Why won't God heal amputees
Well, I'm going to go out "on a limb" here and try get us back on the topic. :laugh:
If God chooses to not heal one of His children's limb's before they go to heaven He must see that it is the best thing to do. There is no doubt that the maker of the limbs can restore them in the blink of an eye. However, God used healings for a specific purpose when Christ was living and during the early years of the church.
Heb. 2:3 "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?"
I Cor. 1: 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
God wants us to trust Him and believe in Christ. To keep the focus on truth, God uses "mere" preaching to proclaim the gospel.
Many fundamentalists will say that these signs cannot happen anymore. They don't have scriptural support for this other than a few vague verses. I think they are overreacting to herecies, abuses and misunderstandings among certain groups.
We have every right to make requests of God, but need to remember that he knows what is best. If for some reason God feels it necessary to use a sign to get people's attention He can do it. He may also have compassion on an individual and bless them physically.
MacDonalds has signs all along the interstate system in the United States. They use these signs to draw our attention to what they have to offer; and they do it very well I might add. Imagine finding someone sitting under one of those huge "golden arches" looking up at it in delight. You go up to them and ask them what they are doing and they respond that they love MacDonalds. Neither they nor MacDonalds receive the intended result of the signs.
To many people in churches are worshipping signs because they are merely looking to satisfy their carnal desires of being physically whole. Christ is not the focus in these settings and God is not praised for who He is, rather He is being used by people that "ask amiss, that they may consume it upon their lusts".