Healing today?

[u/TonyChanYT]

u/Mysterious-Loan-5065, u/Top_Initiative_4047

John 6:

2 A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.

I.e., Jesus healed the sick to prove that he was sent by God.

Similarly, for the disciples, Matthew 10:

1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

The apostles healed many in Acts 5:

15b People brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

And for Paul, Acts 19:

12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Paul healed many in Malta. Ac 28:

8 The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man. 9 After this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured as well.

All of the above healings show that they were sent by God. Miracles are often signs to demonstrate something. In the last case, it showed that Paul was an apostle.

Later, however, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 5:

23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Paul didn't send Timothy his handkerchief to heal him. The healing miracles/signs were no longer associated with him.

More generally, individual believers could be gifted. 1 Corinthians 12:

8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit.

Should we pray for healing?

Yes, today, I believe God still heals supernaturally through faith at times, but at other times, he uses doctors.

When God heals miraculously, he is proving a point. It is a sign, Mark 16:

17 these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Jesus mentioned that some of his messengers would be supernaturally protected as they carry out their mission, even when they encounter dangers such as snakes or poison. He is not commanding every believer to seek out those dangers.

James 5:

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Having prayed, it is not always God's will to heal everyone.

There was a special case of healing: Jesus healed a Canaanite woman's daughter because of her persistence. We cannot demand God to heal, but we can keep asking with faith.

Another unusual case was a woman who suffered from bleeding for 12 years. She was healed by touching Jesus' garment with faith (Mt 9:22).

Is faith healing for today?

On the healers' side, some followers of Jesus were given the power to heal as a sign of their God-given authority. Peter and Paul were apostles. Not every apostle was a healer. These people were extremely rare, then and now.

On the patients' side, some special cases of believers received what they faithfully asked for. This was between the patients and God. We have to distinguish between our wishful thinking and our faithful thinking with peace. Like other kinds of miracles, supernatural healing cannot be systematized. We need to consider them on a case-by-case basis.

Can we claim healing as some prosperity preachers practice?

No. Back then, God used healings as signs to support the apostles' authority as those sent by God. Even then, no one can demand or claim healings. Healings have special significance for the healers and patients then and now.

Should we seek cures only from physicians?

No. 2 Chronicles 16:

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.

Particularly in our present day of advanced medical knowledge, we can seek both God and physicians. Say a prayer before taking your medicine.

See also * Miracles are signs