Name It & Claim It

There’s an event recorded in the Bible telling of a woman who had a serious medical condition on which she had spent all her money, but the doctors could find a cure for her. Jesus was on His way for Lazarus when the woman forced her way through the throng of people crowding around Him. Apparently crawling the last fes feet, she stretched out her arm and grabbed the hem of his cloak. She was instantly healed. When Jesus confronted her, He did not say one word criticizing her for spending all her money on doctors. Not one word.

Now, I might be a bit prejudiced, because doctors saved my life, twice. Pancreas (2 surgeries) and quadruple bypass. So, go ahead and challenge my assertions, but I conclude a couple things:

1. We are supposed to figure out how to help one another. It’s built in to our psyche to ask questions and seek answers.
2. What is beyond human capacity is not beyond God’s.

Some have pontificated that “the age of miracles” has past. Yet they also affirm “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” I cannot reconcile the two. Is the “age of salvation” gone? So, this question remains: Why aren’t we seeing miracles of healing today?

Well there are reports from around the world of occasional healings.

So, I asked myself, “What are the keys? What are we missing?”

I have a story which may reveal one key: While walking my son’s and daughter-in-law’s dachshund, Mardi. He was being particularly persnickety, as the breed seems to exemplify. I didn’t have his harness on properly, and he quickly escaped. Delighted in his freedom and his burdensome restrictions, he pranced across the lawn and avoided my attempts to coral him. Ignoring my calls to come, or stop, or anything else. He joyfully continued, ignorant of the danger, getting closer and closer to the busy street. Now it was just a matter of feet. I was getting more and more desperate. “Oh Lord!” I thought to myself. “I buried their first dachshund in my backyard. I don’t want to have to bury this pup, too.” Inside I had this horrible sinking feeling. I tried calling for help, but help was to be found. I tried to cut him off from the street. I looked and saw cars rushing towards us. Mardi went behind this big evergreen tree, and I was standing on the sidewalk between him and the street, hoping just this one more time to catch him.

Well I don’t know what happened behind that tree, but when he re-appeared he walked right up to me with what I interpreted as a penitent look upon his face, calm and apologetic. I picked him up and went back to the apartment.

My theory is he met someone, perhaps an angel, perhaps the Lord Himself, and he was told — n no uncertain terms — he needed to quit being so persnickety and give me a break before I has another heart attack.

Now he always sits at my feet or snuggled up against my leg up on the couch. He seems to be actually grateful, not forgetting the talking to he got behind that tree.

Anyhoo, not having all the keys to the doorway to healings and other miracles, this is as far as I have gotten.

The keys:

1. Recognize Jesus for who He is.
2. Believe He is able to do above all we can ask or think.
3. Reach out for Him, desperately seeking His help.
4. Persevere.
5. When you receive, be joyful, but don’t forget to thank Him.
6. Accept that such answers establish His authority to forgive sins.

I think these are all true, but I think there may well be more. So, if anyone can help me…

I’ve made a short story rather long, and so far, the relevance to the title is quite vague. So…

There is this teaching out there that if you say you have received a healing or answer to another prayer, that is, if you name it and claim it, it will eventually happen. The more you claim it, the greater the chances are you will receive it, somehow this procedure indicating greater faith.

But this seems to me to be an attempt to corner God. Not asking, but coercing. Not faith. A presumptuous demand. Childish, not child-like. Stomping the feet until you get your way.

This teaching is tightly linked to the “seed money” doctrine: “If you send a thousand dollars to this ministry, God will give you 10 times that amount in return.” Giving to receive? Rather counterintuitive. It sounds more like capitalism, Economics 101, to me.

(This is not the same as your local Church passing the collection plate in order to pay the bills in order to keep the lights on.)

Jesus warned of many false teachers. Read the Bible so you can recognize them. He warned that they will seduce many. Are you one of the many or perhaps I’m giving you a pile of poop. Take your Bible and your brain off the shelf, dust them off, and use them.