Prayers Of Faith & Healing

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Published by: Crossroads Publications 10681 Princes Highway Warrnambool Victoria 3280 Australia “PRAYERS OF FAITH AND HEALING” Study 11 Christian Foundation Studies Series One CONTENTS PRAYERS OF FAITH..................................................................................................................1 SPIRITUAL HOPE..................................................................................................................1 How Spiritual Hope is Developed.......................................................................................2 Hope’s Work In Us..............................................................................................................5 BIBLE FAITH..........................................................................................................................6 How Do We Obtain Faith ?.................................................................................................9 Faith’s Work In Us.............................................................................................................11 OUR PRAYER LIFE..............................................................................................................11 How To Pray Effectively...................................................................................................12 The Prayer We Call “Grace”.............................................................................................18 Organizing Our Quiet-Time..............................................................................................19 The Blood Covering..........................................................................................................21 Applying the “Blood Covering”........................................................................................30 OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CHRISTIANS........................................................................33 DIVINE HEALING...............................................................................................................36 DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY...................................................................................40 Our Ongoing Identification With.......................................................................................40 Christ Through Communion..............................................................................................40 The Journey Of The Strong...............................................................................................42 THE BRASS SERPENT........................................................................................................47 All Sin And Sickness Is Nailed To The Cross...................................................................48 The Lord Our Healer.........................................................................................................52 Discerning The Lord’s Body.............................................................................................55 Jesus’ Stripes.....................................................................................................................57 The Healing Process..........................................................................................................64 Freedom For The Weak In Faith........................................................................................66 The Process Of Prayer.......................................................................................................68 Thirty Five Facts About Sickness And Healing................................................................70 OBTAINING GOD’S GRACE..............................................................................................73 Our Focus Point When Praying.........................................................................................74 Major Conditions For Receiving.......................................................................................75 GOD’S DESIRE FOR US......................................................................................................77 PRAYERS OF FAITH Prayer is a significant aspect of the Christian walk. Primarily, it is a means by which we can communicate with God and fellowship with our Lord. Through prayer we can ask in faith for the Lord to meet a need in our life or someone else’s. Scripture declares to us the value and influence of properly focused, properly anchored prayer. JAMES 5:16 . . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Through prayer we can seek direction, guidance, empowerment or enlightenment. Prayer can also be a response to God’s love, a Divine interaction by which God’s desire can be implanted in man and man’s desire can become that of his Creator. Through prayer that brings the grace of God to us, we can become more aligned with our Father’s will, and more aware of His nature and characteristics as we commune with Him on an intimate level. Prayer is inviting God to divinely touch, fill and change something or someone maybe even ourselves. Prayer is not so much just an action of the individual as a state of the heart. Our prayer should always be conducted in the knowledge of our total dependence on the Lord - from the air we breathe to the spiritual strength, gained through the Divine Nature, needed to do His will. We should not pray for anything outside the Lord’s will - not our desires or wants, only that His will alone would be done in our lives. This is the pathway to peace, empowerment and the development of Christian character. “. . .Prayer is inviting God to divinely touch, fill and change something or someone. . .” There are many different kinds of prayer. However, before we begin our study on prayer, we will look briefly at the subjects of spiritual hope and Bible faith in order to prepare a foundation for this teaching. SPIRITUAL HOPE Background Reading: Romans 4:17-21 The dictionary meaning of the word “hope” is a combination of expectation and desire. In the world today, however, its meaning has deteriorated to that of mere wishful thinking. In contrast, the Biblical concept of hope, which is spiritual hope, is not merely expectation and desire, but includes having confidence and taking refuge in the “God of hope.” So to hope in the Biblical sense is to: - anticipate with pleasure - earnestly expect - wait in patient confidence Prayers Of Faith & Healing 1 The hope we have available to us in Christ surpasses the concept of worldly hope, for it not only promises the empowerment we need to live a life of victory over sin, it also gives us the joyful expectation of an eternal future which we will spend with God our Heavenly Father. Hope is the anchor of trust, and combines with trust to form faith. Hope is the blueprint of faith and the foundation of faith. Hope is the Word of God explained - which brings understanding. Faith is the assurance of that which we hope for. The spiritual anchor of hope cannot move, being anchored in God Himself, and thus being steadfast and secure (Hebrews 6:19). The union of spiritual hope (belief) and trust constitutes faith. How Spiritual Hope is Developed As we read God’s Word or hear it being preached under the Anointing, we come to believe that a particular promise of God is true and available to us. With the Spirit’s help we thus develop a two dimensional image or picture in our minds of this promise. As we meditate with proper focus upon this promise, we allow God to reveal the truth of it to our hearts. It then becomes three dimensional. This is how spiritual hope is developed within our hearts. “. . .The spiritual anchor of hope cannot move, being anchored in God Himself, and thus being steadfast and secure. . .” Therefore, in order to obtain spiritual hope, we need to allow God to help us deposit the knowledge of any particular promise in our heart. This is the process by which is created an inner awareness or an inner mould - a three dimensional image. This is the three dimensional image of spiritual hope, and it is this which precedes the four dimensional reality of faith. One reason God tells us to continually meditate on His Word is so that, with proper focus, spiritual hope can be created deep on the inside. (Indeed this is the inner mould into which trust can then be poured so that faith is obtained). For example, the blueprint or inner mould for having God supply our needs should start to develop as we meditate on such scriptures as: PSALM 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. PHILIPPIANS 4:19 . . . my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. As we read these verses of scripture or were told of their promise, and we received the knowledge they contained, we also received the vision or hope whereby we were able to believe that this promise was for us. This takes place through the Holy Spirit working Prayers Of Faith & Healing 2 deep within us, as we yield and flow with Him in seeking truth. We should always recognize Him as our true Teacher - the giver and revealer of truth. Therefore it is by a work of grace that we are brought to believe in that which God has written on our hearts and minds. Another example would be the blueprint or inner mould for healing. Isaiah 53:4-5 tells us: ISAIAH 53:4 Surely He (Jesus) has borne our griefs (sicknesses), and carried our sorrows: yet we did (ignorantly) esteem (consider) Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ISAIAH 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions (rebellion), He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace (punishment that brought us peace) was upon Him (and Him alone); and with (by) His stripes we are healed (and made whole). Isaiah 53:5 is one of the main scriptures Christians meditate on to help them obtain the hope of, or the blueprint for, healing. And as we have learned, this hope is not the hope which is commonly understood by the world today. Rather it is Biblical hope, the joyful expectation that we will obtain the promises of God as we make proper demands on His power. “. . .One reason God tells us to continually meditate on His Word is so that, with proper focus, spiritual hope can be created deep on the inside. . .” The proper usage of words is very important to the development of hope, for words transfer images to the soul of man, images which can be of either a positive or negative nature. Positive confession is an important tool which we can utilize in order to obtain real Biblical hope, for confession with proper focus can help us build up a vivid, inner awareness of God’s Word. Indeed, the Holy Spirit can anoint our words so that, brick by brick, spiritual hope can be built up within us. Continually meditating on God’s Word and confessing scriptural promises can, with God’s help, build up an inner image on the inside which cannot be broken, distorted or stolen by anyone. Note: As we confess God’s Word aloud, this can also, at times, help us develop faith through helping us focus correctly. This