Posted by CB on February 17, 2011 at 09:33:15
In Reply to: Re: Recent Update posted by OT2 on February 15, 2011 at 14:31:35:
Something I'm not in firm agreement regarding the charismatic teachings of many groups, including Vineyard, is the idea that we should have an attitude of expectancy. You and I probably differ here, too, from what you've written.
I would say that I'm open to the possibility of signs and wonders, but I don't pray with the active expectation that these things should occur, will occur, or must occur. I'm especially leary about praying with the expectation that I will get a word of knowledge for or about an individual other than myself. Perhaps that's because I'm not a pastor, but as someone who does counseling, I do pray for people in my care. Sometimes I get a spiritual insight, but I don't communicate that information as "God told me such-and-such." I test my insight by asking the person questions that could open them up to a similar insight. If they don't get it through gentle exploration, I don't push it any further and move on to other things. I think it's my job to teach people how to hear from God for themselves, not to tell them what I think God wants to say to them.
I also think the Holy Spirit generally works through fairly ordinary, explanable processes. I'm skeptical about claims that the Spirit has contravened the laws of nature. I don't pretend that I understand all the laws of nature in the manner of rational materialists. What I am saying is that I think the Spirit works in a rational manner that can be explained through an understanding of how the material world works 99.99% of the time.
Your healed knee, for example. I'd be willing to bet that if you had an xray showing arthritis in that knee before you engaged in the healing prayer, you'll have an xray showing arthritis in that knee AFTER the healing prayer relieved your pain. That's because pain is largely controlled by the mind, and we know many things about how the mind can override pain signals from various parts of the body.
What I'm not addressing here is the >.0001 of the time that someone's arthritic bone actually heals and returns to a normal state. I think it happens, I think it's rare, and when it does occur, it's for a reason that I don't pretend to understand. I able to say "God did it" and "I don't know HOW it happened" at the same time.
I've taken a nuanced position, which is hard to get if you prefer thinking in either/or categories. Just because I don't understand HOW the Spirit brings about the healing of a damaged bone doesn't mean I think the Spirit has up-ended the laws of nature. It means I don't understand all the rules in the Creator's playbook. To me, the real mystery is the purpose for which signs and wonders occur. I do have a basic answer as to WHY a healing prayer might lead to a miraculous recovery: It's so that God can be glorified. Why God chooses to make His Being known in one situation of faithful prayer and not the next, well, that's the mystery.