1 Corinthians 12:9, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
A Gift Touching the Deepest Human Need
Sickness and death are among the most universal and most feared of human experiences. The gift of healing — the Spirit-given ability to be an instrument of God's miraculous restoration of physical health — touches the deepest human needs and some of the most difficult pastoral territory.
Jesus healed the sick throughout His ministry as signs that the kingdom of God had arrived (Luke 7:21-22). The apostles healed in Jesus' name (Acts 3:6-8, Acts 9:34). The gift is explicitly listed in 1 Corinthians 12:9 and 28.
What the Gift Is
The gift of healing (charismata iamaton — literally "grace-gifts of healings," interestingly plural) is the Spirit-given capacity to serve as an instrument through which God brings supernatural physical restoration. It is not a permanent ability that a person possesses and can deploy at will — the plural form suggests individual acts of grace rather than a standing power.
This is significant: even those clearly gifted in healing did not always heal everyone. Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20) and counselled Timothy to take wine for his stomach ailments (1 Timothy 5:23) rather than healing him directly. God's sovereign purposes govern when healing occurs.
James 5 and the Elders
James 5:14-15 provides the most explicit New Testament instruction for healing prayer in the church: the sick person calls for the elders, they anoint with oil and pray in faith, and "the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up." The responsibility is placed on the elders of the congregation — not a specialist healer — suggesting that healing prayer is part of the pastoral ministry of every healthy church.
Holding Faith and Reality Together
The most pastorally damaging error around the gift of healing is the teaching that healing is always God's will and that failure to receive it indicates insufficient faith. This is directly contradicted by Paul's own experience (2 Corinthians 12:7-9), the examples of Trophimus and Timothy, and the consistent biblical picture that God's sovereign purposes sometimes include continued suffering.
The faithful response: pray boldly and specifically for healing, trusting that God can and does heal miraculously; receive the answer with trust whether it is yes, no, or not yet; and never add to the burden of the sick by implying their faith is the determining factor.