Follow the Examples
Each of the healing evangelists that I researched wrote or spoke about how Jesus went about His healing ministry, and gave examples of the methods He used. All these evangelists seem to use these same methods to some extent, though they aren’t locked into doing it the same way all the time. While they generally may lay hands on or touch the people they are praying for, they don’t always do so. Many will anoint the sick with oil, but not always. One thing they always do is pray, claiming God’s Word for healing and telling the sickness to leave.
Following are scriptures which show the different actions of Jesus and the early disciples when healing those in need.
When giving the disciples the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, Jesus also said that these signs will follow those who believe: “They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”[1] Throughout the Gospels, there are numerous examples of Jesus using touch in healing.
Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.[2]
When the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.[3]
Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him.[4]
Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.[5]
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.[6]
Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.[7]
There are other instances mentioned of Jesus touching those whom He healed.[8]
The apostles also used touch in their healing of others.
[Peter] took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.[9]
Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.[10]
Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”[11]
It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him.[12]
Often people would touch Jesus and be healed.
When the men of that place recognized Him, they sent around to all that region and brought to Him all who were sick and implored Him that they might only touch the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well.[13]
She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If I touch even His garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.[14]
Wherever He came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored Him that they might touch even the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well.[15]
All the crowd sought to touch Him, for power came out from Him and healed them all.[16]
As the above verses show, touch can play a role in healing. Don Dunkerley says the following about touch in healing:
When I invite those who have received a healing touch from Jesus to testify, they speak of having felt heat or power flowing through their bodies when I touched them. They speak of fever leaving, pain going, lame limbs getting new strength, eyesight improving. And most of them tie the instant of healing to the moment of my touch.
These times of healing prayer usually follow the sermon and Gospel invitation. Many of those healed have just received Christ. Some may have come for the healing prayer and obtained salvation while they waited.
As I listen to these testimonies, I realize that the Lord uses my touch for healing, even though He is perfectly capable of healing if I only pray and do not touch. I can also tell from the testimonies that these persons were strengthened in faith to believe that Jesus would touch them by the simple fact that I was touching them in His name. Faith, as well as my touch, was an element in their healing.[17]
Another example we can follow is using oil for anointing when we pray.
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.[18]
They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.[19]
There were times when Jesus healed in public, and other times when He took the person aside to a private place to heal them.
They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged Him to lay His hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, He put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.[20]
He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when He had spit on his eyes and laid His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid His hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.[21]
Sometimes when Jesus would heal, He would instruct the person to take some sort of action.
Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.[22]
Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight.[23]
When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”[24]
The Greatest of These Is Love
In addition to healing being a platform for sharing the Gospel, one of the main motivations for praying for people is compassion. Jesus had compassion and sympathy for the suffering of others, and He did something about it.
When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.[25]
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” … He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied.[26]
As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”[27]
A leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.[28]
Compassion can be seen as love in action. Jesus leaving the halls of heaven to live among us was a manifestation of God’s love for mankind. God is compassionate. Jesus reflected the compassion and love of God through His actions. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, meaning the Spirit of God dwells within us, and thus we too should be moved to action by compassion and love.
The Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, has made available spiritual gifts, one of which is healing. The apostle Paul wrote about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12. He states:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.[29]
After speaking about these gifts, he says:
I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.[30]
Paul strongly makes the point that if we have the gifts of the Spirit and can do all kinds of wonderful things because of these gifts, we must do them in love, as without love we are nothing.
The motivation for healing as a ministry, just as for the mission in general, is love—love for the searching, for the needy, for the infirm. It’s a manifestation of the compassion which Jesus showed through His example. As Paul says, love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.[31] No matter what your theology or methodology regarding healing, ministering to people must be done with love.
It is wrong to say and do things which make people who don’t get healed feel condemned about it. It’s unkind and unloving to tell people who are suffering that they or their faith has failed, and that’s why they aren’t getting healed, or to tell the parents of a sick child that it’s their fault the child isn’t getting healed. Those who do so may feel they are trying to help, and perhaps they are full of zeal in regard to healing, but it’s important to temper zeal with love and compassion—to put yourself in the position of the sick person, or those grieving their loss, and act in a loving manner by showing sympathy. Love is the key when working with the infirm and with their loved ones.
