Praying for Physical Healing
by John Eldredge, Moving Mountains
by John Eldredge, Moving Mountains
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. — James 5:14–15 Updated NIV
What we are doing in healing prayer is bringing the body into a place where the power of God can flow into the affliction — especially into the places of affliction. We are also presenting ourselves to be used of God as channels of that healing power.
What we are doing in healing prayer is bringing the body into a place where the power of God can flow into the affliction — especially into the places of affliction. We are also presenting ourselves to be used of God as channels of that healing power.
Step Two: Invoke the Life of God.
The mechanics of healing prayer are quite simple: we are invoking the life force of God into the afflicted body to restore it. This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead, the power that gives life to and sustains all creation. There is plenty of it to go around (four hundred billion billion suns’ worth, and more!). So as we begin to invoke the healing power of God, we will often pray scriptures that help us open ourselves to it, and call it into the specific places of suffering:
O God, You are our life. You are Nancy’s life. You have breathed into us the breath of life, and we have become living beings (Genesis 2:7). Our very existence and our being flow from You. In you we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Jesus — You are the Vine, and we are true branches of Yours (John 15:5). Nancy is a true branch of Yours. Father, You have made Nancy alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:4–5). Dear Father, we give Nancy to You now to be filled with Your life. Restore this frail branch in full union with Jesus who is the Vine. Restore her full union with Christ and with You. We call forth the mighty life of Jesus Christ to flow into Nancy now. May Your life and resurrection power flow now into her body, and into these afflicted places. [Be specific — call the life of God into the places of pain and brokenness.] You are the God who gives life to the dead (Romans 4:17). And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in us (and You are living in us), He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in me (Romans 8:11). Mighty Spirit of God, we call forth Your power into this body, and into every place of affliction. O God, fill Nancy with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
This is just a model, a type of approach. As you follow the Holy Spirit, He will lead you. But remember: you are not striving! No amount of anguish or trying hard will increase the amount of life that is flowing through you. In fact, all forms of striving close off the channels of your life to be a vessel of his life. Relax. Settle into it.
Use the authority of Jesus Christ given to you. In many of the cases where we see Jesus performing a healing, He actually doesn’t touch the person — He simply commands it!
We declare and we enforce the authority of Jesus Christ over Nancy and over her body. We bring the authority of Jesus Christ over her body and over these afflicted places [be specific]. By the authority we have in the name of Jesus Christ, we command the restoration of this body; we command the complete restoration of [specific places]. In the authority of Jesus Christ, we call forth the mighty healing power of Jesus into this body...
Like that.
The passage in James on healing prayer recommends anointing with oil; Stasi and I try and keep anointing oil with us at all times for this very purpose. If we forgot, we’ll raid the cupboards and use whatever oil we find there — olive oil, cooking oil, whatever there is to work with. Anointing is not a law; healing can flow without it. But it is a vessel through which the Lord can work, and it often helps the faith of the person being prayed for, helps them open themselves to the healing presence of God.
O God, You are our life. You are Nancy’s life. You have breathed into us the breath of life, and we have become living beings (Genesis 2:7). Our very existence and our being flow from You. In you we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Jesus — You are the Vine, and we are true branches of Yours (John 15:5). Nancy is a true branch of Yours. Father, You have made Nancy alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:4–5). Dear Father, we give Nancy to You now to be filled with Your life. Restore this frail branch in full union with Jesus who is the Vine. Restore her full union with Christ and with You. We call forth the mighty life of Jesus Christ to flow into Nancy now. May Your life and resurrection power flow now into her body, and into these afflicted places. [Be specific — call the life of God into the places of pain and brokenness.] You are the God who gives life to the dead (Romans 4:17). And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in us (and You are living in us), He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in me (Romans 8:11). Mighty Spirit of God, we call forth Your power into this body, and into every place of affliction. O God, fill Nancy with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
This is just a model, a type of approach. As you follow the Holy Spirit, He will lead you. But remember: you are not striving! No amount of anguish or trying hard will increase the amount of life that is flowing through you. In fact, all forms of striving close off the channels of your life to be a vessel of his life. Relax. Settle into it.
Use the authority of Jesus Christ given to you. In many of the cases where we see Jesus performing a healing, He actually doesn’t touch the person — He simply commands it!
We declare and we enforce the authority of Jesus Christ over Nancy and over her body. We bring the authority of Jesus Christ over her body and over these afflicted places [be specific]. By the authority we have in the name of Jesus Christ, we command the restoration of this body; we command the complete restoration of [specific places]. In the authority of Jesus Christ, we call forth the mighty healing power of Jesus into this body...
Like that.
The passage in James on healing prayer recommends anointing with oil; Stasi and I try and keep anointing oil with us at all times for this very purpose. If we forgot, we’ll raid the cupboards and use whatever oil we find there — olive oil, cooking oil, whatever there is to work with. Anointing is not a law; healing can flow without it. But it is a vessel through which the Lord can work, and it often helps the faith of the person being prayed for, helps them open themselves to the healing presence of God.
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