Creative healing

A traditional approach to healing in the Church comes from James 5:14-16 where the elders of the church pray and anoint with olive oil. Some have taken this to be the only way of praying for the sick, yet even within the context, James says to pray for one another so that we may be healed. Jesus gave several examples of creative approaches to healing. In John 9:1-41 he spat in some dirt to make mud and placed that upon a man’s eyes. The theory of last orders would preclude anything prior to James’ instructions, but there is no such theory within the New Testament regarding healing. Where there is no ban, we have freedom in Christ. We may approach requests for healing in a variety of ways other than always anointing with oil. That’s what Jesus did.