We like things to make sense. We prefer logic over mystery.

So, when we read about applying oil to the sick or anointing our homes, the intellectual mind hesitates. It feels archaic. It feels illogical. "How can oil do anything?"

It isn't the oil. It is the obedience.

Consider Naaman the leper in the Old Testament. The prophet told him to dip in the Jordan River seven times to be healed. Naaman was furious. He argued that the rivers in his home country were cleaner and better. It felt foolish to dip in a muddy river.

“And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said... ‘if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?’” 2 Kings 5:13

When Naaman finally humbled himself and dipped seven times, he was healed.

In the New Testament, the disciples used this same simple method.

“And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” Mark 6:13

Even in the church age, the instruction remains.

“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.” James 5:14

God often uses the physical to impact the spiritual. He uses symbols—bread, wine, water, oil—as points of contact for our faith. The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. When we apply it in faith, we are not trusting in the liquid; we are trusting in the God who asked us to use it.

Don't let your intellect talk you out of a miracle.