Andrew Murray's book Abide in Christ is an all time Christian classic. It's one of the best books I've ever read. Fortunately it's freely available online at very websites and in different formats:
Abide in Christ Online HTML version
Abide in Christ Online HTML version
Abide in Christ Online PDF version
Abide in Christ YouTube Audiobook
Abide in Christ LibriVox MP3 download
There are many dozens of other Andrew Murray books freely online. Use a search engine to find them.
[Last updated 2024/10/5]
As a Calvinist, I believe people are divinely healed of sicknesses according to the sovereignty of God. However, at the same time the Bible teaches that we receive healing according to our faith. The Bible, and Jesus in particular, encourages people to have faith for healing. According to Calvinism, faith is ultimately the sovereign gift of God. But I believe we shouldn't use that fact (that faith is a divine gift) as an excuse not to strive to exercise faith for healing. The healing of ourselves and of others [James 5:14-16]. Jesus never (Himself) used or accepted (from others) the sovereignty of God as an excuse for why someone wasn't healed. In fact, Jesus criticized and rebuked His disciples for not having faith to heal sickness or exorcise demons. He blamed the disciples for failing to get people healed of severe demonic influence [Matt.17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-42]. Jesus and the New Testament teaches that with God, and faith in God, all things are possible [Matt. 17:20; 19:26; Mark 9:23; 10:27; 14:36; Luke 1:37].
Many atheists point to two passages Mark 6:5 and Matt. 13:58 where it says Jesus couldn't do miracles because of the people's unbelief. Allegedly this shows that Jesus (or God through Jesus or anyone else) couldn't/can't heal everyone. That there's a limitation on God's power, or that God isn't omnipotent even according to the Bible's teaching. The passages don't teach or imply anything like that at all. Both passages record the same event of Jesus being rejected by the majority of people in His hometown of Nazareth. The point of both passages is that in their rejection of Jesus (i.e. unbelief) they didn't come to Jesus for healing, and so not many were healed. Both passages say Jesus did do some healings and miracles there. The truth is that God can heal with or without faith. I remember listening to an audio of Walter Martin, a well known pioneer of 20th century apologetics, recount how one time someone asked him to pray for their healing and he was hesitant to do so, but did so anyway and the person was healed to his great astonishment & amazement. He was surprised because he didn't have faith or confidence that the person would be healed. Then in the audio he immediately recounted another story that happened soon afterward (days or weeks later) when someone again asked for prayer and this time he had great confidence that the person would be healed because of his recent experience, and the person wasn't healed. He went on to explain what he believed happened. That it goes to show that God is sovereign enough to heal even in the absence of faith. As well as sovereign enough in His wisdom to withhold healing. I agree and I also think it goes to show that genuine faith for healing and miracles is not merely a psychological confidence, but a God given spiritual reality that goes beyond a mental idea or emotional feeling. God will sometimes heal in the absence of faith, but God's normative way to heal [as seen and taught in the Gospels] is in the presence of faith of the prayee and/or pray-er [usually both]. And from my Calvinist perspective, that faith is ultimately the gift of God. So, God's Sovereignty is not denied in my theology of healing. Nor is the will of humans ultimate in the final analysis. But from the human perspective or at least a practical perspective, the human will is important and often seemingly ultimate. See this blog here by Vincent Cheung on the will of man in healing with my qualifications of his theology here.
George Mueller made a distinction between the "grace of faith" and "gift of faith" that I agree with, but I define them differently than he did. Both are technically God's gifts, but bestowed differently. I believe the "gift of faith" described in the Bible is an immediate temporary supernatural endowment of faith that God can give someone for specific situations where God definitely wants to answer a prayer or perform a miracle or healing. This gift of faith comes upon a person in a way that he know is not something he already had or developed, but is an extraordinary sense of faith that encourages the person to know with certainty that God wants something supernatural done and that He's ready to do it. In contrast to that I believe the "grace of faith" is the ordinary faith we develop in the Christian life by doing those things that we are encouraged to do to increase faith. Things like prayer, Bible reading & study, church attendance, participating in communion (i.e. the Lord's Supper), Christian fellowship, et cetera. BOTH are the gift of God, but one is immediate, sporadic and clearly extraordinary and supernaturally given. The other is gradual, fluctuates according to one's present state of sanctification, seemingly ordinary and not apparently supernaturally given since it's developed with human cooperation and effort.