doesn’t occur because confession drives away doubt but because “faith comes by hearing . . . the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Confession therefore is not an end in itself but a tool which helps us focus on what God has said. Initially it may be hard for some to gain spiritual hope (a three dimensional picture of one of God’s promises), just as it is hard to begin anything which is new. For example, when we first begin playing a sport, we generally feel awkward. As time passes by, however, with practice and dedication the particular sport becomes more natural for us. It is the same with our faith-walk. It takes time, dedication and practice for us to learn to walk Prayers Of Faith & Healing 3 by faith, always yielding to and relying on the Spirit. It is then not the power of our will, but the power of the Holy Spirit - His grace at work within us which brings us to this position. Contrary to this development of hope, many people develop within themselves an inner image of failure which is based on fear. If you were to ask them if they could feel this fear, they would have to answer “yes,” for it is to them a real experience. The foolish thing is that many create such an image of failure (a negative expectation) within themselves because they meditate, and therefore focus, on all the negative circumstances of their lives. People then dwell on this negative expectation until it becomes so-called “negative faith.” This is because they are actually believing in or on something which goes against God’s will or Word. They then come to experience the very thing they had feared, the very thing they had come to anticipate and expect (Job 3:25). To counteract this, Believers need to meditate on the promises of God’s Word rather than dwell on the past, present or future in a negative way. They need to have a wholehearted approach to God’s Word so that it will eventually become their hope. Then they will begin to see themselves as God sees them and to think and act accordingly - as the Spirit energizes the heart of man by the grace of His Divine Nature. “. . .The proper usage of words is very important to the development of hope, for words transfer images to the soul of man. . .” Therefore, we need to believe and confess (and so hear with our ears) what God and His Word say we are, not what people say or what the negatives of our past may dictate. For example, with the help of the Holy Spirit: We need to see ourselves in a position of righteousness, washed and cleansed by the Blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 1:3-7). We need to see that the old man is dead in Christ, and we are now new men and women with a new Nature that can give us the desire and power to do God’s will (Philippians 2:1213). We need to know that because of the Cross our old life is dead, and our new life in Christ has given us power over the sin nature (Romans 6:3-4). We need to see ourselves as joint heirs with Jesus, seated in heavenly places with Christ as citizens of heaven (Romans 8:16-17, Ephesians 2:6). We need to see ourselves walking into the throneroom of heaven to speak with our Father at any time (Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 3:12). We need to see ourselves as sons of God and not slaves of the devil (Romans 6:17-18, Galatians 4:6-7). We need to ask the Spirit to illuminate (beyond our mind and to our heart) the truths of our Covenant so we can see ourselves as prosperous and victorious, living in complete health in mind and body - as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). We need to see ourselves having all our needs met by our Heavenly Father (Philippians 4:19, Ephesians 1:3). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 4 We need a heart-knowledge that our Father in heaven cares for us and wants to shower His grace upon us. He desires, constantly, what is best for us, and sickness, disease, bondage, poverty, worry, fear, etc., are not part of His Kingdom (1 Peter 5:7, Luke 12:2232). We need to see ourselves in this position, knowing that the One within us is greater than anyone or anything else (1 John 4:4, Philippians 4:13, Revelation12:11). We need to see that through the Blood of Jesus, we have been given authority over Satan and all his forces (Revelation 12:11). To see all these things means that we will have an understanding or a vision in our hearts and minds of their reality, imparted by God’s grace (Hebrews 10:16). These are some of the truths we need to be confessing and reminding ourselves of each day, trusting that the Holy Spirit will work first on our minds and hearts (Hebrews 10:16), then in our lives. Indeed above all we need to allow the Spirit to write these truths on our hearts, and so empower us to believe what we are confessing - for we cannot do anything unless He empowers us (John 15:5). “. . .we need to believe and confess (and so hear with our ears) what God and His Word say we are, not what people say or what the negatives of our past may dictate. . .” We may need to meditate on these truths for a certain period (hours, days, weeks or months), depending on our openness and spiritual perception, until, with the help of the Spirit, our inner image of who we are in Christ begins to coincide with the truths of God’s Word - with who God says we are. This kind of confession can aid us in the development of spiritual hope through giving us proper scriptural focus. Then as we continue to reinforce this lifestyle of faith, we will know victory, freedom and strength. Do not entertain thoughts of doubt or absurdity etc., which the enemy may use to try to discourage you. Reject all such lies in Jesus’ Name and stand firm on the reality of the life-changing power of God’s Word, trusting in the power within, the power of the Divine Nature, to help you walk in God’s will. Hope’s Work In Us Without an anchor to hope, man’s mind will drift from God’s Word. As he does this, His faith will gradually weaken until he retains no connection to the Word in regard to faith. This is because trust must have something to trust in, and this something must be pure and right in regard to spiritual things - God’s Word. This is why it is so important to continually meditate, day and night, on the things of God. By doing this we keep the Word afresh in our minds and hearts so that we stay anchored to our hope (God’s promises). Hope is the inner image built up in man through knowledge of His promises. Hope based in God is a hope beyond this world, and is not dependent on this world. Hope of this kind is registered in the heart of the Believer as a “done deal,” an absolute, a Prayers Of Faith & Healing 5 complete entity. This hope makes the promises of God more than just black ink on white paper. It makes God’s written Words a living, vital, energizing reality even if their promise has not yet come to fruition, having not yet been realized in the present. “. . .Without an anchor to hope, man’s mind will drift from God’s Word. . .” Hope is the anchor that gives us the proper focus concerning what God has said and promised (Hebrews 6:19). This hope can look forward to the future which then becomes so secure. God’s promises are the foundation of our hope and the best is yet to come, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). With this guaranteed promise, hope sounds the horn of victory saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). The Blood of the Cross has given us this hope. Let us then embrace it fully with the help of the Holy Spirit. Then no matter what may happen, because our hope is in God and His Word, we will be secure and at one with Him - because we anchor our lives now and in the future in the hope of His Word. In this atmosphere, faith is born in our hearts. We then speak God’s language, that of Divine faith in the power of His Nature (2 Peter 1:4) concerning those things in which we hope. In this, the promises of God are in the present and become a reality in our hearts. Thus victory is assured concerning those of God’s promises which we have digested and which are therefore written on our hearts. Again, hope begins its journey as God’s promises are explained to us (two dimensional). Then hope in God’s promises is developed so that we can believe (three dimensional). Finally faith is the assurance of that which we “hope” for, through the union of belief and trust (four dimensional). BIBLE FAITH Background Reading: Hebrews Chapter 11 As has been stated, faith comes from the union of belief (spiritual hope) and trust. Hope always precedes faith. Hope gives us the boundaries of God’s Word, so that we gain the confidence to proceed. Hope is the foundation of faith, but trust in that in which we believe must be added if faith is to develop. Jesus said in Matthew 21:21-22: MATTHEW 21:21 “. . . Verily I say unto you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say unto this mountain (problem or obstacle), ‘Be removed, and be cast into the sea;’ it shall be done (and nothing shall be impossible for you). MATTHEW 21:22 And all things, whatsoever (according to the will of God) you shall ask in prayer, believing (having faith for), you shall receive.” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 6 Bible faith is not mere mental assent to a set of doctrines or the outward acceptance of a particular legal code. It involves placing one’s confidence in the faithfulness of God and His Word in an attitude of loving obedience to His will. In fact to have this faith is to have in our hearts the title deed to a particular promise contained in God’s Word. Faith can be defined in terms of words such as: confidence, trust, reliance, persuasion. The word “faith” is a noun. It is a conviction within, an inner knowing which is so strong that nothing can persuade you to the contrary. For example, no one would be able to persuade you to believe that you are called by a different name than your given name. To have faith is to possess the same kind of certainty. So when we have the substance of faith we: - have no doubt in someone or something. - believe wholeheartedly. - are fully persuaded with full assurance. - have absolute certainty in the trustworthiness of someone or something. Thus having holy Bible faith places us in a position of supreme confidence. Through Holy Spirit conviction we will be fully convinced that what God has promised will come to pass. “. . .Bible faith is not mere mental assent to a set of doctrines or the outward acceptance of a particular legal code. It involves placing one’s confidence in the faithfulness of God and His Word in an attitude of loving obedience to His will. . .” If a Believer doesn’t understand the message of the Cross, the only other object for their faith can be their works. This is not the means by which faith is obtained. Bible faith can only come from God’s grace at work in us. The only legal means by which the power that produces belief and trust within the Saint’s heart can be gained is through the Divine Nature energizing our human nature with its energies and graces. This then is resurrection power at work. Faith can only be obtained through the energizing of our human nature, for only when the Divine Nature enmeshes with our human nature can we really trust. Without the graces of the Divine Nature being absorbed by our human nature, we can believe to some extent, but not fully trust. Only when we have a proper focus, and the energies of the Divine Nature are absorbed by our human nature, can we come to a position of trusting in that in which we believe. This is a work of grace from beginning to end, for it is the work of the Spirit within. