Storms on healing

Some principles on healing from Sam Storms:

1. Healing and health are always portrayed in Scripture as the blessing of God - sickness is never good
2. All sickness is suffering, not all suffering is sickness - we are not called to sickness but we are called to suffer
3. Sickness in and of itself does not glorify God - faith in spite of sickness does
4. We must leave room for mystery in God's ways - but we are never excused from praying for healing
5. God's heart is for healing, not hurting - so keep praying
6. We must be willing to be perceived as failures - whether or not people we pray for are healed, we have been obedient when we pray

"Many in the church today say they believe that God still heals, but they live as functional deists who rarely if ever actually lay hands on the sick and pray with any degree of expectancy."

(Storms, C. Samuel. The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts. Ventura, CA: Regal/Gospel Light, 2004. Print. 66)

Storms on faith

Faith is not a weapon by which we demand things of God or put him in subjection to us. Faith is an act of self-denial. Faith is a renunciation of one's ability to do anything and a confession that God can do everything. Faith derives its power not from the spiritual energy of the person who believes but from the supernatural efficacy of the object of belief-God! It is not faith's act but its object that accounts for the miraculous ... The leper in Matthew 8 said to Jesus, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean" (v. 2). The leper didn't question Christ's ability. He trusted that completely. He did have doubts about the willingness of Jesus to do it. But Jesus didn't rebuke him for such doubts, as if it were a shortcoming in his faith that might jeopardize his healing. He healed him because of the leper's confidence that he could do it. (Storms, C. Samuel. The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts. Ventura, CA: Regal/Gospel Light, 2004. Print. 56-57)