IS REBUKING AN ILLNESS BIBLICAL?
“In Jesus’ Name, I rebuke you!”
Every now and then, I would hear that from people with illness or from those praying for them. Last night was not an exception when a person whose right kidney is decreasing in size, prayed to rebuke “you.” I am not sure who or what is the “you” but this got me into thinking: Is rebuking an illness biblical?
Unless I am wrong, I can’t recall such incidents in the Bible. If ever any rebuking was done in this context, it was towards the demons causing them. And that’s just the point. We can only rebuke something that is alive. COVID-19 may be alive in a laboratory sense but it does not have a spirit that we can rebuke it, otherwise the virus would have been exorcised in 2020 already. We may rebuke ourselves for abusing our bodies (the temple of the Holy Spirit) by eating nothing but junk, or making the wrong choices like sleeping with the wrong person.
I also don’t recall any commandment or exhortation to rebuke an illness; we are instead told to pray to God for healing in Jesus’ Name (James 5:13-16).
Sickness is part of the curse that we inherited from the fall in the Garden. We cannot escape from its eventuality, especially if it will cause our death. We all must die someday.
Rebuking an illness might even be blasphemous as our valley experience is part of God’s bigger plan. As much as sickness is brought about by the curse, it can strengthen our faith and bring glory to His Name.
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4 ESV)
For better or for worse, those who have been touched by an illness are never the same afterwards. It is the “better” stories that inspire us especially when we find ourselves about to enter a dark phase. In the midst of our fears, let us not only pray for healing but also the faith to echo Job’s words, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (13:15).
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“In Jesus’ Name, I rebuke you!”
Every now and then, I would hear that from people with illness or from those praying for them. Last night was not an exception when a person whose right kidney is decreasing in size, prayed to rebuke “you.” I am not sure who or what is the “you” but this got me into thinking: Is rebuking an illness biblical?
Unless I am wrong, I can’t recall such incidents in the Bible. If ever any rebuking was done in this context, it was towards the demons causing them. And that’s just the point. We can only rebuke something that is alive. COVID-19 may be alive in a laboratory sense but it does not have a spirit that we can rebuke it, otherwise the virus would have been exorcised in 2020 already. We may rebuke ourselves for abusing our bodies (the temple of the Holy Spirit) by eating nothing but junk, or making the wrong choices like sleeping with the wrong person.
I also don’t recall any commandment or exhortation to rebuke an illness; we are instead told to pray to God for healing in Jesus’ Name (James 5:13-16).
Sickness is part of the curse that we inherited from the fall in the Garden. We cannot escape from its eventuality, especially if it will cause our death. We all must die someday.
Rebuking an illness might even be blasphemous as our valley experience is part of God’s bigger plan. As much as sickness is brought about by the curse, it can strengthen our faith and bring glory to His Name.
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4 ESV)
For better or for worse, those who have been touched by an illness are never the same afterwards. It is the “better” stories that inspire us especially when we find ourselves about to enter a dark phase. In the midst of our fears, let us not only pray for healing but also the faith to echo Job’s words, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (13:15).
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