There is an account in the Bible about a centurion who entreated Christ Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus said he would go with him to the sick man, the centurion told him it was not necessary. He believed Jesus had the authority and power to heal, even when the Master was at a distance from the one needing help. His show of exceptional faith brought this assurance from the Master: "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." And the servant was healed "in the selfsame hour." Matt. 8:13.
On the surface, Jesus' words appear to give great power to a person's belief, as if merely believing something can make it so. Yet without spiritually solid reasoning to base one's belief upon, one is sure to find it unreliable, leading only to discouragement.
Perhaps the Biblical account reveals that Jesus responded not merely to the centurion's belief but to the man's understanding of the spiritual authority that Jesus exercised and the divine power that underlay his healing work. Since this power was demonstrated by Jesus whenever he went, the centurion's belief could be seen as based upon a solid, spiritual reality: the might of divine Truth to overturn any appearance of what is not true—in this case, disease. Thus, was it not possible that the centurion's understanding of God's omnipotence was a key component of his belief?
