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 | Exodus 15:26: ""...If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." (KJV) |
| II Kings 20:5: "...Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee..." (ASV) Here, God tells Isaiah to inform Hezekiah that God has heard his prayer and seen his tears, and that He will cure him of a serious boil. |
| Psalms 34:17-19: "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." (KJV) |
| Psalms 103: "Bless the Lord, O my soul,...And forget none of His benefits; Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;" (KJV) |
| Isaiah 53:5: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."(KJV) This is a reference to the "suffering servant" in Isaiah which many Christians believe prophesied about Jesus. The Hebrew word napha can refer to physical or spiritual healing. Here it is translated simply as healed. It is not clear whether physical or spiritual healing or both is intended here. However, the references to transgressions and iniquities might imply that it is spiritual healing. |
| Isaiah 57:18-21: "I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." (ASV) From these and previous verses, God appears to promise healing to all those, both far and near, with a contrite and humble heart. For those who do wicked deeds, there is apparently neither peace nor healing. |
| Jeremiah 30:17: "For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; because they have called thee an outcast..." (ASV) God promises Jacob that his enemies will be vanquished, and that Joseph will be healed. Subsequent passages promises Jacob that his descendants "shall be my people, and I will be your God.." |
| Hosea 6:1: "Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up." (ASV) |
Healing promises in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament):
Some passages enthusiastically promise that prayer will always result in healing - at least for believers. Some are:
| Matthew 7:7-11: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone; or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (ASV) |
| Matt 21:22: "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (ASV) |
| Mark 16:18 "they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (ASV) This passage appears to be a forgery. They are verses not written by the author of the Gospel of Mark but added by an unknown, later editor. |
| John 15:7: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (ASV) |
| James 5:14-15: "Is any 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 shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him." (ASV) This appears to be a guarantee of recovery for anyone who goes through a specific religious ritual, led by elders from his church. Not only healing would be automatically accomplished, but the formerly ill person would have his sins forgiven. |
| Romans 8:32 "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" (ASV) |
Healing failures in the New Testament:
| Jesus was unable to heal people because of lack of belief by the local citizenry. |
| John 11:2-4: "And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby." (ASV) Although Lazarus was sick and his sisters pleaded with Jesus to heal him, Lazarus eventually died. Jesus later raised him from the dead, for his own glorification. |
| 1 Corinthians 15:42-53: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:...flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption...dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (ASV) Death and disease is seen as an inevitable, unavoidable component of life on earth. Paul writes that it will only be overcome at the time of resurrection. |
| 2 Corinthians 12:7-9: "...there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me". (ASV) Paul suffered from a "thorn in the flesh" that he asked God to heal. His requests were rejected. Paul was neither able to cure himself or persuade God to cure him. |
| Galatians 4:13-14: "but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first time: and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, (even) as Christ Jesus." (ASV) Paul apparently suffered from an apparently incurable infirmity of the flesh. He is pleasantly surprised that the Galatians did not despise him because of his problem. |
| Philippians 2:25-27: "But I counted it necessary to send to
you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier...ye had heard that he
was sick: for indeed he was sick nigh unto death." (ASV) Epaphroditus, one of Paul's co-workers became ill. Paul was apparently unable to cure him. It was only when Epaphroditus became fatally ill that God cured him. |
| 1 Timothy 5:23: "Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." (ASV) Apparently, Timothy suffered from stomach problems and other illnesses that Paul was unable to cure, but could only suggest the use of wine to ameliorate the symptoms. |
| 2 Timothy 4:20: "...but Trophimus I left at Miletus sick." (ASV) Paul was unable to heal Trophimus, but had to leave him behind, still sick, at Miletus. |
Reference:
- Ron Rhodes. "Is physical healing guaranteed in the Atonement (Isaiah 53:3-5)?," at: http://home.earthlink.net/
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Home page > "Hot" religious topics > Faith healing > here |
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Home page > Christianity > Practices > Christian prayer > here |
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Home page > Christianity > Bible themes > Bible passages > here |
Copyright © 1999 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 1999-MAY-11
Latest update: 2007-JUN-21
Author: B.A. Robinson
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