Originally Posted by
Jew and Greek
Not arguing that we have authority, but nobody exercised that authority more than Jesus so He should probably be our model. Did Jesus totally eradicate sickness from the face of the earth? No. Did He stop every tragedy? No. Did He rebuke every storm on the planet? No. For the most part He only healed people who came to Him in faith. It's presumptuous of us to think that we can exercise faith beyond our sphere of influence. Kenneth Hagin used to tell the story of somebody calling him to tell him that Mt. St. Helens had erupted. He said "why are you calling me?" They said "well, you're the prophet of God!" He said "I can't do anything about Mt. St. Helens!" He understood the limitations to his authority. He walked in health and kept his family walking in health until they were at a point where they had to exercise their own faith for their own needs. He got people in his church healed, although at times it took awhile to get the Word into them. That was his sphere of influence. He didn't stop every disease on Earth, in the US, in his state, or even in his city. We have to learn the difference between faith and presumptuousness.