n)
A bodily ailment or weakness, especially one brought on by old age.
Frailty; feebleness.
A condition or disease producing weakness.
A failing or defect in a person's character.

A good friend of mine today spoke to me about the difference between an affliction and an infirmity. The definition of affliction (in this instance) will be a trail or burden (assume a divine purpose) where an infirmity is a physical plague to the earthly body. He shared that by the word of scripture, all infirmities are already healed and all we as Christians need to do is have faith and believe they are healed and the infirmities will be lifted. Affliclitions would be more like Paul's "thorn in the flesh" that he asked be healed but never was (that we know). Paul's "thorn" has divine purpose and being so, it was not God's will that it be healed. However, he was certain that people today do not have afflictions (? seemed to be what he was saying) but rather infirmities that they only have because they do not have the faith that it is already healed. I would admit that the picture painted many times in the new testament scripture is one of physical healing. You dont hear of too many Christians dying from old age, crones, cancer, etc. They were usually killed (not sure is killed would be considered an affliction or not). He told me that it is God's will that we (Christians) be healthy and prosperous. Now, i know for a fact that the picture of the new testament was not one of properity for our early pioneers; not if you measure prosperity by the size of ones bank account for sure. I got the phrase I love so much.. "what you need to do is." I love this phrase!(sarc). I love it because it automatically puts the person saying it in a position of some authority over me by knowing exactly what I NEED to do; and second I love it because it makes the assumption that I havent done whatever-it-is already. He also mentioned that infirmities are of the devil. I thought this gives the devil a little too much credit; that he created all infirmity? He was cast out of heaven for pride. He tricked or led created man into disobedience. From that time the creation changed. Man was destined to live forever, but with sin, was now destined to die. So the world, the creation, then, became a ticking time bomb counting down to the day that God would restore everthing. I would be quicker to conclude that infirmities are a result of the degradation of creation rather than a 'creation' of satan. To say that illness is a creation or work of satan would ultimately be to say that hell was a creation of satan, but we know that God has destined satan for hell has his eternal punishment and separation from Him. It would not make sense then that satan created the place of his own demise.

just some thoughts