01 Our God is a Healing God

OUR GOD IS A HEALING GOD

      THERE is much teaching in the Bible with regard to the theme of healing, and this encourages us to take a positive stance in this area.  Our God is a healing God.  As we can clearly see from the gospel accounts and the book of Acts, healing played a significant role in the ministries of Jesus and the early apostles.  Following on from these, in its history the Church has practised prayer for healing as part of its regular ministry (1 Cor. 12:9-10), and there are many today who can testify to having experienced healing in their lives.

      For many years now my wife and I have been committed to praying for believers in need of healing and freedom from spiritual oppression, and this has been part of our regular ministry wherever we have been.  As a result of stepping out in faith and praying and believing for those in need, we have seen many people healed of different conditions, and these people can readily testify about what God has done in their lives.  Seeing people getting healed has always been a great joy and thrill to me personally.

Some basic guidelines

a.      We are healed through the kingdom ministry of Jesus

The kingdom ministry of Jesus saw a restoration to humanity of the life-giving, healing streams of God’s presence, grace and power which, apart from some cases recorded in the Old Testament, seem to have mostly been missing since the Fall of humankind.  The prophet Isaiah foretold that Jesus would carry our sicknesses and infirmities: ‘Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows’ (Isa. 53:4), and, in his gospel narrative, Matthew applies this verse specifically to its fulfilment in the healing ministry of Jesus: ‘This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases”‘ (Matt. 8:16-17).  Furthermore, we are healed through the wounds of Jesus: ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed’ (Isa. 53:5).

In his ministry, Jesus laid hands on the sick and they received healing; the power of the Holy Spirit flowed through him to heal people; he rebuked sickness and exercised dominion over it; and he took authority over evil spirits, commanding them to leave people (e.g. Luke 4:39,40; 5:24-25, 6:19, 8:46).  He also invested the same power and authority into his disciples (Matt. 10:1, Luke 9:1-2 and see throughout the book of Acts), so that they could exercise the same kind of kingdom ministry as his own.  Jesus is the same today and so he has the same power and authority to set people free from sickness and oppression in our own day (Heb. 13:8).  Healing is an expression of the active power of the dominion of the kingdom of God over sickness (Luke 9:2, 10:9).

b.      Healing is an expression of God’s character

What we believe about healing is based also on what we believe about God’s character.  God is intrinsically good and so, like any normal human parent would for their child, he desires wholeness for his people rather than sickness.  The Bible says that ‘The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made’ (Ps. 145:8-9; cf. Acts 10:38).

The gospel writers tell us that it was deep compassion that moved Jesus to heal sick people in his ministry.  For example, in Matthew 14:14 it says that ‘he had compassion on them and healed them.’  The Greek word esplagchnisthē used here is a strong word meaning ‘to have the bowels yearn,’ ‘to feel sympathy with,’ ‘to pity,’ and hence to be moved with compassion.  Seeing the suffering of sick people not only provoked an involuntary response of spiritual empathy deep within him, it also then moved him into action in healing them.  Healing is a free gift of God’s grace to us (cf. 1 Cor. 12:9).

c.      Healing is the work of the Father

As the Son of God, Jesus reflected God’s character and therefore also his work in action.  In the context of having healed the invalid by the pool of Bethesda, Jesus expressly stated that healing the sick was the work of the Father: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does’ (John 5:17,19).  These works of the Father were an expression of his will for people to be freed from the bondage of sickness and disease.

d.      Healing is accomplished through the life and power of the Holy Spirit

It was through the anointing of the Holy Spirit (his presence, authority and power) that Jesus and the early disciples ministered healing to the sick (Matt. 10:1,7,8; Mark 5:27-30; Luke 4:18-19, 5:17, 6:19; Acts 10:38).  The Church today has similarly been commissioned and equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit to minister healing to those in need (Mark 16:18).  It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), who gives life and healing to our mortal bodies: ‘he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you’ (Rom. 8:11).  The life-giving presence and power of the Holy Spirit is the secret, essential dynamic of healing.  As Lake affirmed: ‘Beloved, all there is to divine healing, is that the life of God comes back into the part that is afflicted and right away the blood flows, the congested cells respond, and the work is done.’^[1]  Healing comes about simply through the operation of the power of divine life in the particular area of our body that is in need of healing.

The above four points together show us that it is God’s will for the sick to be healed.  Healing is the children’s bread (Matt. 15:21-28 and cf. Matt. 8:2-3).  We can see this also in the simplicity of Jesus’ command to his disciples that they go out and heal the sick as an expression of the coming of God’s kingdom into people’s lives (see Matt. 10:10:1,7-8; Luke 9:1-2, 10:9,17).  Healing is the dominion of the power and will of God over sickness.

e.      So overcome the fear of failure and step out in faith

To obtain healing, we need to be willing to take the risk of stepping out in faith and praying for it.  This means, of course, that we need to be willing to become vulnerable in risking apparent failure if we do not seem to receive an immediate answer to our prayers.  Fear of failure and the consequent passivity this breeds do not see the promises of God fulfilled.