Examine the following verses [ESV used]. Notice how often the Bible encourages faith, and teaches its limitless possibilities. Notice how often healing and miracles was tied to someone's faith. As well as how lack of healing was often (not always) tied to unbelief.
Matthew 8:5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,[c] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[d] have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Matthew 9:22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly[a] the woman was made well.
Matthew 9:29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
Matthew 13:57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Matthew 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”[e]
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 21:20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Mark 5:34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Mark 6:4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.Mark 7:28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Mark 9:23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Mark 10:52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark 11: 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received[c] it, and it will be yours.
Mark 14:36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 8:25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Luke 8:48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Luke 17:19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 18:42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me[e] anything in my name, I will do it.
John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
John 16:23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. [[[Majority Text and TR have "full of faith and power". See the KJV, NKJV, YLT, EMTV, LITV]]]
Acts 14:9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,[b] 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.
1 Corinthians 13:1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
Gal. 3:5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
1 John 3:20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
Here's a final caveat. This approach to prayer for healing and all other blessings of God [for finances, wisdom, guidance, protection, etc.], even if rightly understood, can lead to frustration and even doubt due to delays and seeming denials of prayer requests. But not because of the doctrine itself. The doctrine itself ought to support hope for the future and eventual answered prayer, rather than doubt if a positive answer doesn't arrive or is delayed. It also acknowledges the sovereignty of God without giving people no options or hope for improving their circumstances. Imagine for example being in chronic pain and only having the theology of God's sovereignty to uphold you and the usual Calvinistic applications [often misapplications] of that truth. That could lead to the hopeless conclusion that one may have to endure the pain for the remainder of one's life. See, for example, Dan Downey's testimony. He wasn't a Calvinist. He was more Arminian, but he suffered from chronic pain and his testimony exemplifies the suicidal despair people can enter when they have no hope of being healed of chronic pain. His testimony "How I Received My Healing." can be downloaded HERE.
Under the theology and approach of this blog a person can have hope that his situation may improve and he can have a hand in bringing it about. Instead of just enduring it with nothing to do, or to pray with little hope of an answer. Or with reasons to fear that one may pray presumptuously in violation of God's will. The fear of committing the "sin of presumption" is one of the main hindrances to answered prayer. Yes, [all things considered] God's will of Decree MIGHT not be to heal [or heal right now], but His will of Delight and will of Demand IS to heal [all thing being equal]. For example, for all you know God doesn't intend to heal you today, but next week in response to the faith you develop and receive from God in the next seven days. SEE my BLOG on SIX senses of God's Will.
Distinctions in God's Will from a Calvinist Perspective
I asked artificial intelligence ChatGPT to "pretend you were Charles Haddon Spurgeon and compose a prayer for healing in his style and theology of divine healing." Here's its response:
O Lord, our great Physician, we come before You in humility and faith, believing that You are able to heal us of all our afflictions. We acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from You, and that You are the source of all life, health, and healing.
We ask that You would pour out Your healing power upon us, according to Your perfect will. We believe that Your promises of healing in Your Word are true, and we trust in Your faithfulness to fulfill them. We ask that You would touch us with Your healing hand and bring wholeness and restoration to every part of our being.
We pray for those who are suffering from physical ailments, mental illnesses, emotional distress, and spiritual afflictions. We ask that You would bring comfort and healing to those who are in pain, and that You would strengthen and sustain them through their trials.
We also pray for those who are serving as doctors, nurses, caregivers, and other healthcare workers. We ask that You would give them wisdom, skill, compassion, and strength as they care for the sick and suffering. We pray that You would protect them from harm and bless them abundantly for their selfless service.
We thank You for Your mercy and grace, and for the assurance that You are with us always, even in our times of trial and suffering. We trust in Your sovereign will and pray that You would help us to surrender our lives to You completely, trusting in Your infinite wisdom and goodness.
We offer this prayer in the name of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered for our sins and rose again, that we might have eternal life and abundant healing. Amen.
Here's another request:
Do the same thing as if you were a human being praying for your own healing. Again, in Charles Haddon Spurgeon's style and theology of divine healing.
O Lord, my God and my Healer, I come before You with a humble and contrite heart, seeking Your mercy and grace. I acknowledge that I am unworthy of Your healing touch, but I trust in Your love and compassion towards me.
I ask that You would forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I know that sin can cause sickness and disease, and I confess any sin that may be hindering Your healing power in my life.
