When Peter and John were entering the Temple one day, a lame man asked them for some money. Peter’s answer is very revealing. ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk’ (Acts 3:6). The man was instantly cured.
Peter knew he had something to give the man. So he didn’t even pray for him. He just gave him health in the name of Christ.
He believed so strongly in his ability to cure the man, that he lifted him to his feet to enable him to walk.
The implication is that the man was not healed until Peter lifted him up. Only when Peter put his faith into action was there a result.
The man’s recovery depended not only on the power of God but on Peter’s own confidence in himself to be the agent for that power. Peter explained it like this —
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see (Acts 3:16).
To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.