I thought the following lesson on healing prayer in March 2024. As I was writing the lesson the Lord spoke to me and said that I needed to do the following things:
- Before it begins, declare out loud to the participants that people will be healed.
- Then have everyone pray for one another. They needed to know healing is about the Lord’s and His nature, not an academic exercise about knowing the right verses or saying the prayer in a specific way.
- Then teach the lesson.
I (nervously) declared that people would be healed. We then gathered in groups of 3 and started to pray for one another. As I received prayer my jaw muscle was healed! I pray this testimony and teaching builds your faith and that you see many signs, wonders and healings done in Jesus name!
Healing
My belief is that healing is provided for within the atonement of Jesus on the cross paid for the healing of your body, soul and spirit. I’ll build the case based on the core idea that we are going “back to Eden” on new Earth, where there is healing, no pain and no death.
I’ll also cover our call as believers to pray for the sick, the importance of our faith when we pray, and the five step prayer model.
In the beginning …
Man and woman are created. In the garden of Eden is the tree of life.
Genesis 2:7-9
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
But man and woman rebel against God and sin. They will now die, and even the ground (Earth itself) is cursed:
Genesis 3:17-19:
And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
The Lord then says something interesting about the tree of life.
Genesis 3:22-24
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
At the end of Genesis 3, man and woman now live in a fallen world. They will now die, and even the earth is cursed such that plans now grow thorns and thistles. (Presumably the tree of life does not have thorns and thistles, I think this is part of the contrast.) They are kicked out of the garden of Eden and cutoff from the tree of life.
Where does the tree of life go? Where is Eden?
In the end …
A new heaven and new earth. New Jerusalem comes down from the heavens.
Revelation 21:1-2
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
On new earth, there is no pain, no death.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
The tree of life makes a return, as it comes down from New Heaven as part of New Jerusalem. We (believers) are going “back to the future”! Back to Eden.
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lambthrough the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of lifewith its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
On new earth, we will be free from death, free from pain. Our body, soul and spirit is saved from death and we are given eternal life.
In the meantime …
What do we do now? It’s not the beginning, and it’s not the end. Yet Jesus still sends out the 12 disciples to heal:
Matthew 10:1
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Jesus also sends out the 72, and gives them the same direction to heal.
Luke 10:1
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
Luke 10:9
Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Who are the 72? We do not know. And I think that is the point. My belief is that the 72 are representative of all believers, particularly the laity.
The kingdom of God has come near to you! In Matthew’s gospel he calls it the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3). We have seen that there is healing in new heaven and on new earth. And Jesus says (paraphrasing) that the healing power that is available in heaven has come to earth for a moment when people are healed.
Should I pray for the sick?
Jesus tells his disciples to make new disciples, and give them the same instructions He gave them:
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
If the disciples were to pray for the sick, are we to pray too? Let us pray with faith:
James 5:13-16
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The Lord equips us, we are given spiritual gifts:
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Will anything happen when I pray?
Elijah is used as an example.
James 5:17-18
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Jesus tells us our faith matters:
Matthew 17:14-20
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Speak to the mountain! Don’t think a prayer to the mountain. Speak to the disease, illness or injury! Be healed in Jesus’ name! (See also Luke 17:6.)
God tells Ezekiel to prophesy and speak to dry bones:
Ezekiel 37:4-7
Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
Joshua spoke to the sun and it stopped:
Joshua 10:12-13
On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
What we say matters:
Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Jesus tells us healings will accompany those who believe:
Mark 16:15-18
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Jesus also tells us even greater things than He did will his believers do:
John 14:12-14
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Is it Fun?
Sometimes! The 72 were happy when they returned to Jesus:
Luke 10:17-20
“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Five step prayer model
The five step prayer model [Clark, Power, p.91] is a framework used to make people comfortable praying for the sick. It is not required for people to be healed, but it is useful to us as we minister healing:
- Interview
- Are you sick?
- What are you sick with?
- When did it start?
- Do they need to forgive anyone?
- Do they need to repent?
- Prayer Selection
- Listen for the Lord to tell you what to pray for and how to pray
- Do you ask for healing?
- Do you command healing?
- Prayer Ministry
- Be thankful in prayer
- Pray for healing
- Re-interview & Continue to pray
- Do they feel any better?
- Test it out: if your arm was injured, can they move it now?
- Do they want more prayer? If so, go back to step 1 and repeat
- If they received a partial healing additional healing can come from more prayer
- Post Prayer Suggestions
- Point them to medical care as neededHave them continue to fight for their healingBe encouraging
- Demonstrate the love of Christ
Follow on Reading:
- Art Thomas, Paid in Full
- An honest guide about praying for the sick. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. Includes questions and exercises at the end of every chapter. This is an incredible book. I highly suggest it.
- Randy Clark, Power to Heal
- A biblical backing for healing prayer, and includes the five-step prayer model.