Prayer and Faith vs. Doctors and Medicine
Prayer and Faith vs. Doctors and Medicine
Introduction
Healing Miracles?
The scenario has happened many times before. Some Christian (or Jehovah's
Witness) decides that prayer is the way that his child should be healed, so
he forsakes medical treatment and the child dies. It made me upset when I
was an atheist and still does now that I am a Christian.
A recent news story told about &extremely religious& parents who allowed
their 11 year old daughter to die of a treatable form of diabetes by seeking
healing through prayer instead of seeking medical treatment.
This situation is obviously a tragedy for the family, who are left with grief
and remorse. In this day, should Christians always seek medical treatment or
just pray or do both?
Purpose of healing miracles
Do miracles happen today? Some Christians say &no,& although I
was personally healed of an &incurable& disease in 1985.
However, as in the accounts in the Bible, miracles have a specific
purpose that usually involves bringing a person to faith in .
My case was no exception, since I was an agnostic deist at the time I
was healed.
This is not to say that healing miracles don't happen for Christians.
However, miracles are rare and are done with the purpose of displaying
God's power. So, even though I consider myself a spiritual Christian, I
would never assume that I had the power to heal anybody through prayer.
God miraculously fed His chosen people manna during their 40-year
wandering through the desert. However, today
we are expected to feed ourselves. God
has blessed us with the technology to treat many disease and we should
take advantage of those gifts.
Physicians in the Bible
There are some Christians who believe that Christians should not visit
doctors, but rely solely upon prayer for healing. They claim (falsely) that
all healings in the Bible were strictly the result of prayer. It is true
that the gospels contain many examples of Jesus (and even the apostles)
healing the sick and lame.
However, the healings of Jesus were given as a
sign of the legitimacy of His claim of Messiahship, since the Old Testament
said that the Messiah would heal the blind and the deaf.
Despite claims to the contrary, there were physicians at the time the New
Testament was written. In fact, one of the writers of the gospels, Luke, was
a physician.
Jesus seemed to know that doctors could heal people, since He said, &It is
not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick,&
giving legitimacy to medicine as a healing art.
Jesus also quoted from the proverb, &Physician, heal yourself!,&
indicating that physicians of the time were healing people. The Greek word
for &physician& is derived from the root verb iaomai, which mean
&to cure& or &heal,&
indicating that a physician's job in the first century was to heal people.
Some Christians go to the complete opposite extreme, claiming that the healing gifts died with the apostles.
It is likely that neither extreme position is correct, since it seems likely
that God does heal some people to demonstrate His love and power. However,
in addition to His miraculous healing power, God has called some people to
be doctors to minister healing to others.
God chooses doctors
I believe that God calls people into different vocations so that their
strengths can be used to care for others and
bring glory to Him. God calls people to be
doctors as in this example, told by Bruce Hennigan, M.D.:
&When I was a senior in high school, I had no idea what to do
with my life. I was truly confused and lost. My high school counselor was
frantic because I was losing opportunities for scholarships. In February of my
senior year, my pastor preached a sermon in which he said that God can call
people into jobs and professions that were not necessarily related to the
church. This idea that God had a &purpose& for my life was novel in 1973. But,
it impressed me and I knelt and prayed that God would reveal to me the purpose
and future for my life. I totally surrendered to whatever God wanted me to do. I
can only describe the following event as truly supernatural and miraculous. I
had the incredible certainty that I was supposed to be a doctor. This was never
on my list of professions and not only was I certain this is what God wanted me
to do, I had incredible peace from my decision. In the months that followed, God
worked in ways I could never attribute to man to get me into a special &six
year& program that guaranteed me entrance into medical school (only 10 people in
the nation were accepted each year) and to supply a way to pay for my entire
education through the end of medical school. I can now tell patients that God
called me to be a physician and gave me the tools to complete my education. So,
if I am called by God to be a doctor, then isn't it possible that I may be the
answer to their prayer? My point is that God and God alone equips us with the
intellect and the thirst to explore science that leads to medical breakthroughs.