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 7 Faith in Calvary’s atoning work is needed daily if we are to have a victorious walk. Every promise comes via this work of the Saviour, and us having faith in it. We must abide in Christ experientially (John 15:5), which means we are not to trust in our own strength or willpower but rather His power given to us at the Cross. This power causes sin to be completely defeated, having no longer any rule over us. For this truth and legal position to be realized in the Saint’s life, they must have faith in Christ’s Atonement daily. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians: GALATIANS 2:20 I am Crucified with Christ (as the Foundation of all Victory; Paul, here, takes us back to Romans 6:3-5): nevertheless I live (have new life); yet not I (not by my own strength and ability), but Christ lives in me (by virtue of me dying with Him on the Cross, and being raised with Him in newness of life): and the life which I now live in the flesh (my daily walk before God) I live by the Faith of the Son of God (developed in me by the Holy Spirit), Who loved me, and gave Himself for me (which is the only way that I could be saved). (E.S.B.) GALATIANS 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness came by the Law (any kind of law which amounts to righteousness by works), then Christ is dead in vain (if by works I can be saved, or if in my own strength I can serve God and please Him, then Christ died for nothing). Wuest speaks of Galatians 2:20 as follows: “I am crucified with Christ. The verb is in the perfect tense which speaks of a past completed action having present finished results. Paul uses it to show that his identification with Christ at the Cross was a past fact, and that the spiritual benefits that have come to him through his identification are present realities with him. By this statement he also shows how he died to the law, namely by dying with Christ who died under its penalty. The law’s demands were satisfied and therefore have no more hold on Paul. But thus being crucified with Christ, meant also to Paul, death to self. When Paul died with Christ, it was the Pharisee Saul who died. What he was and did up to that time passed away so far as he was concerned, Saul was buried, and the old life with him. The dominating control of the Adamic nature had its power over him broken.” 1 (underlines added) “. . .If a Believer doesn’t understand the message of the Cross, the only other object for their faith can be their works. . .” “I do not frustrate the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21) means that Paul does not nullify this grace by self-effort. If we add to the message of the Cross by adding law (works) rather than faith in Christ’s finished work, then experientially we will frustrate God’s grace towards us. Summing it up quickly one could say: Religion says “I can do it.” Relationship says “Christ can do it through me as I acknowledge who I am in Him, reckon myself to be dead to the old man, and yield to the Holy Spirit” (Romans 6:8-13). Then as Prayers Of Faith & Healing 8 with Paul, the past is dead and the power of the Adamic nature is broken - all at the Cross. Amen. How Do We Obtain Faith ? Background Reading: Romans 10:8-17 Let’s turn to Romans 10:17: ROMANS 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing (the message of God), and hearing by (the preaching and sharing of) the Word of God. The normal way we obtain Bible faith is through either hearing or reading the Word of God. The two senses used in this process are sight and hearing. As we have said, as we read the Word or hear the Word being preached or taught under the Anointing of God, we can come to a position of acceptance that a promise of God is true and available to us. In this way we give our minds, with the Spirit’s help, the opportunity to develop a two dimensional picture, or understanding, of one of God’s promises, i.e. an intellectual understanding or belief that a promise is available to us. As we meditate with proper focus upon this promise (or picture) and allow God to reveal the truth of this promise to our heart through the graces of the Divine nature, it becomes three dimensional. This is how spiritual hope is developed within our hearts. Once this three dimensional picture is established, we are then in a position to receive from God the trust needed to fill the mould of hope so that we may obtain the promise - for faith comes from the union of belief and trust. We need to realize, therefore, that faith is a gift from God. It is obtained as we co-operate with Him, and is not a product of our own making - for as James 1:17 states, every good and perfect gift comes from God: JAMES 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift (including faith) is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights (spiritually speaking, light is goodness and darkness is evil) with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (“For I am the Lord, I change not” : Malachi 3:6). With the help of the Divine Nature we receive this deposit - this gift of trust from God. Such holy trust can only be obtained as the human nature enmeshes with the Divine Nature. To gain this trust is really to have the faith of God, but we must be readied to receive such a gift from Him. Only the enmeshing of the Divine Nature and the human nature at an experiential level can ready us for this. “. . .To gain this trust is really to have the faith of God, but we must be readied to receive such a gift from Him. . .” Once we come to this position of trust, we gain a four dimensional picture which gives us illumination as to the spiritual height, length, width and depth of the particular promise Prayers Of Faith & Healing 9 we are believing for. As we have learned, this union of belief and trust constitutes faith. The promise will then become a reality in our hearts, even before it is manifest in the physical. We will know it is ours as we believe, trust then act upon it. To birth the promise in the physical realm we must then activate our faith by acting upon it. This is necessary because “faith without works (action) is dead” (James 2:17-18). This may involve speaking into existence the four dimensional picture in our hearts. As Jesus said: MARK 11:23 “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says (the “mountain” is used as a symbol, i.e., “mountain of difficulties,” etc.; God is a Miracle working God, and will do so for any of His Children, “whosoever”; however, every petition must be predicated as well on the Will of God). ” (E.S.B) Only when the finger of God writes on both the mind and heart of man can proper renewal take place, resulting in holy faith. This is a work of God’s grace. As man cooperates with God, belief and trust are deposited in man’s heart (Hebrews 10:16) - for proper renewal results in faith. Faith takes us on a journey. Therefore it is not to be just a goal. Holy faith is built on truth - God’s truth and wisdom. The pathway to faith flows through truth and wisdom, but the pathway also brings us into deeper levels of relationship, therefore taking us on a journey beyond the specified goal of belief and trust. In the journey towards faith can come fellowship, an acute awareness of God’s presence and a Divine interaction whereby a two-way communication takes place. This will never happen, however, unless we allow God to help us take off the sandals of the flesh - self’s thinking, opinions, wants and desires. If we only seek faith in order to obtain power to do God’s work, we will miss the opportunity to build on our relationship with Him. How can we know Him unless we spend time with Him? Indeed we must be “God chasers” as well as seekers of truth. “. . .The pathway to faith flows through truth and wisdom, but the pathway also brings us into deeper levels of relationship, therefore taking us on a journey beyond the specified goal of belief and trust. . .” In studying His Word the Lord will quite often bring to us a heightened awareness of His presence and power that then causes us to consider Him first in all things. With this will come a deepening of our love for Him that brings to us an awareness and an appreciation of His love for us - and so a respect for every Word that proceeds from His mouth. Whether a particular Word was written thousands of years ago, or whether it was given to us personally moments ago by His Spirit, we cherish and appreciate His communication with us - for it demonstrates a living, vital connection with Him. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 10 Faith’s Work In Us “Now faith” it says in Hebrews 11:1, “is the substance (assurance or title deed) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction or proving [R.S.V.]) of things not seen.” Faith is the taproot anchored in trust, faith’s soil is the presence of God in our lives. Faith brings heaven’s waters, which proceed from the throne of God, to quench our thirsty souls. Faith is a journey of progression and increase in God which brings us to the Father to commune with Him. Faith is “Not my will be done but Yours Father.” Faith is the growth factor, it is God’s gift to His child. Faith is, in God, seeing the impossible become the possible. Faith is the Divine revelation of God’s heart, given to us to cause our hearts to catch on fire with holy desire. Holy faith gives us power beyond fear, and causes us to love God with all we have and to love our neighbour as ourselves. Faith gives us the ability in Christ to forgive no matter how much we hurt. Faith gives us a supernatural focus beyond the natural, taking us into heaven itself and bringing us into the throneroom in time of need. Faith lifts us up with wings as eagles to soar over mountains. Faith is a journey not taken alone. It takes us beyond our thoughts and connects us to God to be at one with His thoughts. This holy given faith is the answer to compromise and despair. Faith, or lack of it, makes us what and who we are. It empowers us and can develop our character in God. Faith is the seal of our trust in the One who loves us. It is the light in the dark, the warmth in the cold. Faith brings us to a place which depends on Him for all things. Faith always brings an increase and never a decrease. It is not a philosophy or a religion but a living relationship built on trust through Christ Jesus. Faith in the Christ of the Cross gives us the guarantee of an eternal future with Him. The question remains, what faith have ye? OUR PRAYER LIFE Background Reading: Matthew 6:5-15 The purpose of prayer in our daily lives as Christians is both powerful and vital, prayer being a personal and spiritual interaction between the Creator and the crown of His creation – man. In Matthew Ch. 6 Jesus opens the subject of prayer with the words “when you pray” (Matthew 6:5). Notice that the Lord did not say “if you pray,” to suggest that prayer is an optional extra to the Christian life, or something reserved for religious fanatics. Jesus also said: MATTHEW 6:7 “But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do (this means to repeat certain words, phrases or prayers, over and over): for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (formularised and repetitious prayer). MATTHEW 6:8 Be not therefore like unto them (the heathen): for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask Him.” