Physical Healing

The ministry of prayer for physical healing involves a process of listening, physical contact where appropriate, and prayer with confidence and thanksgiving.

It is probably more difficult to believe God for physical healing than for any other type. Christians are sure that prayer can bring people to repentance or change a person's character, but many are reluctant to pray specifically for physical healing. Such prayer requires spiritual courage. It is, however, a simple process and usually takes less time and preparation than prayer for inner healing. (1) Listening. The first step in praying for healing is to listen in order to find out the nature of the problem. There are two specific things for which to listen: (1) what the person perceives as the problem; and (2) what God might disclose about the problem through the word of knowledge. One ear should be tuned to the sick person and the other to God. Sometimes the knowledge from God comes in the form of definite mental images or verbal impressions. In many more cases it comes in a form similar to intuition. The person praying receives a sense of what is causing the problem. In addition to insight about the problem, God gives other direction when we are careful to listen. Among those things we learn to listen for are whether or not to pray, and what to pray for. There are multitudes of sick people. Some of them are not ready to be healed, even when they ask for prayer; perhaps we are not the right people to pray for them. We should pray only for those persons to whom God directs us. One indication that God's healing power is present is a sensation of warmth, similar to a gentle flow of electricity coursing through the hands. Sometimes there is an inward assurance that we are to pray for a particular person. Certain people experience a sense of peace or joy when they are supposed to pray and a feeling of heaviness or darkness when they are not. Agnes Sanford writes:

It is not the duty of every Christian to pray for everyone. Our prayers will help some and will not help others, for reasons beyond our understanding or control. Only the Holy Spirit can safely direct our healing power. And if we will listen to the voice of God within, we will be shown for whom to pray. God directs us most joyfully through our own desires. The impulse of love that leads us to the doorway of a friend is the voice of God within and we need not be afraid to follow it. (The Healing Light [Plainfield, N.J.: Logos International, 1976], 86.)

Even when no clear guidance is received, it is appropriate to pray for healing. If a person asks for prayer, it can be assumed that he or she has been prompted by the Lord to request this help. Also, when we sense compassion rising in us toward the person requesting prayer, we should respond to his or her need. When listening to the person describing the problem for which he or she desires prayer, we should be alert to the possibility that healing may be needed at a deeper level than the level the person is expressing. There may be a need for repentance; and the sufferer may wish to take part in the rite of reconciliation. If the listener discerns that the person needs deliverance, it is best to request the help of several people experienced in this kind of ministry. In addition to listening to the person describe his or her symptoms, it is important to hear what the Holy Spirit might tell us about the nature of the affliction. The conviction that Jesus Christ and his Spirit are the ultimate source of the life to which we are about to minister can give us confidence that our Lord will enlighten us about how to pray effectively for that person. (2) Laying On of Hands. Laying hands on the sick is a traditional Christian practice. Jesus promises that those who believe in him "?will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well?" (Mark 16:18). If the person for whom you are praying objects, it is best to respect his or her feelings and maintain a slight distance. However, both the Bible and practical experience verify that healing power often flows from the person praying to the person for whom he or she prays through physical touch. Jesus sensed that healing virtue left him when the woman with a hemorrhage touched the hem of his robe (Luke 8:46). On a purely human level, physical touch can be therapeutic. Love and concern are more tangibly expressed with touch than with words. (3) The Prayer. Prayer for the sick can be spontaneous or prepared in advance. One can assume any comfortable position—sitting, kneeling, or standing. The object is to put both parties to the prayer at ease in order that they can forget themselves and concentrate on the presence of God. Ordinarily the prayer for healing involves (1) the presence of God, and (2) the petition. Knowing that only the Lord can heal, we focus our spiritual consciousness on him and his love for us. The prayer for healing should be as specific as possible. Visualize clearly what we are asking God to do. For example, when praying for the healing of a bone, we can ask the Lord to remove infection, stimulate the growth of the cells needed to restore the bone, and fill in any breaks. Being specific in making request has the added benefit of enlarging the faith of the person praying as he or she sees in his or her imagination the healing taking place. The prayer should be positive. Instead of emphasizing the state of illness, focus on the body as it will be when it has been healed. Positive prayer encourages the sufferer and builds faith. (4) With Confidence. Jesus taught that a person who has no doubt in his heart can command a mountain to fall into the sea and it will obey him (Mark 11:22–23). Faith to believe for healing is a spiritual gift. However, the Bible does not teach that only those with this gift should pray for healing. Jesus assured his disciples that if they asked, believing that they had their request, it would be theirs (Mark 11:24). Knowing that it is Jesus' nature and his desire to heal, we can ask him to do so with confidence. (5) With Thanksgiving. Paul exhorts believers not to worry about anything, "?but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God?" (Phil. 4:6). Thanksgiving finds its source in the assurance that God hears and answers prayer. John writes: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14–15) Thanking God for the answer as a part of the healing prayer can nurture faith and encourage the sick person to believe God for healing. (6) Prayer in the Spirit. In some situations, it is difficult to know how to pray. At these times, we can turn our prayer over to the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues, knowing that "?the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express?" (Rom. 8:26). When time constraints do not allow the minister to speak personally with each person who has come for prayer, he or she can lay hands on each person in turn, praying in the Spirit, trusting the Spirit to direct the prayer. This can also be done when the sick person speaks another language and cannot indicate the nature of his or her problem to the person praying.