I also ask that You would strengthen my faith and help me to trust in Your promises of healing. I know that You are able to heal me of every affliction, and I believe that You will do so according to Your perfect will.
I pray for Your wisdom and guidance as I seek medical treatment and make decisions about my health. I ask that You would bless the doctors and healthcare professionals who are caring for me, and that You would guide their hands and minds as they seek to bring healing to my body.
Most of all, I pray that You would help me to surrender my life to You completely. I know that Your plans for me are good, and that You have a purpose for every trial and affliction that I face. Help me to trust in Your goodness and mercy, and to find joy and peace in Your presence, even in the midst of my suffering.
I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Healer. Amen.
Here's what ChatGPT composed in answer to the same questions, but with Smith Wigglesworth:
https://charismatamatters.blogspot.com/2023/03/i-asked-chatgpt-to-compose-prayer-for.html
I asked artificial intelligence ChatGPT to "pretend you were smith wigglesworth and compose a prayer for healing in his style and theology of divine healing." Here's its response:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come before you today in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the great healer and the source of all life. I believe that you are a God who still heals today, just as you did in the days of old, and I ask that you pour out your healing power upon this person who is in need.
I declare by faith that every sickness, every disease, every pain, and every infirmity must bow down to the name of Jesus. I command all forms of sickness and disease to leave this person's body right now, and I release the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through them, bringing health, wholeness, and restoration to every cell, every tissue, and every organ.
Lord, you have promised in your word that by your stripes, we are healed, and I claim that promise over this person's life. I pray that you would touch them in a special way today and fill them with your peace, your joy, and your love. I pray that you would strengthen their faith and help them to trust in your goodness and your mercy.
I rebuke every spirit of fear, doubt, and unbelief that may be hindering their healing, and I ask that you would surround them with your angels of healing, protection, and deliverance. I pray that you would give them a new testimony of your power and your love, and that they would be a living testimony of your healing grace to all who know them.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Here's another request:
Do the same thing as if you were a human being praying for your own healing. Again, in Smith Wigglesworth's style and theology of divine healing.
Heavenly Father,
I come before you today as your child, trusting in your love and your grace. I believe that you are a God who still heals today, and I ask that you would touch my body and bring healing and restoration to every part of me that is not in alignment with your perfect will.
I declare by faith that every sickness, every disease, and every pain must bow down to the name of Jesus. I release the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through me, bringing health, wholeness, and restoration to every cell, every tissue, and every organ.
Lord, I know that you have promised in your word that by your stripes, we are healed, and I claim that promise over my life. I pray that you would touch me in a special way today and fill me with your peace, your joy, and your love.
I rebuke every spirit of fear, doubt, and unbelief that may be hindering my healing, and I ask that you would surround me with your angels of healing, protection, and deliverance.
Lord, I choose to trust in your goodness and your mercy, and I ask that you would give me the strength to persevere in faith until I see the manifestation of your healing power in my life. I thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness, your love, and your mercy, and I believe that I will see the victory in my body that you have promised.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Here's what ChatGPT composed in answer to the same questions, but with Charles Haddon Spurgeon:
https://charismatamatters.blogspot.com/2023/03/i-asked-chatgpt-to-compose-prayers-for.html
The Bible records miracles of multiplication. For example, Jesus multiplying a small amount of bread and fish to feed over five thousand people (Matt. 14:13ff.), and then another time when He multiplied bread and fish to feed over four thousand people (Matt. 15:32ff.). The Old Testament also records miracles of multiplication. There's the incident when Elijah declared that a widow's jar of flour and jug of oil would not go empty until the drought in the land ended, and it happened (1 Kings 17:8ff.). There's also the incident when Elisha declared a widow's debts would be paid by the multiplication of oil (2 Kings 4:1ff.), and it happened.
BUT DOES GOD STILL DO THESE TYPES OF MIRACLES? ARE THERE MODERN CASES WHERE GOD MIGHT HAVE DONE SIMILAR THINGS?
The following are some claimed modern instances where God multiplied supplies. I don't claim that every instance listed below were real miracles rather than fabricated lies. But I suspect that at least some of the testimonies are instances of genuine miracles of multiplication.