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 11 In other words, we should not repeat the same prayer over and over, or use prayer as a formula in a religious sense to try to guarantee God’s response. Rather, our prayer is to be from the heart and directed to our Father Who, being omniscient, already knows what we need. Therefore we can rest in the knowledge that we don’t have to try to convince God that we are in need. He knows what we need and when we need it and what the repercussions would be if we were to gain everything our flesh desired. “. . .The purpose of prayer in our daily lives as Christians is both powerful and vital, prayer being a personal and spiritual interaction between the Creator and the crown of His creation – man. . .” Remember, we should not be trying to earn God’s favour or impress Him with many fancy words and eloquent or religious prayers. Rather we should be seeking to communicate with God from the heart, to maintain a spiritual focus through prayer and to listen for the Lord’s responses to us, however He may choose to convey them. Prayer is both a great privilege and an awesome responsibility - the means of communicating with our Creator, of fellowshipping with Him and bringing our needs and the needs of others before Him. The Word exhorts us to pray so that God may release His power in response to the humble hearts of those who seek His face and desire His will. PSALM 65:2 O (God) You Who hears prayer, unto You shall all flesh come. 2 CHRONICLES 7:14 If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. How To Pray Effectively Background Reading: Mark 11:23-26 God is now your Heavenly Father, and when you have a need, you can come before Him to ask for His help. We must always remember regarding our focus that the foundation for all prayer must be Calvary - the Atonement. It is only through the gateway of the Cross that we can rightly receive from Him. With this in mind we must: 1. Ask according to God’s Word in Jesus’ Name: In order to pray effectively, first of all we must come before our Heavenly Father in Jesus’ Name. In John 14:13-14 Jesus gave instructions regarding how we are to pray, and in whose Name. JOHN 14:13 And whatsoever you shall ask in My Name (the Christian is given the Power of Attorney to use the Name of Christ : E.S.B.) that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 12 JOHN 14:14 If you shall ask any thing in My Name, I will do it (refers to that which is in harmony with His Character and Will : E.S.B.). And John 15:16 tells us: JOHN 15:16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain (eternal fruit : 1 Corinthians 3:12-14): that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it you. When we come before our Heavenly Father, we can say for example, “I come before You Father in the Name of Jesus and ask . . . . . . ” Then, if in faith, we would be praying correctly according to the Word of God, and spiritually, we would be before the Father in the throneroom of grace. The Word encourages us to do so, saying: HEBREWS 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The Gospel of John gives us further enlightenment regarding effectual prayer: JOHN 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you (speaks of experiential relationship), you shall ask what you will (this being the will of God), and it shall be done unto you. This scripture shows us clearly that as well as praying in Jesus’ Name, the condition for having our prayer answered is that we are abiding with Christ on an experiential level so that, being energized in the power of the Divine Nature, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), and so pray according to His will. “. . .The Word exhorts us to pray so that God may release His power in response to the humble hearts of those who seek His face and desire His will. . .” So when praying to the Father, we need to remember that we can only do so because of our position in Jesus Christ. This is why we must pray in Jesus’ Name, and so acknowledge this truth in which we stand. We pray in His Name only, according to the Word. In this we are acknowledging the Cross (the Atonement), and that heaven’s graces can only come to us because of the Cross. Indeed all the promises, graces and energies of the Holy Spirit come to us only from the sure foundation of Calvary. Note: In regard to receiving answers to prayer, first and foremost, if there is any sin in our lives, we need to repent and so deal with this sin. Unconfessed sin will block the power of God from operating in our lives so that we will not receive the healing, the provision or the direction we seek. In relation to sin, we must also learn in God to forgive those who have wronged us, asking for His grace, if needed, to help us do so. Indeed to sin Prayers Of Faith & Healing 13 by holding on to unforgiveness is one of the main ways that God’s power is blocked from flowing in the lives of Believers (Mark 11:25-26). 2. Believe and you shall receive: To begin our journey towards faith, we need to have an attitude of expectancy, believing that God will answer our prayer. This expectancy comes about by God’s grace at work in us through the energies and graces of the Divine Nature. This same grace will also cause us to trust in God and His Word as we proceed on our journey. The key to successful prayer is to pray in faith according to God’s will and then to expect results - in God’s timing. Quite often we will know God’s will in regard to a particular matter. However we will not know how He will bring it to pass after we pray, or indeed when He will do so. MARK 9:23 Jesus said unto him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” MARK 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you (energized by His Divine Nature) desire (these are to be God’s desires placed in the Saint’s heart), when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them (as is obvious here, the receiving of these things, whatever they might be, requires relationship, and that is the key : E.S.B.) MATTHEW 21:22 And all things, whatsoever (according to God’s will) you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. To maintain your expectation of receiving, which really concerns your focus, you then need to keep your confession (what you say) in line with God’s Word - for negative words can kill our faith and nullify our prayers, so blocking God’s power from bringing them to fruition (Matthew 12:33-35). Also, negativity can block the grace we need to bring us to trust in that in which we believe. After prayer, therefore, speak words that support your prayer and help keep you focused, for you do not want to block God’s grace in any way. We need God in our thinking, our praying and our believing. Amen. “. . .The key to successful prayer is to pray in faith according to God’s will and then to expect results - in God’s timing. . .” 3. Ask in faith: God tells us in His Word that when we come before Him in prayer, we must come to Him in faith: JOHN 15:16 . . . whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it you. JAMES 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 14 JAMES 1:7 For let not that man (with a doubting heart) think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. JAMES 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (God cannot honour doubt). HEBREWS 11:6 But without faith (belief and trust) it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is (exists) and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. It is imperative to have faith in order to receive from God. This requires wholehearted trust in that in which we are believing, i.e. God’s Word. Having faith means coming to a position in our hearts and minds of complete trust. Many people pray to God, hoping that He will do something - but just hoping will not achieve the desired result. People sometimes have this concept because they do not really know God’s will on the matter about which they are praying. To pray effective, faith-filled prayers, we need to know God’s will in every situation. In order to know His will, we first need to know His Word, for God’s Word is His will. We need to know both the logos Word (written Word) and the rhema Word (revealed Word), which comes, for example, through the gifts of the Spirit - word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). The rhema (revealed) Word can give direction regarding what church to attend, for instance, or even what job to take. In addition it can be a word of encouragement or rebuke. Nevertheless, the rhema Word is also the Word of God, and will therefore reveal the will of God (Acts 16:6-9). Note that the logos (written) Word and the rhema (revealed) Word will never contradict one another but will always be in total agreement. God will never tell you to do anything which contravenes His written Word, and we can be sure that He will never contradict Himself. 1 JOHN 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: (R.S.V.) 1 JOHN 5:15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of Him. (R.S.V.) Praying in faith is not a religious exercise, a patterned formula which guarantees results or an emotional release. Praying in faith has nothing to do with formulas or feelings. We cannot be guided by whether we feel God has heard our prayer - we should only be guided by what His Word tells us. And as these verses clearly reveal, God will only hear and answer our prayers if we ask according to His will. If we don’t know His will in any given situation, we need to seek so that He can reveal to us the way we should pray. “. . .It is imperative to have faith in order to receive from God. Having faith means coming to a position in our hearts and minds of complete trust. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 15 When we have come to a position of faith through God’s grace, and we then pray about a particular situation or person, or for a specific need to be met, we need only ask, in faith, according to His will and Word. From this point on, we should be thanking God that our prayer is being answered. Many people think we need to continually make the same request of God. However, knowing His will regarding the matter concerned, we only need to ask Him once, in faith, then continue on a daily basis to thank Him that our request has been granted. Also, as we have said, after you have received the leading of the Spirit (concerning what to pray about, when and how to pray), and have prayed in faith, you need to hold fast to your confession, speaking words that agree with your prayer and do not negate it. Believe that God’s power began working when you prayed and maintain your faith through the positive words you speak. “. . .after you have received the leading of the Spirit . . . and have prayed in faith, you need to hold fast to your confession, speaking words that agree with your prayer and do not negate it. . .” 