Jehovah Rapha

In between the extremes of the 'faith' teachers and the 'cessationists' are the majority of Christians who believe that healing is an occassional and miraculous work of God. That God occassionally does heal miraculously is evidenced by a multitude of anecdotal evidence in both Old and New Testaments. That God occassionally does not heal miraculously is evidenced, Scripturally, in the very same way in that many believers were NOT healed instantly of illness: Elisha, Job, Paul, Timothy & Trophimus.

Those overly influenced by the faith teachers fail to recognize the value of pain. God allows sickness and sees a purpose in it. Scripture is clear that in this present age we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Physical healing is not guaranteed in the here and now, but it is guaranteed in the then and there.

Those overly influenced by the cessationists fail to recognize the present availability of God. The early church, though they observed that miraculous healing was more usually employed as a sign to non-believers, believed that God was still a God of miracles. Hoping for a miracle is a legitimate option for a sick Christian.

James 5:14-16
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. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Now, I think it is possible to take this passage too far. James may have been purposefully vague by choosing 'save' instead of 'heal' the sick. And the phrase "the Lord will raise him up" makes most think of the resurrection, where all believers will be physically healed. Still further, the surrounding context is 'spiritual' moreso than 'physical' in nature and 'may' may leave more room for varrying possibilities than 'will' would have. All that being said, why don't we hear more sick Christians calling for the elders? Why don't we see more elders volunteering to pray for and annoint the sick with oil?

I pray that the Lord will lead me in the proper balance on these issues.