Medical Treatment

[LadyRaven]

There are some Christians that believe that prayer alone is enough to combat medical problems. Granted, this group forms a small minority.

However, all Christians have faith in God. My questions are:

1) Would there be anything wrong for a Christian to rely solely on prayer to combat medical problems?

2) Can praying + seeking scientifically-researched medical treatment for a Christian be construed as a lack of faith in prayer alone?

I believe that you seek the Lord, and at the same time seek medical treatment. There is nothing unfaithful about seeking medical help unless of course you have a direct revelation from God that He will heal you, and even then I'd still make contact for a physical. For one thing you need an accurate diagnosis, this way if you do have a miraculous healing, you can go back and get confirmation. For me I'd be happy without the medical intervention, however it is nice to have a confirmation to know that I'm not deluding myself about my condition and whether or not I was healed truly.

If I have back pain and it's because I have back problems, and I pray, was the pain driven away temporarily giving me a temporary grace or was my condition remedied? I'll never know without testing. (Unless of course God revealed it to me directly, but I'd have to be pretty darn sure it was God to avoid getting confirmation of what I believe has happened).

I do not believe that medical treatment is a lack of faith in prayer, nor do I believe that God always uses direct miracles to heal the sick, I believe he uses the skilled hands of physicians also. Paul told Timothy to take wine for his stomach and I d see the valid use of medicine in scripture....

And sometimes he grants healing through the death of the physical body so that the spirit can run free. The human condition since the fall is terminal, unless we're translated or raptured, nobody will get out alive, it's only a matter of what it is that ends up killing you.

[sylvan3]

If a person truly had pure faith, faith without any doubt, they would not need the assistance of medicine. However, I do not think that the average Christian containst the doubtless faith neccessary for faith based healing.

The last sentence is quite true, I believe. This is so, particularly in the case of severe injury. For example, who in their right mind is going to expect a severely broken leg to get better on its own? For many people, in a case such as that, religious faith alone will suddenly combine with faith in scientifically-researched treatments. Their level of faith in "faith alone" will most likely drop in proportion to the severity of their injury.

Also, would it be reasonable to say that a person who who pursues scientifically-researched medical treatment, but has no religious faith whatsoever, would stand a far better chance at recovering from a severely broken leg than someone with strong convictions who depended solely on faith and prayer without seeking research-based medical treatment?

It is like Kenneth Haggin used to say. If you have to ask the question should I go to the doctor? You better get there quick, because you have doubt and your faith is not going to work.

How does one know when pursuit of medical treatment is actually free will interfering with God's will? For example, I have seen numerous posts referring to God giving us free will. A misuse of free will in many times is seen as an affront to God. Why might this not be case with seeking medical treatment? If you say, "you won't get better" if it is God's will to not get better, that is basically saying that the outcome of a given behavior determines what God's will is. This might not be a good determinant since many people get away with things, like crime, that couldn't be God's will. I mention this because the person who came up with the smallpox vaccine (Jenner) was originally blamed by certain segments of Christianity for interfering with God's will.

Edited August 3, 2006 by sylvan3

[EricH]

If a person truly had pure faith, faith without any doubt, they would not need the assistance of medicine.

Hey hr -

Do you recall the passage where Paul tells Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach?

The Lord does not always heal us in our time table. There are times He uses injuries and illnesses like other trials and hardships to work character into our lives.

Seeking medical help is not necessarily a lack of faith. If the Lord choses not to heal you, like He chose not to remove Paul's thorn in the flesh (which some people believe was a physical ailment), then why not seek medical help? If your illness is keeping you from work, for instance, is it wise to neglect caring for your body?

Excellent point

[sylvan3]

I suppose I have a perfect right to hazard my own life on my faith, but just because I pray for somebody, doesn't mean THEY shouldn't go to the Doctor. For instance, many years ago a friend and I saw a bad car wreck happen (drunk into a telephone pole). We ran over to the car, and man was bleeding profusely from the head and the car was demolished (though he had managed to keep the whiskey bottle in his hands!). I pointed and commanded the blood flow to be stanched, and immediately he stopped bleeding. Then I went to a phone booth and called; First an ambulance, and next the police.

