We have one from Timothy. He asks," Is there any information about how prayer for healing for Christians was practiced? Especially, how was their understanding of James 5, the prayer of faith by the church elders? And are there records of exorcisms practiced on Christians who fell into sin, maybe, or any exorcisms, for that matter? What was the length of the process, method involved, renouncing sin, an idolatrous practice, oil, etc?" Okay. So I'll answer it just, you know, very briefly, Timothy.
The Christians, oh, there are so many records of references to praying for the sick and seeing people being healed as a result of their prayers. Nearly all of the apologists mention this. It's mentioned in quite a few writings. I don't mean healing services, healing conventions, come here and get healed, anything like that, just a simple. We believe that Christ can heal diseases and they prayed for healing. Did Christ always heal someone when they prayed for them? No. They talk about that too. Nope.
Christ is under no obligation and he doesn't always heal. But they would pray nevertheless in faith because often he did. And even if he chose not to on a particular occasion, it's still right to turn to him to the great physician for our illnesses. And this often would lead to the conversion of a neighbor when they prayed for a neighbor who was sick or somebody they met in the marketplace and the person was healed, then that person would normally become a Christian. So it was one of their methods of evangelism.
And the same with casting out demons. They talk about that a lot. I would say the two spiritual miraculous gifts that they discuss the most are healing the sick and casting out demons. Again, not someone having a healing ministry or a deliverance ministry, just people doing this. If there was somebody who was evidently demon possessed, they would pray for them and in the name of Jesus cast out demons. And it worked. I mean, the name of Jesus is powerful. It worked then. It works today.
Now, normally Christians wouldn't be demon possessed, you know, once they were a Christian. Tertullian mentions one situation. It may have been in one of his Montanist writings. I don't remember. So, I don't know if the church, if this would be... It would not have been a very common thing. I am not going to say it would be impossible. It would certainly be uncommon. A Christian would have to be delving into something they shouldn't be delving in. Otherwise, we would all be possessed by demons.
I mean, you know, Satan would try to control every one of us and possess us. But God gives us that protection and gives us power over the demons so that they are the ones fleeing from us, not the other way around. But now when Christians were baptized or when a believer was baptized, then before they went into the water, they would renounce Satan, his pomp, and his angels. So this was done before they ever went into the water that they would, you know, publicly renounce Satan.
So, any ties they had with him, any possession, everything would be gone once they entered the water of baptism and... and that would be behind them. So, we don't... Like I said, it's the reason we wouldn't read a lot about exorcism of Christians themselves. I can't think of any specific directions. There might be in some later centuries. I can't think of anything in the pre-Nicene writings.
My memory might be overlooking something, but I can't think of anything right now that goes into any more detail than what I've just shared with you.
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