What part should healing play in the church?
I believe the Bible is clear on this matter. James 5:14,15 gives specific
advice.
"Is any one of
you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint
him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make
the sick person well, the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be
forgiven."
I don't want to deal here with how we are to pray for the
sick. Different churches and denominations certainly pray for healing in
different ways. But I want to deal with the theological foundations for
healing in the church.
I will begin with the Power of Prayer.
There is no question that the Bible teaches the power of
prayer. There are certainly more important things to pray for than
physical healing. But if we pray for our needs they will include health and
healing. I have terminal cancer. And I am always pleased with people who will
pray for me. Several years ago I told one of my
doctors I had been alive much longer than they had been willing to suggest
because people were praying for me. He looked at me thoughtfully and then said,
"That's right."
For many years I visited people in the hospital as a pastor.
For the first twenty or so of those years I had the feeling that doctors were
uncomfortable with me being there. Then something changed. Suddenly doctors
started asking if I would step into intensive care units before they were
admitting family members. What happened? The American Medical Journal
published a study that showed a significantly higher rate of healing in
patients who were being prayed for. Medical literature is replete with evidence
for the effects of prayer. God has given that power to us.
However, I also need to point out the Humility of Faith.
God does not always answer prayer the way we expect. And
while most of us know of dramatic examples of healing, we have also prayed for
people who did not get well. I think this may be the main reason many of us are
reluctant to pray formally and somewhat publicly over someone who is sick. Will
I be embarrassed if God does not heal this person immediately? And there is of
course the concern that the Name of God might be dishonored if I pray for
healing when He has something else in mind. I am thankful that we can trust God
to protect us from harmful prayers we might pray. I trust God to give me what I
would have prayed for if I knew everything He sees. If I know that, surely I
can trust God when He does not heal the way I want Him to heal. We can trust
the outcome to God.
And we need to see healing as commensurate with the Compassion
of Our Lord.
The early church saw compassion for the sick as the natural
expression of faith in Christ. In his book, The Rise of Christianity, Rodney
Stark points out that one of the major factors in the upstart Christian faith
supplanting the dominant, pervasive, and enforced paganism in the Roman Empire
was the terrible plagues that swept the country. While the pagans were casting
former loved ones out into the dirt to keep from contracting the deadly disease,
Christians risked their lives to minister to them. Many gladly died showing
Christ's love to others. Stark quotes from letters written by the Emperor,
Julian, to pagan priests, saying "Not only do the impious* Christians
minister to their own sick, they minister to ours as well." A pagan had a
better chance of surviving a plague if he lived near a believer.
Finally, we pray for healing to bring about the Witness
of Praise.
We honor God simply by praying to Him for others, believers
and unbelievers alike. And we share His glory by telling people what God has
done. Healing prayer becomes a springboard for talking to people about things
that are more important and enduring than physical healing. It is a fact that all physical healing is temporary. It is
also important for us to know that all illness is temporary for believers. 1
Corinthians 13 says that is also true of knowledge and prophecy. And like the
foolishness of preaching, God may use it powerfully to bring forth His kingdom
on the earth.
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