The will of God, how do we know?

We are told that the 12 apostles were given the mandate to heal the sick
I expect that they performed miracle healings on a regular basis.
I feel that we (non-apostles) are to do like James 5 instructed.
I have highlighted some of the words .... please comment and tell me if you agree (or not)

It reads to me that an anointing of oil should be used
It reads to me that we must have righteous elders do it
It reads to me that the righteous elders must have strong faith
It reads to me that one of the requirements is to confess sin

(taken from James 5)
[sup]13 [/sup]Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. [sup]14 [/sup]Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. [sup]15 [/sup]And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. [sup]16 [/sup]Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

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I have been a Christian for a long time .... and still sometimes wonder what "God's will" is

For most decisions it is obvious what God would approve of , but I am talking about when we are unsure , and seek His direction.

Healing is an example. I want to pray for healing for many people , but it is hit and miss .... mostly miss.

All I can do is hope the prayer will be answered , just like you said Rand.

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Hi Arnie,

I think marksman has the answer when he wrote:

As far as I can see, the only faith that works is faith in what God says. Either in his written or spoken word. Every time we do something based on what God says shows him that we believe what he says.

I do not do anything that requires the supernatural unless God says....

If I respond to what God says, then the result is up to him and it is more likely to produce the results that he wants. Note, he wants, not what we want.

If the "rheema" word of God is to call for the Elders of the church, then do it. The "rheema" word is the written word that God speaks to you directly.

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And XP saying the negative opposite, seems to be in agreement:

If you have faith in something God didn't promise, I dunno that you are gonna force His hand. Know whatta mean?

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Arnie, if you look at the focus of the end of your post, it is about you rather than the word of God to >>> you.

I feel that I have lots of faith , but when it comes to having healing faith like James 5 mentions , my faith is insufficient

I wish I knew the solution

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If you look into the meaning of what Jesus said in Mark 11:22, you'll find that 'Have faith in God' (KJV) emphasises the faith and faithfulness of God, so that a transliteration could be 'Hold the faithfulness of God', or, 'Hold on to God's faith'. This dynamic shift of attention (Eph 1:19) from man's faith (yours) to God's faith, takes the subtle pressure of the man in the situation. All we are asked to do is make the petition according to God's will. He does the rest.

There are several places in the NT where the faith which is working, is God's not ours. Eph 1:20. When I began to get hold of this in conjunction with only praying what God gave me to pray, and not my own bright idea of how to apply the dead letter to a real life situation, the consistent results were necessarily God's will (not mine).

rand made the point that people came to Jesus for healing. This is another aspect of the spiritual dynamic. We may well offer to pray for a person's healing, but ideally, they themselves are already spiritually receptive to Him, and if it is a non-Christian we are praying for, we should explain to them God's desire to bless them with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and ask their permission to ask Him to heal them. That way, they are beginning to exercise faith in God's faith.

Al'Thor what are you doing in this forum?

You have written here that sickness does not come from God. Why do you believe this? Why do you consider the wound and the healing of it an example of a house divided? Clearly it is not. I refer you to the scriptures about a blind man, written long ago. He suffered a sickness, as you would call it, and the people of his time also searched for someone or something to blame. Jesus taught us all that day, when he answered their query.

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his diciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:1-5)

The disciples ask whose sin has caused this ailment; and what is the Master's response? There is no blame, there is no evil, there is no connection between sin and sickness: at this moment, it is simply an opportunity to display the power of God. Why do men look at the world around them and try to figure it out, as though it can be boxed and explained?

Why are you still so concerned about the physical?

Night is coming, he said. Think on those words for a few days, or years.

And, as to the house divided.

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." (Isaiah 45:7)

If the house is divided, The Lord Divided It.

"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." (1 Corinthians 12:6)

Rand Al'Thor, The Dragon Reborn... Lewis Therin Thelamon. Aes sedai posting on a Christian message board. Interesting. Well, the wheel weaves as the wheel wills, eh Rand?

"An Aes Sedai never lies, but the truth she speaks, may not be the truth you think you hear." (Robert Jordan)

It's been a slice.

Also, He said He came to destroy the works of the devil. Is sickness, disease not works of the Devil? Also, Paul told us that we are no longer under the curse of the law. Look at Duet chapter 28 at the blessings and curses of the law. Sickness is in there under the curses.

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How did Jesus destroy the works of the Devil? My feeling is that he reversed the damage he had done. Satan's sole objective is to steal kill and destroy. He is incapable of doing anything else.

Sin caused by Satan was the first step in the destruction that he has caused. As a result of sin, disease and sickness has entered the world. Remember there was no sin or sickness in the garden of Eden. It happened when they were kicked out of it. Over the years as sin has increased sickness and disease has increased.

By the grace of God the last 200 years, He has allowed man to discover cures for all manner of sickness, but it still doesn't alter the fact that sickness is rampant. Particularly in Western nations, most governments are chasing their tails trying to keep up with financing their health system.

It hasn't helped the fact that it is costing them a lot of money to allow people to kill their babies in the womb. Babies who would grow up to be productive, wage earning adults who would help finance the health system through taxes.

If there is a problem, behind if will be Satan who creates it through sin and his mission to kill, steal and destroy. Man has a culpability in it all because he has free will, but its origin is Satan.

Jesus came to reverse this. That means we cannot ignore our responsibility to undo the works of Satan. How do we do this? Singing hymns? Taking communion? Listening to a sermon? Attending the women's sowing circle? What about the men's breakfast? Putting up an expensive building? and so on and so on.

I haven't found these things terribly successful in reversing the works of the enemy. What I have found is that if we take God at his word and have faith in it, we can and do reverse the works of Satan. That means stepping out of our comfort zone and making ourselves available to him to use us as channels for the supernatural intervention of God. What you might say is allowing ourselves to be fools for Christ's sake as Paul indicated.

Sad to say in the church today we put more emphasis on ability than availability. Without God, I can do nothing. With God, I can do anything. Those that know God (not know ABOUT God) will do exploits. If you are not doing exploits, could it be that you know about God, but you don't actually know him.

Rand,

I think that is the natural way God speaks to His people and reveals His truth. We then look at scripture in the light of what He speaks to us and if it fits we keep it. I think you are on the right track!

Blessings,

Justin