Healing Prayer: 5 Step Method for Praying for Healing

I. Introduction

a. Agenda

i. Introduction

ii. The Kingdom of God

iii. Jesus Ministry Pattern

iv. 5 Step method for prayer ministry – physical healing

v. Demonstration

vi. Q/A

b. John Wimber quote

i. “For anything to be picked up off of the pages of Scripture and lived in a local community within a particular context, you’ll need a theology, a model, and a practice."

c. Mother Angelica quote

i. “Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous. When you have God, you don’t have to know everything about it; you just do it.”

d. As followers of Jesus, we are called to care for our congregation and all people.

i. Ministry prayer is the most basic form of ministry between members of the Body of Christ.

ii. We want to build a culture of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and care for the people in our body.

iii. When the people of the congregation see the leaders active in ministry, they will also want to participate.

II. Theology – The Kingdom of God

a. Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 4:12-17

i. Right after baptism and temptation, Jesus inaugurates his ministry with these words.

ii. The phrase “come near” ἐγγίζω eggizō – approaching, standing beside, right next to.

iii. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

iv. “From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

b. Matthew 10:7-8 – commissioning the 12

i. This was the message they were to deliver.

ii. “As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

c. Luke 10:8-9

i. Sending of the 72

ii. “Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’”

d. Kingdom of God (Heaven)

i. The Kingdom of God is the community of Jesus followers, supernaturally linked together by the Holy Spirit.

ii. The King in the Kingdom is Jesus.

iii. The power and authority of citizenship in the Kingdom is given by the King, through the Holy Spirit.

iv. The full realization of the Kingdom of God will happen with Jesus’ return and the resurrection.

v. Every time we act with the power and authority that is given to us by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, a drop of eternity is experienced.

1. Example: In the New Creation, there will be no sickness. When we pray for healing, we are inviting the New Creation of our future (and God’s present) into our present.

vi. The Kingdom of God is the subject of all of Jesus’ teachings in one form or another.

1. For example, the Sermon on the Mount is entirely about what the Kingdom of God should look like.

III. Model

a. The pattern for Jesus’ ministry

i. We are building a theology, and Jesus is the model for our practice.

ii. Jesus first declares– he teaches about the Kingdom of God.

iii. Jesus then demonstrates– he shows us what the kingdom of God is like.

iv. Jesus then commissions us to go do what he taught and did by his authority in the Power of the Holy Spirit.

b. Example:

i. Matthew 5-7 the Sermon on the Mount – what the kingdom of God looks like

ii. Matthew 8 and 9 Miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit – drops of eternity.

1. Matthew 8:1-4 – man healed of leprosy.

2. Matthew 8:5-13 – Centurion’s servant healed.

3. Matthew 8:14-17 – Healing Peter’s mother-in-law

a. Many other physical healings and deliverances.

4. Matthew 8:23-27 – Jesus calms the storm.

5. Matthew 8:28-34 – Deliverance for two demon-possessed men.

6. Matthew 9:1-8 – healing of the paralytic – “your sins are forgiven”, physical and spiritual healing.

7. Matthew 9:9-12 – Calling of Matthew.

8. Matthew 9:18-26 – Healing of the leader’s daughter and the woman with the bleeding issue.

9. Matthew 9:27-31 – Healing two blind men.

10. Matthew 9:32-34 – deliverance.

iii. Matthew 9:35-38

1. Vs. 35 – Jesus went:

a. Taught the Scriptures in the synagogues

b. Preached the Kingdom of God Gospel – it is here!

c. Healed the sick and oppressed.

2. Jesus did all this because of his love and compassion for the people.

3. “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

iv. Matthew 10:1 – Sending the 12

1. “he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.”

v. Luke 10:1-9

1. Echoes Matthew 9:35

2. Vs. 9 “Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’  

c. Application

i. We are the workers.

ii. We have the authority of Jesus.

iii. We are to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God.

iv. We are to demonstrate the Kingdom of God by praying for the healing of the sick and delivering people from demonic oppression.

v. This is normative Christianity!

IV. Practice

a. 5 Step Model for Prayer Ministry

i. It is not a magic formula.

1. That is, paganistic idolatry – transactional religion.

ii. It is entirely dependent upon the Holy Spirit.

iii. It is a method used by countless Christians throughout the world effectively as a way of ministering the Gospel of the Kingdom.

iv. Formulated by John Wimber

1. He took it from his observations of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels.

2. Refined and modified by others  - Dereck Morphew, Ken Fish, Randy Clark, Robbie Dawkins.

b. Steps

i. Interview

1. Ask the person what they want prayer for

2. Ask when the thing they want prayer for started.

3. What was happening in their lives when it started?

4. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you.

5. Pain scale.

ii. Select Prayer

1. Straight-up healing?

2. Forgiveness?

3. Repentance?

4. Deliverance?

5. Etc.

iii. Pray

1. Keep your eyes wide open.

2. Watch the person – their facial expressions, body movements.

3. What are they telling you without saying it?

4. Do not pray “if it be your will.”

iv. Reinterview

1. Pain scale

2. How do they feel?

3. If not completely healed, pray again.

4. If you observed something while praying, address it and maybe pray differently.

v. Final Instructions

1. Work on forgiveness.

2. Opportunity to dedicate life to Jesus.

3. Find a counselor / Spiritual Director.

4. Go to the doctor.

5. Pray for healing, take your medicine.