This is what our elders said:
We believe:
- God still heals (and therefore we reject [1]dispensationalism).
- We can pray for healing.
- Every case is unique, Jesus does not use formulas.
- Sometimes, God says ‘no’.
- Healing remains a mystery.
- Not everybody is healed.
- Mortality is an issue to us (humans).
- We should be grateful in all things.
- Healing includes more than just physical bodies.
We have experienced:
- People get hurt when someone is not healed.
- People get hurt when questions are asked about why someone was not healed and answers like ‘lack of faith’ or ‘someone must have sinned’ are given.
We would like to see that:
- Our reflex to disease would be: ‘Lord, please heal me?’
- We would obtain a healthy balance on the scale of healing where we have ‘No medicine, God will heal me’ on the one hand and ‘I am on a great medical plan, I do not need God to heal me’ on the other.
How do we pray for healing?
- The sick should (according to James 5) take the first step and ask for prayer.
- We should create space for this in our services.
- We ought to respect the sick.
- We should listen to Jesus’ heart for the sick. Jesus was deeply involved with and [2]deeply moved by the sick before he healed anybody.
- We have the consider and respect the sick person’s family
[1] Dispensationalism is the teaching that the Lord did miracles for a period of time so the Gospel could spread fast, but He stopped doing it in around 120 bC
[2] The Greek word translated with ‘deeply moved’ is splangnidzomai (splangnidzomai). It literally means ‘gut-wrenching empathy’
Tom also posted on the topic of sickness. You can read his post here.
Now... where does medicine (and specifically chronic medication) fit in? At which point should one accept that you are ill and it is not going away? When is a person sick? Do you stop praying for someone who is sick at some point? If you are supposed to use chronic medication, should / can you stop using it if you believe that God healed you?
Your thoughts?
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