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In the last lesson, we looked at these six bible examples of healing prayer, that dealt with interceding for others, standing in agreement with another's prayer for healing or standing in agreement with their proclamation of healing, and serving as a point of contact for another person's faith. In this lesson, we will look at 5 more biblical models of healing prayer. These are:
This is similar to the last point of the last lesson, but the "prayer" is more active. In this case, we don't just serve as a point of contact, we actually help the other person to engage their faith. Sometimes this can be inadvertent rather than something we plan to do.
I remember one time when I went to a SpiritLed Woman magazine sponsored chatroom. I was just chatting and the topic of physical healing came up. The ladies who happened to be in there did not believe God still did this today. So I shared about the first time I had prayed for a deaf lady and she her ears opened and she heard. I was just sharing a story, I was not planning to pray for anyone. But this one lady said, "I am legally deaf, will you pray for me? I think that God might heal me too." I did not feel at all anointed, but I prayed for her and God came on her. It was not a total healing, but three very significant things happened... first, she felt the power and presense of God on her for the first time in her life, second the constant and annoying ringing in her ears stopped (which she considered a major miracle) and third, she could hear the television from across the room.. it used to be she could only hear it if she was within about a foot of it. The story about how God had healed another person had encouraged and built her faith so that she could receive some healing from the Lord as well.
We see Jesus encouraging another's faith in Luke 8:49-55 (esp 50):
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more." 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep." 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
Often God will heal the sick to demonstrate the power of the Gospel. Jesus did this frequently. He would teach and preach the good news and heal the sick. The two often went together, where the healing was the demonstration of power to back up the good news. I saw Randy Clark do a similar thing at the second "Catch the Fire" conference in Moscow. The auditorium was full of many people. A lot of unbelievers where present, having been brought by their saved friends. Randy got up and gave a short presentation of the Gospel. Then he invited those who needed healing to come up, saying that God would heal them because He wanted to demonstrate the power of Jesus to save. So they came flocking up. I was on the prayer team and I got to move among them, praying for them. Just about everyone I prayed for was instantly healed.. and everyone else on the prayer team was having similar results. God released a healing anointing to back up the proclamation of the good news. He frequently does this. He used to do this for Jesus in the days where Jesus walked and ministered on this earth, and He also does it today. Look at Matthew 9:35, and you will see the tie between Jesus healing the sick and Jesus proclaiming the good news.
Matt 9:35
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
Peter met a paralyzed man, named Aeneas, when he was on a ministry trip to Lydda. Peter did not pray for Aeneas to be healed. He did not ask God to heal Aeneas. He did not cast out demons, he did not command the sickness to leave. Rather, Peter made a proclamation of healing over him and then Aeneas was instantly healed. Peter proclaimed the healing power of Jesus over the man. Peter may very well have been seeing in the spirit here and simply describing what he saw God doing. The results were obvious, the man got up and walked.
Jim Paul, a member of the prophetic-school leadership core described a similar experience to me one time when we spoke on the phone. He had just come back from a ministry trip to the UK. While he was there, he had been speaking and ministering propheticly. This man in a wheel chair came up to him for prophetic ministry. When Jim looked at him, he saw that there was an angel standing next to the man with his hand on the man's shoulder. So Jim proclaimed that God was touching the man with healing, and he was healed.
Sometimes God shows us what he is already doing, we announce it and then the healing takes place. This is what happened for the Apostle Peter in Acts 9:32-35
32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. 34And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." Then he arose immediately. 35So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
This is probably the most commonly practiced one today. When we think of praying for the sick, we usually think of two things: laying on of hands and asking God to heal the person. I believe that the laying on of hands serves as a point of contact for the individual. In this case the prayer is not proclaiming a healing, they are asking God to heal the person. It is similar to point 2 [of lesson 4 intercession for a specific individual]. However, in point 2, the prayer is off by themselves in their prayer closet and here they are doing one on one ministry prayer with the person who is sick. In point 2, the faith that is engaged is solely the faith of the prayer. In this case, both the faith of the prayer and the faith of the person being prayed for are being engaged, both are participating in this prayer.. one as the prayer and the other as the receiver. The receiver's part is fairly passive, but they have demonstrated some level of faith by allowing the prayer to lay hands on them and pray for them.
In this case, Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta. And one of the leading citizens had taken Paul and the others under his wing, was feeding them and providing hospitality. The man's father was sick, so he brought Paul to come and pray for him. Paul did this through the laying on of hands and petition prayer. We see it in Acts 28:8
His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.
There seems to be something very powerful about physical contact in healing ministry. Many times those coming to Jesus for healing needed some type of physical touch from Jesus to receive that healing. We see this in several scriptures. Here are a few of them:
Matt 14:35-36
35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.Luke 4:40
When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.Mark 5:22-23
22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."
I do not know why the physical contact was so important, but clearly it was. I have a theory that the physical touch provided a point of contact that allowed people to engage their faith and receive the healing that God desired to give them. It may be that many people believe God heals today, but the don't believe God will heal them! In other words, they know God has the power to do this but they aren't sure that He cares enough about them to do it for them. When they have this touch, the compassion of God becomes real to them and they realize God's promise and God's healing is for them too. Matthew 14:14 says, "And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." The compassion of Jesus leads to healing. Physical touch is often associated with compassion, such as when comforting someone who is mourning or a child who is crying. When the person ministering healing touches the one they are praying for, I believe the compassion of God becomes real to the person and they are able to believe God will heal them too.
Another thing about physical touch. Some people associate physical healing with great power. They see the person who ministers healing as carrying the power of God. Then they are touched, they are able to receive the power of God (their faith is activated) and they can receive their healing.