If God does this, then by extension, doctors, nurses, and all health care
personnel are God's answers to these prayers.&
Conclusion
Christians should not rely solely upon prayer to treat diseases that are
reliably treated through modern medicine. This doesn't mean that we
don't pray for the sick. When Christian parents let a child die from a
disorder that is readily treatable by modern medicine, it says to the
world that we are stupid and uncaring. However, since God calls certain
individuals to serve others through medicine, aren't those people really
an answer to our prayers? So when your child gets sick, use your faith
to seek medical professionals whom God has provided for their healing.
And, yes, pray for your child and also for the doctors that God would
provide them wisdom and discernment in your child's treatment.
Related Pages
References
The girl had been sick for several weeks, but was not diagnosed with
diabetes until after she had died. See
for details.
&I have heard the grumblings of the sons of I
speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the
morning you shall
and you shall know that I am the
LORD your God.'& So it came about at evening that the quails came up and
covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the
camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the
wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the
ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, &What
is it?& For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, &It
is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.& This is what the LORD
has commanded, 'Gather of it every man as m you
shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you
has in his tent.'& ...The house of Israel named it manna, and it was
like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey...
&The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an
they ate the manna until they came to the border of the
land of Canaan. (Exodus 16:12-16, 31, 35)
For even when we were with you, we used to give you
this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat,
either. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and
every kind of sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
The news about Him spread throughout all S and they brought to Him
all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains,
demoniacs, epileptics, and He healed them. (Matthew 4:24)
And Jesus said to the centurion, &Go; it shall be done for you as you
have believed.& And the servant was healed that very moment. (Matthew 8:13)
When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon- and
He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. (Matthew
Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their
synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind
of disease and every kind of sickness. (Matthew 9:35)
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean
spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind
of sickness. (Matthew 10:1)
&Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
Freely you received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8)
the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and
the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED
TO THEM. (Matthew 11:5)
And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus,
asking, &Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?&--so that they might accuse
Him... Then He said to the man, &Stretch out your hand!& He stretched it
out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. (Matthew 12:10-13)
But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He
healed them all, (Matthew 12:15)
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus,
and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. (Matthew 12:22)
When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them
and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14)
Then Jesus said to her, &O woman, it shall be done
for you as you wish.& And her daughter was healed at once. (Matthew 15:28)
And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame,
crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at H
and He healed them. (Matthew 15:30)
So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled
restored, and the lame walking,
and they glorified the
God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)
and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. (Matthew 19:2)
And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
(Matthew 21:14)
And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many
and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who
He was. (Mark 1:34)
for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had
afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. (Mark 3:10)
And He said to her, &Daughter, your fai go in peace
and be healed of your affliction.& (Mark 5:34)
And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few
sick people and healed them. (Mark 6:5)
And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many
sick people and healing them. (Mark 6:13)
They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they
implored Him to lay His hand on him... and looking up to heaven with a deep
sigh, He said to him, &Ephphatha!& that is, &Be opened!& And his ears were
opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking
plainly. (Mark 7:32-35)
They were utterly astonished, saying, &He has
makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.& (Mark 7:37)
Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought hi and
after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, &Do
you see anything?& And he looked up and said, &I see men, for I see them
like trees, walking around.& Then again He laid H and
he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
(Mark 8:23-25)
And answering him, Jesus said, &What do you want Me to do for you?& And
the blind man said to Him, &Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!& And Jesus
said to him, &Go; your faith has made you well.& Immediately he regained his
sight and began following Him on the road. (Mark 10:51-52)
&THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE
GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND
RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, (Luke
While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with
various diseases brought them to H and laying His hands on each one of
them, He was healing them. (Luke 4:40)
But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were
gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. (Luke 5:15)
One day H and there were some Pharisees and teachers of
the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea
and from J and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform
healing. (Luke 5:17)
who had come to hear Him and to be heal and those
who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. (Luke 6:18)
And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from
Him and healing them all. (Luke 6:19)
for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but
just say the word, and my servant will be healed. When those who had been
sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. (Luke
At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and
and He gave sight to many who were blind. (Luke 7:21)
And He answered and said to them, &Go and report to John what you have
seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE
GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. (Luke 7:22)
and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses:
Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, (Luke
When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling
and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the
reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.
