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Walking In The Spirit -
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Topic: Praying For Healing
Date: 5th November 2009
I prayed for others to be healed for many years, with absolutely no success. I believed in healing and I read extensively about healing but my prayers went nowhere. I actually became very negative about the whole thing and evens aid to folk: “Don't ask me to pray for your healing because you will probably drop dead!”
In the midst of my despair I noticed that the healing prayers in the New Testament always had the form of a command e.g: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” or an invocation “Your faith has made you whole, be cleansed.” I mentioned this I passing at an evening service I was preaching at and a considerable number of folks came forward for healing and I was trapped – I had to use command prayer! And much to my surprise it actually worked!
When I started praying using the biblical method I began to see about 25% of those I was praying for healed immediately and others healed over a period of a day or two. Though not everyone was healed - it was certainly much better than zero percent!
It has been my conclusion that just as we can command demons to leave in the name of Jesus, we can also command wholeness of mind and body to come forth. Lets look at some of the healing prayers in the New Testament;
Acts 3:6-8 MKJV But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! (7) And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength. (8) And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.
Matthew 9:27-29 MKJV And when Jesus passed on from there, two blind ones followed Him, crying and saying, Son of David, have mercy on us. (28) And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. (29) Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith let it be to you.
Matthew 9:6-7 MKJV …. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed and go to your house. (7) And he arose and departed to his house.
John 11:43-44 RV And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. (44) He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave–clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Mark 1:40-42 RV And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. (41) And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou made clean. (42) And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.
Do you notice something here? In each of these examples Jesus or the apostles use a command formula when they are praying e.g. 'rise up and walk' be cleansed' 'according to your faith be it unto you' etc. There is the clear use of spiritual authority to defeat sickness and disease. There is no 'if it be Thy will' praying. They knew they had authority to heal. God had designated healing authority to them and they were using it!
Matthew 10:1 RV And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.
Notice something else. They commanded the desired end state into being. They saw what needed to happen and called it forth! They called the 'things that are not' – as though they were!
Romans 4:17 RV (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.
Jesus told Lazarus to 'come forth'. This end state (“coming forth”) necessarily implied that Lazarus would be alive, healthy, walking, talking etc. Similarly the lame man at the Gate Beautiful was told to “rise up and walk” and the leper was told to “be cleansed”. Even when Jesus spoke to the storm he said “Peace, be still” thus invoking the desired end state (a peaceful lake) into being.
The prayer of faith sees what God wants done and calls it forth!
James 5:14-18 MKJV Is any sick among you? 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 cure the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him. (16) Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much. (17) Elijah was a man of like passion as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for the time of three years and six months. (18) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to sprout.
James 5:14-18 tells us that:
1.Healing comes from a prayer of faith
2.Offered under the anointing (both of oil and the Spirit)
3.By people of authority in the fellowship (elders)
4.That confession and absolution of sin may be required
5.That we should be righteous and pray fervently like Elijah did
6.That we can expect our prayers to be highly effective just as Elijah's were
7.That prayer can affect the physical realm (drought, rain, growth) and if prayer can do such massive things as this, then it should also heal the sick (implied way of arguing among Jews – if the greater effect is true then the lesser must be also - e.g if a truck can carry 2000 pounds then it can surely carry 50 lbs.)
Putting all this together we find that praying for the sick involves:
a) Using our delegated spiritual authority (in the name of Jesus) to command healing in the same way that we do when we cast out demons
b) The structure of healing prayer is generally a command or an invocation focused on a clear result, calling a desired end state into being as if from nothing e.g 'rise up and walk'.
c) This is a prayer of faith, which envisions the healing happening, seeing it first in the spiritual realm and believing in a good God who loves to heal and Who has the power to do so.
d) Confession of sin may be required. (But don't jump to the conclusion that because they are sick, therefore they must have sinned – see John 9:1-5 on this).
e) Those who pray should be mature Christians who live righteous lives and pray fervently.
This kind of praying feels very risky at first and it probably best to 'try it out' in a small group setting at first or in situations where you can 'fail safely'. After all I don't know anyone who heals 100% of the people they pray for. But we don't convert 100% of the people we share the gospel with either (yet we should still share the gospel). Having some healed is way better than having nobody healed and each miraculous healing gives glory to God and to the gospel.
Blessings,
John Edmiston (johned@aibi.ph)
Pastor – Eternity Christian Fellowship
Chairman/ CEO Cybermissions
http://www.eternitychristian.com
http://www.cybermissions.org
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