Probably the most famous modern instance is the case recounted by Corrie ten Boom in her book, The Hiding Place. It takes place during World War II (if I recall correctly, in a concentration camp). Read the excerpt in the following link:
Multiplication of Liquid Vitamins in a Bottle
https://triablogue.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-davitamon-bottle.html
Missionary Heidi Baker is associated with miracles, including cases of divine healing [for more on this, see Candy Gunther Brown's videos and book titles HERE]. In the link below there is the claim that cookies were supernaturally multiplied by God to supply enough for all the children present.
The Miraculous Multiplication of Cookies: A Missionary’s Story About the Power of Prayer
https://www.churchpop.com/2018/11/26/the-miraculous-multiplication-of-cookies-a-missionarys-story-about-the-power-of-prayer/
The following excerpt is from Pat Robertson's book Miracles Can Be Yours Today pages 125-126.
I love the childlike faith of some of the Italian immigrants who came to America, met Jesus Christ, and were then filled with God's Holy Spirit. To them, if it is in the Bible, it is true. To them, whatever God has promised in the Bible, He will do!
The mother of my friend, the late Frank Foglio, came to America without much money, but with a ton of faith. Frank wrote a wonderful book about his amazing mother entitled Hey God! (Bridge-Logos, 1972), and this is one story from it.
Italian people are very hospitable. The women are renowned cooks who delight in serving delicious food to their guests. Mama Foglio found herself one day with a crowd of guests at lunchtime. But what could she do? The family was poor, and her food supply had diminished to a half box of spaghetti. But Mama Foglio knew her Bible, and she knew the God of miracles.
So she got out her biggest pot, filled it with water, and then put it on the stove to boil. She took the tiny bit of uncooked spaghetti and put it near the pot. She then opened her Bible to a promise of God's provision and held it up in her right hand.
In a prayer that I am sure must have delighted the Lord, but which would have horrified most formal clergymen, Mama Foglio placed her finger on the promise in the Bible held in her uplifted hand and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey God! You promised right here to meet my needs. I need food for all these people. Do it, God, just like You promised!"
She took the handful of spaghetti and threw it in the pot of boiling water. Before her eyes, the spaghetti began to swell until it filled up the giant container. When it was cooked, she served plate after plate of steaming delicious spaghetti so that all of her guests were fed.
Mama Foglio's prayer wasn't fancy. It wasn't couched in the old English of the King James Bible. But to the Foglio family, "Hey God! Look! Right here You promised!" seemed prayer enough to please God and bring forth a miracle of multiplication and provision.
The following excerpt is taken from Nine O'Clock in the Morning by Dennis J. Bennett, pages 122-123
...Andrew answered, "There's a youngster here with some bread and fish he's brought with him for lunch, but what is the good of that for a crowd like this?" And then Jesus proceeded to feed the five thousand from the little fellow's lunch-box!
I believe that happened because the Bible says it did, but I also believe it because Jesus did something similar in my own house! It was the day our daughter was married. Husbands can be thoughtless people, and I'm no different from the average. That day I brought sixteen people home to lunch without even warning my wife! She told me later what happened.
"I stood in the kitchen and said, 'Lord, Dennis has brought these folks home with him, and You know I don't have food for this many. This casserole is large enough to feed only five or six, and I haven't time to go to the store. I don't want to say anything about this, so I'm going to put the food on the table and trust You to do the rest!' "
She did just that, and said to me later, "You know, I just watched that food go round and round. They kept digging in and digging in, and everyone seemed to get enough to satisfy him, and there was enough left over to feed two more who arrived later in the afternoon!"
"My God shall fill up all your needs!"
Pastor Mike Yeager testifies of how his vehicle was able to driven for three days longer than it should have. It was allegedly an empty gas tank miracle.
Driving Our TRUCK with no GAS!
https://youtu.be/ZLq3wIJB-I8
In this video, Mike Yeager claims God supernaturally multiplied paper money.
Miracle Of The Multiplication Of Money
https://youtu.be/cSZxAZ99Vj8
As a convinced and ardent Evangelical Protestant I believe Roman Catholicism has many SERIOUS errors that dilute the truth of the Gospel. So much so that I encourage people to leave Catholicism for a more Biblically based Christianity. I recommend Evangelical apologetics against Catholicism's teachings and claims (for example, those of Gavin Ortland, James White, Jordan B. Cooper, William Webster, The Other Paul, and others).
