Why You Shouldn't Visit Me to Be Healed

I occasionally receive requests from people who either want me to travel so I can pray for them to be healed, or who ask if they can travel to see me to receive prayer. While some people have a list of reasons why you should let them take a crack at getting you healed, I'd like to tell you why I'm not that person. In order to illustrate a problem some of us are wrestling with I'd like to share an exchange typical of the ones I have with someone who needs healing:

Them: Is it possible I could come to your place and get healed? I'm really suffering.

Me: Where do you live?

Them: Canada.

Me: I need to ask you a question and I need an honest answer: How would you feel if you came to Phoenix and I prayed for you and you were not healed?

Them: Honestly, I'd be disappointed, but it doesn't matter. Many people have prayed for me and I haven't been healed.  I know that Jesus will heal me, so I'll keep looking for the right person.

---

I don't want to seem insensitive to the suffering of others. I feel deeply for anyone who suffers. I also don't want to play the "You don't have enough faith" card, because the problem we're dealing with has nothing to do with having enough faith. The simple fact is that people like me can't travel all over the world to pray for the sick, and it seems like a waste of money for the sick to have to travel the world in search of healing.

In the majority of cases where someone desires to receive something from God and they haven't received it, (including things as diverse as dreams, the gift of tongues, or healing) the problem is actually one of how we view God and how we view ourselves. Let's use the gift of tongues as an example:

Many people aren't speaking in tongues because they believe that God is the one who controls the process. They believe that if they're going to speak in tongues, God will take over their body and make it happen. If you believe God is the one in control of the process, it gives you no reason to try speaking in tongues yourself. The truth is that God does not take over your body and force you to speak in tongues. You are the one in control of the process. All He does is inspire the things you say. So many believers are a stalemate; they're waiting for God to do something that they must do themselves.

This wrong view of God prevents people from having what they desire. In a similar way, many people have not been healed because of wrong views they have about God, themselves or the healing process.

Some of us see healing as something like opening a combination lock. We might believe in healing and we may even believe God wants us to be healed. So far, so good. The problem (or so we think) is finding the right combination, and with healing, it seems to be a matter of visiting as many people as you can until you get the right person to lay hands on you. Many of us embrace this model of healing because we've heard of people who have been healed after having hundreds of people pray for them. Such stories make us think healing is a game of numbers. You just need to play the game long enough and receive prayer from enough people until you hit the jackpot.

What we fail to consider is that in most of the cases where someone was healed after receiving prayer from hundreds of people, something was uncovered in the final prayer session that was unrecognized, and once it was exposed, the person received their healing. It isn't a matter of finding the person with the right anointing as much as it is discerning the root of a problem and removing it. (Go here for an example.)

I usually tell people that if they've received prayer from many believers and they haven't been healed, the chances of me getting them healed are rather slim. It's likely they're going to spend a lot of money buying a ticket to visit me and be disappointed when they aren't healed.

Failed healing can be due to a number of reasons. Success in healing difficult cases is generally a matter of finding out what's preventing people from receiving their healing and removing it. For most of us, finding the right combination is a matter of making ourselves just as able to receive healing as God is to give it.

And this is where things get interesting...

Unless you're willing to investigate the possibility that your healing is being blocked by something like emotional trauma or a mental stronghold involving your thinking (or any number of other things) you're probably not going to be healed no matter how many anointed men of God pray for you. In these cases, it's not a matter of anointing. It's a mater of getting to the root of an issue the enemy is exploiting, bringing it into the light and letting Jesus deal with it. Most of the time, the problem is that we're believing a lie that is empower the enemy. These lies are nearly always things we believe about ourselves, about others or about God.

We tend to think that because we have the Holy Spirit in us, we're less prone to believing lies than non-Christians, but the truth is that because we listen to more teaching about God (some of which is true and some of which isn't) we're more likely to have wrong ideas about Him than non-believers by virtue of the fact we're exposed to more theology. It's surprising how many lies Christians believe about God and about themselves. The good news is that once the lies we believe are exposed and removed and the truth is allowed to take their place, we can receive healing just as easily as anyone.

Here's one last reason why you shouldn't visit me to be healed:

It isn't my calling to heal all the sick and injured people I encounter. While I love seeing people healed, and watching the power of God at work, and I rejoice every time a demon is made homeless, my main calling is not healing the sick, but training people to heal the sick.

This calling involves writing blog posts and books and connecting with the few people I come across who are passionate about healing and miracles. If I had to choose between seeing 100 people a day healed through my prayers or seeing 5 people a day trained in healing, I'd spend my time training. Those 5 people, once they're trained, are going to heal thousands and some of the people they minister to will learn to heal as well. While it's good for me to spend time healing the sick, it's better for me to develop materials that train and equip the saints for ministry. That is my real calling and it's the main reason why I seldom travel or pray for people in person upon request.

So before you buy a ticket to Phoenix, why not spend a little time with doctor Jesus and ask Him what lies you believe about yourself or about Him? Let Him reveal the lies and ask Him to show you the truth. Believe what He tells you and ask Him to heal your body and soul. Then send me your testimony. And maybe when we meet it will be to celebrate your victory.

Related:
I’ve Received Prayer – Why Am I Still Sick?

For more information on healing, check out my book Divine Healing Made Simple.

Why Are Some People Not Healed?

This is part of an interview I did with S.J. Heald for Heaven Connect. The entire interview can be found here.

SJH:Some Christians are filled with faith and live a holy life, and yet they are suffering with illness and health problems. Also there are sick children, such as those with terminal illness like cancer. Why are these not healed?

Praying Medic:
This is a delicate issue and unfortunately, it’s one that has been greatly misunderstood. I don’t think it will help anyone if I tip-toe around this subject, so I’d like to give an honest answer that will probably be hard for many people to accept and frankly, will make some people angry.

Much of the disappointment and heartache that comes from failed attempts at healing is due to misconceptions about God and the kingdom of darkness. Many of us believe that God can heal whomever He wants and that if someone is not healed, it must be because God doesn’t want them healed. That's a bit like saying if someone doesn't get saved it's because God doesn't want them to be saved. There's an entire school of theology built around this idea, but the truth is that divine healing simply doesn’t work this way. Actually, there is very little in the kingdom of God that does.