4. Ask through another’s faith: If you are unable to believe in this way for your need to be met, you can call on the elders of the church (or a mature person of faith) for assistance. Then, through their prayer of faith, your need can be met - if you are open to receive, and have met the conditions of God’s Word. JAMES 5:14 Is any sick (or weak in faith) among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil (used as a point of contact concerning the release of our faith) in the Name of the Lord: JAMES 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick (make him well), and the Lord (as our Healer) shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him (if he repents). JAMES 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (or we could say, “the prayer of a just man wrought in Him by divine energy” - Dake F.J., The Dake Annotated Bible). When people are young in the Lord, quite often they find that they can easily receive from God through someone else’s faith. Some then continue to live this way for years, not realizing that it is not meant to be a way of life. Indeed to depend on others’ faith is not meant to be an ongoing practice for Christians who want to mature. As we know, God requires the just to live (personally) by faith in Him and His Word. And the principle of “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48) applies very clearly to this particular example, for the Lord expects more from seasoned Christians than from babes in Christ. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 16 However, if older Christians do suffer a heavy attack from the enemy and are, at this time, not in a position to receive directly from God themselves, they can utilize this avenue which God has provided and seek out a person of faith to pray for them so that God can meet their need. Also, older Christians sometimes allow their faith level to drop and need the help of fellow Believers in this regard. In fact this tends to happen with most Christians from time to time. However we can praise God that He has given us this particular avenue of prayer to allow Him to help us during these times, and indeed at any time we have a need. Sometimes even mature Christians, through genetic weakness or a bad diet over many years, find themselves sick with certain diseases. This can, even for old soldiers in Christ, “take the wind out of their sails.” In such times they need the love and support of others. They may have to repent of abusing their body, and purpose to change their eating habits along with undertaking some regular exercise program. They may then have to ask for prayer according to James 5:13-16. In many cases it is a combination of the spiritual, along with natural physical changes, that will, in the long term, give complete victory. So many look for a magic formula or wand to give them healing. They then continue to sin against their body through self-abuse or neglect. Many are then left wondering why God seemingly does not answer their prayer. Others are healed for a short time, only to find that afflictions and physical bondages return. Especially in advancing years, there often needs to be a continuing focus on the promises of God in order to retain one’s healing and to continue in health. “. . .In many cases it is a combination of the spiritual, along with natural physical changes, that will, in the long term, give complete victory. . .” Also remember: When we are being prayed for, especially through the laying on of hands, we are opening ourselves spiritually. We must be careful because there may be evil influences associated with that person’s life which could affect us, spiritually, through this contact. The same applies to the person who is praying. They too are opening themselves spiritually, and they need to take the same precautions. So before we pray for someone or are prayed for, we should thank the Lord for our blood covering. This prayer will be explained in the next section. The blood covering will help stop the enemy from trying to interfere with the prayer, or using the spiritual doorway created when we pray. Remember, however, that this relates primarily to prayer which involves the practice of the laying on of hands. The laying on of hands with the prayer of faith certainly has its place. If we are to live the Christian life, however, God must produce a holy character in us. Prayer according to James 5:13-16 can help us in deliverance or healing, but we must go on in the strength of the Divine Nature if we are to live our life the way God want us to. As Wuest describes it: Prayers Of Faith & Healing 17 “And so it is with the Christian who does not count upon the fact that the divine nature is implanted in his inner being. He goes on living his Christian life as best he can in the energy of his own strength, with the result that he exhibits an imitation Christian experience, not the genuine thing. But the believer who counts upon the fact that he is a possessor of the divine nature, ceases from his own struggles at living a Christian life, and avails himself of the power of God supplied in the divine nature. So the first adjustment the Christian should make is that of counting upon the fact that the power of the indwelling sinful nature is broken and the divine nature imparted, and order his life on that principle.” 2 (underlines added) The Prayer We Call “Grace” Another aspect of prayer which is a traditional part of the Christian walk is the prayer of thanksgiving at meal times known as “grace.” It is a short prayer of gratitude to God, acknowledging Him as our Provider, and honouring and thanking Him for blessing the meal which is about to be eaten. 1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 TIMOTHY 4:4 For every creature of God (to be used for food) is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving (gratitude to God Who gives all things): 1 TIMOTHY 4:5 For it (the meal) is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (the prayer of thanksgiving). If prayed in faith, the prayer of “grace and thanksgiving” imparts a blessing which sanctifies the meal so as to give protection from harm (Mark 16:18). Whether the prayer we call grace is spoken out aloud or is unvoiced prior to eating the meal, it is a heart response to thank the Lord for what is about to be received. A simple prayer could be as follows: Thank you Lord for this food that I am about to receive. May it be blessed and sanctified, and a blessing to my body, in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Grace is not to be a religious ritual but rather an opportunity where we can take a few moments out of the busyness of the day to think about the Lord and remind ourselves and others of the goodness of our God. The prayer we call “grace” is thus a prayer which: 1. Thanks God for His physical provision of food 2. Asks for God’s Divine protection from harm (Mark 16:18) “. . .If prayed in faith, the prayer of “grace and thanksgiving” imparts a blessing which sanctifies the meal so as to give protection from harm. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 18 Note: There have been accounts of missionaries praying over their food and being untouched by the food poisoning that has subsequently affected others. Clearly the blessing and sanctifying of one’s food through grace (the prayer of faith) is important, and indeed necessary in some situations more than others, e.g. third world countries which lack refrigeration and strict regulations regarding food preparation. Organizing Our Quiet-Time Background Reading: Mark 1:35 A daily quiet-time should be a major part of our Christian walk, for prayer and the study of the Word form a foundation for our growth in the Lord. This is how we fellowship with God and get to know Him more and more. To know God on a deeper level, it is necessary to spend time with Him on a daily basis. As we spend time fellowshipping with God through prayer, devotion and the study of His Word, we can gain a deeper knowledge of Him and His ways. Through this, and us yielding to the Spirit and relying on Him for all our needs, a greater trust can grow, and therefore a deeper personal fellowship can develop. In this we come to discern His voice which gives us checks and balances in how we are to apply the truth of His Word to our lives. “. . .A daily quiet-time should be a major part of our Christian walk, for prayer and the study of the Word form a foundation for our growth in the Lord. . .” The ideal time for prayer, for many people, is usually early in the mornings, before the activities of the day take precedence. This is the time when there is least on our minds, and we can come to God without any outside interferences or distractions. Even the Psalmist said: PSALM 5:3 My voice shall You hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto You, and will look up (wait in expectation). We should also include in our daily quiet-time, our special time when we draw aside to pray to the Lord and fellowship with Him, some form of Bible reading. This is because we need to hear from God’s Word daily, and allow the fire of the Word to touch our hearts. Then we can speak to our Lord in prayer. We can divide our prayer life into four areas: 1. 2. 3. 4. Confession. Adoration. Thanksgiving. Supplication. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 19 1. Confession: We cannot come into the presence of God when there is blatant unconfessed sin in our lives and have full fellowship with Him. Even if there is no known sin in our lives we should come before the Lord with a humble heart, and repent (according to 1 John 1:9) of anything we may have done that was wrong and that we are not aware of for we need to remove all legal ground from the enemy. And sin, whether great or small, known or unknown, will interfere with our fellowship with God, even though it may not break our relationship with Him. So concerning any sin, we need to repent according to 1 John 1:9. We can then come and spend time with our Lord, and fellowship with Him without interference (Psalm 24:3-4). 2. Adoration: Psalm 145:1-21. The second part of our prayer life is purely for God Himself. We can praise and worship God and give thanks to Him for His greatness, power, majesty, sovereignty, love, grace, mercy, etc. Be liberal in your praise and express your love for Him, for He desires us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). If we can worship God in our quiet-times, we can come to church really prepared for corporate worship on Sundays. 