Prayer and the Gift of
Healing
Of Jesus, it is
written that He “went about all
Galilee, teaching in the synagogues,
and preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease
among the people.” Matthew
4:23. When He had selected the
Twelve, “He gave them power
against unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and heal all manner of sickness
and all manner of disease.”
Matthew 10:1. “And they went
out, and preached that men should
repent. And they cast out many
devils, and anointed with oil many
that were sick, and healed
them.” Mark 6:12,13. Jesus
‘gave them power and authority
over all devils, and to cure
diseases.” “And they
departed, and went through the towns,
preaching the gospel, and healing
everywhere.” Luke 9:1,6.
These references show
that healing is an integral part of
the gospel. As Christ and the
apostles preached repentance from
sin, they also touched men’s
bodies and made them whole. In doing
this, Christ honored the body and
taught men that religion is not
confined to certain theological
concepts, but is intended for the
whole man, and that all might have
healing of bodily infirmities as well
as forgiveness of sin.
The gift of healing is
one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
(1 Corinthians 12:9,28), and is to be
distinguished from prayer for
healing. All Christians have the
privilege to pray for healing; but
the gift of healing is given to but a
few to use in their ministry and is
accompanied by the gift of
discernment, which is necessary that
they may know who is worthy of
healing and who have the necessary
faith.
As the disciples
exercised this gift and people saw
healing take place before their eyes,
naturally, the news spread quickly,
and multitudes assembled to see
miracles being done. This provided an
audience for the healer, which is one
of the objects God has in mind in
giving men the gift.
Christ used this
method in His work. When He
commissioned the seventy to go out,
He sent them “into every city
and place, whither He Himself would
come.” Luke 10:1. They
constituted an advance army,
heralding the fact that Christ would
soon come to their city, perhaps even
announcing the time when He would
come. They were to “heal the
sick that are therein, and say unto
them, The kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you.” Verse 9. As they came
to a town, it is easy to imagine the
stir their arrival would cause. They
had power not only to heal the sick,
but also to cast out devils, “to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the
enemy.” Verse 19. When they had
healed the sick and drove out devils
they did not take the honor to
themselves for these miracles, but
gladly acknowledged, “The devils
are subject unto us through Thy
name.” Verse 17. For every
healing that took place, Christ was
given credit, and thus the way was
prepared for Him when He should
shortly arrive. The people rightly
wondered if the servants could do
such wonderful miracles, what might
not the Master do when He should
come. With such an advertising
vanguard, the multitudes were ready
for Christ when He arrived.
God’s Purpose
The gift of healing
served as a strong factor in
spreading the news of the gospel to
many who would not otherwise be
attracted by an unknown preacher just
passing through the town, and a means
of restoring health. Furthermore, it
served as a sign of God’s
approval of the men He used,
“God also bearing them witness,
both signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Spirit, according to His own
will.” Hebrews 2:4. It was
God’s testimony to the
credentials of His servants; it was
His seal placed upon the faithful
laborer, giving him standing in the
eyes of the people as approved of
God. In Christ’s day, the work
of the seventy was a vital factor in
the success of the Master’s
mission. It gave Him an enthusiastic
and respectful hearing in many places
where His visit of a day or two would
otherwise have been insufficient to
accomplish what He wished.
Prayer and Gift of
Healing
Working as a healer,
Christ did not pray publicly. In
healing the centurion’s servant,
we do not find Christ praying or
saying anything to the centurion. But
“they that were sent out,
returning to the house, found the
servant whole that had been
sick.” Luke 7:10.
When Christ raised the
widow’s son from death, He did
not pray, but merely said,
“Young man, I say unto thee,
Arise. And he that was dead sat up,
and began to speak.” Verses
14,15.
When Christ met the
man who was “full of
leprosy” and who asked Christ to
heal him, Jesus “put forth His
hand, and touched him, saying, I
will: be thou clean. And immediately
the leprosy departed from him.”
Luke 5:12,13.
