Are faith healings biblical? Does visiting doctors or taking medicine reveal a lack of faith?

August 19, 2024

God can heal, sometimes miraculously, but more often, through doctors and medicine. Our faith rests in his wisdom, whether healing comes supernaturally or through practical means.

I’m never surprised by these questions. Many of the best-known figures within Christendom tout faith healings as altogether ordinary. Watch the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and you might doubt the authenticity of your faith if you’ve never experienced a miraculous healing. If people are suffering and desperate enough, they can easily fall prey to the erroneous teachings of the Word of Faith movement.

Let’s briefly consider what Scripture teaches about faith healing and seeking medical help.

Healing in the Bible

Scripture shows that God has the power to heal diseases and afflictions. For example, God says of himself, “I am the LORD, your healer” (Ex 15:26). Similarly, Jesus’s ministry was full of miraculous healings. He healed the blind and the lame and even raised the dead.

James teaches believers to seek God’s healing power through prayer:

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 one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. (James 5:14, 15)

Assuming this passage in James is about physical healing—the context might suggest otherwise—we see how faith in God and our prayers to him can lead to a sick person’s restoration.

Even so, does this mean we should never use medical resources? Should Christians refuse medical treatment as a demonstration of faith?

Medicine in the Bible

Medicine and faith are not mutually exclusive in Scripture. It often endorses the use of medical treatments. For example, after King Hezekiah became gravely ill, the prophet Isaiah instructed him to apply a poultice of figs to his boils, and Hezekiah recovered (see Isaiah 38:21). The Good Samaritan in Jesus’s parable treated a wounded man by pouring oil and wine on his wounds (see Luke 10:34). Using available medical treatments is consistent with God’s healing work.

The apostle Paul acknowledges the use of medicine in a practical sense. He advises Timothy, “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1Ti 5:23). Paul doesn’t rebuke Timothy for needing physical treatment or tell him to stay away from medicinal help for faith’s sake. Instead, he offers a remedy for his condition. Seeking medical help, even through ordinary means, is a practical, wise, and—dare I say—biblical approach to our health.

Let’s not forget that Luke, one of Paul’s closest companions and the author of Luke and Acts, was a physician. More than that, he was regarded, even after his conversion to Christ, as “the beloved physician” (Col 4:14).

Faith and the sovereignty of God

We should understand that God is sovereign over all creation, including the means by which he brings about healing. Sometimes, God chooses to heal miraculously in response to prayer, bypassing any human means. More often than not, God works through doctors, medicine, and the knowledge of healthcare professionals. Regardless, it is God who ultimately provides healing.

Refusing medical help as a desire to demonstrate faith may stem from a misunderstanding of faith. Faith is not about testing God or demanding that he work in a specific way. Faith is trusting in God’s goodness and wisdom, regardless of his chosen means. When we seek medical help, we are not denying God’s ability to heal but acknowledging that he works through supernatural and natural means, trusting him in whatever method he might use.

Prayer and action

The Bible teaches us to cast our cares upon the Lord (see 1 Peter 5:7). Yet, prayer is not opposed to practical action. We often pray for God’s provision while taking pragmatic steps. For example, we pray for our daily bread and work to earn a living. We pray for protection and lock our doors at night. We pray for healing but should also seek medical help when necessary.

Our ultimate trust is in God, not medicine, doctors, or our own efforts. Medicine is not a replacement for faith but can be an instrument through which God works. When we seek healing, we should pray without ceasing, asking God for wisdom and guidance, and, ultimately, trusting in his provision, whether that comes through miraculous intervention or the hands of a skilled physician.

When God doesn’t heal

God can and does heal. But often, in his infinite wisdom, he chooses not to heal. This can be difficult to accept, especially when we feel desperate. We ask, “Why would a good and loving God allow his people to suffer?”

The apostle Paul provides insight into this mystery. In 2 Corinthians 12, he describes a “thorn in the flesh” that tormented him. Though he begged the Lord to remove it and relieve his suffering, God refused. Instead, God answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2Co 12:9). Rather than grant physical healing, God gives Paul the grace necessary to endure the affliction, using Paul’s weakness to display his own strength.

God’s purposes are often higher than our immediate desires. Naturally, we long for physical healing, but God may be doing something in us or through us that we can’t yet see. For example, suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. God also uses illness to deepen our dependence on him, refining our faith. It can be a testimony to others of his sustaining power.

Even so, ultimate and final healing is guaranteed for every believer, but it isn’t promised for this life. Revelation promises, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4). When Christ returns, raises the dead, glorifies our bodies, and brings heaven to earth, all sickness, pain, and death will be forever eradicated. Until that day, we must live in a world broken by sin, trusting that God’s grace is sufficient even when healing does not come.

Conclusion

Whether God heals us or not, our faith must rest in his character and sovereignty. Yes, he can heal, but he is also wise enough to know when not to. Going to the doctor or taking medicine is not a sign of weak faith but an acknowledgment of God’s provision through these various means. When healing doesn’t come, we can still trust that God works all things for our good and his glory, even through our pain.

As believers, our hope transcends this life. We confidently anticipate the day when all suffering will cease, and we will experience perfect healing in the presence of our Savior. Until then, we walk by faith, knowing that our God is faithful and his grace will carry us through every trial.