They believed God could save them from imminent death, but they trusted God to decide whether capital punishment or supernatural intervention was the plan. Christians similarly pray for the ill, recognizing that God can reverse the laws of nature even after the doctors exhaust their ability. God can heal, but God may not choose to override nature because to Him, death is never the end for us.
Doctors are not God; they are God’s instruments. Those who fancy themselves healers need to look to Jesus, who didn’t set bones or administer medications. He healed instantly, and it’s by His power and design that people can recover from their afflictions. Christ truly heals, while all others only facilitate.
We don’t expect doctors to be spiritual leaders, but it’s a powerful thing when they handle us as God’s creatures rather than as mere biological organisms. Christian or not, if they’ll perform their craft skillfully, our congregants will pray together and trust the God of heaven.
