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Healing Training Course
Part 2: Common Questions and Objections
Introduction
In
Part One
we saw that if you're a Christian then you've been commissioned by Jesus, in writing, to heal the sick and cast out demons (among other things), and by the end of this series you'll know how to see people being miraculously healed right in front of your eyes.
Realistically, sometimes nothing will happen, and sometimes you might see a partial healing, and sometimes you might see a delayed healing, and sometimes you might see an instant miracle of healing right in front of your eyes. We'll discuss some reasons for the different results later in this series, but the point is that you
can
see healing miracles if you learn some things and have the courage to step out in faith.
Common Questions and Objections
-
"I'm not sure about all this, because my church doesn't teach these things."
One thing to keep in mind is that a number of first-century churches were personally taught by the apostle Paul, yet doctrinal errors crept into those churches after he left (read Paul's letters). Similarly, no person today has perfect doctrines and views, and no church today has perfect doctrines and views.
The important question is, what does
the Bible
teach? If we're willing to set aside our assumptions for awhile, and if we're willing to believe what the Bible says rather than believing what "experience" tells us, then we'll find that there are some amazing teachings on healing throughout the New Testament. We saw some of them in
Part One.
But we must be willing to
believe
what God says, no matter how unusual it might sound at first!
-
"I know people who prayed for healing, but they never got it."
So do I, and in this series we'll see a number of reasons why people don't always receive healing.
-
"I thought that only people who have the gift of healing will be able to heal the sick."
There's actually no such thing as "the gift of healing" anywhere in the New Testament.
As we saw in
Part One,
all
Christians have been commissioned to lay hands on the sick, but the New Testament also says that the Holy Spirit sometimes gives
special
healing abilities to certain people. Here's every place where the New Testament uses any form of "gift of healing" in a literal translation of the Bible (Young's Literal Translation):
1 Corinthians 12:8 (YLT): "for to one through the Spirit hath been given a word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit;"
1 Corinthians 12:9 (YLT): "and to another faith in the same Spirit, and to another
gifts of healings
in the same Spirit;"
1 Corinthians 12:28 (YLT): "And some, indeed, did God set in the assembly, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, afterwards powers, afterwards
gifts of healings,
helpings, governings, divers kinds of tongues;"
1 Corinthians 12:29 (YLT): "are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all powers?"
1 Corinthians 12:30 (YLT): "have all
gifts of healings?
do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?"
In the Greek, every time the word for "gifts" is used in connection with healing, it's always in the plural, and in fact the Greek word for "healings" is in the plural in all of those verses as well. The New Testament talks about
gifts
(plural) of
healings
(plural), but it never says that there's such a thing as "the gift of healing."
Notice that everyone can draw or paint to some degree, but some people are
gifted
in certain areas of drawing or painting. In a similar way, some people might have a spiritual gift in a certain area of healing, and others might have a spiritual gift in another area of healing, but the New Testament never says that anyone will receive "the gift of healing." There's no such thing.
-
"I was taught that the Age of Miracles came to an end in the first century."
If we set aside our preconceived ideas, and we go through the entire New Testament to see what it really says, then we'll find that the New Testament does not teach that an "age of miracles" will come to an end in the first century. Miracles and healings operate today in the same way that they did during the first century. They operate
by faith,
so we simply need to learn some things and then have the courage to step out in faith. This series will describe some specific, practical things that you can do to see miracles of healing for the glory of the Lord.
However, people sometimes use the following arguments to support the idea that healings and miracles "died out" in the first century:
A. Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was never healed, so healing was dying out in the first century.
What was Paul's "thorn"? Notice that Paul tells us exactly what it was: It was a "messenger of Satan" (2 Corinthians 12:7, below). Paul didn't use a Greek word for sickness or disease in this verse, but instead he specifically used the Greek word for "angel," and he specifically said that it was a demonic angel.
Notice that Paul pleaded with God three times to remove this "thorn," and then Paul boasted and delighted in it:
2 Corinthians 12:7: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a
thorn
in my flesh,
a messenger
[angelos]
of Satan, to torment me."
2 Corinthians 12:8: "Three times I
pleaded
with the Lord
to take it away from me."
2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will
boast
all the more gladly
about my weaknesses,
so that Christ's power may rest on me."
2 Corinthians 12:10: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I
delight
in
weaknesses,
in
insults,
in
hardships,
in
persecutions,
in
difficulties.
For when I am
weak,
then I am strong."
