“Heal the sick who are there and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you'” Luke 10:9
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
God is restoring things. I believe God wants to restore to us a vital healing ministry.
The Gospels overflow with stories of Jesus’ healing hurting people. Though there are only forty-one actual instances of physical or mental healing recorded in the four Gospels, there were many times where multitudes of people received healing.
Nearly one-fifth of the Gospel is about Jesus’ healing ministry! The space given to His healing ministry is way greater than any other one experience recorded, including salvation.
Jesus never told His disciples to pray for the sick in the sense that we ask Him to heal them. He told us to heal the sick. He authorized us to heal the sick. We don’t find an instance in the Gospels or Acts where there was a prayer given to heal the sick. The disciples and apostles laid hands on them and spoke words of the kingdom and what God would do, then healing came.
This approach to healing is included in the Great Commission. “Lay hands on the sick and they will recover” (Mark 16:18)
Is anyone among you sick? 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 save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:13-16)
Here, James gives us another approach to healing: anointing them with oil and prayer. Why is there a difference? The Greek word James used for sickness or disease is not the same word used most of the time in the Gospels and Acts. It is the Greek word kamno. It can also mean “those who are weary and worn down,” and in this context could refer to dissension and relational strife between believers causing them to become spiritually weak and sick. This approach to healing seems to address the root causes of sickness and disease.
God uses many approaches to effect healing. I believe if we keep our hearts sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we will know what to do.
Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Matthew 4:24
When we look at the healing ministry of Jesus, we should recognize the vital part we have with it. We are the “they” now, we are to bring the sick to Jesus through our prayers and proclamations. We are His body on earth today. Therefore, we can have the same passion for healing that we have seen in Him.
Many Blessings, BW