In the parable of the Good Samaritan we find a man that was beaten, wounded and stripped of his personal belongings and left lying half dead in the gutter. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him" (Luke 10:33-34). From scripture we see that oil has been applied as a first aid for bruises, sores, cuts and wounds.

Support scriptures for putting a dampened finger with oil on the forehead when praying for the sick is not found. Anointing oil for the sick has been likened by some, to the Holy anointing oil that was used in the tabernacle. "And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office" (Exo. 30:26-30). As we continue reading we will find the closing instructions Moses was told to tell all Israel. "And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make (mock or mimic) any other like it, (mentally) after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it (mentally), or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people" (Exo. 30:31-33).

Anointing a person with olive oil does not represent God's Holy Spirit. Water is used for an example of God's Holy Spirit (not oil). "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" (John 7:37-39).

The Apostle Paul when sending prayer cloths did not put oil on the cloth. He taught God's Word from the Old Testament, accepting it as God's instructions for life. "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them" (Acts 19:11-12). Those that were healed by a prayer cloth, the laying on of hands or just the word spoken were healed because of their belief and faith, the two ingredients we must have to be in God's eternal Kingdom.

The Apostle Paul asked the Lord three times to heal him. "For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool -for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thom in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Cor. 12:6-10). Paul accepted God's answer with patience having belief and faith not to be healed right then and there. Patience, by example plays a big part in God healing us. Apostle John who spoke the messages God gave him, tells us of an event that took place at the pool called Bethesda. "Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath" (John 5:2-9). Jesus the Christ must have recognized the patience and faith of this man who had this infirmity thirty eight years. By example Christ chose to heal only one person out of the great multitude that was present at the pool.

Faith is having patience. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" (James 5:15). We have been given a clear un-refutable definition of what faith is. Faith is trust and confidence, believing God's Word is truth, de-noting an attitude of mind and pattern of conduct. Faithful conduct brings the product of an attitude of faith. Reading in God's Word we find there are conditions for healing. We have to have faith and believe in His Word. His Word is the instruction Book for Life. God enters a period, where we as humans place a question mark! "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (III John 2-4). Truth is only found by obeying God and His Word.

One sure step for good health is watching our diet!! It is stated in Psalms: "Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions" (Psa. 107:17-20). This is a promise from God if we repent. We eat and drink all kinds of junk food and think it will not affect us. Yet the older we get we find that the effect of that sin is still with us. All of us will pay the penalty price for our bad eating habits eventually!

Each year at the Passover season we are reminded to examine, take a survey of ourselves. "But let a man examine (survey) himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (I Cor. 11:28-30). The word discerning is Strong's Concordance number 1252, meaning: to withdraw; oppose; doubt or discriminate against the Lord's body; losing faith in Christ' stripes. "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (I Cor. 11:30). Ask yourself? Do I believe Christ died for my sins and they are forgiven? Do I believe Christ's broken body, His stripes are for my healing? Do I have faith in God's promises? Peter the Apostle of hope wrote, "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (I Peter 2:24). The beating Christ took was for our healing. This was recorded to happen by the Prophet Isaiah. "But He was wounded for our transgressions He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5).

God cannot and does not lie! Do you believe that? We have to walk by faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). Faith is based on God's Word. I believe --- causes faith. Faith does not make sense. Sense is sense--but FAITH IS FAITH!! Through God's Holy Spirit we can find faith. "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom. 8:5-6). The fear of death causes us to fear death. We need to ask God to take away the spirit of fear. "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands" (11 Tim. 1:6). Which we do when we ask for healing. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (IITim. 1:7). Faith comes through having God's Holy Spirit. The spirit of fear that keeps us from being healed comes from Satan. Our faith needs to be in what God calls a benefit. "Bless the LORD, 0 my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Psa. 103:2-3).

Israel was given the knowledge of healing when coming out of Egypt. "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee" (Exo. 15:26). We must not let our flesh rule over us. God has made us free by giving His Holy Spirit. If we do not obey what God's Word says we will never be free. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom 8:7-8). The flesh fears because we are conscience of our body. If we live by God's faith having God's Holy Spirit we don't need to worry about our body-- our flesh. We know it is just temporary!! But when fear comes we lose peace of mind. Remember what we just read in Romans. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom. 8:6). The flesh worries about dying. Every day we draw breath we are dying. Our physical body wears out. If we let our flesh dominate, we are not pleasing to God. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8: 13).

In the Old Testament we are told the people committed an evil by forsaking the fountain of living waters. "For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters" (Jer. 17:13).