If we want to use the above passage as Scriptural justification that it might not be God's will to heal us, then are we
obeying
this Scripture passage? In other words, are we boasting about our sicknesses and delighting in them? Usually we go to a doctor, or we take medication, or we try to do something to get well, but notice that Paul did none of these things concerning his "thorn." Instead, he
delighted
in his weaknesses.
In the above passage, notice that Paul did not ask God to
heal
him, but instead Paul asked God to
take away
(aphistemi,
literally, "that it might depart from me") the "thorn." There's a big difference. This is the same Greek word which is used in Acts 12:10 when an angel "departed" from Peter, and in all of the 15 other occurrences of this Greek word in the New Testament it's never used in reference to sickness or healing (see Luke 2:37, 4:13, 8:13, 13:27, Acts 5:37, 38, 15:38, 19:9, 22:29, 1 Timothy 4:1, 6:5, 2 Timothy 2:19, and Hebrews 3:12). Paul wasn't asking for a sickness to be healed, but instead he was asking God to take away this demonic harassment.
Now, what did this demon do to Paul? It "tormented" him, according to the NIV. The Amplified Version translates this Greek word by saying that it "buffeted" and "harassed" him. In addition to the verse that we're examining (2 Corinthians 12:7), this Greek word occurs 4 more times in the New Testament, where it means "to strike with the fists" (Matthew 26:67, Mark 14:65), "to be brutally treated" (1 Corinthians 4:11), and "to receive a beating" (1 Peter 2:20). This Greek word is never used in reference to sickness or disease. It's
always
used to describe someone brutally mistreating someone else.
Further, Paul did not just
ask
God to take this demon away, but instead he
pleaded
with God to take it away. Nowhere in the New Testament is there even a single example of anyone healing a person by
pleading
with God to do the healing. Jesus never pleaded with God to heal anyone, and the apostles never pleaded with God to heal anyone, and so on. This is not how healing works, and this is never how Paul healed anyone in the New Testament. Paul was not pleading for a healing. He was pleading to be delivered from persecutions and hardships. For example, notice that when Paul began boasting about his "thorn in the flesh," he was boasting about insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties, and anything that made him weak, because God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, above). In fact, we can see that in the previous chapter of the same book (2 Corinthians) Paul boasted about more of his sufferings and afflictions and weaknesses:
2 Corinthians 11:23: "Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again."
2 Corinthians 11:24: "Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one."
2 Corinthians 11:25: "Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,"
2 Corinthians 11:26: "I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers."
2 Corinthians 11:27: "I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."
2 Corinthians 11:28: "Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches."
Several chapters earlier, Paul described even more of his sufferings and afflictions:
2 Corinthians 6:4: "Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;"
2 Corinthians 6:5: "in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;"
2 Corinthians 6:6: "in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;"
2 Corinthians 6:7: "in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;"
2 Corinthians 6:8: "through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors;"
2 Corinthians 6:9: "known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;"
2 Corinthians 6:10: "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."
Paul described just about every form of suffering and affliction that we could possibly think of, yet nowhere in these verses did he mention any sicknesses or diseases. Paul's "thorn" had nothing to do with sickness, but instead his "thorn" was a demon who continually harassed him with many hardships and sufferings. All of these afflictions kept Paul from becoming conceited, and they kept him weak so that God's power was manifested in Paul's life, giving him the strength to carry on his ministry.
In order to fully understand what it means to have a "thorn," it's helpful to examine every place where this concept appears in the Bible. Here are the remaining places where people seem to have had "thorns":
Numbers 33:55: "'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land,
those you allow to remain
will become barbs in your eyes and
thorns in your sides.
They will
give you trouble
in the land where you will live."
Joshua 23:13: "then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out
these nations
before you. Instead,
they will become
snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and
thorns in your eyes,
until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you."
Judges 2:2: "and you shall not make a covenant with
the people of this land,
but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?"
Judges 2:3: "Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you;
they will be thorns
[several translations of the Bible indicate that the word "thorns" is implied here]
in your sides
and their gods will be a snare to you."
Ezekiel 28:24: "No longer will the people of Israel have
malicious neighbors
who are painful briers
and sharp thorns.
Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD."
Notice that in every description of a "thorn," it's always used to describe people who are bringing suffering upon other people. Paul specifically said that his "thorn" was a demon which was bringing suffering upon him everywhere he went, which is exactly the same way that a "thorn" is used everywhere else in Scripture. It has nothing to do with sickness or disease, and it has nothing to do with healing or miracles "dying out" in the first century.