John Wimber was given a vision from God that illustrated the problem we're discussing. This is how he described it in his book Power Healing:

"Suddenly in my minds eye there appeared to be a cloud bank superimposed across the sky. But I had never seen a cloud bank like this one, so I pulled my car over to the side of the road to take a closer look. Then I realized it was not a cloud bank, it was a honeycomb with honey dripping out on to people below. The people were in a variety of postures. Some were reverent; they were weeping and holding their hands out to catch the honey and taste it, even inviting others to take some of their honey. Others acted irritated, wiping the honey off themselves, complaining about the mess. I was awestruck. Not knowing what to think, I prayed, "Lord, what is it?"
He said, "It's my mercy, John. For some people it's a blessing, but for others it's a hindrance. There is plenty for everyone. Don't ever beg me for healing again. The problem isn't on my end, John. It's down there."

When people have sought prayer for healing repeatedly to no avail, there is a strong temptation to believe that God has a divine purpose for our sickness or that He simply doesn't want to heal us. It’s just human nature to think this way. This is despite the fact that the bible teaches that God sees both sickness and death as His sworn enemies and despite the fact that there isn’t one passage in the bible that plainly teaches that sickness is used by God for any kind of divine purpose. In order to better understand how healing works, let me draw a comparison with something most of us are more familiar with.

Healing, like salvation is not a sovereign act of God. Rather, it is accomplished when we do what God commissions us to do. Salvation comes as a result of man proclaiming the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel is a task that has been delegated to man as God’s representative and salvation depends upon our obedience. People are saved when men and women preach the gospel faithfully. If people are not saved, it is not because God doesn’t want them to be saved. It is because we’ve failed to proclaim the message we were given. Healing operates in the same way, through God’s representatives – the church.

God sent Jesus into the world to reveal his will concerning healing. Jesus didn't just heal a few people that the Father chose here and there. He healed entire villages of all who were sick and demon possessed. He also raised the dead and he commissioned his disciples to do the same things He did. If we believe that God wants people to become sick and die at a young age– we must explain why He sent His Son into the world to defeat sickness and death and why He commissioned His disciples to carry out the same plan after He ascended into heaven.

The ministry of Jesus sent a clear message to the world that God is opposed to sickness and death. If it is the will of God for man to be sick, no one in history violated the will of God more than Jesus. Just as God desires all men to be saved, He also desires all men to be healed. Jesus gave us, His disciples all the power and authority we'll ever need to deal with sickness and death. Once He gives us authority to do something, He is no longer responsible for doing it – we are. The ball is now in our court and it has been for 2,000 years. It’s up to us to exercise the authority He has given us.

As God's ambassadors, it is our job to enforce His will here on earth with regard to healing. If we don’t learn how to conquer sickness and death by releasing healing, people are going to die. Most people have never been trained or equipped to heal the sick, raise the dead or cast out demons, even though these are the most basic things Jesus taught His disciples to do. When healing doesn’t happen, it is not because God wants people to be sick– it is because His ambassadors have failed to use the power and authority they've been given. Many of us try to put the responsibility back on God because we don’t want to admit that we’ve failed to take our responsibilities seriously. This is the reason why I wrote my book on healing. My heart’s greatest desire is to train and equip the saints to do the work God commissioned us to do.

Why Are Some People Not Healed?

This is part of an interview I did with S.J. Heald for Heaven Connect. The entire interview can be found here.

SJH:Some Christians are filled with faith and live a holy life, and yet they are suffering with illness and health problems. Also there are sick children, such as those with terminal illness like cancer. Why are these not healed?

Praying Medic:
This is a delicate issue and unfortunately, it’s one that has been greatly misunderstood. I don’t think it will help anyone if I tip-toe around this subject, so I’d like to give an honest answer that will probably be hard for many people to accept and frankly, will make some people angry.

Much of the disappointment and heartache that comes from failed attempts at healing is due to misconceptions about God and the kingdom of darkness. Many of us believe that God can heal whomever He wants and that if someone is not healed, it must be because God doesn’t want them healed. That's a bit like saying if someone doesn't get saved it's because God doesn't want them to be saved. There's an entire school of theology built around this idea, but the truth is that divine healing simply doesn’t work this way. Actually, there is very little in the kingdom of God that does.

John Wimber was given a vision from God that illustrated the problem we're discussing. This is how he described it in his book Power Healing:

"Suddenly in my minds eye there appeared to be a cloud bank superimposed across the sky. But I had never seen a cloud bank like this one, so I pulled my car over to the side of the road to take a closer look. Then I realized it was not a cloud bank, it was a honeycomb with honey dripping out on to people below. The people were in a variety of postures. Some were reverent; they were weeping and holding their hands out to catch the honey and taste it, even inviting others to take some of their honey. Others acted irritated, wiping the honey off themselves, complaining about the mess. I was awestruck. Not knowing what to think, I prayed, "Lord, what is it?" 

He said, "It's my mercy, John. For some people it's a blessing, but for others it's a hindrance. There is plenty for everyone. Don't ever beg me for healing again. The problem isn't on my end, John. It's down there."

When people have sought prayer for healing repeatedly to no avail, there is a strong temptation to believe that God has a divine purpose for our sickness. It’s just human nature to think this way. This is despite the fact that the bible teaches that God sees both sickness and death as His sworn enemies and despite the fact that there isn’t one passage in the bible that plainly teaches that sickness is used by God for any kind of divine purpose. In order to better understand how healing works, let me draw a comparison with something most of us are more familiar with.

Healing, like salvation is not a sovereign act of God. Rather, it is accomplished when we do what God commissions us to do. Salvation comes as a result of man proclaiming the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel is a task that has been delegated to man as God’s representative and salvation depends upon our obedience. People are saved when men and women preach the gospel faithfully. If people are not saved, it is not because God doesn’t want them to be saved. It is because we’ve failed to proclaim the message we were given. Healing operates in the same way, through God’s representatives – the church.

God sent Jesus into the world to reveal his will concerning healing. Jesus didn't just heal a few people that the Father chose here and there. He healed entire villages of all who were sick and demon possessed. He also raised the dead and he commissioned his disciples to do the same things He did. If we believe that God wants people to become sick and die at a young age– we must explain why He sent His Son into the world to defeat sickness and death and why He commissioned His disciples to carry out the same plan after He ascended into heaven.

The ministry of Jesus sent a clear message to the world that God is opposed to sickness and death. If it is the will of God for man to be sick, no one in history violated the will of God more than Jesus. Just as God desires all men to be saved, He also desires all men to be healed. Jesus gave us, His disciples all the power and authority we'll ever need to deal with sickness and death. Once He gives us authority to do something, He is no longer responsible for doing it – we are. The ball is now in our court and it has been for 2,000 years. It’s up to us to exercise the authority He has given us.

