Is It Faithlessness to Take Medicines While Believing God for Healing?
1) Direct Answer
No. Taking medicine while believing God is not faithlessness. God is the Healer; medicine is only a help. Keep your faith in God, use what help is available, and give Him the glory.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26). Healing is God’s work.
- Hezekiah: God said, “I will heal thee,” and yet commanded a poultice of figs to be laid on the boil (2 Kings 20:5–7). Promise and means walked together.
- The Good Samaritan poured in oil and wine to treat the wounds (Luke 10:34).
- “Luke, the beloved physician” was honored among the saints (Colossians 4:14).
- Paul counseled, “Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23), showing Scripture recognizes medicinal help without endorsing excess or drunkenness.
- The prayer of faith shall save the sick (James 5:14–15). The oil is a sign; God does the healing.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- You see, a doctor can set a bone, but only God knits it. Medicine can fight infection, but only God gives life and restoration. So using medicine doesn’t replace faith; trusting medicine instead of God does.
- If it were unbelief to use means, why did God direct a poultice after promising healing to Hezekiah? The issue is not the fig; it’s the God who heals.
- Keep your confession: after prayer, hold to God’s promise regardless of symptoms or prescriptions. Don’t throw away needed aids to “prove” faith unless the Lord has clearly delivered you. Faith is obedience to God’s Word, not presumption.
- Walk clean and sober. Scripture condemns bondage and excess. Be led by the Spirit, not ruled by any substance.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, God heals; means are servants. Keep your eyes on Christ, use what helps are at hand with a clear conscience, and testify that the Lord is your Healer.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Hear ye Him
58-0126 §52
Now, we call the people to the platform. I cannot heal anyone. No other man can heal. No medicine can heal. No doctor can heal. No hospital can heal. I want to talk to the doctor that can heal. I want to talk to any man that can heal. He's wrong. If I broke my arm, and run into a doctor's office, said, "Heal my hand right quick, Doc. I want to finish cranking my car." He'd say, "You need mental healing." He can set the bone, but God has to heal, for God is the only Creator. A doctor can move an obstruction, appendi...
Why?
61-0413 §69
When I go overseas, I believe they give me so many shots I look like a guinea egg, to get into the places where they just ... the shots of yellow fever, and all kinds of toxins. They say that keeps me from taking it. I didn't want to take it, but you have to take it anyhow. So that's the way. You say, "Brother Branham, do you believe in medicines?" Why, sure. Certainly. They're God-given things. We believe that. But that ain't what heals you. What if we didn't have health and hygiene? What would we have? The way pe...
Will I find faith when I return?
51-0508 §47
So dear Christian people if you've got a human heart, let's look at the thing right. Now, taking medicine or anything hinders your faith, keep away from it, see. But I will tell you... Now, I know you said, "Well, I know doctors that laugh at divine healing." I do too, and I know preachers that laugh at it too. That's right. Many of them laugh at it. Frankly, to be honest with you and my Bible, I found more unbelieving preachers in divine healing than I have doctors. Because many, many, fine doctors comes to my pla...
When their eyes were opened
56-0420 §11
Medicine doesn't build tissue. God builds tissue, see. Doctors... Now, not condemning them, God knows, no, sir. We respect them, and they're our friends. They're God's servants and we respect them. And they don't claim to be healers; they only... They could come, like if you cut your hand, it's a good thing to do, go to the doctor and let him sew it up, put the drug, and whatever he puts in it to keep it clean. But he has to turn it over to God then to heal it. If you got a bad appendix, the doctor looks at it, say...
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
61-0516A §15
He could not heal my arm; but he could set it where God could heal it. He could not produce calcium and life to knit that bone together. Therefore the doctor with his understanding sets a bone in place; but God does the healing, see. Psalms 103:3 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all of thine iniquity; who healeth all of thy diseases." So the Word of God can never fail. God is the healer. We must always bear that in mind. God is the healer.