3. Thanksgiving: Ephesians 5:20. In this area of our prayer life we can thank God specifically for the things He has done and continues to do, as we observe to do all (goal to do all He has told us to do). For example, we can thank Him for watching over our family, our business, our work, our church and the ministries within it, etc. We can thank the Lord for bringing about circumstances to help our family and friends come to the knowledge of His truth. We should also be thanking Him for our country and for directing those in government according to His will. We can also thank Him that His protection surrounds us, that His presence is with us every day, that He has met all our needs in Christ Jesus, that health and Divine healing are ours, and that He guides us through each day, etc. Remember, once we have asked God in faith for something to be done, we need only then thank Him and not continue to make the same request. 4. Supplication: 1 John 5:14-15; John 16:24. This part of our prayer life is where we make our petitions known to God - where we bring Him any new requests. We need to remember, however, that God can only respond to our requests as we continue to live according to the directions of His Word (1 John 3:22) and pray according to His will. Having a daily quiet-time in which we come to the Lord and fellowship with Him is surely one of the secrets of a successful and fruitful Christian life. As we open ourselves to our Father, the Holy Spirit can convict us of sin, give us direction and reveal truth to us. Then as we respond to His promptings, and enjoy the Lord’s fellowship, we can come to know our God on a more intimate level. During these times we should also ask the Lord to fill us afresh with His Spirit, giving us the grace to walk and live in the power of the Divine Nature, so as to do His will. Our prayer each day should be, “Give me the grace today Lord to do Your will.” We will then be better prepared for every circumstance that greets us, to meet each new challenge in the Lord’s strength and power rather than the power of the flesh (willpower). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 20 “. . .Having a daily quiet-time in which we come to the Lord and fellowship with Him is surely one of the secrets of a successful and fruitful Christian life. . .” During the day it is also good to meditate on the Lord Himself, remembering His presence and thanking Him that He is with us. We can also reflect on the various situations and people we are praying for. In doing so, we are being God-centred and people-centred, not just self-centred. As we grow closer to God through fellowshipping with Him, we will then develop a stronger awareness that the Lord’s presence is with us wherever we go. This will place us in a better position to be able to discern the leading of the Spirit, personally or as this leading is conveyed through the scriptures or even other people whom the Lord brings across our pathway. The Blood Covering There is a prayer often used that is called the “blood-covering prayer.” Many Christians use this prayer wrongly, thinking that it gives a magic covering of protection in every situation, regardless of the sin that may be in their lives. Let us examine the theology behind such a prayer in order to determine when and how it can be rightly used to benefit the Christian. “. . .Many Christians use this prayer wrongly, thinking that it gives a magic covering of protection in every situation, regardless of the sin that may be in their lives. . .” God succeeded in His Plan of Redemption through Jesus - for Jesus stripped the enemy (in a legal sense) of all the power and authority that Adam had given him when he sinned. COLOSSIANS 2:15 And having spoiled (disarmed) principalities and powers (Satan and all of his henchmen were defeated at the Cross by Christ Atoning for all sin; sin was the legal right Satan had to hold man in captivity; with all sin atoned, he has no more legal right to hold anyone in bondage : E.S.B.), He (Christ) made a show of them openly (seen by the whole spirit realm), triumphing over them in it (by His completed Atonement). REVELATION 1:18 I am He Who lives (the eternally-existent One), and was dead (in His human form, Christ became the Lamb of God, sent to die on the Cross as the sacrifice for the sin of the world); and, behold, I am alive forevermore (Jesus was only sacrificed once to defeat death): Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 21 Jesus made a show of Satan openly when He was raised from the dead, the keys of victory in His mighty hand. These keys can unlock hearts that are dead to God. His Light can then enter into them and release them from their state and condition of death. Indeed sin, death and Satan were defeated by the Cross. The keys to unlock the doors to dead hearts are in the Saviour’s hands. This is what the law of perfect justice demanded, i.e. the death and Resurrection of the sinless Saviour, before God could be in a position to legally recover the adoption rights to all mankind. Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us: EPHESIANS 1:4 According as He has chosen us in Him (does not refer to the person being chosen, but rather the purpose for which the person is chosen) before the foundation of the world (the Creator, in laying His Plans for the world, had the purpose of Redeeming Grace in view), that we should be Holy and without blame before Him in Love (presents the purpose of the “chosen”) : (E.S.B.) EPHESIANS 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children (does not refer to the individual being predestinated as to whether he will be saved or lost, but rather the manner in which one becomes a Child of God) by Jesus Christ to Himself (by means of the Cross), according to the good pleasure of His will (it is an act of sovereignty, but an act based on love), (E.S.B.) In other words, God had designed His masterplan of salvation before the foundation of the world. He did not plan, as the foolish, unfounded doctrine of predestination suggests, to save only a few, or the so-called “elect.” Scripture tells us that it is God’s will that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), not one, and that all should be adopted as His children through Jesus Christ. However, being omniscient, He knew who would respond to His call even before the earth was created. “. . .God succeeded in His Plan of Redemption through Jesus - for Jesus stripped the enemy (in a legal sense) of all the power and authority that Adam had given him when he sinned. . .” God wants all mankind to repent and turn to Him through Jesus. The legal right for God to forgive man was secured on the Cross, through Jesus’ shed Blood - for the law of sacrifice states that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness, no pardon of sin. HEBREWS 9:22 And almost all things are by the Law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (no forgiveness of sin). HEBREWS 10:18 Now where remission (forgiveness) of these (sins) is, there is no more offering for sin (required, for Christ paid for it all). One writer describes the fulfillment of this, the law of sacrifice, the most grave and significant of all laws: Prayers Of Faith & Healing 22 THE LAW “The primary reason that Christ came to this world was so that the Law of God, which was God’s Standard of Righteousness, and which Standard He must uphold, might be met in totality, and kept faithfully, which it was by Christ. As well, He not only kept the Law perfectly, but He also satisfied the demands of the broken Law, which included every human being who had ever lived, and who would live in the future, and did so by the Sacrificial Offering of Himself on the Cross of Calvary, which paid it all. That is the connection by the Mercy Seat with the Ark of the Covenant. In that Ark was kept the two stones which contained the Ten Commandments, which incidentally had been broken by man. So the Mercy Seat fitting exactly the Ark of the Covenant stated unequivocally, and especially the blood applied to the Mercy Seat, that the Law had been satisfied. When God would look at the Mercy Seat, instead of seeing the broken Law, He would see the Blood. Hence Him saying, as it regards the Children of Israel being delivered from Egyptian bondage, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:12). This was the criteria even before the Law was given, or instruction regarding the Tabernacle, even beginning with the First Family (Genesis,Chpt.4). It hasn’t changed from then until now. The Mercy Seat with the applied Blood, the Blood of Christ, still says to all of mankind, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” This means that the Judgement of God will pass you by because you are safely protected by the Blood of the Lamb.” 3 (underlines added) EXODUS 25:21 And you shall put the mercy seat above upon the Ark (Ark of the Covenant); and in the Ark you shall put the testimony (the Ten Commandments) that I shall give you. The Ten Commandments, or “the testimony,” God’s moral law, was to be placed by Moses in the Ark of the Covenant. This is God’s standard of righteousness that man was to keep. However man because of the Fall is born into sin and is steeped in sin. As a result he is unable to keep the righteous demands of God’s holy Law. Only Jesus was able to do this, keeping the Law perfectly in every way for His whole life. Therefore, “It is only above the blood stained Mercy Seat that God will meet with sinful human beings, because that’s the only place that He can meet with sinful human beings, and not malign His Righteousness and Holiness.” 4 “. . .