As Peter and John approached the temple in Jerusalem, a beggar who couldn’t walk caught their attention. Pausing, they invited him to look up. “Silver and gold have I none,” said Peter, “but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6).
Jesus healed people with a variety of actions. Sometimes He touched the person. (See Matthew 8:14-15, Luke 13:11-13.) On a couple of occasions, He healed blind people with saliva or clay. (See Mark 8:22-25, John 9:1-7.) Other times, He healed people by merely speaking. (See Matthew 9:6-7, Mark 10:52.)
On this occasion, Peter not only declared the lame man to be healed, he coupled those words with an action:
He took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
Acts 3:7
That simple act of taking the man by the hand may have enabled Peter to demonstrate his faith that the words he had spoken were true. It may have helped the lame man exercise faith as well. It also indicated Peter’s direct engagement. He wasn’t acting as an objective observer but as a participant in the process of this miracle.
President Gordon B. Hinckley observed:
Note that Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up.
Peter had to reach down to lift the lame man. We must also reach down.
“Reaching Down to Lift Another,” General Conference, October 2001
After Alma and Amulek left the city of Ammonihah, where they had been badly mistreated and had witnessed the murder of many believers, they traveled to the nearby land of Sidom. They found Zeezrom there, who had previously been one of their antagonists. He was sick in bed, and he pleaded with them to heal him.
In response, “Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?” When Zeezrom answered in the affirmative, Alma prayed, “O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ” (Alma 15:6-10, italics added). Zeezrom was healed.
We may have opportunities to serve people from a distance: donating money to a worthy cause, serving on a nonprofit board, or planning a service project. While activities like these are important, they are no substitute for serving other people directly.
Today, like Peter and like Alma, I will reach out, take people “by the hand,” and lift them up.