Claiming A Healing

[Gal. 5:22,23]

A woman at our parish is promoting the idea that Catholics can "claim" a healing. I know this teaching is prevalent in the Word of Faith Movement. I can't see how a Catholic can believe this. We can certainly pray for a healing, but to claim it seems to me to be forcing the hand of God.

How can I answer this person from a Catholic perspective?

[dairygirl4u2c]

i think she's confused on what faith means. people all to often have cut throat images of what faith means. it's not like that. it's 'thy will be done', not 'my will be done'. course, true faith means actually believing that it could be done if it's God's will, not just saying thy will be done cause ya dont really believe it.

[Slappo]

I took a class on Christian Philosophy with Br. Ron Hurl T.O.R at FUS and he taught the same thing. Using the scripture passage from Isaiah "By his stripes we were healed" he says we can claim healing because healing is promised to us through Christ's stripes (aka the Scourging at the Pillar). He said though, that when we claim healing, we are healed and now we wait for that healing to manifest itself (so the healing is present in our lives, but it has not been manifested or it has not taken place). He then taught that either way, whether we die of the cancer that we claimed healing over or not, we are healed because in our resurrected bodies the cancer will be gone.

Basically he said that when we claim healing one possible way of being healed is through physical death and then resurrection of the body.

I'll try explaining better if this doesn't make sense.

PS: I don't know that I agree with his philosophy on the matter, but that's how it has been taught to me.

[MStar]

I don't know what the Word of Faith Movement is about, but I've heard "claiming" used before. I don't know what the Catholic Church teaches about such ideas (I don't think there's any official-ish teaching, but I'd like to know if there is). I think the idea is along the lines that our words cause things to happen in the spiritual realm (like cursing or blessing someone) and that there are gifts God has placed around us just waiting for us to accept them, or claim them.

[url="http://www.ibethel.org/features/journal/index.php?f=journal.php&id=49"]This article[/url] will give you a feel for what they mean (note: this is a Protestant website, I don't know what other sorts of ideas are on there). Here's a little bit of the article if you don't want to read the whole thing, although if you're going to argue against it you should. I'd be curious what other people think of this idea, I myself don't have much against it yet.
[quote]It is important for us to realize that when we declare God’s Kingdom coming, we are releasing Heaven to earth with our words. In fact, the Bible tells us that we have the power of life and death in our tongues (Proverbs 18:21, James 2). The reason Jesus warned us that we would be judged according to the words we speak is that our words make a difference in people’s lives and circumstances — our words can either curse or release the Kingdom to bring blessing.

Recently, I was backpacking in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness area with some of the other pastors of Bethel Church. As we arrived at the trailhead, we were told by a group of guys who had just finished a week in the wilderness that we would not catch any fish. Everyone they met had shared the same sad tale. Without hesitation, I declared, “But we have favor!” Everyone laughed.

Amazingly, when we arrived at the first lake, the first cast produced a miraculous 14-inch rainbow trout! In fact, we caught so many fish every day that anything under 12 inches was thrown back. They were so plump that we were able to filet them into trout steaks. Each delectable bite resulted in rowdy rejoicing as we were reminded of the extreme favor we had experienced from God through a simple off-the-cuff declaration.

It is important to keep in mind that our words, like those of Jesus, have authority. Often, Jesus simply spoke to a situation or circumstance and Heaven invaded and brought change. In Matthew 8:26, He spoke to the storm, and the wind and the waves stopped. The disciples responded, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The Roman centurion understood the authority Jesus carried when he said, “Just say the word and my servant will be healed. Jesus declared, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would (Matthew 8:5-13).”

Jesus spoke to the paralytic, saying, “Pick up your mat and walk,” and the man did so and was healed. Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb and spoke, “Come forth,” and Lazarus was raised from the dead. Our words (our declarations) create an avenue by which Heaven’s resources and power are released.

I’ll never forget an occasion in which a woman, who was completely bald and gaunt from many radiation chemotherapy treatments, approached me at a conference at Bethel. She explained that the doctors told her that they could do nothing else for her, and that she had approximately one month left to live. I immediately looked her in the eyes and declared, “I don’t even need to pray for you. The glory of God is all over you, you’re going to be just fine!” I went on to explain that my declaration over her was in response to a gift of faith that had come to me as I heard about the destiny of doom the doctors had declared over her.

Five months later, at another Bethel conference, a shorthaired woman approached me with a grin from ear to ear. She jubilantly shared that she was the woman I had declared life over. Thanking me profusely, she shared that not only was she obviously still alive, but she had no cancer in her body to the amazement of the doctors!

As royal priests, representing God on earth, our declarations make a difference. Our declarations determine our destiny and the destiny of those around us. Our declarations unlock Heaven.[/quote]

[cmotherofpirl]

This just sounds like another method of trying to tell God what to do.

[Gal. 5:22,23]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='08 October 2009 - 01:32 AM' timestamp='1254979940' post='1980693']
This just sounds like another method of trying to tell God what to do.
[/quote]

That's exactly what I think.

[CatherineM]

I had a healing, though not a physical one. When you are disabled, it can be difficult to know at what point you have accepted your disability, and when you have just given up hope. I had given up hope. One morning, I woke up with the complete knowledge that not only could I get better, I would get better. God healed my broken spirit, but teaching my legs to walk again was up to me. I could feel him there with me taking each step though. I firmly believe it was in answer to a prayer, just not mine. I had long before given up praying for my recovery.

[Saint Therese]

We use language to express our ideas and beliefs;words have meaning. When we start to use the language of another belief system wouldn't it be safe to assume that we have somehow inculturated their beliefs? If our beliefs are truly Catholic our language should reflect that.