B. Paul couldn't heal Trophimus, so healing was dying out in the first century.
Based on 2 Timothy 4:20, people sometimes assume that Paul had "lost" his healing abilities because he couldn't heal Trophimus. In that verse, the Greek word translated as "sick" is
astheneo,
and Paul used this Greek word 17 other times in the New Testament. Notice that with the exception of a single passage, Paul always used this Greek word to mean
"weak."
Here are the verses: Romans 4:19, 8:3, 14:1-2, 21 (literally, "is weak"), 1 Corinthians 8:9, 11-12, 11:20-21, 28-29, 12:10, 13:3-4, 9, Philippians 2:25-27.
Philippians 2:25-27 is the only other place in all of Paul's writings where
astheneo
is translated as "ill" instead of "weak," but having an illness can certainly leave a person feeling weak. If Trophimus was
weak
for some reason (but not actually sick), or if he was sick but received healing, then this passage doesn't support the idea that healing "died out" in the first century. But if Trophimus was sick, and if he never received healing, then this is no different than when people today don't receive healing (for various reasons, which we'll look at later in this series). Either way, this passage doesn't prove that healing "died out" in the first century or that Paul had "lost" his healing abilities.
C. Paul couldn't heal Timothy's stomach problems, so healing was dying out in the first century.
Paul told Timothy to drink wine and not just water, because Timothy was experiencing frequent stomach illnesses (1 Timothy 5:23). Based on this verse, people sometimes claim that Paul couldn't heal Timothy, as if Paul was "losing" his ability to heal people. But clearly Paul was
writing
to Timothy. Paul was nowhere near Timothy and couldn't have laid hands on Timothy even if he wanted to! Notice that Timothy didn't have
an
"illness" (singular), but instead he had
several
illnesses (plural). Since he had "frequent illnesses" (plural), this shows that in some way his stomach illnesses were
healed
each time. This verse doesn't support the idea that healing was "dying out" in the first century.
D. Paul's eye problem was never healed, so healing was dying out in the first century.
Sometimes people use Galatians 6:11 to demonstrate that Paul had an eye condition which was never healed. However, when Paul referred to "how large a letter" (KJV) or "what large letters" (NIV) in Galatians 6:11, we really can't say for sure what he meant. It's possible that he wrote in large letters for emphasis, such as when we use
bold letters
for emphasis. It's also possible that his eyes were getting weak with age, so he needed to write in large letters. Another possibility is that he simply had poor handwriting. Or perhaps he was referring to the length of his letter to the Galatians. Galatians 6:11 doesn't prove that Paul had an eye condition which was never healed.
Notice that Paul said he had a "bodily ailment" (which is sometimes assumed to be an eye problem) when he first visited Galatia:
Galatians 4:13-15 (AMP): "you know that it was on account of a
bodily ailment
that [I remained and] preached the Gospel to you
the first time.
And [yet], although my physical condition was [such] a trial to you, you did not regard it with contempt ... For I bear witness that you would have torn out your own eyes and have given them to me [to replace mine], if that were possible."
The NIV uses the word "illness" in this passage, but the Greek word literally means
"feebleness
(of body or mind); by implication
malady;
moral
frailty:
- disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness." (Strong's Greek Dictionary). What was this infirmity of the flesh or this bodily ailment? Acts 14:19-20 tells us that when Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra, the crowd stoned Paul and left him for dead. The next day, Paul and Barnabas went to Derbe, which was in the southern part of Galatia (according to
Eerdman's Atlas of the Bible):
Acts 14:19-20: "Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.
They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.
The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe."
This infirmity from the stoning was the reason why Paul preached the Gospel in Galatia for the first time (Galatians 4:13-15, above). Consider that Paul both preached and practiced healing, and not once did he ever tell anyone to patiently endure their sicknesses, nor did he ever say that he himself was patiently enduring any infirmity. If Paul's eyes were wounded during the stoning, they apparently were healed because he never listed any eye problems among the sufferings which he had received for the sake of the Gospel.
Again, the New Testament does not teach that an "Age of Miracles" will come to an end in the first century.
-
"If you believe that you can heal the sick then why not go and clear out all of the hospitals and get everyone healed?"
That's a good point, and if the New Testament tells us to clear out hospitals then that's what we should do.
What we find in the Gospels, however, is that Jesus didn't always heal everyone around Him, nor did He go out in search of people to heal. He healed everyone who
came
to Him. He healed a lame man at the pool of Bethesda, but apparently He didn't heal any of the other disabled people there (John 5:2-9). He went in and out of the temple gate many times, yet He never healed a beggar there who was crippled from birth (Acts 3:2-8). There are a number of passages which say that Jesus healed
all
of the sick people in various places, but these were people who
came
to Him or who were brought to Him. These were not people whom Jesus sought out to heal.