Having said that I believe it's spiritually dangerous to be Roman Catholic, I have to balanced that with the admission that I also think there's enough truth in Catholicism for some people to be possibly saved, despite the official Catholic Gospel technically not being a saving conception of the Gospel. That's because, technically, Catholicism teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. Also, there's a long history in Catholicism whereby some strains of Catholicism teach Sola Gratia (salvation by grace alone). Ironically, while most Protestants affirm Sola Fide (justification through faith alone) and reject Sola Gratia, many Catholics do the opposite. Catholicism officially denies Sola Fide, yet many Catholics affirm and many historic Catholic theologians affirmed Sola Gratia.
Anyway, all that was to make it clear that I'm not endorsing Catholicism when I post the following video (already cued up) where a Catholic exorcist recounts a story of the multiplication of dessert for children.
Fr. Dan Reehil recounts the multiplication of pudding
[YouTube video already cued up]
https://youtu.be/cFIKpoIt4aE?t=1412
The following account is by preacher Roger Sapp who is mostly known for his divine healing ministry. See my blogpost dedicated to his materials HERE. In the story below, Roger Sapp and his wife allegedly had an experience that could almost be categorized as similar to the multiplication of the liquid vitamins mentioned above. I'll post the story and then make a comment about the incident afterwards. The story is taken from Roger Sapp's book Spiritual Treasure: A Collection of 44 True Stories of the Supernatural Grace of God [2014], pages 8-9.
Miracle in the MoonlightIn the first few months as a Christian, I experienced an amazing, miraculous event that was coupled with an inner knowing of what to do. I was a young soldier stationed in Wurzburg, Germany. I was saved by Jesus in a Christian coffeehouse that we attended regularly. In February, there was a Christian friend - who also attended this coffeehouse - who was leaving the Army and returning home. He needed a ride to the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport. I volunteered to drive him there.
It was not a long trip. It took about an hour and a half to get to the airport from where we lived. He didn't need to be there until after 8 pm, so we left at about 6 pm. My wife Ann and our two young children - one was a baby - came along with us. We arrived at the airport about 7:30 pm. We said our goodbyes and he went into the terminal.
We left the terminal and got back on the Autobahn in a few minutes. In about a half hour, we had a noisy blowout of the front right tire. With some difficulties slowing down and steering the car, I got the car off the Autobahn to the shoulder. I got out of the car to examine the tire. I knelt down beside it to examine it carefully. The tire was very flat with the rim near the ground. Normally, this would not have been a problem, but I realized that I had taken the spare tire in for repairs a few days before because it was flat also. (At that time, I was a low-ranking soldier and we had a worn-out car with worn-out tires.) Absentmindedly, I had forgotten to pick up the repaired spare tire before leaving on this trip.
I got back into the car and explained the situation to my wife Ann. Whether or not this was accurate, we had been told that if your car broke down on the Autobahn, you could get a huge fine by the German police. We discussed not being able to afford a fine. It was also very cold and dark outside with only the light of a full moon to see. I was keeping the car engine running to keep my family warm. I didn't know how long I could do this and still have enough gasoline to drive us home. With all these unknowns in our minds, Ann and I started praying for Divine help.
We had prayed for 15 minutes or so and I began to feel strongly that I should drive on the flat tire. I knew that this would completely ruin the tire and might seriously damage the rim. However, the more that I prayed, the stronger I felt that I should drive on the flat tire. I told Ann that I felt that I should drive on the tire. She - seeing no other solution - reluctantly agreed.
I started driving slowly on the shoulder. There was a grinding noise that made me think that the metal rim was touching the ground at times. There was also a repeating "flabunk" sound happening. "Flabunk, flabunk, flabunk..." I was praying for this old car to hold up under the new strain that I was putting on it.
Fairly soon, there was no noise at all. I got going somewhat faster but was puzzled why I wasn't hearing any noise. Without any effort, I got back on the Autobahn and eventually was traveling at speeds in excess of 60 miles an hour with no evidence that anything was wrong with the tire. I drove 45 minutes on that tire and pulled into a parking space in front of the apartment building where we lived on the German economy. I got out of the car and walked over to the right side to look at the tire. It was no longer flat. I could not accept this. Thinking that I was tired, I walked completely around the car checking each of the tires to see if one of them was flat. All the tires were fine. I was dumbfounded and awed as I returned to the right front tire. We were hearing about the Second Coming of Christ in the coffeehouse during that season. I remembered hearing this verse: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:20-21) I looked up at the full moon and it did seem to be light red. I felt sure that the Lord was returning that night. I didn't sleep that night and made very sure that we were saved. We both prayed the sinner's prayer again. When the next morning arrived without Christ returning, I was both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
I got ready to go to work. When I went out to my car, I discovered that the front right tire was flat again and sitting on its rim. I was late to work that day but it was a great day. I experienced an awe of God's nearness all day. By the way, the rim was not damaged and the tire was not destroyed by me driving on it. We had it repaired.