As God's ambassadors, it is our job to enforce His will here on earth with regard to healing. If we don’t learn how to conquer sickness and death by releasing healing, people are going to die. Most people have never been trained or equipped to heal the sick, raise the dead or cast out demons, even though these are the most basic things Jesus taught His disciples to do. When healing doesn’t happen, it is not because God wants people to be sick– it is because His ambassadors have failed to use the power and authority they've been given. Many of us try to put the responsibility back on God because we don’t want to admit that we’ve failed to take our responsibilities seriously. This is the reason why I wrote my book on healing. My heart’s greatest desire is to train and equip the saints to do the work God commissioned us to do.

Why Are Some People Not Healed?

Ever since the Azusa Street revival in 1907, which spawned the Pentecostal awakening, the church has been continually growing in its understanding of healing and deliverance. In the last 100 years we’ve uncovered some valuable information that has helped provide a clearer picture of how healing and deliverance work.

I’m grateful for the contributions made by leaders of past movements in healing. The revelation they’ve received has moved us closer to the goal of seeing everyone healed and set free. But as much as the leaders of former generations have uncovered some fundamental truths, if we were to be completely honest we’d admit that their understanding (and ours) is incomplete – particularly when it comes to the question of why people are not always healed.

Leaders of former generations brought forth their best theories about why some people are not healed or set free of demonic oppression. Those theories became the standard answers the church has given for these questions. The answers generally involved issues like generational sins or curses, a lack of faith on the part of the person who is sick, unforgiveness, etc. Despite their widespread acceptance, the fruit borne from these explanations has been pretty poor. I don’t wish to invalidate all of the current explanations for failed healing, because I think there may be some validity to them but I believe time will prove that these explanations are not the true cause of failed healing or deliverance in most cases.

The revelation of yesterday served the generation for which it was intended. But today’s leaders must come up with better answers that bear fruit worthy of the kingdom. I’m challenging all of today’s leaders to go to the Lord and seek a better understanding of the issues involved in failed healing and deliverance.

Steve Peace Harmon is a great example of a current leader who has evaluated the practice of deliverance as it’s been done for the last 100 years and found it to be inadequate. Rather than using the same old methods everyone else has used, he’s taken a bold new direction in deliverance. He’s doing things that leaders of the former generation would never have done. He’s considering possibilities no one else has considered. And he’s getting the kind of results none of the former leaders has gotten - because he’s rejected the traditional approaches and explanations that frankly, haven’t worked very well.

A key part of Steve’s success and a foundation to his different approach to healing and deliverance is his THEOLOGY. Steve sees God differently than most of us do – at least when it comes to healing and deliverance. (I’ll go out on a limb and speak for Steve, because we both see God in a similar way. I’m going to try to explain his theology in a way that he and I haven’t discussed yet, but I think it represents his views accurately.)

Most of us believe that if God wanted us to be healed or set free of a demonic spirit,He could simply do it now (sovereignly) and that would be the end of it. Most of us have been taught that this is how God heals. He does whatever He wants, whenever He wants to do it and if He wanted us healed, He would just do it. When healing doesn't happen, we tend to assume God doesn't want us healed for some reason.

Most people view healing and deliverance as a completely sovereign act of God that cannot be changed or altered by any created being. We completely remove the participation of demons and man from the equation. Some people hold to this view of God, but they place God’s sovereign actions in time – allowing for His “perfect timing” for healing to happen, but they still believe that God does whatever He want, whenever He wants as a sovereign, almighty God.

This view of God is fundamentally flawed. This is not how God operates when it comes to healing and deliverance. This flawed view of God is the foundation upon which are built all the misunderstandings and misconceptions about why people are not healed. Contrary to popular belief, God does not operate out of complete sovereignty when it comes to healing and deliverance. I’d like to illustrate the work of God in a related subject and draw some parallels to healing, because I think it might reveal our flawed theology a little better.

While most of us would have no problem asking “Why are some people healed, while others are not?” It’s unlikely that we would ask, "Why are some people saved while others are not?" Most Christians know the answer to this question:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)

God’s will is that all people would be saved. God could sovereignly save everyone if He wanted to, but He has decided not to do it that way. Men and women are saved by the preaching of the gospel. If the gospel is not preached, no one hears it. If they do not hear it - they are not saved. Salvation comes when men and women cooperate with God in preaching the gospel and when their hearts are open and receive it. If men are not saved, it is not because God doesn't want them saved, but because man has not effectively preached the gospel or he has rejected it.

In the realm of salvation, God’s sovereign will is not forced upon us. His work in our hearts requires our cooperation. The same is true for the process of being transformed into the image of Christ. This is not a sovereign work where God overrides our free will and forces us to comply with His plans for sanctification. We must yield ourselves to His work. It’s a surrendering on our part and a work of the Holy Spirit in response to our surrender that creates holiness. It is not a sovereign act.

The same exact principles at work in salvation and sanctification are at work in healing, because healing like salvation and sanctification is an act of God’s grace.

For some reason, most of us understand that we have a responsibility to participate with God in working out our salvation and in being conformed into His image, but when it comes to healing and deliverance, we expect that we can just sit back and let God sovereignly keep the demons out of our lives or keep us from having any pain or sickness. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. We must stop placing all the responsibility for healing and deliverance on God and start asking what our responsibility is in the process of receiving and keeping our healing.

Healing is released by believers. It must also be received by us and I believe one of the reasons for failed healing is our own inability to receive God's work in our lives.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus illustrated the word of God as a seed and the human heart as four types of soil. The effect that the word has upon the individual is not dependent upon God's sovereign will, but upon the type of soil the seed falls upon. If it falls among thorns, it springs up, but produces no fruit. If it falls upon hard ground, it is snatched away by the enemy. If it finds good soil, it produced a harvest. This parable applies to many things of the kingdom including healing. God's work of healing in our lives is primarily a matter of the kind of heart we have cultivated. If our hearts are stony, the enemy will take away what God gives us, but if our hearts have been made ready to receive His grace and healing power, His work will produce a harvest that results in sustained healing and deliverance.

I believe that if we’ll allow ourselves to see healing differently from the way we’ve seen it in the past, the old worn-out explanations will be seen for what they are and better revelation will come forth that speaks more to the truth of the matter. God wants to give us the answers we're looking for, but we have to develop a mindset and a view of God that allows us to receive the revelation He wants to give us.

