Jesus could do no mighty work at Nazareth because of community unbelief. If you want to minister to a sick person, a good place not to do it is where there are people around watching who do not believe in divine healing (in any meaningful sense of the phrase). If Jesus could not get much accomplished in an atmosphere of unbelief, neither will you. It would nice if God would do something dramatic to show the naysayers a thing or two, but that isn't how it works.

Jesus took a blind man out of town before ministering healing to him in Mark 8:22-25. Jesus ministered to two blind men who were in faith for their healing in a house instead of in public (Matthew 9:27-30) even though the men were following him. In Mark 7:32-37, Jesus pulled a deaf man aside from the multitude. In Luke 8:41-56, Jesus put the weeping wailers and everyone else out of the room except the parents, Peter, James and John before raising Jairus' daughter from the dead. In Acts 9:36-42, Peter followed his Lord's example and put the weeping widows out of the room before raising a woman from the dead.


If Jesus and his disciples did this, it is good idea for you to do it, too. It will not help you or the sick person in a hospital bed if there are unbelieving people (especially unbelieving Christians) around! It will not help you minister the good news that the person is healed by Jesus' stripes if there is someone else around begging and pleading with God to heal the person. You will have to run the risk that some people will think you are rude. Jesus walked in love; he was not rude. He was just doing what he had to do.

If you are the sick person yourself, especially if you are in the hospital, you may have to establish some boundaries concerning who can visit you and when. You are not there to socialize with your relatives. You are there to get healed. If someone, even someone close to you, continues to sob over you and tell you that it looks like you're going to die, you don't need that person around. It is not that you want to be rude; you just want to be healed!


If you read Scripture and healing books, the nurses will think you are strange. They are used to people laying there watching carnal soap operas and game shows. The doctor may think you're a nut. That's fine; after you get healed, he won't think that anymore. Your roommate may not appreciate your stand of faith or the believers who come in and stand with you. Too bad. You are crucified with Christ anyway, and it should not matter to you what anyone else thinks about your stand for God.

This would not be a good time to listen to the local half-faith, half-unbelief "Christian" radio station where one guy says you can be healed and another guy says that healing isn't for today and faith people are in a cult. If you've got a decent station around, fine. Otherwise, don't listen to anyone who would rob you of your faith for healing.


It is not wrong to listen to the doctor's report; he is just reporting physical facts that are subject to change. Don't give the doctor a hard time about it. Just realize that his word is not final, but God's word is.