Understanding The Biblical Protocol Of Receiving Your Healing
September 2022 |
In a previous article, I set forth several wonderful Scriptures that established the basis for the great doctrine of healing, miracles, and signs and wonders.
In these Scriptures, you can clearly see the promises and provisions of God as it relates to healing and deliverance.
I included the two great Scriptures found in Isaiah 53:4-6 and I Peter 2:24, which proclaim that Christ suffered and died for our salvation and our physical healing and deliverance.
Also, I included the Scripture found in Mark 16:15-20 in respect to the mandated ministry of healing and deliverance. The true New Testament church of today must be involved in the ministry of healing for hurting people. We are called and we are equipped to pray for the sick that they might be healed and recover (I Cor. 12:9).
Preaching and proclaiming salvation is our most important task. But always remember, we are to proclaim abundant life to God’s people.
Jesus, our blessed Lord said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
I believe that this proclamation of blessing includes healing and deliverance for God’s people. There is a protocol and sequence to receiving your miracle. James 5:14-16 tells us what to do.
But how does one appropriate healing?
First, and most importantly, one must truly possess faith in what the Word of God teaches and proclaims as it relates to healing and deliverance.
Hebrews 11:6 reads, “But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Jesus insisted, “Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).
In Mark 9:23, we read where Jesus our Lord said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
Christ told His disciples, “And these signs shall follow them that believe” (Mark 16:17).
Paul underscores the power of believing when He writes “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power” (Eph. 1:19).
Dear child of God, based on the Word of God, you must sincerely and completely believe that God heals today and does miracles today and that it is His great delight to show forth His grace and power in healing and deliverance now.
Second, the sick person must call for the elders to pray.
In James 5:14, we read, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church” for prayer. These elders must be righteous and full of faith. Mature women of God can be involved as well. The sick person must demonstrate faith that God does answer prayer and that they truly want God to heal them of the sickness.
I have been advised that some people actually want to remain sick because they get a lot of sympathy and attention from family and doctors. The sick person must be sick and tired of being sick. You must be willing to move from the life of a sick person to the life of a well person, being fully active in life.
Also notice that James insists on more than one elder. He says elders. He is following the words of Christ in respect to the power of agreement in prayer.
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20)
And in Matthew 18:19, we read, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is heaven.”
Third, James 5:15 raises the issue of sin being unconfessed in the sick person’s life. I believe and teach that if the sick person is holding on to sinful feelings or involved in sinful living, he must deal with this biblically, possess true godly sorrow, and repent of it to the Lord. Some believers harbor unforgiveness. They must let go of it and forgive the person that did them wrong. Some folk are holding on to their addictions, like smoking, yet asking God to heal them of lung cancer. They must repent of it. Some church members are living in adultery and yet wanting God to heal them of an illness. We all possess a sin nature, and we must deal with it according to the Word of God. Daily, we must confess our sins and bring them to the cross and leave them there. We all fall short of godly living and consequently we must be reminded that Christ’s blood was shed for all sin—past, present, and future.
But we must not live with unconfessed sin as part of our lives. The apostle James insisted, “And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (or sins) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.”
You don’t need to confess your sins out loud to everybody. Someone said, “We must all live in the shadow of the cross.” Paul stated, “I die daily.” He meant daily to sin.
Fourth, James commands the elders to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord. The physical act of pouring some oil on a sick person will not in any way cause or bring healing to that individual.
In Exodus 29, God instructed Moses to anoint Aaron with oil as the new high priest of Israel.
In I Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel anointed David with oil to be the future king of Israel.
Mark 6:13 tells us, “And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.” Jesus and the disciples practiced the anointing with oil. The anointing of oil signifies the involvement of the Holy Spirit in respect to healing.
Oil is an Old Testament and New Testament symbol of the Holy Spirit. When one prays for the sick, he is praying in the name and authority of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 2:4, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
The practice of anointing with oil means you are depending on the power of the Holy Spirit to implement the will of God in respect to healing.
Divine healing occurs because of the power of the blood, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the power of faith-filled prayer.
Fifth and finally, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).
I believe that prayer can be powerful. These two words—effectual fervent—come from one Greek word energeo, which is where we get our word energy. Energeo means “living, powerful and efficient.” The word efficient means “capable of producing desired results with little or no waste of time.” Think of that! Holy Ghost prayers, based upon the Word of God, by the power of the blood (cross), in the power of the Holy Spirit is a living thing, is active, powerful and it is efficient, thus producing great results. James declares that this kind of praying of righteous elders availeth much. The Greek word here for availeth means “to have force, to prevail, to have strength.”
Simply, James is saying that when righteous elders gather to pray for the sick, these prayers are “living, powerful, and produces great results.”
Dear friends, we must always remember Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever.”
Our merciful and loving Father still responds to the prayers of righteous, faith-filled men and women of God.
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