This is a subject I discuss in depth in my soon to be released book, Divine Healing Made Simple.

I've Received Prayer - Why Am I Still Sick?

I'd like to dedicate this message to the friends who have come to me often for prayer and are still not healed. I want you to know that I haven't given up on seeing you healed. You've received prayer from so many people and you're still not well, but you refuse to quit. Your persistence is remarkable. I've learned some things by talking with all of you and it's my hope that eventually you'll get the breakthrough you're looking for.

Thanks for being patient with God as He teaches us about healing. Thank you for not giving up on us.

I want to recognize a couple of friends who've challenged and enlightened me on my journey. My wife is at the front of the line. She's my best friend and one of the people who awaits her complete healing. She's my inspiration for pressing forward in understanding how healing works.

Jon Sellers has been at my side continually reminding me of the need for a balanced approach in looking at healing. It's easy if you're passionate, to become one-sided. As Emeril Lagasse said after seasoning both sides of a steak, "I hate one sided- tasting food." It's because of Jon's wisdom that I'm even considering these things, which lie outside the box for most of us.

I'd also like to thank Matt Evans, who took an interest in me and got me started in healing. He's been a fountain of information. Lastly, I'd like the thank David McLain for the countless phone calls, text messages, jokes, humorous pictures, words of advice, perplexing questions and hours that he's spent praying for me.

We’re on a journey of discovery. That journey is a progressive revelation of eternal truths that have existed in the mind of God and upon which His kingdom was built long before Adam walked with Him in the cool of the day. On this journey, we’ll find many things that have been hidden, waiting for us to find them. For in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and it is His good pleasure to gives us the kingdom. Yes, God has hidden from us the treasures of wisdom. Why, you ask? So that we might pursue them and in the process find Him. The journey is nothing less than the complete revelation of God and all of His ways through His son, Jesus.

One of the mysteries we hope to uncover has to do with the question of why some people are healed while others are not. Some may be content to shrug their shoulders and say, “We’ll never know.” I am not one of them. I think we may know, but I believe many will reject the truth, finding it distasteful.

So the question is: Why are some people not healed despite having received prayer from faith - filled believers, who know their authority and who otherwise have good results?

I’d like to share a story about a co-worker that I prayed with who wasn’t healed the first time I prayed with her. We worked at our station on the west side of Phoenix, Arizona. On October 17th 2011, early in the morning as she made her way outside to wash an ambulance, I noticed that she was limping and asked what was wrong. She showed me a painful, swollen knee that was wrapped in a support device. I asked if could pray with her to be healed. With some fear about what I planned to do, she agreed. I prayed over her knee three times but she felt nothing.

On the same day I prayed with a different co-worker, who had a partially torn Achilles tendon and pain in his back. He was healed of everything instantly, but she wasn't. That day and for a few days following, I asked God why one person was healed and the other wasn't. Here's what I heard: The man with the Achilles tendon injury was healed because he gladly received his healing without fear or worry. She was afraid I would hurt her and that fear prevented her from being healed. It wasn't that God could not heal her. It wasn't that He didn't want her healed. It was because she could not receive healing in a state of fear.

I was disappointed. I really wanted her to be healed. I saw her a few times afterward, still walking with a limp. On December 2nd  2011, she saw me loading my gear in the ambulance. She came over and asked why she wasn't healed. I told her that I talked to God about it and I believed it was because she was afraid of being hurt. I asked her to explain why she thought I was going to hurt her. It turns out, her father had asked her the same question, "Do you want to be healed?" When she said ‘yes’, he hit her hard on her injured knee. So when I asked her the same question, she was afraid I would do the same thing.

I told her I had no reason to hurt her and I let her know that the offer was still open. If she wanted to be healed God would heal her. She said she did. We sat on the couch in the day room. She showed me her swollen knee, wrapped in a black elastic bandage. I asked God to bring his presence upon her then asked what she felt.

"I feel really relaxed and at peace."

I commanded the swelling, inflammation and pain to leave and commanded the ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, cartilage and bones to be healed. She felt heat going through her knee, which increased each of the three times I prayed over her knee. While her knee was being healed I taught her about the battle over healing. I warned her that the symptoms might return, told her to stand in faith and believe she was healed and to command the symptoms to leave if they returned the same way I did to make them leave. She seemed to understand.

I saw her three weeks later and asked how her knee felt. She said it felt great. I asked if she was serious. With a smile, she looked at me and said, "Yeah - it feels great!"

When she wasn’t healed the first time, the easiest explanation would be to assume that God didn’t want her healed. This is what many of us do. The fact that she was healed at a later date demonstrates that it wasn't a problem with God. It was a problem with us. Unfortunately, we often blame God when healing doesn’t happen, but this should be the last explanation we consider.

The most likely explanation for failed healing is a lack of faith in the one praying. The next thing to consider is that some obstacle may be present in the life of the one we’re praying with that needs to be removed. Sometimes it’s a spirit of sickness; sometimes it’s an attitude toward God or us that needs to change. In this case, it was fear. Once the fear was removed she was healed.

I'm a creature of habit. One of my habits is finding patterns in things. I'm not sure that I do it intentionally. It just seems like I notice patterns more than most people. In my time on Facebook, I've noticed many different patterns of behavior and beliefs among the thousands of friends I have. People who have these behaviors fall into groups, at least in my mind, and sometimes they form literal groups. Three groups of people continually interact with me.

Two of the groups operate in divine healing. The first sees people healed by exercising authority over sickness. Authority and faith are the tools they're familiar with. But they have one problem; not everyone they pray for is healed. It's been said, "If your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." I think this group suffers from working with a small toolbox.

Because they believe that only faith and authority are involved in the equation, every failure is attributed either to a lack of faith or a lack of exercising their authority. They rarely consider other possibilities. And although they see impressive results in the area of physical healing, they don't do as well with deliverance or emotional healing, though they agree that 100% healing is the goal.

The second group also has the focus of healing, but their approach is different. This group focuses on other things besides faith and authority. Although they recognize them to some degree, it isn't to the degree of the first group. They're more likely to approach healing from a revelatory standpoint. They desire to have God reveal the issues involved in a person's life that contribute to their condition and through a process of dealing with each issue, healing takes place. This group probably doesn't have the success in physical healing that the first group has, but they seem to have better results in the areas of inner healing and deliverance.