To the man sick of the
palsy Christ said, “Arise, and
take up thy couch, and go into thine
house.” Verse 24. To the
“spirit of an unclean
devil” who possessed a man,
Christ said, “Hold thy peace,
and come out of him.” Luke
4:33-35. At another time Christ
“rebuked the unclean spirit, and
healed the child.” Luke 9:42. To
the woman who ‘had a spirit of
infirmity eighteen years,” He
said, “Woman, thou art loosed
from thine infirmity.” Luke
13:11,12. To the ten lepers He said,
“Go show yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that,
as they went, they were
cleansed.” Luke 17:14.
The disciples followed
the same practice. To the lame man at
the temple gate, Peter said, “In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6.
Paul, healing a “certain man at
Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a
cripple from his mother’s womb,
who never had walked…said with a
loud voice, Stand upright on thy
feet. And he leaped and walked.”
Acts 14:8-10.
To this custom of not
praying at the time of healing, we
find two exceptions: At the grave of
Lazarus Jesus offered a brief prayer
of thanks, stating that he did so on
account of those who stood by. Then
He cried, “Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came
forth.” John 11:43,44. After the
death of Dorcas, Peter put all the
people out of the chamber “and
kneeled down, and prayed; and turning
him to the body said, Tabitha, arise.
And she opened her eyes: and when she
saw Peter, she sat up.” Acts
9:40.
The common practice,
therefore, seemed to be that whoever
had the gift of healing spoke
directly to the sick, and the person
was healed. We can account for this
on no other grounds that that the
healer had such close contact with
God that he could speak for God,
knowing just what God wanted him to
do. Moreover, that was what he
proceeded to do. God reposed complete
trust in him and gave him divine
powers. He did not pray Thy will be
done. He knew already what was
God’s will, and God trusted him.
A study of the cases
here mentioned shows that generally
the healing had the effect of
creating a widespread interest and
that many were thus brought in close
contact with the gospel by learning
what it could do for men. The
curiosity aroused was used by God to
bring His message to the world. Thus,
the healing of the blind man recorded
in the ninth chapter of John served
to stir up the interest of the people
as well as of the scribes, Pharisees,
and priests.
When Peter healed the
man at the temple gate, “All the
people ran together unto them in the
porch that is called Solomon’s
Acts 3:11. When Paul healed the lame
man at Lystra, the people became so
stirred up that they believed the
gods had come down to them. Acts
14:11-18. God had means then of
stirring up the people. He has means
now.
False Miracles
We are told that Satan
always attempts to imitate the work
of God for the purpose of deceiving
the people. When we,
therefore, read that Satan will cause
miracles to be wrought, and ‘the
sick will be healed, and many
undeniable wonders will be
performed,” we know that this
will be because God’s people
will have received the power they
should have had long ago. As Satan
cannot imitate without having
something to imitate, we know that
God’s people will have the power
promised the early church. See the
Great Controversy, page 588.
According we read: “Miracles
will be wrought, the sick will be
healed, and signs and wonders will
follow the believers.” Ibid.,
p.612.
“God hath set
some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that miracles, then
gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of
tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:28.
Some churches claim
the gift of healings, others of
diversities of tongues, others of
prophets, and others of apostles. We
cannot believe that God intended that
these gifts should be divided up
among the different sects. Rather,
God’s church should have all of
these, and not one or two. It is not
the time that God’s people awake
and claim the powers God has for
them.
The field is still
open. While there are churches that
claim to have certain gifts, it is
doubtful that their claims will stand
the test of investigation. And
investigation there will surely be.
When the time comes, God’s
church should be ready to step in and
“take over,” “God also
bearing them witness, both signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Spirit,
according to His own will.”
Hebrews 2:4.
It is too late in the
day to make excuses to the world for
the lack of power in the church. We
need to make our confession to God,
to “be watchful, and strengthen
the things which remain”
(Revelation 3:2, and God will yet
“restore to you the years that
the locust hath eaten” (Joel
2:25).
Memory Verse:
“They went out
and preached that people should
repent. They drove out many demons
and anointed many sick people with
oil and healed them.” Mark 6:
12,13.
Questions:
1. During
the Great Tribulation, do you think
you can tell the difference between
God’s servants and the devils
false prophets? Explain.
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2. Do you
personally know what God’s will
is for you today? Explain.
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