The Five Steps To Healing Prayer (one model)

 

This is only one method of helping you get started and be in tune with what God is wanting to do through you.

 

God can heal in any way He wants! He doesn't limit Himself to just one way of healing people.

 

Why should you?

 

Remember, our prayers cannot heal us, the amount of prayer we say cannot heal us and even fasting cannot heal us. Only Jesus can! However, we can pray and fast to be in communication with God so the lines of communication are open and we know how to proceed, to know His will. Without His guidance, we cannot do anything!

 

If you remember in Mark 9:15-30 and Matthew 17:15-20 the Gospel records the story of a young man possessed by a demon. Jesus' disciples were unable to rebuke the evil spirit who was in that young man. There were two replies Jesus gave as to why that happened. When they came to Him later and asked why they were unable to drive out the spirit, Jesus attributed it to the fact they had so little faith and also He replied that this kind can only come forth by prayer and fasting. Too often we rely on magic formulas for healing. This will never work! Only total dependence and seeking guidance from God will produce the results we are seeking.

 

Now after just stating that there are no magic formulas I want to make clear that there are some practical steps to healing; things which aid the process. I will present five steps here that we have found to be helpful in helping us and the person coming to God feel a little more comfortable and confident in the process.

 

STEP ONE: THE INTRODUCTION

 

This is where we introduce ourselves and ask a few questions. It is here that we answer the question, "Where does it hurt?" You can start by asking something as simple as, "What would you like us to pray for this evening?" This is not a medical evaluation; it is just a general, couple minute long dialogue to determine what the person would like God to do for them. It may not even be a physical ailment that has brought them to seek a "healing."

 

STEP TWO: IDENTIFICATION & CLARICFICATION

 

This is where we attempt to determine the root of the person's problem. It is here that we answer the question, "Why does this person have this condition?" Believe it or not the majority of people you pray for will not know the true root of their problem. You need to listen to the person and to what God may be telling you on a supernatural or spiritual level. While you are listening to the person start silently asking God for insight into the actual cause of the problem they are presenting. Ask questions of the person if it helps. Not everything needs to come from supernatural revelation from God, but some things might.

 

Sometimes symptoms like lower back pain can indicate deeper relationship issues. I know from personal experience that I have come for healing of back pain with no results. Later I discovered I had some hidden issues in my relationship with my mother that I was not even aware of.  Once I let go of those issues healing came quickly. Sometimes physical healing of an individual requires healing in other areas of their life first. Root causes can be very complex and hard to get to, especially if they are caused by problems in several areas of our life at one time.

 

The Holy Spirit is both our doctor and at the same time the "cure." We do not need to know all the details for Him to be present to heal. When you look into the scriptures you will find that neither Jesus nor His disciples "interrogated" anyone before they healed them.

 

STEP THREE: HOW TO PRAY: LISTENING TO GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS

 

There are many different kinds of prayer. Many types of tools God gives us to use. Some of them are Prayers of Petition, Prayers of Intercession & Words of Commanding (Jesus told us to speak to the mountain...)

 

We need to remember it is not our responsibility to heal the person before us. Only God through His Holy Spirit can heal. That is one of the secrets of healing prayer. It comes from God having already touched our spirit and causing us to agree with Him about His will for this person. It is the Holy Spirit that is present for healing. He comes on us and shows us the Father's will for this person and He also comes upon the person for whom we are praying and brings healing to them. It is His responsibility!

 

The healing prayers we speak are usually of two kinds. Those directed toward God are us asking Him how we should intercede for the person before us. We must pray according to His will for any prayers to be answered. The other kind are those which we receive from God and speak directly to a condition and sometimes even a demon as God encourages or instructs us.

 

We must believe that He hears us and cares about the person we are praying for and their needs. Only then may we approach Him with confidence and ask how we should pray. If we are not sure how to pray specifically many times we will pray silently in our mind something like, "Lord, I know you want to heal this person. Please show me how to pray for them."

 

Many people insist that you must speak in "tongues" to pray effectively for the sick. I have searched the scriptures and have not found anywhere that links effectively praying for the sick with speaking in tongues. So if you do you can, if you don't I wouldn't worry about it. As far as I can tell speaking in tongues is something you get to do, it's not something you have to do.

 

Sometimes the most effective intercessory prayers are also the simplest. "Lord, please heal John of his condition." If God has blessed you with the gift to speak eloquent prayers, go with it. Just remember you can pray eloquent prayers that God does not answer. Be sensitive to how He is leading you. Sometimes we just need to keep it simple and straightforward.

