Re: Faith in God

Maybe Timothy was prayed for. And Trophimus too. Do we have any reason to believe they weren't? I'm pretty sure they were. Paul and many others loved them both no doubt and probably prayed for them night and day.

"It would help if you stop talking about "faith in faith" issues and stick to what you believe.."

Well I thought most of the time I did that. In some of these latest posts I've talked about some faith in faith issues, because it's a faith in faith issue that started this whole thread.

"Do you have anymore scriptures that may point to the gift of healing having been stopped?"

There are not a lot of blatant scriptures about this subject that I know of. So that's why it's not a topic I like to get into all that much. All I said in my post about that, which opened this whole can of worms which I regret now, lol, is that Paul not healing Timothy was an indication that the gift of healing had gone away. I don't have a lot of proof to point to. We do have the church history after the apostolic age, where many of the great church leaders wrote about the miraculous gifts having ceased, such as the gift of healing. And then all the abuse that's gone on with the claims from people that say they have these gifts has always said a lot to me.

But I'm not claiming proof. There's a lot of things I can't prove. And you are free to believe what you want as always. Everyone is!

"I have been to exorcisms, where people were set free. There were christians and non believers both that suffered greatly for years, but were instantly set free with prayer."

In all the posts I've made in this thread, or ever, I've said nothing against praying for people to be healed of illnesses, praying for people who are possessed by demons, praying for people for whatever problems they have. I've said over and over that I believe in prayer and healing. I just don't think we are understanding one another here, and that's okay. We don't have to. We can let this conversation go.

But yes, I believe people can be instantly healed too, through prayer, or even without prayer. But does there have to be someone there with the "gift of healing?" for that to happen? No!

Acts 5:12-16 says,

12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

This was the gift! But we never get to see this in action by those that claim to have this gift today, except maybe in Benny Hinn shows and ones like it. There are certainly many that try to act this out though.

But anyway, I'll stop. Everyone can again believe what they want on all this.

I just wish when these subjects come up that the accusations of not believing in God's power, or not believing in prayers or healing at all, or all the other untrue accusations would stop.