Healing as Seen From the Spiritual Perspective
My pal Nor’west Prophetic came to visit me in November but he forgot to bring shorts. I broke my coffeemaker a couple days after he arrived so a trip to the Goodwill store was in order.
After a few minutes of browsing through the store he found his shorts, I picked up a slightly used Mr. Coffee and we headed for the checkout. Wouldn’t you just know it — the woman in front of me at the checkout stand was in a wheelchair. I made small talk with her before she left and I thought, “This would be a good opportunity to teach my friend about healing.”
Now, it’s not like he’s never seen anyone healed — he has. He just hasn’t had as many opportunities as I have and I promised him a one-on-one healing lesson which I never made good on before I left Washington. So here was an opportunity sitting right in front of us.
We followed the woman outside and introduced ourselves. I told her I was teaching my friend about healing. (Great cover story by the way – and it’s not a lie.) We asked if we might pray with her for healing. She was delighted that we asked. It turns out she was diagnosed with polio more than 60 years ago. We prayed for a few minutes, but she showed no outward signs of being healed. She thanked us and we went on our way.
On the way to the car I told Nor’west, “We just tossed another log on her fire.”
He replied, “Tell me more.”
(He says that a lot.)
We had a discussion in the car about the process of healing. I explained that contrary to what most of us have been taught — healing is not usually a “one time” thing that happens to us. It’s generally an ongoing process. Even the miracles of healing we occasionally witness are not usually what they appear to be. Let me explain what I mean by that:
I read a comment the other day on a Facebook thread that someone made about healing. They said, “All the healing in the Bible was instant healing.”
I didn’t correct this person, but if you want to know the truth about how healing happened when Jesus and the disciples prayed for people, I would suggest reading the healing accounts from scriptures carefully — without adding your own preconceived ideas to the text. You’ll probably notice that not all the healing accounts were instant miracles. In the vast majority of cases the bible simply says Jesus healed a multitude of people. There is no description of how most of these people were healed and no indication of whether the healings were gradual or instantaneous. The lack of details about how they were healed leaves this issue open for discussion.
Most of us perceive miracles of healing as something that happens to us once, which never needs to happen again. While it is true that a broken bone for example, might be healed miraculously and the individual may never have a problem with it again, cases like these are in the minority. If your condition happens to be asthma, insomnia, or irritable bowel syndrome, you might be healed of the condition once, only to have the symptoms return a few months later.
It is my belief that many of these conditions are caused by evil spirits, while things like broken bones are not. The fever that Peter’s mother had which Jesus rebuked seemed to be an example of a sickness caused by a spirit (see Luke 4:39). (If the fever were not some sort of spirit, why was it rebuked?) Once we have been set free of a spirit of illness, there is no guarantee that the same or a different spirit won’t return later to afflict us. The return of the spirit brings a return of the symptoms. The return of the symptoms requires another round of prayer — which is why I see healing more as an ongoing process than a single event.
Healing is much like the process of sanctification, which the Holy Spirit does not accomplish in us all at once. The transformational work of God, which creates Christ-like character in us, is a gradual process. While there are often dramatic events during the work of sanctification like an alcoholic whose desire to drink is removed instantly — the entire work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes takes time. His work of healing is much the same way. We might have an occasional instant breakthrough in one area or another, but the greater healing process is always being worked out over time.
Few of us are able to see God’s supernatural work of healing as it happens. And because we can’t see it — we often assume nothing is happening when we pray for someone who shows no outward signs of healing. But if we were able to see in the spirit, we would be amazed.
When we pray even the smallest, most feeble prayer for someone — we release a measure of God’s glory upon the one we’re praying for. Angels are released to combat evil spirits, wounds inflicted by the enemy are visibly healed in their spirit and the countenance of their spirit is visibly changed, even if nothing appears to be happening outwardly. I’ve seen these things happen when I pray for people. Blake Healy’s book The Veil confirmed the things I’ve seen and it gave me a better understanding of what actually takes place when I pray.
If we only knew the mighty and wonderful things that were taking place in the spirit, we would not think so little of our prayers.
