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The practice of praying for the sick, anointing them with oil, is based on James 5:13-18 (ESV):

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

But what about diseases which are incurable for modern medicine?

Some obvious examples off the top of my head are blindness, deafness, Down Syndrome, etc. Other examples taken from this article https://www.pharmatutor.org/pharmapedia/top-incurable-diseases-in-medical-science-cancer-asthma-hiv-aids-common-cold-polio-ebola-influenza include:

  • EBOLA
  • Polio
  • Lupus Erythematosus
  • Influenza
  • Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
  • Diabetes Mellitus
  • AIDS
  • Asthma

Do any Christian groups pray for the sick to get healed of these and other incurable diseases for modern medicine?

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As someone who comes from a denomination that continues to anoint with oil and pray for the healing of the sick, there is no disease that we do not pray for. Christians pray not only for little things like colds, and major things like blindness and polio, but even for the dead. We believe that God can and does heal the sick today in his name, although he often chooses not to in this lifetime. Cases of the blind and deaf improving after healing prayer are noted towards the end of this article. An example of someone raised from the dead from my denomination can be found here.

ninthamigo
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  • What is the name of your denomination? –  Nov 21 '21 at 18:00
  • The Christian and Missionary Alliance, we are charismatic but not Pentecostal – ninthamigo Nov 21 '21 at 18:03
  • In saying that you are charismatic but not Pentecostal, do you mean there are certain doctrines from Pentecostals that you do not subscribe to? –  Nov 21 '21 at 18:07
  • most explicitly I am not cessationist but do not believe that speaking in tongues is the only sign of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. – ninthamigo Nov 21 '21 at 18:30
  • Are there any witnesses (other than the one claiming the event) to the raising of one from the dead ? What of the 'seven doctors' who proclaimed the death (an unusually large number of doctors to pronounce a decease). Are they available to testify to the 'resurrection' on the morning afterwards ? Surely this notable event is catalogued in The Lancet ? Do you have the reference ? – Nigel J Nov 21 '21 at 20:06
  • Actually I know her son, as he was my boss when I lived overseas for a while, as such I have reason to believe the story based on my personal connection, but I don't know that there is any medical citation for this event. Similarly, I personally know people who have been healed through prayer, but their healing is not as 'incurable' - nearsightedness and crippling back pain after falling off a roof. – ninthamigo Nov 21 '21 at 20:43
  • @ninthamigo Any sign from heaven, that is to testify to the glory of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ, will have providences surrounding it (as we see in the gospels and in Acts) such that witnesses will be present and proper documentation will ensue in order that the event may be, properly and reliably, testified to across the whole world. Any event lacking such providences immediately becomes invalid. These momentous events are not done in a corner. – Nigel J Nov 21 '21 at 21:30
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    @NigelJ uhh, okay... don't really think lacking 'providences' makes it 'invalid', certainly not in a logical sense. The original question was whether Christian groups pray for incurable diseases, and I note an example that suggests non-cessationist denominations do in fact pray for healing of incurable diseases, even for the dead. – ninthamigo Nov 22 '21 at 03:30
  • You deviated from the question (what Christian groups pray for such and such) by making a claim and I queried the validity of your deviation. – Nigel J Nov 22 '21 at 06:46
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    @NigelJ - ninthamigo shared an interesting medically documented healing here. I hope it helps. –  Nov 22 '21 at 17:11
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    @NigelJ Dude chill. I included them as examples of things we pray for, not answers to a totally different question (does God heal these diseases/disorders today) – ninthamigo Nov 23 '21 at 01:28
  • @NigelJ - what are your thoughts on this interview? –  Mar 21 '22 at 18:52