My friend said, it was 'not faith' to call the ambulance; afterall, I had prayed for the guy, and the blood already stopped! But I answered him exactly as above: "I have a right to hazard MY OWN life on MY faith; but NOT somebody else's life........."

In reference to the blood flow stopping after your commandment that it stop, I am hoping that you are not trying to establish a legitimate cause and effect for what you commanded and the fact the flow stopped.

You might say it was a miracle--I will say that it was a fortunate coincidence. If I am wrong, I suggest that you submit your services to health organizations.

[billie]

It wasn't Leonard that stopped the blood. It was Jesus.

[Candi770]

Sylvan,

My father was in a major accident when he was in his 20's. He was hit by a car. His right leg was saverely damaged. He lived with it being shorter than the left side. After prayer with an family member who was a minister-his leg lengthened out to the length of the left side and he had to learn how to rewalk.

God is so good.

blessings

candi

[sylvan3]

It wasn't Leonard that stopped the blood. It was Jesus.

Whereas you are entitled to your opinion, I don't think that my attributing this occurrence to chance is unreasonable. Chance factors occur everyday in life in a multitude of ways--some simple, some complex. Attempting to establish legitimate cause and effect in these types of phenomena can be quite difficult.

[Floatingaxe]

No one knows precisely what that "thorn in the flesh" was!

[LadyRaven]

If a person truly had pure faith, faith without any doubt, they would not need the assistance of medicine.

Hey hr -

Do you recall the passage where Paul tells Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach?

The Lord does not always heal us in our time table. There are times He uses injuries and illnesses like other trials and hardships to work character into our lives.

Seeking medical help is not necessarily a lack of faith. If the Lord choses not to heal you, like He chose not to remove Paul's thorn in the flesh (which some people believe was a physical ailment), then why not seek medical help? If your illness is keeping you from work, for instance, is it wise to neglect caring for your body?

The Lord is not a respector of persons. Physical healing was provided by the atoning blood of Jesus.

So was the end to sin and death. Both of these are future in nature in the sense that we will NOT reach a sinless state until we are purified either by death or some other sort of translation and we will not live forever until we have received our perfect body in eternity.

[nebula]

The Lord is not a respector of persons. Physical healing was provided by the atoning blood of Jesus. If you will look at the little wine passage with proper application into lifestyle at the time, you will see it was not being used for medicinal value. Paul was not stupid. He knew that alcohol was not beneficial to the stomach. What was beneficial was the fact that Timothy could avoid drinking unclean water if he would not feel condemnation when the necessity arose to drink wine instead of bad water. The fermented wine was clean of infestation. As to Paul's thorn in the flesh, that is the biggest crutch in the church today. Anyone who can read at a 6th grade level can plainly see from the text what the thorn was. The thorn was a demon, not a physical ailment. The demonic entity followed Paul and caused him hardship and hindered his ministry. As to God referencing "His Grace" is sufficient. HE was reminding Paul that He had given Paul authority over Evil spirits. Paul had the authority to deal with the spirit, the responsibility to deal with it rested on him, not God.

Hey hr.jr. -

I used to believe as you do about healing. I have since learned that although the Lord does heal supernatually, He really does chose to allow sicknesses and injuries to work in our lives (Hebrews 12). How do you explain a woman praying for healing in others, and the people being healed, when she herself suffers from a chronic illness? (True story.)

"I am amazed at the Lord's allowing me to pray with others and see them healed and I continue to walk away in pain," [Dottie] Rambo says. "But I know my healing is coming and I am walking towards recovery. I will never stop believing nor question God's timing or His ways. And He helps me on a daily basis to get out and pour out of myself the gift of music that does bring healing to so many."

full article

As for the interpretations of Scripture you gave, there is no indication in the passage that Timothy was having a problem with unclean water. Alcohol was used medicinally. Paul's companion Luke (writer of the Gospel and Acts) was a doctor, you know. Likewise, "My power is made perfect in weakness," does not mean, "Deal with the demon yourself." If it was a demon, why would Paul say after, "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me"? Besides, anyone who rebukes a demon in with the attitude that the responsibility of dealing with the demon rests on himself rather than on God is treading on very, very thin ice. Take action, yes; but do not treat the evil spirits as your problem and not God's. Demons are subject to Jesus, not you.