A Layman's Approach to Divine Healing

The next step is to put into practice what we read and hear, and this can be scary for the "first timer." I started small, by praying for myself and then for my family.

When I first came to Texas, I was moving lots of boxes and household items. While moving some heavy boxes, one fell on my foot, or more specifically on my big toe. It jammed the side of my toenail into the skin around my toe and cut the skin. I didn't know this until I was getting ready for bed and noticed some blood on my sock. I took a shower and cleaned it up as best I could and hoped it wouldn't be a problem.

I was staying a hotel at the time because it took several days to complete the move. So I didn't have access to any medical stuff (like bandages), and I was not able to go to the doctor because we were new to the state and our medical insurance was not in place. The next morning, my toe woke me up with throbbing pain, and I knew that it was infected. When I looked at it, it was red and getting worse. I was reminded Mark 16, so I put my hand on my big toe and spoke healing to it. I said, "In the name Jesus, I command the infection to cease and I speak healing to every infected part of this toe. In Jesus name, Amen."

It was easy to say, but when I was done, my toe still hurt and it still looked infected. As I sat there, I talked to myself, saying that I had done what Scripture said to do, and it didn't seem to work. The Holy Spirit reminded me of another verse Mark 11:24: "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

He asked me if I believe what I just prayed. I told Him, yes. It was based on the direction I had read in the Bible, so it was God's Word not mine. He said, "then act like it's healed." Since I needed to go to work, I said, "Okay." I put on a pair of clean soft socks and went to work. Every time I took a step, I felt the pain but I would say to myself, "It's healed; it's healed." I went to work and got busy with getting things done. When I came back to my hotel, I started to think about my toe and I started to remember that my toe didn't seem as sore and the pain was almost gone.

I got back to my room and took off my shoes and socks and my toe looked much better. It was a little sore but it looked like it was healing up. I praised God for answering my prayer. By the next day, it looked normal and I didn't have any pain.

This is a simple example of how I started praying for healing. I am no expert and I have a lot to learn, but God will honor our feeble attempts when we just take the simple Word of God and put it into practice in our everyday lives. The next time you have a health problem, no matter how large or small, I challenge you to try praying for yourself first. The results may surprise you.

Reaching out and praying for others is the next step. For some of us, it is a giant step in being an instrument that God can use. Sometimes we need others to pray for us (like ministers, pastors, and elders), especially when the need is greater. But as we practice praying for small things like headaches and infection, God will bless and use us as we tackle more difficult and complex problems.

Several years ago, my brother-in-law got married. They were very happy but their marriage lacked one thing: they wanted a family. For some reason his wife could not conceive. After a couple of years of trying, they finally admitted that they were struggling. His wife would cry and wonder why she couldn't have children.

At a family get together, we talked about praying for her. We asked her if she would like us all to pray for her, and she said yes. So we got a dining room chair, put it in the middle of the living room floor and we all stood around her and began to pray. Some would pray quietly; some would pray in tongues; some would pray out loud. This went on for 15-20 minutes. The Spirit of God fell and I just knew she would have children. So I spoke it out to her and told her she was going to have children. She looked at me, wanting to believe. I said, "Yes, God has said it. Believe it!" She started to cry but she accepted it. By Christmas she was pregnant and within 2 years, she had a boy and a girl.

As I looked back on this, it not only boosted her faith, it also boosted mine as well. My in-laws were unashamed in their love for God and it was not uncommon for a praying session to start whenever the family got together. Sometimes, people would just get prayed for and feel better afterwards; other times, the Holy Spirit would give a word of knowledge or someone would prophesy over someone. And being around them would allow me to be bolder when people would ask me to pray for them.

Recently, I've had the opportunity to pray for people at my church and for people at work. A friend of mine, named Paul, used to talk with me about some of the health problems that his father was having. He was emotionally distraught about his father's failing health and he knew he wasn't saved. Although Paul's religion was Catholic, he stilled believed that Jesus was the only way. But Paul, like some of us, was afraid to talk to his dad about Christ. I would encourage Paul and we'd look up verses in the Catholic Bible so he could use them when he talked with his dad. Eventually, Paul felt bold enough to talk to his dad.

His dad had been moved to a nursing home and was losing his memory but there were times when he was lucid and he would remember his son and appeared to be "normal". We would pray together that his dad would be well enough to hear the gospel, that Paul would be bold enough to share it, and that his dad would accept Jesus before it was too late.

After one weekend, Paul came over to my cubical and he was beaming; smiling from ear-to-ear. He said, "I did it!" In my spirit, I knew what "it" was, but I wanted him to tell me all the details. He went on and told me how this previous weekend he went and visited his dad, and he was lucid. Paul had the boldness to talk with his dad and before he left, he accepted Jesus as his savior. To me that was the greatest healing one can have. Paul's dad told Paul that he felt lighter than he's felt in a very long time and he felt that a weight had been lifted. They talked and cried; it would be a memory Paul would cherish.

Several months later his dad died. He had a heart attack and Paul was very upset. When Paul came back to work, I prayed for Paul, I asked that the Holy Spirit would comfort him. Then we would talk about the time when his dad accepted Christ and how happy he was then and how happy Paul was now. Now Paul was so thankful that we had prayed together, and that he was given the opportunity to witness to his dad. It felt so good to help Paul and know that his dad is now in Heaven rejoicing with the angels and saints. It boosted my faith and when I went to see my dad, I talked with him about Christ.

So we can reach out and make a difference if we will be willing to be open to God and allow Him to use us. We don't need a degree in theology to pray for others. With child-like faith, we can use our own faith and pray for others. Sometimes that greatest hurdle we face is our own pride and ego. What if I say the wrong thing? What if they aren't healed? What will everyone think? What will they say? Questions come faster than we're able to answer them--and like flaming arrows, our faith and confidence seem to be shot down and weakened.

Jesus, during His ministry reached out and healed all who came to Him. There are several stories of people who were healed. When your faith and confidence seems to ebb, read them and let your faith be strengthened!

Look these stories up and read them over and over again.

Matthew 8:2, 3; 5-10, 8:13; 8: 14-17; 9:20-22; 9:27-36; 14: 13-15; 15:29-31
Mark 5:1-43; 6: 53-56; 7: 25-37; 9:17-29; 16: 15-20
Luke 4: 16-21; 4: 33-36, 40, 41; 6: 6-10; 6: 17-19; 13: 11-17
John 5:2-14; 9: 1-7
Acts 3:1-16

The next lesson will talk about what the Bible says about preventing health problems. Sometimes if we will follow the guidance in God's Word, we can prevent a lot of problems (both physical and emotional) for ourselves and our families.