[END QUOTE]
I'll add more testimonies as I encounter them.
In one of my blogposts I've been having a discussion on healing with rgbrao. Read the entire discussion there. But I wanted to create a new blogpost for one of the questions rgbrao asked and my response to it.
rgbrao wrote:
Ok. So a common line given by Cess's is that while healing does take place, there is no such thing as the gift of healing that inheres in a person.
My response w/ recourse to Sorites (aka the paradox of the heap) is that the gift of healing has to be possible. Sorites is similar to the Bald Man paradox. Let me post that here from Oxford Reference:
"Suppose a man has a full head of hair: if he loses one hair he will still have a full head of hair. But if he loses enough hairs he will become bald."
~ Likewise in reverse. If we add a single hair to a bald man, he is still bald. Add yet another and he is still bald. And another and another... we are still constrained to saying that the man is bald yet we know that he is no longer bald. There simply is a point where we have to say that the guy is not bald.
Like so if we say that the gift of healing does not exist and I point out to an event, say Joe's being healed upon prayer by Jane, and say Jane has the gift of healing, Cess's will say no. One healing does not a healer make. But what if Jane repeats the event with Joan and then later with Jeff and another, and another, etc.
Then can we say Jane has the gift of healing? I think so.
Ok. I picked up the Concentric Cessationist lingo from Daniel Wallace in this article. https://bible.org/article/uneasy-conscience-non-charismatic-evangelical
He does not go into it too deep however.
Thanks!
Raj
Here was my response:
Yes, I've been aware of the sorites paradox for years. I've used it in various arguments. I disagree with you and agree with the cessationist. No matter how many times someone is healed by the prayers of person X, that, by itself, doesn't prove that X has the gift of healing. Since, it could be the pray-er's godliness that God is responding to [as per James 5:16b], or that person's "grace of faith" [as distinct from "the gift of faith"]. Or maybe the pray-er is exercising the gift of the working of miracles, or maybe the gift of faith, or maybe has cast out an evil spirit of infirmity.
So, I agree with the cessationist, that no amount of successive successful healing is proof anyone has the gift of healing (technically giftS [plural] of healing). Also, I don't think the gift of healing guarantees that everyone he prays for will be healed. Only that he has more extraordinary success in praying for healing than normal.
On the one hand, as a Calvinist, I think people are only healed if God decreed the person to be healed at that time. Yet, on the other hand, as an extreme continuationist, I believe that it's theoretically possible for someone to successfully heal anyone at any time given God's promise that all things are possible to him who believes [Mark 9:23]. As a Calvinist I believe that faith is always ultimately the gift of God [whether via the normally developed "grace of faith" or the extraordinary temporarily endowed/deposited "gift of faith"]. I believe God encourages Christians to always have faith for healing, even though God might not have decreed person Y be healed at time T. I believe we should leave God to work in His sovereignty as He pleases, but attempt to always have faith at all times for healing as God encourages and commands us to. There is an apparent contradiction in that, but not a real contradiction.
Having said all that, I think there might be times when God might supernaturally reveal that it's not His will to heal person S at time T maybe ever [e.g. it might be his time to die]. But unless God clearly and unambiguously reveals it's not His will to heal person S, then we have biblical warrant to do our best to exercise faith for S's healing. EVEN THEN, maybe faith might be able to "trump" God's revealed intention. Remember how God revealed to Hezekiah that he was about to die, yet God heard Hezekiah's prayers and granted the king 15 more years. Or think of how Jesus, speaking as God's messiah, told the Syro-Phoenician that He was sent to the House of Israel and basically implied that He wasn't going to heal her daughter. Yet, because of her persistence, Jesus healed her daughter anyway. In such cases, I would have to say that God ultimately intended to heal them. God's secret decree to heal, was hidden by His temporary revelation that it wasn't His intention (at least at time T1) to heal (thought it was at time T5).
Again, see this excellent article by Vincent Cheung. There is a sense in which, as he said, "Faith trumps everything."