Both groups have a measure of success and a measure of failure, but neither sees everyone healed. I think both groups could learn a great deal from the other, but this never seems to happen. Both groups are highly suspicious of the other and frankly - there's a lot of hostility between them. Sadly, the hostility is instigated and encouraged by many of the leaders.

The third group is small; just a handful of people who receive healing prayer often from many of us but their illness remains. Most of these illnesses manifest as physical symptoms. Often their symptoms confound medical experts and defy conventional diagnostic tests. They’re often told “We don’t know what the problem is”, “We can’t find anything in our tests” or they simply receive a generic diagnosis like fibromyalgia, which is really a confession of ignorance. While other people with serious illness gradually get better or experience a sudden miracle, they suffer continual disappointment, never getting better and some actually become worse. They always ask, “Why?”

I've begun to see patterns in this group as well. It seems like many of these people have gone through times of emotional trauma without being completely healed of the painful memories from their past. In addition to the memories, there are a host of feelings they struggle with like helplessness, worthlessness, rejection, fear, bitterness, mistrust and loneliness. Some of them clearly appear to be suffering from demonic oppression. I believe at least one contributing factor to the failure of their physical healing is their failed emotional and spiritual healing.

What they desire most is physical healing from the symptoms of disease. What they seem to want least is to re-live the events of their past and go through the emotions again or to be involved in the circus that inner healing and deliverance can become. Most have found a way to survive the emotional trauma and keep going in spite of their physical afflictions. I believe it's God's ultimate desire for all of us to be healed, set free and walking in the truth. God is interested in our complete healing; body spirit and soul; in a word; Sozo.

When we use the term sozo, we're talking about something that's more than just physical healing. In fact, sozo contains the idea of physical healing but it’s much broader in scope. It means to:

1.       Save
2.       Keep safe and sound
3.       Rescue from danger or destruction
4.       Rescue from injury or peril
5.       Save from suffering or disease
6.       Make well
7.       Heal
8.       Restore to health.

If someone is healed of an illness affecting the physical body, we refer to it as physical healing. If they receive deliverance from an evil spirit, it's a spiritual healing. If they're healed of post-traumatic stress disorder, it's an emotional healing. If they were to be healed of all three, we're describing something referred to as being made 'whole', which is the idea behind the word 'sozo'.

Jon Sellers and other friends have taught me the importance of wholeness, and the fact that God is just as concerned about our spiritual and mental health as our physical health, even if we are not. Let me rephrase that; God may care more about our emotional healing than we do. The same is true for spiritual healing. The problem is that some of us care too much about the physical healing we want and not enough about the spiritual and emotional we need. The fact is that our physical condition may require emotional and spiritual healing to be completed first. Why?

There are two reasons. The first is that some physical diseases have demonic origins. As we’ve seen with the woman who was bent over for 18 years and the boy with seizures who was deaf and mute. Both had physical symptoms that required deliverance from a spirit before they could be healed. Many who so badly desire to be physically healed, are actually in need of deliverance (spiritual healing) first. And because that hasn’t occurred, they remain unhealed and tormented by the enemy.

The other reason is just a hunch. God wants us to be healed in every way. Strange as it may sound, some of us only want to be healed of a disease or condition that causes physical pain. We have no great desire to be healed of painful emotions or memories. We’re willing to put up with feelings of fear, rejection and other wounds because to us, they’re just a part of life. But God wants us to be free of those as well.

Perhaps God knows that if we were to be healed of our physical sickness, we might never seek healing for the unforgiveness that poisons our soul or the spirit of fear that attacks us at night. The wisdom of God may allow our physical healing to manifest only after the spiritual and emotional problems are dealt with as a way to assure that in the end, we are completely healed. What good is a healed body connected to a bitter, unforgiving heart? What benefit is a sound tummy to someone plagued by a spirit of fear that dominates their every thought?

I think what these friends need most is not more prayer over their physical symptoms, but the completion of their emotional and spiritual healing which, if it were to happen, would result in their physical healing being completed. Many of us need some degree of deliverance and others need inner healing to take place before any long-term physical healing will happen.

The pain involved in dealing with the past may prevent us from pursuing those problems and resolving them through inner healing. The healing that God desires for us may require us to do things we'd rather not, like facing bitterness, unforgiveness, rejection, fear, lust, abandonment, shame, etc. Submitting ourselves to God and surrendering our right to allow these things to remain as a part of us is a process but as long as we allow them to remain, they hold us captive and the spirits of infirmity will have a hold on us that can't be broken, no matter how many people pray for us to be physically healed.

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. I'm all for persistence in prayer. I'm convinced that some things just take time. But those cases are the ones where gradual progress is being made. If we pray and pray and pray and absolutely no progress is made or the person seems to be getting worse, and there are obvious signs of emotional healing and deliverance needed, it's foolish to continue on the same course. In such cases we must consider using other tools. That might require us to discover tools we haven’t heard of or perhaps use tools that others use which we don’t like.

If we are to walk as Jesus walked and do the things He did, we might consider the novel, peculiar and sometimes bizarre methods he used. I don’t think Jesus avoided predictable formulas just to confound us. I believe He continually asked His Father for the best solution to the problem he faced; not assuming it would be the same as the previous one. His openness to the leading of the Father was what gave Him such a consistent and power-filled life of victory.

Street Healing With Garth Lange

This story is part of a series written in September of 2012 during our trip to Australia to teach on healing.

We had another great day with our friends in Brisbane. We met with Garth Lange, a Facebook friend that we desperately wanted to meet in person. We walked to Southbank and met him on a street corner. He drove us to a coffee shop that he and his friends hang out at. We talked about the kingdom of God for over three hours. He prayed for an injury I have and I prayed for his. Garth is truly an amazing man. I wish we could have spent the entire day talking with him.

As we walked to the car at the end of our meeting, we saw a man with a broken leg approaching. He was with a couple of friends. Garth & I decided to ask if he wanted to be healed.

He said he'd love that.

I placed my hand on his casted foot and commanded it to be healed. He felt tingling in his toes.

I commanded it to be healed a second time and asked him to check it out. All his pain was gone. We asked him to walk around and check to see if there was any pain at all. He took a few steps then flexed his toes and said there's no way he could have done that if it wasn't healed.

One of his friends remarked that she could feel the presence of God around her as soon as we approached and began speaking to them.
(They were all Christians)

We spoke to them about the goodness of God and I gave them a card to my website. We all walked away praising God. The man walked away without using his crutches.