Since Jesus didn't automatically heal everyone around Him, and since He didn't seek out people to heal, and since there's no record of Him going around emptying out leper colonies, we have no Scriptural precedent for trying to empty out hospitals.
If the Holy Spirit leads us to visit a hospital and go around healing people then that's what we should do. But otherwise it's not likely to be fruitful if most of the patients have not had their hearts prepared to respond in faith.
-
"Doesn't the Bible say that God disciplines those He loves?"
People sometimes justify their sicknesses by quoting Scripture passages such as, "many are the afflictions of the righteous," or "God chastens His children." However, the words "afflictions" and "chastens" in those passages don't mean sicknesses or diseases.
For example, Psalms 34:19 in the King James Version begins with, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and sincere, well-meaning people sometimes use this verse to justify their sicknesses. Notice that this verse doesn't say, "Many are the
sicknesses
of the righteous," but even if it did say that, the verse ends with, "but the Lord
delivers
them out of them all." Therefore Psalms 34:19 can't be used to justify our sicknesses. In fact, the word "afflictions" in Psalms 34:19 has nothing to do with sickness because it means "anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble" (Strong's Hebrew Dictionary).
Now let's consider what it means when the Lord "disciplines" or "chastens" those He loves (Hebrews 12:6-7). The Greek word for "discipline" or "chasten" in that passage means "instruct, learn, teach," according to Strong's Greek Dictionary. Notice that loving parents would
not
discipline their children by intentionally inflicting cancer or AIDS or any other disease on them! God is a God who
loves
His children and has our best interests at heart, He's not a God of child abuse. But even if we want to believe that sicknesses are "chastenings," notice that the above passage instructs us to
endure
chastenings! So if we believe that sicknesses are "chastenings" then we should not go to a doctor nor take any medication nor do anything to alleviate our symptoms nor try to get better, because then we're not
enduring
our discipline.
God might sometimes use an existing sickness as a way of teaching us something, but this doesn't mean that all of our sicknesses are "afflictions" or "chastenings." Many people are misusing these Scriptures to justify their sicknesses and diseases and infirmities, but wouldn't you rather believe what the Bible really says and then receive
healing
from your sickness and pain?
-
"If divine healing is for today then how come I never hear about any healings?"
Notice that if we don't believe in divine healing simply because we never see or hear about it, then we're basing our views on
experience
rather than basing our views on Scripture.
The New Testament shows that healings and miracles happen
by faith.
Do you know anyone who honestly expects a miracle to happen right in front of their eyes
while
they're praying for a sick person? Most Christians don't seem willing to step out in faith for miracles, so it's no surprise that they don't see any miracles. This is one reason why we rarely hear about any healings, and another reason is because we need to know what to do when we step out in faith. That's what this series will teach you.
-
"Can you show me any proof that you've seen miraculous healings?"
Notice that if we need to see
proof
of miraculous healings in order to believe that healing is for today, then we would be basing our views on
experience
rather than basing our views on Scripture. By the end of this series you won't need any proof from anyone because you'll know exactly how to see miraculous healings!
-
"If you believe that you've seen miraculous healings, how do you know it's not just the power of suggestion?"
Have you ever tried to heal someone by the power of suggestion? Try it sometime!
As Christians, we must
find out
what the Bible says about healing and
believe
what the Bible says about healing. No-one in the Bible was healed by the power of suggestion. When people are healed in the Name of Jesus, it's the power of God which healed them.
-
"Jesus had the authority to heal the sick, but do we have that authority?"
One of the definitions of "authority" is:
"2. a power or right delegated or given; authorization"
(Dictionary.com  )
Notice that the Jewish chief priests sent out Saul (later to be known as the apostle Paul) to arrest Christians, so Saul was acting on their authority:
Acts 26:10: "And that is just what I [Saul] did in Jerusalem.
On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison,
and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them."
Saul wasn't acting in his
own
authority, but instead he was acting in the authority of
a higher power
(the chief priests) who had
sent
him on a mission.
When Jesus sent out the twelve apostles to operate in His ministry of preaching the Gospel and healing the sick, He delegated to them the power and authority that they needed (Luke 9:1, below). Therefore, they were operating in His authority. When He sent out the 72 believers to operate in His ministry of preaching the Gospel and healing the sick, He delegated to them the task of healing the sick and said that He had given them authority over the enemy (Luke 10:1-3, 9, 19, below). Therefore, they were operating in His authority. When He sent out the Church to operate in His ministry of preaching the Gospel and healing the sick, He was delegating to us these tasks (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18, below). Therefore, we do these things in
His
authority:
Luke 9:1: "When Jesus had called
the Twelve
together,
he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,"
Luke 10:1: "After this
the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go."
