Objection: Lazarus’s Faith Could Not Have Raised Him from the Dead

This is obvious, and anyone would have to agree with the statement in and of itself.

The issue is where the objector is trying to go with this argument.  This is used as “proof” that it was Jesus’ faith, not the people’s faith, that mattered when people were getting healed.  There usually follows some worn-out statement about everything being based on God’s sovereignty.

When certain manifestations of the spirit occur, especially the “gift of faith,” the faith of the person isn’t the issue.  A person who is not in faith (including a dead person) can receive through such a manifestation.  This also can be said of “gifts of healings” and “working of miracles.”  I have seen people healed who I knew weren’t in faith, but a special move of the Holy Spirit got them healed anyway.  This is not the norm, but God sometimes moves this way.

So as far as Lazarus goes, it was definitely Jesus’ faith, not Lazarus’s faith, in play here.

The problem is when people try to extrapolate such cases to ALL healings and miracles.  The Word is very clear that our faith (which is itself, of course, a gift from God – Ephesians 2:8) can heal us; Jesus told many people, According to YOUR Faith Be It Done unto You (see that article for proof).  It was not a matter of God’s will in these cases (healing is always His will); it depended on the belief of the person who wanted healing.  So although there are some special manifestations that bypass individual faith, the norm is for people to use their own faith to believe that they receive when they pray.  You may not be healed every time if you just go to a healing service where the Holy Spirit is manifesting Himself, but you can be healed every time if you believe that you receive the healing that Jesus paid for when you pray.