The Bible mentions diverse spiritual gifts to the Church, and one of them is the gift of healing (1 Corinthians 12:4,9). In fact, the first century Christian Church became a recipient of this gift, which is why there were apostles and members of the Church back then who became instruments in healing people with physical infirmities. And until the present time, God’s gift of healing continues to be enjoyed by His people.
Sometimes, healing happens not because of any human intervention but because of fervent prayers. For one, God offers healing to those who fervently pray for it. I personally know of some brethren in the Church who had been diagnosed with illnesses which were already in their terminal stages, while others were with contagious diseases. But through our fervent prayers to the Almighty God, these people were able to live beyond the limit that the doctors had set upon them. There were also those who, because of financial constraints, had refused to undergo surgery and they just opted to be discharged from the hospital, but also through sincere prayers and supplications, God added several more years to their lives.
In the Church of God International, whenever we suffer from any ailment or illness, the first measure that we take is to kneel down, pray, and ask for God’s mercy and intervention. We do not perform any ceremony or ritual. We do not recite any incantation. We simply pray fervently. It is our faith that God can do more than what the best medical specialists can do — and that He can do what the best of doctors cannot.
Many preachers today brag that they have the gift of healing — that by simply laying their hands on the sick, those who are ill will surely get well. Of course, that is a preposterous claim. It is so easy to claim that they have the gift of healing, but proving it is something that they have failed to do.
Actually, I have seen a video of one shameless preacher who was supposedly performing a healing ritual. But instead of laying his hand on the sick woman, he laid his foot on her. It became apparent that delivering an “honest to goodness” healing was not really his paramount concern; he was more interested in taking advantage of the sick woman who was desperate to get healed. He was capitalizing on his position as a preacher and his self-proclaimed gift of healing in doing acts of lasciviousness and lewdness, as shown in the video.
The woman in the video was actually suffering from an ovarian disease. But what did the pastor do? Using his foot, he was touching the woman’s genital; he was practically sexually assaulting her. The Bible did not speak of any healing method similar to what this stupid pastor employed. It was a gross display of lust and sensuality, and without any doubt, that man is not of God, but of Satan.
We, in the Church of God International, neither perform such foolishness nor do we claim that we can heal people of all their illnesses by just laying our hands on them. We pray to God for His healing because we sincerely believe that it is God who heals, and our belief is anchored on what He said in Exodus 15:26 (KJV), “... for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” We are always counting on His pronouncements and on His abundant mercy.
Indeed, there is a gift of healing given to the Church. There are really some members of the Church who have been bestowed with this gift, like, for example, our brothers and sisters who work as doctors, nurses, and medical massage therapists. As massage therapists, they could heal swellings, rehabilitate sports injuries, relieve muscle tension and stiffness, and provide ease and comfort to those in pain — not by laying hands on them — but by applying varying degrees of pressure on the affected part of the body or by rubbing and stroking such areas using their hands. So, in their own small way, they are able to provide healing, too.
But as to whether a person was healed because of prayers or because of the intervention of a healthcare professional, our belief is that God and the Lord Jesus Christ are the ones who truly heal. Those who have the gift of healing are just being used by the Father and Christ to be their instruments in healing people. In reality, it is the healing power of God and the Lord Jesus Christ that works wonders. The bottom line is, God and the Lord Jesus Christ are our healers.
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