Praying for the Sick

In Acts 3, Peter and John go to the temple to pray. On the way, they encounter…

…a man crippled from birth who was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put everyday to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. (Acts 3:2-6)

Let me share a couple of things about praying for the sick. First, there are…

No guarantees or formulas

There are no guarantees that every time you pray for a sick person, that person will be healed. And there are no formulas for healing. Sometimes you’ll hear teaching that sounds formulaic. “If you do A, B and C — if you repent of all known sin, rebuke the devil and plead the blood of Christ, God must heal.” But I don’t see anything even remotely like that in the Bible, that God has promised or guaranteed healing before the second coming of Christ. And there are certainly…

No Special Prayers

Look at Peter’s prayer in verse 6. He says,

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6)

When people hear of a miracle, an undeniable miracle, a miracle of the healing of infertility or the healing of a fatally ill child or the healing of someone from cancer, they often believe that there must be some amazing prayer that produced that miracle. But we don’t see Peter performing some special ritual or rite, praying a specially written prayer for the occasion. Peter’s prayer, if you could call it that, was relatively brief, it was a simple prayer of command, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Jesus’ prayers were largely simple as well. The way he spoke to God, the Father, revealed a deep intimacy. There was also a simplicity and directness in his prayers. Much of the prayer time Jesus spent with God was spent listening to the Father, not speaking. He was in the habit of keeping company with God. We tend to overcomplicate things, often believing that the business of healing depends on us, on saying the right things in the right order or wording our request in such a way that God simply can’t refuse us. He sees through all of that, knows us better than we know ourselves.

It wasn’t because of Peter and John’s great prayer that a miracle happened and this man was healed, and it wasn’t because they were great people.

No Special People

Verse 11 says,

While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in a place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? (Acts 3:11-12)

If we don’t believe God releases healing through special prayers, we often fall into the trap of believing God only uses uniquely gifted people. They must have special gifts, a special connection to God, the secret key to divine healing. We often associate a miracle with the instrument of the miracle, the conduit, the person who simply gave what they had to give. Spiritual gifts are supernatural endowments that God gives to the utterly undeserving for the dual purpose of glorifying God and building up the church. That said, as we are going, God will regularly invite us to join him in his work.

Peter and John were simply going to the synagogue to pray, to spend time with God, as was their habit. They weren’t on the hunt for sick people that they could heal. They weren’t looking to launch a healing ministry. They were not, in any way, trying to draw a crowd or call attention to themselves. This is such a beautiful story because it’s so naturally supernatural. In the normal course of their day, as they were going, they encountered someone in need. Moved with compassion, they stopped and offered that person what they had to give. Peter and John did not heal this man. They were simply the instrument, the means God used to initiate the healing. It’s not the axe that cuts the tree down, it’s the person who wielded the axe. It’s not the greatly gifted man or woman who accomplished the healing, it’s the God who wielded, invited and involved the man or woman. Knowing this, Peter does what all men and women of faith do; he deflects the glory away from himself. He gives the glory to God. “Let me tell you where the credit is due. It’s not because I’m uniquely powerful,” he says, “ or uniquely holy.”

Here’s the thing. What Peter and John did, anyone can do. I can do it. You can do it. You can join God in what he wants to do, as you are going. You don’t have to set time aside for ministry. You are the ministry and you’re always on call. You can minister as you're going, looking for opportunities just like the one described here in Acts chapter 3. Now, there’s a major difference between the way my church understands healing and the way some other churches practice healing. In some churches, there’s the unfortunate exaltation of one person who’s celebrated as the “faith healer.” The healing is done from the stage and unless that one person lays his or her hands on you, you have no hope of being healed. I know that practice is fairly common, but I have to tell you, I don’t think anyone is absolutely necessary to the process of healing other than Jesus. It’s true, some people are more frequently used to heal the sick than others but the practice of healing has been given to the whole church. I want you to see this.

In Matthew 28, we read what has become known as The Great Commission. These were some of the last words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven. Jesus said,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

What does Jesus want every one of his followers to do? Jesus wants every one of his followers to obey everything he commanded the original apostles. What did he command the original apostles to do? He said,

"As you go, preach this message, the kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7)

He commanded the apostles to go throughout Israel healing the sick. And then he told them to teach others to do the same thing.

Look. I don’t believe in one healer, I believe in a healing church, a healing community! I believe in a church in which everyone gets to play. If I could just get you to believe that God could use someone like little you to release his miraculous power, there would be no stopping the church in terms of its influence in a community. Here’s how Peter explains the miracle. He says,
"Why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant, Jesus." (Acts 3:12-13) And then, in verse 16, "By faith in the name of Jesus this man whom you see and know is made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." (Acts 3:16)

Peter couldn’t be clearer. It’s not about the way you do it or who does it. The power to heal is not in the prayer or the person, greatly gifted or otherwise. It’s the work of Jesus, the power of Jesus’ name. Let me encourage you to try it. Over the years, when I’ve encountered someone in need, I have often used Seven Simple Words: Can I pray for you right now? And, in all my years of praying for the sick, I’ve never had anyone turn me down. May God give you to grace to see the need, ask the question and join him in his work.