(Luke 8:47)
Now they were all weeping a but He said, &Stop
weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.& And they began laughing at
Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and
called, saying, &Child, arise!& And her spirit returned, and she got up
and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. (Luke
And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over
all the demons and to heal diseases. (Luke 9:1)
And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform
healing. (Luke 9:2)
Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel
and healing everywhere. (Luke 9:6)
But the crowds were aware of this and followed H and welcoming them,
He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had
need of healing. (Luke 9:11)
and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God
has come near to you.' (Luke 10:9)
But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the
Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, &There are six days in which
so come during them and get healed, and not on the
Sabbath day.& (Luke 13:14)
And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, &Is it
lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?& But they kept silent. And He took
hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. (Luke 14:3-4)
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back,
glorifying God with a loud voice, (Luke 17:15)
As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road
begging... &What do you want Me to do for you?& And he said, &Lord, I want
to regain my sight!& And Jesus said to him, &R your faith
has made you well.& (Luke 18:35-42)
But Jesus answered and said, &Stop! No more of this.& And He touched his
ear and healed him. (Luke 22:51)
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to
Him and was imploring Him to come d for he was at the
point of death... Jesus said to him, &Go; your son lives.& The man
believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. (John 4:47-50)
But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped
away while there was a crowd in that place. (John 5:13)
So they said to the blind man again, &What do you say about Him, since
He opened your eyes?& And he said, &He is a prophet.& (John 9:17)
The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had
received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had
received his sight, (John 9:18)
He then answered, &Whether He is a sinner, I one thing I do
know, that though I was blind, now I see.& (John 9:25)
&Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened
the eyes of a person born blind. (John 9:32)
Others were saying, &These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A
demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?& (John 10:21)
But some of them said, &Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the
blind man, have kept this man also from dying?& (John 11:37)
And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried
along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which
is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the
temple. (Acts 3:2)
&And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has
strengthened this man w and the faith which comes
through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
(Acts 3:16)
let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by
the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised
from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health.
(Acts 4:10)
And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had
nothing to say in reply. (Acts 4:14)
for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing
had been performed. (Acts 4:22)
while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place
through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.& (Acts 4:30)
Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming
together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits,
and they were all being healed. (Acts 5:16)
For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of
them shouti and many who had been paralyzed and lame
were healed. (Acts 8:7)
Peter said to him, &Aeneas, Jesus C get up and make your
bed.& Immediately he got up. (Acts 9:34)
&You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit
and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)
At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from
his mother's womb, who had never walked. (Acts 14:8)
And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted
with recurrent and Paul went in to see him and after he
had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. (Acts 28:8)
And on that day the deaf shall hear words of a book, and out of
their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will
be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the
dumb will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the Arabah. (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas. (Colossians
But when Jesus heard this, He said, &It is not those who are healthy who
need a physician, but those who are sick.& (Matthew 9:12)
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, &It is not those who are healthy
who need a physician, bu I did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.& (Mark 2:17)
And Jesus answered and said to them, &It is not those who are well who need
a physician, but those who are sick.& (Luke 5:31)
And He said to them, &No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me,
'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here
in your hometown as well.'& (Luke 4:23)
Thayer’s Greek Definitions:ἰάομαι
iaomai (Strong’s G2390)
to cure, heal
to make whole
to free from errors and sins, to bring about (one’s)
Part of Speech: verbA Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number:
middle voice of apparently a primary verb
Citing in TDNT: 3:194, 344
'&Teacher, which is the great commandment in the
Law?& And He said to him, & 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL
YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the
great and foremost commandment.
The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
& (Matthew 22:36-39)
&Let your light shine before men in such a way that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.&
(Matthew 5:16)
Bruce Hennigan, M.D. 2008. Personal correspondence.
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/prayer_vs_medicine.html
Last Modified July 15, 2010}