'Bible Answer Man' Hank Hanegraaff has cancer - but says he's 'not necessarily' praying for healing

'Bible Answer Man' Hank Hanegraaff is praying for God's will to be done.(Photo: Facebook/Hank Hanegraaff)

Christian radio host Hank Hanegraaff is asking his social media followers to pray for him after he announced that he has a rare form of cancer called mantle cell lymphoma.

There is one qualification though: The prayers he wants is "not necessarily" for his healing.

In his Facebook video blog, the "Bible Answer Man" says although he is hoping for a miraculous healing, he is praying for God's will to be done.

"I would love very much for God to work a miraculous healing in my life; I certainly know our Lord is fully capable of fulfilling that," he says, as CBN News quoted him as saying.

"What I want most of all is that God will be glorified in my condition. In the midst of what I'm going through I may be able to reach out and help others in their struggles," he said.

According to WebMD, mantle cell lymphoma, or MCL, is a cancer of the lymphocytes, a specific type of white blood cell cells—the cells that help fight infections in a human body.

Some of the lymphocytes of a person with MCL change into cancer cells, which multiply quickly.

These cancer cells start to form tumors in the lymph nodes. They may also enter the blood and spread to other lymph nodes, as well as the bone marrow, digestive tract, spleen, and liver, WebMD states.

Hanegraaff believes what he's got "is a treatable cancer, but it is going to require aggressive chemotherapy."

He admits that being told he's got cancer is a "blow to the solar plexus" and "a bitter pill to swallow."

However, he recognizes that "our dear Lord holds every breath and every moment of my life in His hand."

The president and chairman of the board of the North Carolina–based Christian Research Institute says he "would love very much for God to work a miraculous healing in my life" and that he's certain that "our Lord is fully capable of fulfilling that."

Hanegraaff says despite the dire diagnosis he has been "enveloped in peace."

His cancer admission came just a month after he was formally received into the Eastern Orthodox Church, as CP reported.

Hanegraaff was chrismated on Palm Sunday at Saint Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.