March 14, 2019
HEALING
To become healthy or whole again; therapeutic treatment which brings relief or correction; or a process which alleviates distress, agony, or pain.
There are three Greek words for healing in the New Testament:
Healing is also listed among the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12—and some people (but probably not many Presbyterians!) claim to have that gift today.
I don’t keep statistics on this, but I’d say at least 3/4 of the prayer requests we share at church have something to do with sickness and healing. It’s our way of expressing concern for those who suffer, but I sometimes wonder: do we truly expect them to be miraculously (in the “iaomai” sense) healed? And what happens to faith (ours and theirs) when the sick stay sick—or get worse?
Pray for healing. Expect healing. I don’t think that’s wrong--even for Presbyterians!—but as you pray for healing, keep your eyes open for all the other ways God is at work in the sick person’s life. Even when the sick stay sick (or get worse), there are logic-defying moments of grace, hope, and love.
Those feel pretty miraculous, too.
HEALING
To become healthy or whole again; therapeutic treatment which brings relief or correction; or a process which alleviates distress, agony, or pain.
There are three Greek words for healing in the New Testament:
- SOZO is the most holistic of the three. It involves the whole person: restoration of the body, soul, mind, and spirit. Mostly, it is translated “salvation,” but healing (restoration, wholeness) is an integral part of salvation. The word that means “savior” in the New Testament can also mean “physician.”
- THERAPEUO means to treat or cure. That’s the word that gives us our word “therapy,” which suggests a process of healing rather than something that happens in the blink of an eye.
- IAOMAI is the “wow” word—the one that refers to instant healing. It’s used almost exclusively to refer to what Jesus does, though both Peter (Acts 9:34) and Paul (Acts 28:8) get in on the act at least once.
Healing is also listed among the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12—and some people (but probably not many Presbyterians!) claim to have that gift today.
I don’t keep statistics on this, but I’d say at least 3/4 of the prayer requests we share at church have something to do with sickness and healing. It’s our way of expressing concern for those who suffer, but I sometimes wonder: do we truly expect them to be miraculously (in the “iaomai” sense) healed? And what happens to faith (ours and theirs) when the sick stay sick—or get worse?
Pray for healing. Expect healing. I don’t think that’s wrong--even for Presbyterians!—but as you pray for healing, keep your eyes open for all the other ways God is at work in the sick person’s life. Even when the sick stay sick (or get worse), there are logic-defying moments of grace, hope, and love.
Those feel pretty miraculous, too.