Luke 10:2:
"He told them,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Luke 10:3:
"Go! I am sending you out
like lambs among wolves." ...
Luke 10:9:
"Heal the sick who are there
and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'" ...
Luke 10:19:
"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
nothing will harm you."
Matthew 28:18: "Then Jesus came to them and said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
Matthew 28:19:
"Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"
Matthew 28:20: "and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""
Mark 16:15: "He [Jesus] said to them,
"Go into all the world
and preach the good news to all creation."
Mark 16:16:
"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Mark 16:17:
"And
these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new tongues;"
Mark 16:18: "they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.""
When we heal the sick and cast out demons, we're not acting in our
own
authority, but instead we're acting in the authority of
a higher power
(Jesus) who
sent
us out to do these things.
Here's another way to look at it. One of the definitions of "in the name of" is:
"b. by the authority of"
(Dictionary.com )
When we're operating in Jesus' evangelism and healing ministry (which He delegated to us) then we're acting "in His Name," which means that we're acting in His
authority:
Acts 3:6: "Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."" ...
Acts 4:6: "Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family."
Acts 4:7: "They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them:
"By what power or what name
[authority]
did you do this?""
So when we're sent out by a higher power to do something, and we do it "in the name of" that higher power, this means that we're doing it in the
authority
of that higher power. For example, when a police officer says, "Stop in the name of the law," he has the full authority of the government backing him up. Since Jesus commissioned us to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons, we do these things in
His
authority. When we do these things "in His Name," this means that we have His full authority backing us up.
-
"When I hear that someone at church or at work, etc., is sick then I say a short prayer for them in my mind. Isn't that what the Bible says to do?"
When people who are far away from us are sick or injured, then we can say a prayer for them and perhaps send them some information about how healing works.
But when people are
not
far away from us, the Bible tells us to do something quite unexpected! In the Gospels, there are three times when Jesus commissioned people to go out and heal the sick, and not once did He say to
pray
for the sick. Notice what He said:
Matthew 10:5:
"These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions:
"Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans."
Matthew 10:6: "Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."
Matthew 10:7: "As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'"
Matthew 10:8:
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give."
Luke 10:1: "After this
the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him
to every town and place where he was about to go."
Luke 10:2:
"He told them,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." ...
Luke 10:9:
"Heal the sick who are there
and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'"
Mark 16:15: "He [Jesus] said to them,
"Go into all the world
and preach the good news to all creation."
Mark 16:16: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Mark 16:17:
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new tongues;"
Mark 16:18: "they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.""
In the above passages, notice that Jesus never commissioned anyone to "pray" for the sick, but instead He commissioned us to
heal
the sick. There's a big difference! For example, when we're talking to a sick person, most of us will go home and pray for the person at a more convenient time, but no-one in the entire New Testament ever did such a thing. We're not doing it the way they did it in the New Testament, and that's a big reason why we're not seeing the results that they saw. Notice how healings were done after the cross:
Acts 3:2: "Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts."
Acts 3:3: "When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money."
Acts 3:4: "Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!""
Acts 3:5: "So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them."
Acts 3:6:
"Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.""
Acts 3:7:
"Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong."
Acts 3:8: "He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God." ...
Acts 3:16:
"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him,
as you can all see."
Acts 9:17: "Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me
so that you may see again
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.""
Acts 9:18:
"Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again.
He got up and was baptized,"
Acts 9:33: "There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years."
Acts 9:34:
""Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up."
Acts 14:8: "In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked."
Acts 14:9: "He listened to Paul as he was speaking.
Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed"
Acts 14:10:
"and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk."
Acts 22:11: "My companions led me [Saul] by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me."
Acts 22:12: ""A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there."
Acts 22:13:
"He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him."
There's a big difference between the way that they healed the sick in the New Testament, and the way that we pray for the sick today. We usually pray something which boils down to, "Father, please heal that person in Jesus' Name," but this is
not
what Jesus commissioned us to do! This is an
unScriptural
way to pray for healing because no-one in the entire New Testament was ever healed by this type of prayer. Our
assumptions
about how to pray for the sick are hindering us from seeing miracles of healing!
Later in this series we'll see how to heal the sick in a more Scriptural way.
All for Your glory, Lord Jesus!
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