f.       Pray for healing in the name of Jesus

So we pray to God for the sick to be healed, and we do so in the name of Jesus.  The prayer of faith is normally accompanied by the laying on of hands, but may be with or without anointing with oil (see Acts 3:6, 28:8; Jas. 5:14-15).

g.      Follow the Holy Spirit’s leading

Since it is the Holy Spirit’s power which heals the sick, we need to acknowledge his presence with us and to sensitively and humbly follow his leading as we pray.  It may be that he will give us a word of knowledge regarding the sick person’s condition, or he may reveal to us what is hindering their healing, or he may perhaps indicate to us that a spirit (which is causing the condition) needs to be cast out of the person in order for them to receive healing (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7-11).  Furthermore, the person’s healing may take place instantaneously or it may come about progressively over a period of time.

Three areas for healing

There are basically three areas of a person’s life in which healing may be needed:

a.      Physical healing

This is needed when our bodies are sick.  Obviously, we can and should also take advantage of medical advice, medicine and / or surgery in relation to our physical condition (2 Chron. 16:12, Isa. 38:21).  A physical condition may simply be caused by physiological breakdown or damage to our body in the area concerned.  It may be caused by a psychosomatic condition in our soul.  For example, prolonged stress may sometimes cause debilitating migraines.  In such cases, the condition of the soul needs to be addressed, rather than simply the physical symptoms.  A physical condition may also be caused by an unclean spirit which needs to be cast out.

b.      Inner healing of the soul (i.e. the mind and heart)

This refers to the healing of inner emotional wounds which we may suffer from time to time.  Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted (Isa. 61:1).  This is addressed in page 03 of this blog.

As stated above, an ongoing issue in a person’s soul (e.g. prolonged stress or bitterness) may eventually cause physical symptoms.  In such cases, the condition of their soul needs to be addressed and, as this happens successfully, the physical symptoms often disappear quickly.

c.      Freedom from spiritual oppression (often called deliverance)

This refers to a person being freed from the tormenting effects of an unclean spirit in his/her life.  This spirit may be tormenting their inner soul or afflicting their physical body with sickness.  Jesus and the apostles of the early Church discerned spirits and cast them out of people on many occasions.

Various manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s grace often occurring in healing ministry

In 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 we are given a list of some of the most common ways in which the Holy Spirit manifests his grace in ministry.  Some of these occur often in the practice of healing ministry, so we need to learn to be open to seeking and allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest these expressions of his working through us (1 Cor. 12:31, 14:1).  These gifts of grace were vested permanently by God into the ministry of the Church (Rom. 11:29), so we should still expect them to operate today.

a.      Praying in tongues

·         This is one of the ways in which the gift of tongues can manifest itself and be expressed on a personal level (1 Cor. 14:14).  Praying in tongues helps us to release the presence of the Holy Spirit within us and he can then pray through us (cf. Rom. 8:26-27).

b.      A word of knowledge

·         this may indicate the particular condition that the Holy Spirit is intending to heal;

·         it may indicate the specific part of the body being affected;

·         it may sometimes be experienced as pain in a particular part of the body in the person ministering the healing, which then leaves them as that part of the sick person’s body is prayed for;

·         it may indicate a particular issue or sin hindering the healing.

c.      Discernment of spirits

·         this indicates that the condition is caused by a spirit which needs to be cast out;

·         it may indicate the particular part of the body which is being afflicted by the spirit (a form of the word of knowledge).

d.      Gifts of healing

·         this is often associated with healings which are a slow process, rather than instantaneous miracles;

·         the person ministering may often be used by the Holy Spirit to bring healing to certain kinds of conditions, rather than others.

e.      The workings of power

·         these are often called ‘miracles;’

·         they happen when the Holy Spirit works powerfully in a situation bringing resolution to the issue, often instantaneously;

·         so they can be spectacular and the resulting testimony is often quite moving;

·         either the person ministering or the sick person (or both of them or, in fact, sometimes neither of them) may feel the Holy Spirit’s power flowing through them or coming into them to heal (cf. Mark 5:30);

·         it may be experienced as a surge of spiritual power, a feeling like the flow of electricity, as heat or coldness, as numbness, …

f.       Faith

·         in specific situations, the person ministering experiences and knows that s/he has the specific faith needed to overcome a particular condition;

·         sometimes the gift of faith may be expressed in the form of command (Mark 11:22-24).

Share your testimony and pray for others in need

When we experience the healing power of God in our lives, we find it easier to then step out in faith to pray for others in need.  Experiencing it for ourselves not only gives us an undeniable and living testimony, it also builds into us a deep, immovable conviction that God CAN and DESIRES to heal people and make them whole.  In fact, some people who have been involved in healing ministry began their own journey in this by being healed themselves.  The testimony of those who have been healed can be a tremendous encouragement to those who are sick to believe God for their own healing.

      So if you have been healed, tell others of what God did for you and step out in faith and start to pray for others to be healed.

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[1]  Liardon, R.  “Science of Divine Healing” in John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings, Laguna Hills: Roberts Liardon Ministries, p.343.  Used with permission.