 

Some of the most effective prayers come from the people themselves. If I feel the person would be comfortable doing so I will ask the person to pray for their own healing and we will simply agree with them for it. We find that if the person has faith for their healing that they may be healed because of it. That way they see it is God, not me or another "human" that healed them. This is one of the best kinds of healing.

 

Jesus would ask people things like, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" If they didn't have faith He would use the opportunity to instruct them about faith for healing and then He would heal them. Since we are to be like Jesus and to follow His example then I would suggest that we do likewise.

 

There are times when God gives me a sense that I should command a sickness or ailment to leave. In this instance it is usually a short and direct comment. We will usually lay hands upon the area afflicted and say something like, "I break the power of this disease in the name of Jesus", or "In the name of Jesus I command you to leave John's body and never return." These prayers or commands are usually very short and very effective. If you look through the instances of healing recorded in the Bible you will see that Jesus frequently used this technique to drive out demons or heal the sick.

 

STEP FOUR: THE ACTUAL PRAYER

 

After you have decided how you need to pray we come to the "How" part of the process. Usually, if the person is agreeable to it, we will anoint them with oil (pure olive oil is just fine) and lay hands upon them near the afflicted area.

 

CAUTION: Especially with women or small children if there is a malady of a more intimate nature, like breast cancer, ask her husband or another woman to place their hands near the area in need then place your hands on top of theirs. It is of utmost importance to treat people with respect and dignity. It is not imperative to touch the actual spot. You can just lay hands upon their head, but most people prefer to have you address the affected area if possible.

 

After we have anointed them with oil and lay hands on the person, I usually pray out loud something quite simple to invite the Holy Spirit to come and minister to the person needing healing. Something as simple as "Holy Spirit, I invite you to come upon our sister Susan and release your healing power in her." Again, it need not be eloquent although there is no reason that it can not be. Just be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit is leading.

 

When the Holy Spirit touches them people respond in many different ways. None of these is wrong or inappropriate in and of themselves. Some people fall over or down (just help them down slowly so they do not hurt themselves), some may shake, cry, laugh, scream loudly. The list of physical and emotional manifestations is quite lengthy. Suffice it to say be ready for almost anything and don't show disapproval. It is not for you to approve or disapprove of what the Lord may be doing with these individuals.

 

Physical or emotional manifestations are not a necessary thing, but the fact is they do occur when the Holy Spirit is at work. It really shouldn't surprise us that these things accompany the healing of deep inner hurts, the receiving of forgiveness for horrible sins, the remembrance of painful traumatic experiences in a person's life or the overwhelming joy of their first encounter with a God that truly loves and accepts them in a way they have never experienced before. Unusual emotional and physical manifestations are common in scripture, church history and in today's church. Most importantly we must realize that these things do not ensure healing will occur. Healing is an internal work of the Holy Spirit.

 

We do not pray for these experiences, we only pray that God's power would come and heal them. The Holy Spirit knows what the person has need of, so don't get to overly concerned with "diagnosing" it correctly. We must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit during these healing sessions. God will help us through it, if only we will let Him.

 

STEP FIVE: POST-PRAYER DIRECTION

 

When a person is healed it is extremely important to help them understand what they need to do to "keep" their healing. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more." This is great advice for all of us.

 

The person needs to understand that the enemy will come and try to steal their healing from them and that they need to stand up for themselves or come back and have you stand with them to keep it from happening. Satan is a liar and he will say whatever he needs to for you to doubt God. Satan does not want anyone believing that God has healed them or forgiven them. He will use friends, relatives or circumstances to take away your healing. I have seen it time and again where a person was healed from some ailment they had for a long time. Completely, unquestionably healed. They went about their life doing what they couldn't before. Then they share it with a friend or relative and are promptly told, "That's not possible, you can't be healed of that. Everyone in your family has that and no one has ever been "healed" of that." Almost immediately they lose faith, they start to question whether what they are experiencing is "real." Within a short time they are right back where they started from.

 

That is why Post-Prayer direction is so important. They need to get involved in a group of people that will support them emotionally and spiritually. Especially for the period immediately following a healing they need people that will stand by them through the tough times as well as the good. Whether this is a church congregation, a small group or just some good Christian friends; somewhere they need to be accountable and accounted for.

 

You may be the only person standing between them and annihilation from Satan. God expects you to help your brothers and sisters in whatever way you can. Again, I can not stress enough that we should not pray for the needs of others if we are not willing to help them in whatever way we are able.

 

If someone was not healed we need to let them know that God still loves them and is concerned about them. We should encourage them to seek more prayer. If possible direct them to the prayer team or a small group where they can get longer-term prayer. These people also need to get involved with a group of people that will support them emotionally and spiritually.