In the evening, we attended a meeting in Darra where I encouraged the street van teams to continue doing the great works they are doing. I taught a bit more on dreams, healing and prophecy. We saw a number of people healed of various injuries. We prayed over a woman with a spinal cord injury, who is in a wheelchair. She felt a lot of heat in her back at the level of her injury, but there was no noticeable movement of her legs.

She had some questions about why we aren't seeing many people healed with these types of injuries. I told there are a couple of things we need to overcome. One is that we usually give up too quickly, noting that in Africa, they'll pray over a person for days, while we pray for only a few minutes.

I also said that as a group, we lack the faith (or confidence) in God to see these things healed. Part of that is because we aren't actually laying hands on a lot of people in wheelchairs. But I told her that when we get serious about seeing them healed and are willing to go after healing with more passion, we'll probably see breakthrough.

We're having a blast in OZ.
God is so good.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

-PM

Related Posts:
The Three Monkeys

Jason Chin - "In My Shoes"

I saw this video that Jason Chin posted.

I liked it so much, I left a message on his Facebook wall.

Here it is:

I love the videos people like you, Todd, Pete and Thomas put out. I've really been encouraged by them. They've strengthened my faith a lot.

But when a person goes out on the streets and prays for a dozen people and no one gets healed, there are a lot of questions to be answered. And the video guys aren't usually around to answer them.

People who watch the videos get this idea that everyone is supposed to be healed every time, because that's what they see in the videos. They get a view of healing that's not really accurate.

We need leaders to show their failures, misses, mistakes, etc. I've probably posted as many failed healing stories as I've posted successes because I've had so many and I feel that people need to know it's not always going to work out the way you hope for.

Transparency in what we do is absolutely critical if we're going to be taken seriously and not seen as a bunch of delusional nut-jobs or magicians ala Chris Angel.

People not being healed is a huge part of being transparent. Yeah - it opens the discussion up to more difficult questions, but we're beginning to get some decent answers to the hard ones people ask.

Thanks for doing this. I would encourage others who make videos to do the same.

Here's a link to Jason's website; Lovesaysgo.com

A Second Chance at Healing

Amy (not her real name) was in our new employee orientation class. When we told the group what we did, she said she was a detail technician. I didn't even know we had detail techs. Her job is to clean up after me. When we cover the ambulance in mud, she washes it. When we leave fast food garbage on the floor, she cleans it up. My mother doesn't work here, but Amy does and I'm glad we have people like her.

We both worked on the west side of Phoenix in Glendale. On October 17th 2011, early in the morning as she made her way out to the wash bay, I noticed that she was limping and asked what was wrong. She showed me her painful, swollen knee, wrapped in a support device. I asked if could pray with her to be healed. With some fear about what I planned to do, she agreed. I prayed over her knee three times but she felt nothing.

On the same day that I prayed with her, I prayed with a different co-worker, who had a partially torn Achilles tendon and back pain. He was healed, but she wasn't. That story can be found here.

That day and for a few days following, I asked God why one person was healed and the other wasn't. Here's what I heard:

The man with the Achilles tendon injury was healed because he gladly received his healing without fear or worry. Amy was afraid I would hurt her and that fear prevented her from being healed. It wasn't that God could not heal her. It wasn't that He didn't want her healed. It was because she could not receive healing in a state of fear.

I was disappointed. I really wanted her to be healed. I've seen her a few times since then and she still walks with a limp.

On December 2 2011, I worked an overtime shift in Mesa. Amy saw me loading my gear in the ambulance. She came over and asked why she wasn't healed.

I told her I talked to God about it and thought it was because she was afraid of being hurt. I asked her to explain why she thought I was going to hurt her. It turns out, her father asked her the same question, "Do you want to be healed?" When she said yes, he hit her hard on her injured knee. So when I asked her the same question, she was afraid I would do the same thing.

I told her I had no reason to hurt her and let her know that the offer was still open. If she wanted to be healed God would heal her. She said she wanted to be healed.

We sat on the couch in the day room. She showed me her swollen knee, wrapped in a black elastic bandage for support. I asked God to bring his presence upon her then asked what she felt.

"I feel really relaxed and at peace."

I commanded the swelling, inflammation and pain to leave and commanded the ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, cartilage and bones to be healed. She felt heat, which increased each time I prayed over her knee.

While her knee was being healed I taught her about the battle over healing. I warned her that the symptoms might return, told her to stand in faith and believe she was healed and to command the symptoms to leave if they returned the same way I did to make them leave. She seemed to understand.

I saw Amy yesterday. It's been three weeks since she was healed. I asked how her knee felt. She said it felt great. I asked if she was serious. With a smile, she looked at me and said, "Yeah - it feels great!"

When Amy wasn’t healed, the easiest way to explain the lack of healing would be to assume that God didn’t want her to be healed. The fact that she was healed at a later date demonstrates that it wasn't a problem with God. It was a problem with man. Unfortunately, we often blame God when healing doesn’t happen. But that should be the last explanation we consider.

The most likely explanation for failed healing is our own lack of faith. The next thing to consider is that some obstacle may present in the life of the one we’re praying with that needs to be removed. Sometimes it’s a spirit of sickness, sometimes it’s an attitude toward us or God that needs to change. In this case, it was fear. Once the fear was removed she was healed.

Healing is meant to draw people into a loving relationship with Jesus. Fear and love don't work well together. We are representatives of God and His kingdom. If someone fears that we're going to hurt them, that fear can become generalized. They may fear that Jesus will hurt them or that Christians in general are out to hurt people. Our best approach in dealing with fear is to assure them they have no reason to be afraid of us or God by demonstrating His love and compassion toward them.

Perfect love casts out all fear.

When God Doesn't Heal

This is a sensitive subject. I’ll try to handle it with care. A blog dedicated to prayer and healing must address the times when people are not healed. There’s so much to learn. This isn’t a comprehensive discussion. The issues are large and my understanding isn’t. Some questions will never be answered. I hope to learn more on the subject and write about it in the future. For now, I’ll share a few things I have learned.

I was talking with a woman I met at a bus stop a few days ago. Like many of us, she was angry at God. She told me of the hardships in her life, the untimely death of her mother, and then the death of her father, a man I sensed she deeply hated. She felt as though her mother deserved to live a long life and her father deserved to either suffer or die young. In her mind this was unfair, and she didn’t like God’s plan, which she thought was wrong.

