Four Basic Types Of Healing
Effective healing ministry involves an understanding of the basic types of conditions that require healing, and the appropriate prayer methods by which each condition may be addressed.
A real problem in the ministry of healing is the tendency to oversimplify—the making of one's own limited experience into a rule or doctrine. In the past, priests and ministers were often trained to treat most problems as though they were moral problems that could be solved by will power, through the help of grace. A better understanding of various types of healing is essential to an effective ministry in this area. There are four basic kinds of healing, differentiated by the kinds of sickness that afflict us and the underlying causes of those sicknesses. Unless we know these differences, we will not be able to help most people. We might, in fact, harm them by insisting on a particular diagnosis and a particular method of prayer, when a different diagnosis and type of treatment and prayer are needed. In praying for the sick, then, we must understand that there are three types of illness, each requiring a different kind of prayer: (1) sickness of spirit caused by personal sin; (2) emotional illness and problems (e.g., anxiety) caused by past hurts; (3) physical illness caused by disease or accident. In addition, any of the above can be caused by demonic oppression. As a consequence, there are at least four basic prayer methods that must be understood in order to exercise a complete healing ministry: (1) prayer for repentance from personal sin; (2) prayer for inner healing or "?healing of memories?" for emotional problems; (3) prayer for physical healing from physical illness; and (4) prayer for deliverance (exorcism) from demonic oppression. Sometimes a person will need all of these forms of prayer. For example, a middle-aged woman may ask for prayer for arthritis (physical healing), who was deeply hurt by her father when she was young (inner healing), has never forgiven him (repentance), and has not been able to relate properly to her husband (inner healing). In her search for answers, she has attended séances or consulted a "?spirit-guide,?" who has given her guidance through automatic writing (deliverance). Sacraments and Rites. In sacramentally oriented churches, sacramental acts are used for these same four types of healing. (1) The sacrament of reconciliation (formerly termed penance) effects repentance. (2) The sacrament of reconciliation can also effect inner healing. (3) The sacrament of anointing of the sick effects physical healing. (4) The rite of exorcism effects deliverance from demonic oppression or possession. Medicine. God's healing can also come through the ministration of the medical profession. In the past, there seems to have been a division in the minds of many Christians between divine healing and natural or medicinal healing. Such a division is unnecessary and can be damaging to the patient, who may be reluctant to consult a physician because he or she thinks that depending on medicine or therapy indicates a lack of faith. The truth is that all healing derives ultimately from the Creator God and is under the control of God's sovereign will.