Re: Does God still heal?

First of all, I agree completely with the above post.  As to your individual questions:

Do Christians have the power to heal?  It may sem like just a matter of semantics, however I think many of us would be uncomfortable saying that "we" have the power to heal.  The power is exclusively the Lord's, and He has delegated that power unto us, or better said, allowed us to become channels for Him.   Obedience requires that we fully acknowlwedge His glory and His power at all times when praying for someone's healing.

Can they heal themselves?  Again, it is not "us" doing the healing, but Him through us.  Yes, we can pray for ourselves and certainly we can expect God to answer.  However, as God designed it so that we are interdependent upon one another, and thus form the body of Christ, the power of God is manifested in a greater way when we take the time and love required to pray for someone else.

Will simply reading scripture heal? We can't limit God's ability to do things as He knows will benefit us best.  The Word of God is alive.  It accomplishes what it's sent out to do.  There are many times that simply reading Scriptures diligently  or even listening to them on  a tape, has brought on physical as well as emotional healing.  Again, it's up to the Holy Spirit how He chooses to bless us through His people or His Word by His anointing.

Do you have to be perfect to be healed?  None of us are perfect, and none of us will ever be while on this earth.  We are 'perfected' only through the substitutionary price paid by Jesus Christ.  Salvation, healing and all of God's blessings are a product of His grace, or unmerited favor.  There is nothing we could ever do to make ourselves perfect, but when we have believed on the finished work of Jesus, we are seen by God as perfect as He is, because He then sees us through Jesus.

Does it require faith?  There are a number of verses of Scripture that tell us of the importance of faith in a believer's life.  Faith is not just a vague and illusive state for a Christian, true faith has a particular focus and is based on knowledge of the position we hold in Christ, which again, we did nothing to earn.  Faith is not blind, it is the  response of gratitude and dependance on the God who has given all for us and wants the best for us even in unseeming situations.  What is not of faith, is sin.  Be it done to you, even as your faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  By faith, we call those things that are not as though they were....these are some of those verses on faith which encourage us to believe in our Creator and Saviour.

Are there Christians with the gift of healing others?  It is the Holy Spirit who gives people gifts as He wishes.  To some He has given one kind of gift, while to to others He gives differently.  Again. this is to encourage us to form the body of Christ and serve one another.  Yet, we are all charged to go and preach the Word, heal the sick, cast out demons, etc.,.  While some have a greater maifestation of certain gifts, no one in the Kingdom of God is above anyone else.  Although God may use a certain individual often with a certain supernaural gift, it is still never the person that we ought to be looking at, but God through the person.

Jesus Christ is the only Healer, Saviour and Deliverer.!