Praying Medic, I will try and send you a copy of my friend June Newman Davis (now in heaven with Jesus) Scripture Keys for Kingdom Living and Scripture Keys Power manual. Father sent she and her husband Norm all over the world from 1978 to 1999 doing the work of an apostle and teaching and healing and delivering the sick and oppresses and she has great teaching about this very thing yours addressing esp. in the POWER manual.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scripture-Keys-for-Kingdom-Living/217933064969615
love in Jesus, brother mark powers terry
fears, weakness, traumas, apathy, complacency, bitterness resentment unforgiveness anger self hate self-pity rebellion deception unbelief and on and on prevent answers for arriving like Daniel and his warfare and angels from bringing the answers so THIS IS AN EYE-OPENER and makes you want to stay closer to !
http://www.divinerevelations.info/how_satan_stops_our_prayers/index.htm
The healing process is an opportunity to declare daily His Kingdom-His Will–and I know that His will is I be whole—-beloved, concerning all things I desire thee to prosper, and to be in health, even as thy soul doth prosper–I’ve had one instantaneous healing, but the others see to be a process of faith and I’ve had my bad days—When it’s all said and done–every breath we take is because of Him.
I have been healed on numerous occasions, each was unique and there was more going on than just physical healing, in each instance. Our Father is an economist. Have also prayed and seen others healed. There have been times when I have not been given the faith to pray for some so I just leave them in HIS hands asking for the person HE knows is the one called to be used to heal them; or that HE heal them one on one, as I have been healed without others praying for or with me on occasions. Have also sensed they will not be healed and why. There have been times when I have been healed and something came back and I was given the knowing, I am to stand in the gap for others who are going though that illness, having previously been healed, knowing of HIS healing power personally; I call this living intercession.
Have been asking to be healed of cataracts, one is particular is growing quickly. I am legally blind without my glasses. Would appreciate your prayers… as I am moved to ask you, my friend. I join my faith with yours… and those who pray with you.
I’m praying for you, Bren. <3
Wonderful insights my friend! I enjoyed this.
Great perspective! This was a huge encouragement to me. I’ve been fighting to stay in the game because I haven’t “seen” anything happen. The enemy is never too far away to plant seeds of doubts after you step out to pray. Thanks again!
Grace and Love
Chris
All the online videos I have seen involved just one or two really short prayers / commands and the person is healed.
I am of course delighted of God’s power demonstrated in these videos but l often wonder if some people don’t get healed instantly. So PM thanks for this post. It helps me manage my expectation and to keep going.
So do you just keep repeating the same command over and over again during those few minutes you prayed over this lady?
This is more “Good News” to me as I believe that I have been in a process of healing for the last three years. That was when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. One of the first things The Lord spoke to me when I asked Him to heal me was “You’re not aloud to hold grudges anymore”. In that instant I understood it to be one in the same as unforgiveness and the key to being healed was love. One of my big prayers is that I would be changed by the love of God. It has to be supernatural because how well I can love is so limited but Gods love is infinite. In the beginning of all this, fear was huge. At some point I realized that for a long time I was afraid that I would get cancer. Like Job, what I feared had come upon me. I asked God to deliver me from my fear. He was kind and showed me Ps 91 and I gained some courage. I’m not sure how much later but during worship some one had an exhortation from the scriptures about the ten lepers that Jesus healed and only one came back and thanked Him. I responded so immediately, standing and praising and thanking God for delivering me from fear. I sat down and thought “what just happened” but the impact was sovereign and complete. I have not feared since that day. Recently, I discovered The Passion Translation. In the book of Luke when Gabriel visits Mary he says “Do not yield to your fear.” In other translations this reads “Do not be afraid.” or “Fear not.” And I always understood it to mean “Just don’t do it.” But TPT seems to give validity to there may be something to fear but don’t yield to it. Don’t be motivated by it. Don’t let it have it’s work in you. Don’t live from that place. I can see that I think differently. It’s a simple thing for cells to respond to their creator but I think that dealing with the human heart is a little more complicated. I still have physical things that bug me. Sometimes I follow Smith Wigglesworth’s example and slug the area that’s bothering me and rebuke the demon of cancer because honestly, It does feel like a presence. I know that one day I will experience a complete manifestation of physical healing and I’ll be like the woman who touched Jesus’ garment and felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. I’ve wondered if it would be a gradual thing and one day I would realize I am well or if it would be suddenly. But until then I’m pushing through the crowd so I can touch Him. Do I think healing can be a process? Yes, I think it is, at least for me. But glory be to the One who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
Just my thoughts,
Lynn
Thank you so much for the encouraging words. My husband and I are new at this healing thing. We have sat in church for 20 years and never knew this stuff. What brought us to it is the fact that we have a 14 year old son with cerebral palsy and just could not accept that this is God’s will. We have a renewed faith and a renewed relationship with Christ and are seeing small victories.
We had attended a Healing School (CBC) meeting on Saturday that was very uplifting. Then today we both felt so discouraged and tired. We recently read your book, so I decided to look through your site to see if I could get some ideas. Your article was just what we needed.
I hope you don’t mind my asking if you would pray for Jacob. Any ideas of where to go from here would be appreciated. Thank you for sharing so much.
Lanna