Closing Thoughts
Reading the books on healing, listening to the audio and video classes, and studying the theology of healing has caused Maria and me to become much more aware of the good fruit and the lives helped and reached through ministries of healing in evangelism. Those who minister healing have a wonderful tool in their arsenal for showing the power of God and the love of Christ.
Those who pray for others’ healing can be conduits of the Lord’s healing power and can make a huge difference in the lives of others.
These articles have barely skimmed the surface when it comes to using healing as a witness, but our hope is that in reading them, your faith will be increased to pray for others as part of your witness, as the Lord leads you. Those of you who feel called to develop a ministry of evangelism through healing might want to go over some of the material that we studied. The names of the books, audios, and videos used in these articles are in the introduction. You also may want to do further research about healing.
In each of the books and the classes, there may be some things that you will not agree with, which was definitely the case for us. However, they each teach the basics of healing, give many how-to tips on the practical aspects, and can help to increase your faith that God can use you as a vehicle of His healing when ministering to others.
As Christians, we’ve all been given the power to pray for the sick, as evidenced by the words of Jesus, His commands to His disciples to pray for the sick, His personal example, and the example of the early disciples. We can all pray for those who are sick, and when we do, we can be the means by which God brings them healing. It takes faith to step out and pray for others, especially in a witnessing situation where you don’t know the person. It may be awkward, it could be embarrassing, but in doing so, the opportunity is given to someone to be touched by God. Many people would be happy to have someone pray for their healing, whether they are believers or not. When we pray for someone’s healing, we provide an opening for His love and power to be manifested to an individual.
His Word is clear—healing is available! He’s given us as believers power to heal. He’s sent us as disciples to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, has made the gift of healing available to us. When we pray for the sick, they will be healed in accordance with God’s will. No matter what method we use, God’s Spirit can use us as vehicles for His healing if we will take the step to pray for others. What a wonderful gift! What an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others! What a tremendous vehicle for showing someone the love of Jesus, God’s compassion!
We may not know all the theological ins and outs, we may not know every method available, we may not completely understand why some people are healed and others aren’t, but what we do know is that the power of healing is available to us, as Christians, to help in ministering to others and leading them to salvation.
May God’s love and compassion motivate us to use all the means at our disposal, including the power of healing, to fulfill our mission of bringing Jesus into the lives of others.
[1] He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:15–18 ESV).
[2] Matthew 8:3 ESV.
[3] Matthew 9:25 ESV.
[4] Matthew 20:34 ESV.
[5] Mark 5:41–42 ESV.
[6] Luke 4:40 ESV.
[7] Luke 7:14–15 ESV.
[8] Other verses on Jesus touching those He healed are:
He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve Him (Matthew 8:15 ESV).
Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened (Matthew 9:29–30 ESV).
Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose (Mark 9:27 ESV).
He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God (Luke 13:13 ESV).
[9] Acts 3:7 ESV.
[10] Acts 9:17–18 ESV.
[11] Acts 20:10 ESV.
[12] Acts 28:8 ESV.
[13] Matthew 14:35–36 ESV.
[14] Mark 5:27–29 ESV.
[15] Mark 6:56 ESV.
[16] Luke 6:19 ESV.
[17] HE 141.
[18] James 5:14–15 ESV.
[19] Mark 6:13 ESV.
[20] Mark 7:32–35 ESV.
[21] Mark 8:23–25 ESV.
[22] Matthew 12:13 ESV.
[23] Mark 10:52 ESV.
[24] John 11:43–44 ESV.
[25] Matthew 14:14 ESV.
[26] Matthew 15:32, 36–37 ESV.
[27] Luke 7:12–14 ESV.
[28] Mark 1:40–42 NAU.
[29] 1 Corinthians 12:4–11 ESV.
[30] 1 Corinthians 12:31–13:2 ESV.
[31] 1 Corinthians 13:4–5 ESV.
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