Timothy had ailments? Why wasn't he healed?

[Deborah_]

13 hours ago, Whyme said:

What is your opinion of this scripture? If he had ailments why didnt they anoint his head and pray over him, and heal him?

1 Timothy 5:23 Do not go on drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

It's something rarely commented on, but miraculous healings of Christians in the New Testament are rare - the only cases I can think of are Aeneas, Dorcas and Eutychus. In Acts, healings are almost invariably associated with evangelism (most strikingly, the cripple in Acts 14:8-10); they are signs of the Kingdom that back up the message. It's not that Christians are never healed, but NT believers are not generally encouraged to expect personal healing. (In James 5:14,15, the sick person's recovery is not inevitable; it's linked to a prayer of faith, which to me implies a specific gift of faith for that situation.) When Epaphroditus was sick (Philippians 2:27), Paul was obviously not expecting him to recover, and was overjoyed when he did. 

[Waggles]

James 5:

13 Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 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; 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

[BeyondET]

Really I don’t think there’s much to it, the wine was enough to heal, reading the verse as it says works too.

[AnOrangeCat]

22 minutes ago, BeyondET said:

Really I don’t think there’s much to it, the wine was enough to heal, reading the verse as it says works too.

I pretty much agree with this. God gave us a lot of things to control symptoms and speed along our recovery. It just takes real wisdom to know if a given thing is the most appropriate method available.

[enoob57]

3 hours ago, The_Patriot21 said:

The apostle paul had a thorn in his side...contrary to the feel good prosperity doctrines pushed by false preachers such as Osteen, being a Christian does not mean everything will go good for you in this life. It doesnt mean if your faith is strong you will be healed, or have wealth, etc. 

On the contrary we will face all the same hardships as everyone else-if not more. We live in a fallen world, we are fallen beings. God does not always bring healing. Whatever He does, He does to further His kingdom. He doesnt promise us a pain free life, he just promises us that He will be there for us no matter what.

This is an important reality as we as a body of believers experience everyday... We will see the reality of this verse one day and till then I have faith that it is so
 

Rom 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
KJV

It is the stay within my heart and it will be glorious to see!

[PeterR]

1 hour ago, Waggles said:

James 5:

13 Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 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; 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

Should we then rely on the righteous and ask them as if for intercession, or rather seek spiritual healing by entrusting the body to the Lord?

Since God knows our thoughts, it would be naive to think that our often indolent prayers will make a greater impression on Him. He is watching HOW we pray. It is useless to shout from a distance, even in a group. Maybe we have to get close and whisper in His ear?

Lev 8:12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

Jas 5: 13-14 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? 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

(G1637 - "elaion" - "stupid virgins" lacked that)

[OneLight]

4 hours ago, appy said:

 

The idea that God has to heal a person, because A) they asked Him to, and B) they are expecting Him to (faith) is an assumption made by many. It is unfair to compare the people of Jesus' home town to people today, because Jesus knew the hearts of the people in His hometown. We, Christians, today can NOT see into a person's heart as Jesus can and know for certain that they lack faith.

Lack of healing, is not proof of lack of faith.  For there are many people that sincerely believe, but aren't healed. Joni Erickson Tada who was in her lifetime a quadriplegic, is an excellent example.   And to be told "you don't believe enough", "have to completely believe, or it won't happen" has caused more harm and emotional pain by well-meaning Christians.

Just as the blind man in John 9:1-3 was not blind because of anything he or his parents did, but to bring glory to God. It is in the same with people not being healed. We don't know why some are healed and others are not.  Perhaps God has other blessings in mind for those not healed.

We are to have faith in God’s goodness, even when circumstances make it difficult and for reasons we do not understand. And we are to trust Him to know what is best for us and do best by us. We walk by faith, trusting God who redeemed us in Christ and promises the resurrection of the body.

 

Matthew 18:8-9

If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The lack of faith is a reason not to be healed in some cases, as I said about Jesus hometown.  You can either believe scripture or not, choice is yours.  Because of their faith, others were healed, according to scripture.  Is faith the only determination for healing, nope, and never said it was.  You are reading something into my post I never said.  Notice I was addressing why some are not healed, which is what Wesley I. was asking.

[Sower]

Timothy had ailments? Why wasn't he healed?

17 hours ago, Whyme said:

What is your opinion of this scripture? If he had ailments why didnt they anoint his head and pray over him, and heal him?

1 Timothy 5:23 Do not go on drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him"  1 John 5:14-15

Prayer not in God's will is not heard.
Pain and suffering can be to teach/learn, and is not always about punishment.
For myself and my family, our greatest blessings came through the leanest and meanest years.
I believe God is more interested in our spiritual health than our fleshly health.
If I pray for someones health, say a cancer cure, and God is using that pain and suffering to accomplish His will, maybe
to get their attention to spiritually strengthen their faith, then my prayer is not heard, according to His word.

God's best blessings are probably nothing to do with perfect health and a fat bank account.
Like someone said, look at  Joni Erickson. What an inspiring testimony to other believers, and the lost.
A true soldier for Christ. God did not heal her body, but brings her through the trial while faithfully praising God.
Love,
"It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance"
1 Corinthians 13:6-7

I pray for relatives and friends, and enemies, believers and the lost, that God bless them with His greatest blessings,
to use whatsoever necessary to bring about believing  faith in our creator. (Eternal blessing) 
It was through my pain and suffering in military boot camp that created a fit soldier.
Pain and suffering has brought about my best God honoring changes/attitudes as His child.  I trust Him.
God's ways are not man's.
 

 

[johnthebaptist]

18 hours ago, Whyme said:

What is your opinion of this scripture? If he had ailments why didnt they anoint his head and pray over him, and heal him?

1 Timothy 5:23 Do not go on drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

I think the little wine was meant to be the cure.

[Marathoner]

Thank you @appy, I loved your discerning response to the OP. 

God does as He pleases. The Lord is not bound to answer to any man and no amount of scripture-quoting can change this. It's true that whatever we ask according to the will of God He is pleased to hear and grant our request, but then that's the issue in this topic, isn't it? His will and not our own.

I never once asked for a thing from the Lord and yet He chose to display His work in me. It was His pleasure and will to raise me up when I was close to the grave and this wasn't all; the Lord promised that I would never wander alone in the darkness again for the rest of my days, for His Spirit would be with me always. Christ has been faithful to deliver every word of His promise and so I know Him as faithful and true.  

How swiftly some forget the words of the apostle Paul. 

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 NKJV)

And so I bear infirmities in this flesh even now, for the Lord didn't see fit to relieve me of these burdens when He restored health and vigor to this body. I know His will for it pleases His Spirit to reveal this to me and so I rejoice even in the suffering of pain which is a daily affair. So I'm afflicted in this body... what of it? How can that possibly compare to the goodness and mercy of the Almighty who saw fit to draw me into Himself?

That's the only thing which matters, that we know Him and are known by Him.