My brother died a year ago, after his 3rd brain tumor was determined to be inoperable. My dad died of pancreatic cancer 8 years ago. I prayed for both of them to be healed but they weren’t. I prayed for the outcome I wanted. At the time I was in a growing relationship with God and I was able to accept their deaths. I also believed then, that it was impossible to know God’s will. When John and Pat weren’t healed, some of us came to certain conclusions. I think a few believed that God doesn’t heal anyone, because He didn’t heal either of these two wonderful men. In our eyes, they deserved it more than anyone else.

I think this is typical of how a many of us view the subject of healing. It leaves us with some possible views about divine healing. One view is that God is arbitrary in healing. He heals who He wants, without any way of us knowing who gets healed or why. I’m reading a book on healing and the author holds this position. He believes in divine healing and has compiled a mountain of scientific research proving that it happens. (I’ll write about that in a future post) But he believes we can know nothing in advance; that healing cannot be accurately predicted, or duplicated in a lab. A fundamental idea behind this view is that God is largely unknowable; an anonymous force that is beyond our understanding.

This view can be taken one step further. We may claim that if God allows bad things to happen to good people He is unjust. If He is capricious and arbitrary then He is also unfair. This view still maintains that God exists, but that He is in some way evil. If we go one step further in this line of reasoning, we can say that some people simply recover for unexplained reasons and others don’t. Those who recover weren’t healed by supernatural means. This view makes God irrelevant and implies that He doesn’t heal anyone. This belief would lead us to the conclusion that if in fact, He exists He is uncaring and indifferent.

Recently I’ve been learning about a plan and a healer that look very different from these models. If you’re reading this, you probably believe in divine healing, but for the sake of those who don’t, we need to ask the questions, how and why does God heal in the first place? In the answer to these questions, we should find some implied reasons why He doesn’t heal.

How God Heals
When God heals he uses faith to accomplish the work. In healing we receive an act from God that is activated by the faith of someone; it may be the one healed, the one praying or an unknown person. There are dozens of healings recorded in the bible and in many of them it is taught that the faith of someone brought the healing. Personal merit is never a basis for healing. (Matt 9:22, Matt 15:28, Mark 5:34, Mark 10:52, Luke 8:48, Luke 17:19, Luke 18:42, Acts 14:9)

If faith is the agent of healing, a lack of it will prevent healing. Jesus rebuked his disciples (and no one else) for their unbelief in failing to cast out a demon. (Matt. 17:17) He did heal the individual, because He had faith greater than theirs. But we must be cautious here. Although it may be true that healing doesn’t happen because of a lack of faith, we should never accuse or blame someone for it. Building faith is a gradual process. Hearing testimonies of healing and reading about them in scripture can create faith in us for healing. Condemnation will destroy it. I have very little faith for healing right now. I’m trying to build faith by being around those who are successful in healing and reading testimonies. I’m also receiving revelation from God through dreams and visions about it. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Rhema (spoken) word of God. (Rom. 10:17)

Our part in healing is faith. God’s part is extending grace. The apostle Paul wrote, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, not of works.” (Eph 2:8) I used this verse because the word “saved” in the Greek is the word sozo. It refers to a changing, healing and redemption of the complete person - body, soul and spirit. The same work of grace in saving us from the penalty of sin also heals us emotionally and physically. We never earn healing. Grace is undeserved favor. The merit of the person praying or being healed doesn’t matter.

This is a stone of stumbling to some. One of the most pointed comments in the gospels is the one Jesus made about the ministries of Elijah and Elisha. He reminded the religious leaders that though the covenant people (the Jews) had many widows and great famine, God chose to send His prophets to two outsiders, Zarephath and Naaman. (Luke 4:26-27) The Pharisees presumed that they had earned God’s favor through their own works. They knew little of grace. We can’t presume to know whom God wants to heal. He is gracious to all. (Psalm 145) When I prayed for my brother and father I was in a wrong mind-set, believing they deserved to be healed, when in fact no one does. We must be willing to receive God’s grace in healing. If we come to God on the basis of merit for healing we may hinder the process.

Why God Heals
I believe one reason God heals is to reveal His character to us. The nation of Israel learned that one of God’s names is Jehovah Rapha; The Lord, who heals. (Exodus 15:26) God reveals his character through His names in the Old Testament and His names tell us how He interacts with us. Divine healing is an act of mercy and God wants us to know He is merciful. The Lord’s healing also reveals Him as God of compassion, love and kindness as well. (See Deuteronomy 13:17) When we see someone miraculously healed of a terrible affliction, we must conclude that God is good, even if our own experiences don’t bear that out.

From this, we should conclude that God heals to reveal His mercy and love. If He doesn’t heal someone perhaps it’s a situation in which that will not be revealed. The disciples of Jesus asked him why a certain man was born blind. (John 9:1) It was a sincere question. Their assumption was that someone’s sin was responsible for it. Jesus told them that the man was born blind so that God would be glorified when he was healed. If God is to receive the credit for healing, we can also conclude that if God is not glorified in healing, it probably won’t happen.

It’s actually God’s character that we are discussing, and unlike ours, His character never changes. (Malachi 3:6) If we believe that God performed healing and miracles in the past, but He doesn’t do it today, we are essentially saying that God has changed His character. In effect we are changing the names of God, because His names describe his character. Scripture teaches that God’s character and His names never change. If God healed people in large numbers during the ministry of Jesus, and He certainly did, then we must conclude He is willing to do it today, even if our own experience doesn’t bear that out. This is one reason why I changed my opinion about healing and miracles. I’m not prepared to say that God doesn’t heal and He’s changed who He is, merely because I haven’t seen healing personally.

Healing Delayed or Lost
When Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethsaida (John 5) he saw the man later in the temple. Jesus warned him about the effects of sin saying; “you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The issue of sin was between the sick man and the Lord. We should leave it that way. The Holy Spirit can reveal any issues to the individual and it’s their responsibility to surrender and submit to God’s will. Healing is a work of grace and good works cannot obtain it. Nevertheless, sin and rebellion open the door to the enemy. Satan and his demons are the source of sickness and injury. Many of the illnesses Jesus healed people of were demonic in origin. We invite trouble when we live in sin.

Paul warned the church in Corinth about judging their brothers in the body of Christ, then taking communion in an unworthy manner. This made them guilty of the blood of the Lord and brought judgment on them. By judging others, we bring judgment on ourselves. The result was that many had become sick and some had died. (1 Cor. 11: 27-31). I suspect we don’t take this admonition seriously enough. It’s likely that the judgmental attitude many of us have has a greater impact on our health than we think.

