Divine Healing: a Work of the Holy Spirit

I am continuing my blog series on the Holy Spirit. In this one, I want to share my experience with praying for healing. I prefer to use the term “Divine Healing” to describe this work. Often people refer to faith healers, a favorite term among Pentecostals, but I prefer to avoid this term because it implies that those doing this ministry carry around a gift for healing others. I think it is better to remember that the Holy Spirit is the true agent of this work. There are people both ordained and lay that have learned to minister to those needing healing and I believe that the appropriate term is that they have a “healing ministry.” Perhaps, the greatest thing I have learned is that God desires to touch and even heal people sometimes dramatically, but this demands a willingness to be used for such work. Like intercessory prayer, evangelism, and other acts of ministry, this is something we feel called and anointed to do, but doing such ministries is something best learned from others who do it. While I have seen many healings through prayer, I want to say right up front that I have no explanation why some are healed, and others are not. I agree with John Wimber that there is no answer to this question and that anyone who says they know is simply wrong. This is a mystery known only to God. Wimber was one of my primary teachers in the healing ministry. What I absolutely disagree with is the teaching by many Pentecostal faith healers that people who are not healed don’t have enough faith. This statement often makes a victim out of a person who issuffering. It is clear from Jesus’ ministry that faith plays a part in healing such as his inability to heal many in his hometown because of “their lack of faith.” The story tells us that they had low expectations of his ability to work God’s healing because of their familiarity with him. But it is also true that Jesus at times initiated healing without such faith present in the recipient such as the man at the pool of Bethsaida. I like the story of the man lowered through the roof and laid at Jesus’ feet. When Jesus declared that “your sins are forgiven,” the pharisees responded with “only God can forgive sins.” Jesus’ response is revealing. “In order that you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive, I say to the crippled man take of you bed and walk.” Importantly, he shows us that such works demonstrate the father’s willingness to work and Jesus’ authority to do so. When this occurs, believers’ faith grows stronger while often non-believers try to explain the healing away or any supernatural aspect of it. All this remains a mystery of God’s working. Just as the sacraments are instruments and means of God’s grace manifest so too are healing prayers. I put this in the context of Jesus’ mission to show us the Father’s love. Those who have experienced Divine healing have no doubt about its truth! It was such a miracle that brought me closer and deeper into a trust of God’s goodness and love and opened my heart and mind to the Holy Spirit’s work. This was a dramatic healing of a toddler who nearly drowned and was not responding to efforts of resuscitation. I laid hands on the child and in desperation said, “You cannot let this child die!” Immediately he came back to life. Once you have seen such an event, you no longer believe the statement made by many Christians that God does not heal today as in the New Testament. Dispensationalists teach this even though Jesus explicitly taught his followers that greater things than he did they would do. The New Testament shows this happening in the ministry of not only the Apostles but also other believers. This is how I learned to do healing ministry. I would start with a teaching form Jesus’ ministry that demonstrated this work. Then I would invite a person to come forward who desired prayers for healing. I would begin by asking a few basic questions about their need. I never assumed that what I observed about them was what they needed. I would share with them that healing is not something that I do, but what the Holy Spirit does. Then I would pray “Come Holy Spirit and bring your healing power to this your child.” John Wimber taught me to wait until I saw evidence of the Spirit working on them. Perhaps John’s most helpful suggestion was not to close my eyes when I prayed so I could pay attention to what the Spirit was doing. Throughout the Scriptures we learn that the Spirit manifests his presence in different ways. Usually, I would see this start with the person relaxing and experiencing peace. Sometimes they would feel heat, or some other sensation, or they would say “I feel God’s love.” Then I would encourage them to “receive this and let this spread to their whole body.” Note this is our soul and spirit cooperating with the Holy Spirit in allowing healing to take place. Often, I would feel heat from the person in the area that needed healing. At times they were not aware of this until I would say, I feel something here and then they would acknowledge it. At times God had a healing that they were not expecting. That’s it? Yes, that was and is still my basic method. I follow Spirit’s lead. Sometimes healing would begin but was not complete. I would advise the person, “Get into every prayer line you can find.” Some Pentecostals teach Jesus only prayed for a single person more than once on one occasion. This was the man born blind. This unfortunately teaches people to be reticent about asking for more prayer because they do not want to use up their chances. This is an example of teachers taking a single example from the scriptures and universalizing it. I believe in having more opportunities for healing ministry not less. Last year, I received a call from a woman who told me that her mother had asked her to try to find me. Her mother had been a healing mission at Christ Church, San Antonio that I led many years ago. She was brought there by friends (remember the roof guys?) after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. As I prayed for her, I knew something was happening, but I didn’t know what. Her mother told her of her healing that night and that she had never had a chance to thank me for what had happened. It took several weeks of doctors’ visits and tests before her doctor confirmed the healing. He said, “I don’t know how to explain this, but there is no longer any sign of the cancer.” Her response as the daughter told me was, “Well doctor, I can!” She told him her experience, and he responded, “I’ve seen too many things like this that my training cannot explain. I’ve learned to accept it when it happens.” Note that the woman assumed that I was aware of what all had happened to her. Sometimes I sense the Spirit working, but other times I don’t. Let me close with these observations. First, the sacraments are not magic, they are an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace. So, it is with healing. Second, most clergy today have no experience with carrying out such a ministry, and there are fewer people around who model it. I know of no seminary that even teaches that such healings are a part of ministry, even the seminary I support. Over the years, I have had many clergy tell me that they think what happens in such healing services is psychological and when something happens the person’s mind causes it. I have learned to respond with Dumbledore’s famous statement to Harry Potter. When Harry is doubting his supernatural encounter with his departed teacher, he asks, “Is this real Professor or is it only happening inside my head?” The Wizard replies, “Just because it is happening in your head Harry doesn’t mean it isn’t real.” Personally, I would like to see especially Episcopal clergy value the healing ministry as much as they value social justice. I know several who do, but many more could learn. If you are interested, you can start with “Power Healing” by John Wimber. This is a very good introduction to the work of Divine Healing. It based on sound Biblical scholarship and full of practical hands-on ministry experience. Learn and the Spirit will guide you.