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The truth about faith healing
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Recently Colleen Hauser fled with her 13 year old son Daniel to avoid a court ordered treatment for his cancer. The Hausers are Roman Catholic and also followers of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods supported by some American Indians. It has once again brought into focus religious views of healing that eschew traditional medical treatment. While the Hausers are not submitting their son to the traditional ‘faith healer’, faith and prayer are an integral part of this Native American sect as well as in Roman Catholic tradition.
This kind of story is nothing new, there have been many instances of parents seeking alternative treatments for serious medical problems. Many of these stories do end tragically. Most of these instances do involve a belief in ‘faith healing’. The parents and others in the religious community rely on faith in God and the power of prayer instead of modern medical procedures. When the conditions get worse they feel their faith is being tested and instead of considering medical treatment they hunker down and are more determined than ever. In rare cases if the child dies the parents still believe that it is a test of their faith and hope the child will be brought back from the dead.
The Bible talks about faith healing in James 5:13-15,
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 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. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (NKJV)
Anointing with oil for healing has been a tradition in the church since the days of the Apostles, with roots that are in ancient Jewish ceremonial traditions. There have been times when it has fallen out of practice in most of the church, but it has never been totally discarded. Within the last 130 years with the rise of the modern Charismatic movement in Christianity there has been an increased emphasis on divine healing. Some denominations like the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Four Square Gospel Church uphold it as one of their major doctrinal beliefs. And in some churches the belief in divine healing has been twisted and perverted.
Since the 1930s many Charismatic groups have adopted a philosophy based on Scripture that many call “name it and claim it”. The underlying theory is that God wants to bless you physically and financially, the only thing standing in your way is your lack of faith. Since man was created as a perfect being, our physical ailments are caused by sin and doubt. God wants everyone to be physically healed. Healing and wealth are a right for the believer and those who are still sick after an anointing either have secret sin or a lack of faith.
Personally in the ministry I have come upon many who have bought into this philosophy, much to their detriment. Their faith in God has been decimated because He did not heal, and their faith community considered them second class for their lack of faith. Others have become seriously ill or died because they waited for a miraculous healing instead of seeking medical attention.
Wendy was a fellow student of mine at Alliance Theological Seminary in the early 1990s. She was a quirky young woman with a love for science fiction and fantasy. She was an avid Tolkien fan and Renaissance Fair performer; she was often seen to wear her clerical cloak around the campus just for fun. She had a strong and vibrant faith and served in many outreach groups while studying. She taught the disadvantaged in the rougher sections of New York City and toured with me around the East Coast in a ministry team that revived dying churches. She was a woman who was passionate about her faith. She was also diabetic. During my last year of Seminary she was attending a charismatic church that was a loose fellowship who emphasized the “name it and claim it” approach. She wanted to be healed of her diabetes because it was such task for her to watch her diet and take her medications; she thought it hampered her ministry. We kept in touch as I went on my internship at an upstate New York church which morphed into a full time position. She wrote me and told me she was going to as she put it, “Take a step of faith” for the healing of her diabetes. I never heard from her again, and a year later at a Denominational district conference I saw another of our close friends and asked how Wendy was doing.
She was dead.
Her step of faith, encouraged by the minister of her new church, was to stop taking her medications and trust God for her healing. Her reliance on her medication, she was told, was a stumbling block to her faith. God would not bless her with health while she relied on drugs instead of God.
God can heal. I have seen it. You can read about some of the divine healings I’ve witnessed first hand on my Blog Here. But as in all things of faith, you must use common sense. A leap of faith should not have you leap off a cliff to certain death. Sometimes God does ask us to step out in faith, to ignore the obvious and just trust Him. But He does not ask us to have blind faith. I myself have been led by the Lord to step out in faith numerous times, and there always are confirmations that this path is the path He intended. I have also had times when there were confirmations that the path I thought was the right one was not, and I had to seek the counsel of wiser ones than I as to what my next step would be.
God can heal.
But He does not always heal.
The Apostle Paul according to early church accounts was a sickly man. He was nearly blind. Some say it was from the encounter he had on the road to Damascus, when Jesus revealed himself to him and he was blinded. He never fully recovered from that wound to his eyes. While in jail, he would have others transcribe his letters to the churches and then sign it at the end. He was never healed. Did Paul have faith? I think anyone who would say no is not thinking rationally. God did not heal Paul, and Paul instead relied on God’s constant grace. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul writes,
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (NKJV)
Sometimes God does not heal.
Sometimes good people die.
It hurts, and seems unfair. But we are not God. We are nor in control.
In my experience the strongest faith is exhibited when we have to surrender to God’s will, even though we do not like it. It is through these tough times that learn to trust, and as we surrender our hopes, dreams, and control God gives us peace.
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