There are other things that may contribute to lost healing. One is continued attack from the enemy. This should be suspected if a person is healed once, but the problem comes back. We should have a heightened suspicion in the absence of a clear medical diagnosis. At times we may see a resolution of symptoms, but there isn’t a removal of the cause. The fruit is removed, but the root remains. Permanent healing may occur when God reveals the root of the problem. Prayer for divine revelation of demonic activity is often helpful in discovering and removing spiritual sources of sickness. I’ve read testimonies of recurrent episodes of cancer that were permanently healed once a demonic source was removed.

We shouldn’t assume someone hasn’t been healed if we don’t see instantaneous results that are clearly evident. The Sryian General Naaman wasn’t healed immediately, he had to wait a while. First he had to go to the Jordan River. Then he had to dip himself 7 times in the water. Finally he was healed. (2 Kings 5) The blind man Jesus healed in Bethsaida had what is called a progressive healing. Jesus prayed for him once and he was able to see better. He prayed again and full vision was restored. (Mark 8:25) It’s worth noting that Jesus used many different (and strange) methods to heal people. God often has specific instructions that must be obeyed as a condition for healing. If they aren’t, the healing probably won’t happen. Some healing is immediate, some isn’t.

My Experience
The first true miracle of healing I received took 24 hours for me to notice. I had a shoulder injury and a man prayed for my back, not knowing what my injury was. It was the following evening when I realized the pain was gone. I’ve heard testimonies of healing that occurred as many as 6 years after prayer was begun. If we pray for people to be saved and we understand that it may take years for that to happen, we shouldn’t be surprised if healing isn’t always immediate either.

In the last year I’ve had occasion to pray for many patients with terminal diseases. My initial approach was to ask God for healing without hesitation. I know some of us believe that God wants to heal everyone. I guess in a way, He does. It’s not His desire for us to die, for mankind to be under a curse, or for sin to destroy our lives with disease. In the beginning, God’s desire was for us was perfect health and close fellowship with Him. But our actions have limited what He does now.

I’ve come to the sober realization that not everyone is going to be healed. That prompted me to ask God why He won’t heal, when He does at other times. On one occasion I was told the person I wanted to pray for didn’t want to be healed and didn’t believe in divine healing. She was ready to die. Fair enough, He won’t force someone to be healed who doesn’t want it. We can’t blame this on God.

He has also shown me images of dragons, demons, serpents, skeletons, flames and the like when I have asked about other people. On these occasions He told me not to pray for them. He revealed to me that these people are firmly in the camp of the enemy and they aren't coming out. And that He would neither be glorified nor would His character be revealed if these people were healed. Once again, we can’t blame God if he won’t do something that is contrary to His own character.

On several occasions I wanted to pray for healing and God said He wouldn’t heal, but He showed me heavenly visions when I asked why the person would be allowed to die. In these cases, I took solace in the fact that this person’s soul and spirit were soon to be going to a much better existence. I can’t fault God for this either.

God doesn’t need to give me deep theological statements about why some of us are healed and some aren’t. Maybe I’m too easy on Him. One day I’ll probably ask for more information. But I do know this - He is the sovereign King of the universe and He’s a lot wiser than I am. I think much of our misunderstanding about healing (and the absence of it) comes from a poor understanding of the healer himself.

What I have learned is not to presume anything before I pray. I’ve learned to ask Him first, “What do you want to do in this situation?” Many of us are frustrated and give up on prayer because our prayers aren’t answered according to our desires. God never promised He would give us everything we ask for. He did promise to give us everything we ask, when we ask according to His will. (1 John 5:14) I think this is where we often fail in prayer. We must first come to Papa and ask Him what the plan is, then pray accordingly, whether we like the answer or not. When we do this first, we are going to receive what we ask for. Praying without knowing God’s desire in the matter is a bit like throwing darts blindfolded. Why bother? Isn’t it better to see the target?

I don’t think its coincidence that most of the people in history with successful healing ministries were strongly gifted in the prophetic. These folks hear and see what their Father is doing. Success in divine healing requires knowledge of what God wants to do. This is something prophets in general do well, and it’s an ability we must develop if we ever hope to see people healed.

I need to make a few confessions. I have a lot of faith to pray for people. But my belief that they will actually be healed is pretty small. Right now I’m limited by my unbelief. I tend to pray and run. I don’t want to ask anyone if they feel better after I pray for them because I don’t want to risk being disappointed when they say, ‘no’. On the other hand, all Jesus asked me to do is to be a faithful servant. My job is to reveal a situation for healing when a person may not know it, and pray for them. He didn’t ask me to verify every healing with x-rays or keep score. I need to remember that.

In this season I’m running into many people with headaches and I’ve heard some encouraging testimonies. God keeps pointing them out to me and I’ve actually seen some people who said they’ve been healed. When I receive a word of knowledge and pray according to it – I have a lot of faith that the person will be healed. Some day I’ll have the faith that terminal cancer patients will be instantly healed when I pray for them. But it’s a growing and maturing process.

I also get into situations where I’m asked to pray for people and no one has received any revelation from God about it. I must confess I’m not as comfortable praying when I don’t know what God wants to do. I have a lot less faith in these situations, and I don’t expect great things to happen. I think this is a bad thing. I rely heavily on the Rhema words spoken to me by the Holy Spirit and not enough on the Logos (written) word. The bible says God wants to heal, and I need to simply believe it. I think a balance is best.

It's worth mentioning that Jesus said He did not pray for the whole world, but only for those the Father had told him were His. (John 17:9) Jesus prayed only for the specific people and situations given to him by his Father. He operated at an amazing level of hearing and knowledge. I don't always hear that well. Fortunately, my wife prays in tongues more easily than in English. In doing this, she’s always praying according to God’s will, even though we don’t necessarily know what it is. I pray according to revelation and she prays as the Spirit of God leads her and that makes us an effective team.

One thing God keeps telling me is that Jesus did nothing except what his Father revealed to him. (John 5:19) Many of us believe Jesus was successful because of his divine omniscience. But if he retained it, why did he need to ask the father what to do? Jesus never had a prayer that went unanswered because He always checked in with Papa first. It’s a tough assignment, but the rewards are incredible. I think more of us would see miracles and be less frustrated in prayer if we always asked our Father what the game plan was before we uttered a single word in prayer. That’s the direction I’m going in. I’ll let you know how it works out in future messages.