“When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” This means that the Judgement of God will pass you by because you are safely protected by the Blood of the Lamb. . .” One writer comments further on the Mercy Seat as it regards our day to day walk with the Lord: “Thank God the Mercy Seat is above the Ark of the Covenant, which contains the Law, with the demands that it be kept by me, and every other human being, but which we are woefully inadequate to Prayers Of Faith & Healing 23 comply with. I don’t care how great others may think your faith might be, I don’t care how many Gifts of the Spirit may function through you; if your Faith is not properly placed in the Cross, typified by the blood on the Mercy Seat, the Blood shed by Christ at Calvary, you simply cannot live an overcoming, victorious, Christian life, irrespective as to whom you might be.” 5 (underlines added) At the Cross, the Old Testament type-patterns were fulfilled in a spiritual sense. God’s eternal and unchanging laws, the law of sacrifice and the law of perfect justice, were also fulfilled, giving Him the legal right to redeem His lost and alienated children. In essence, this had to be accomplished through the death of a perfect, sinless sacrifice - the Lamb of God on the altar of Calvary. To Jesus, hanging on the Cross, the sin of the world was imputed. This means that in a legal sense, the sin of the world was credited or assigned to Jesus. This occurred only in a legal sense, however, for Jesus was righteous before the Cross, on the Cross and after the Cross. He never experienced sin or entered into an actual state of sin, for Jesus bore our punishment not our sin. On the Cross He suffered the curse and penalty of the broken Law, by which every human being was condemned. Nevertheless, in order for Christ to become our sin offering, and to have the sin of the world imputed to Him, He (Jesus the man) had to be abandoned by the Father and the Holy Spirit - for God cannot associate with sin in any sense. We witness this abandonment by the Father in Jesus’ agonized words in Mark 15:34, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus then laid down His life for the purpose of death (John 10:17,18), and entered into physical death. Scripture tells us that Jesus would spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth, which is Hades - the world of departed spirits (Matthew 12:40). Because Jesus was an innocent man, however, God had the legal right to raise Him from the dead. This He did according to the working of His mighty power. Now all who have faith in Jesus’ finished work at the Cross are also released from the authority of death. The only power Satan now has over Christians is the power which they give him through sinning. This includes remaining in a state of ignorance in regard to their spiritual position in Christ. By remaining in ignorance, Christians allow the enemy to take advantage of them unnecessarily. It is thus of great importance that we know and understand our position in Christ and our authority in Him (Colossians 1:12-14). “. . .The only power Satan now has over Christians is the power which they give him through sinning. This includes remaining in a state of ignorance. . .” The type-patterns in the Old Testament that dealt with sacrifice all pointed to the Cross and Christ’s finished work. This the New Testament has so clearly taught us. In the Old Testament we find the story of the Passover, an event which constitutes a type-pattern of great spiritual significance. The Passover occurred at a time in Israelite history when God’s chosen people lived in Egypt, enslaved by the Egyptians. On the night Prayers Of Faith & Healing 24 they were to be delivered, God commanded His servant Moses to direct the Israelites concerning the meal which was to be called “the Passover.” EXODUS 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, “Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover (lamb - this was a type-pattern of Christ’s death, and He is often given the title of “Lamb” in reference to this Passover institution and its spiritual foreshadowing of the Cross : John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:8). EXODUS 12:22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. (The angel of death was to come through at night and only the blood on the lintel and doorposts gave protection. Today only the Blood of the Lamb of God gives protection from evil and thus security.) God’s chosen people applied blood to the top and sides of the doorways to their houses. This covering then protected their households from the judgement which was to come that night. EXODUS 12:23 For the Lord will go through the land to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer (allow) the destroyer (the angel of death) to come in unto your houses to smite (slay) you.” EXODUS 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord struck down (slew) all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive (prisoner) who was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. PSALM 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels (angels of evils, angels of destruction) among them. (These were probably righteous Angels who carried out the intended results of God’s “anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble,” referred to as “evil.” : E.S.B.) Before the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites had to identify themselves (or become one) with God Almighty by shedding the blood of the Passover lamb and painting this blood on the lintel and sides of their doorways. Then the angels of destruction could not touch their households, having to “pass over” those identified by the blood. If they had not obeyed God in this area, then their households would have suffered loss (Exodus 12:3-13). The same can be said today if we do not continue to identify, in faith, in our daily Christian walk, with the precious Blood of Christ - we will forfeit the protection that is available to us through the Blood. “. . .Today only the Blood of the Lamb of God gives protection from evil and thus security. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 25 Just as the people of God applied the blood of the Passover lamb to their doorposts as a means of protection, so we (the justified) have God’s protection available to us today. The blood of the Passover lamb was a type-pattern (symbol) of the Blood of Christ. Indeed Christ is our Passover Lamb and His shed Blood provides us with spiritual protection today as we believe and trust in the completed Atonement. Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” We must believe this and put our trust in it, in terms of the provision of all we need, including spiritual protection. 1 CORINTHIANS 5:7 . . . For even Christ our Passover (Lamb) is sacrificed for us: REVELATION 12:11 And they (Christians) overcame him (the devil) by the Blood of the Lamb (the power to overcome and overwhelm the Kingdom of Satan is found exclusively in the Blood of the Sacrifice of the Son of God, and our Faith in that Finished Work [Romans 6:3-5, 11, 14] : E.S.B.), and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. In order to take advantage of this protection, however, we must live by faith. ROMANS 1:17 . . . as it is written, “The just (justified) shall live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 (For we [as Christians] walk by faith [in God’s Word], not by sight:) (It is faith that should guide and direct us, not what we see with our eyes - but what we see through the eye of faith.) PSALM 5:11 But let all those who put their trust in You (Oh God) rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them: let them also who love Your Name be joyful in You. PSALM 5:12 For You, Lord, will bless the righteous; with favour will You compass (encompass) him as with a shield. The Blood that was shed over 2,000 years ago is the seal that puts the past behind because the price for our sin has been paid. This shed Blood of Calvary still reaches us today to protect us both from the past and in the present. It washes us clean. It keeps us in the Light of God’s presence. It allowed us to die with Christ so that we could be raised a new creature in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ stood in our place at the Cross and became our Kinsman Redeemer. If we have proper focus, in other words if our faith is focused on the proper object (the Cross, being the Atonement), then nothing can come under our guard when our shield of faith is up (Ephesians 6:16). “. . .Indeed Christ is our Passover Lamb and His shed Blood provides us with spiritual protection today as we believe and trust in the completed Atonement. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 26 Faith brings us into the present - the now in regard to experiencing the benefits of our Covenant today. We belong to the Blood-bought Church of the Redeemed. Only the Blood of Calvary could have brought us to this position. What position you may ask. That of overcomers, as Revelation 12:11 states, “And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony . . .” The Blood of Calvary affords us spiritual protection in the heat of battle in our daily Christian walk. So let’s apply it with proper focus, remembering what it was - pure - and what it has done - brought us into a Covenant with God whereby He is now our Father, and we are His children. He is therefore our protector, and it is His power which shields us from attacks of the enemy because of the Blood of Calvary and our faith in it. Today we can, by faith, in a spiritual sense, apply the Blood of Jesus around our doorways. We can cover ourselves, our children, our property and many different situations, for the enemy is unable to penetrate the “blood covering.” The “covering of the blood” is our spiritual shield of protection from the enemy. It can be likened to a canopy which completely encompasses us, and protects us from illegal enemy attacks. “. . .Faith brings us into the present - the now in regard to experiencing the benefits of our Covenant today. . .” When we understand the teaching of the Blood and apply these truths to our mind, heart and life, in this we are truly protected from evil. However if we do not understand these truths, then we become, if in Christ, saved but ignorant concerning the things of God that matter. And the Word tells us that even so-called “honourable men” are famished, and go into captivity because they have no spiritual knowledge of the things that matter, the issues of eternal consequence (Isaiah 5:13). In light of this, even an appropriate prayer by the Christian cannot be accepted by God if it has come from an empty heart. Our heart must have faith in it if we are to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and so receive from Him. Therefore we need to have both repented of daily sin and to have an understanding of the blood covering and how and why it works, indeed to have faith in our heart in regard to this prayer, if we are able to use it successfully. Remember, only that sin which is put under the Blood (through repentance) can be forgiven. In this the curse of that sin or the judgement we incur for that sin will be nullified, for Christ has already paid its (the sin’s) penalty on the Cross through the shedding of His Blood. If there is sin in the Saint’s life, no so-called prayer will protect him from its curse (and therefore its bondage), for repentance is the only way to deal with sin. EXODUS 24:7 And he (Moses) took the Book of the Covenant (this is the second mention of the Bible as a written book - the first is in Exodus 17:14), and read in the audience of the people: and they said, “All that the Lord has said will we do, and be obedient.” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 27 EXODUS 24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the Covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.” After Moses read the Book of the Covenant the people said, “All that the Lord has said, will we do.” The next verse then tells us that Moses sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice over the people, to pledge them to the Covenant which the Lord had made between Himself and the people. This sacrifice with its blood was a type-pattern of Christ at Calvary - for the Blood of Calvary’s Sacrifice sealed and ratified the New Covenant. Today we no longer use physical blood (as Moses did) but rather, in this New Testament Age of Grace, we use faith to apply the Blood of Calvary to our account - so that we may enter, at an experiential level, into the benefits of our Blood Covenant in Christ. We of faith do not draw back from God’s will but rather march forward, not in the power of the flesh (willpower) but in the power of the Spirit of Grace Who is our shield of protection (Psalm 3:3; Psalm 28:7). This is given to us because by faith we sprinkle (cover) ourselves with the blood of the sacrifice. In this we remember the Covenant we have with God through Christ. Note: When we, being in proper communion and relationship with the Lord, cover ourselves “with the blood,” we are really allowing God to encompass us with a spiritual shield (Psalm 5:12). This protection is afforded us because of the Blood of Calvary, but is not, in itself, made up of actual blood. It is commonly referred to as “the blood covering” because the shield (of protection from illegal spiritual attacks) is available to us as a result of the Blood of Calvary, shed 2,000 years ago. Thanking the Lord for the “blood covering” means we are saying (by our testimony) that it is the shed Blood of Calvary that constitutes the legal ground by which the Spirit can protect us. Indeed it is because of Calvary’s Blood that grace is supplied today to meet every need. Of course we must also walk with the help and empowerment of the Spirit concerning God’s will (through the energizing of our human nature by the Divine Nature) if the “blood covering” is to be effective (Romans 8:1, 2). This covering (protection) can be broken through sin (or ignorance of God’s will) which, of course, will give the enemy legal ground to enter our lives. Acknowledgement, repentance and thanking the Lord for the cleansing, and then the reinstating of the covering, will be needed in this case. The “blood covering” can be applied when we have faith in what Calvary has given to us. We are therefore able to pray and ask God to place this shield of protection around us made available to us through the Blood of Calvary. We are entitled to spiritual protection through the New Covenant, provided we fulfill the necessary conditions of faith and obedience. But our focus needs to be on Calvary - for the grace of God comes to us through the Blood, and our God-given faith to believe and trust God’s Word. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 28 “. . .When we, being in proper communion and relationship with the Lord, cover ourselves “with the blood,” we are really allowing God to encompass us with a spiritual shield. . .” It must be noted that the blood-covering prayer cannot be used to protect us when we have been lazy in the seeking, finding and embracing of God’s Word (the truths contained within it), or the development of our relationship with the Lord. In other words, the blood-covering prayer is not to take the place of us understanding and having faith in the finished work of the Cross. In fact if we do not have this faith and understanding, the enemy will have legal ground to cause much destruction in our lives (1 Peter 5:8). This prayer should be prayed as a result of our faith in Calvary and Christ’s finished work. It cannot be employed as a replacement for such faith. We are not to base the blood-covering prayer on what the Israelites did at the first Passover (Exodus 12:21-22). Rather we are to base this prayer on what the first Passover pointed to, that being Calvary. The first and subsequent Passovers all pointed to Christ and His finished work on the Cross. This and only this is our basis for the blood-covering prayer. Remember too that to whom much is given, of them will much be required. This is a scriptural principle which can be applied here (Luke 12:47, 48). For example, if you have been a Christian for many years and have not bothered to seek, find or embrace much of God’s Word or His will for your life, then this prayer of the “blood covering” will not do much for you. A new Christian who only knows that Christ is his Saviour, however, and has been taught a little about Calvary, enough to pray the “blood-covering” prayer, will, in a general sense, be protected from the enemy’s illegal attacks more than the older, lazy Christian who has not bothered to seek the progressive truths of Calvary. As we have said, there is a principle involved here. It can be demonstrated in a natural way by the parent who requires much more in maturity from their 18 year old son than their 10 year old son. “. . .It must be noted that the blood-covering prayer cannot be used to protect us when we have been lazy in the seeking, finding and embracing of God’s Word (the truths contained within it), or the development of our relationship with the Lord. . .” In Christ we are sanctified positionally and so are saved. However we also need to be sanctified experientially through ongoing sanctification in our daily walk, even as we remain sanctified at all times in a positional sense i.e. as we remain in Christ. Not to seek this state of experiential sanctification will cause many a Christian to look for a formularized prayer to help protect them from the attack that will and must Prayers Of Faith & Healing 29 ensue. The blood-covering prayer has been used by many Christians in this way, those who have falsely thought that God could protect them, according to the formula, from the consequences of their slackness and sin. Let us therefore not try to use this prayer as a foundation for our deliverance with the thinking that just because we have prayed the prayer and used the right words, all will be well. Let us never forget that as Christians, everything is received by faith through God’s mercy and grace. We should never think that mouthing a few words and calling it a prayer will give us unlimited protection. Always, and continually, we need to seek God’s Word and His will for our life, then both find and walk in His will with the help of the Holy Spirit, embracing His will with everything we have. In this, we will pray the right prayers at the right time for the right reasons, giving Him all the glory and praise. Remember, everything we gain through salvation comes to us via the Cross and the Blood of the Lamb. Amen. Applying the “Blood Covering” HEBREWS 11:28 Through faith he (Moses) kept (instituted) the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood (the blood of the Passover lambs on the doorposts and lintels), lest He Who destroyed the firstborn should touch them (the firstborn of Israel). We can, by faith, have the protection that the blood-covering offers - when the conditions are met. God is able to protect us from enemy attack when we are both awake and asleep, when we cover ourselves (spiritually) with the blood. The enemy may try to slip into our lives illegally through a back door, but this particular prayer of faith can help to stop his illegal entry. Once we, through prayer, have covered ourselves with the blood at the beginning of the day, from that point on, we need only remember to thank the Lord that we are covered, and continue to walk in His will. We do not have to continually re-cover ourselves - unless we feel led to do so. It is a good idea to thank the Lord for our covering first thing in the morning and just before we go to sleep. Also during the day, if we are going into shops, buildings or other people’s homes etc., or if people are visiting our home or having contact with us, we should be mindful (aware) of our “blood covering.” Know that the enemy will try to attack us from any angle he can, legally or illegally. This is the reason God has given us this form of spiritual protection. Scripture tells us about our ongoing participation in a spiritual war: EPHESIANS 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong (be constantly strengthened) in the Lord, and in the power of His might. EPHESIANS 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God (all of it), that you may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes and strategies) of the devil (to bring darkness and destruction into our lives). EPHESIANS 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (people), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against Prayers Of Faith & Healing 30 spiritual wickedness in high places (denotes the organization of Satan’s forces of darkness). EPHESIANS 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God (because of what we face), that you may be able to withstand in the evil day (refers to resisting and opposing the powers of darkness), and having done all, to stand. (This refers to the Believer not giving ground, not a single inch.) (E.S.B.) Note: Our armour and weaponry also include the breastplate of righteousness, having our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:14-17). “. . .God is able to protect us from enemy attack when we are both awake and asleep, when we cover ourselves (spiritually) with the blood. . .” The blood covering aids us in this area of spiritual warfare. We need to believe that God’s protective canopy is in place (because of Calvary’s Blood) through our prayer of faith. It surrounds us, preserving us from evil as we continue to take up our cross of selfdenial and follow our Lord and Master. Some Christians, especially those who are young in the Lord, before studying or listening to teaching, need to be mindful of their “blood covering,” and thank God for it. They may also need to bind in Jesus’ Name all unbelief, confusion and any other influence from the enemy (Matthew 16:19). Note: If the enemy is causing havoc in a Christian’s life, they need, in faith, to take authority over that situation in the knowledge of who they are in Christ. This is done by that person first repenting of any sin, and so eliminating any legal ground which the enemy may have. They can then pray to God in Jesus’ Name to remove the enemy’s influence. This can be done by saying, in faith, “In the Name of Jesus, I bind the enemy’s influence in this area, and I loose him from this situation,” as Matthew 18:18 instructs: MATTHEW 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven (by heaven’s power): and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (by heaven’s power). By faith, through the prayer of binding and loosing, God’s power can first immobilize the enemy and then remove his influence from a particular situation. Normally one should seek the leading of the Spirit before undertaking such prayer. This prayer of faith that brings God’s hand into a situation is again afforded to us because of the Atonement and us being in Christ. When we pray in this manner, we are focusing on God and dealing only with Him. In other words, WE DEAL WITH GOD AND HE DEALS WITH THE DEVIL. Although we are binding the enemy in the Name of Jesus, we are, spiritually speaking, in the throneroom of grace, appropriating God’s power according to His will through the prayer of binding and loosing. Through our prayer of faith, God’s power deals with the enemy. Therefore Prayers Of Faith & Healing 31 anything done by us in this regard is carried out by God the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, via the agency of the Holy Spirit. So always remember, we do not deal directly with the devil. We deal with God through Jesus Christ, and then God’s power can remove the enemy’s influence. Again, we have no power in ourselves, but through Jesus we have access to God’s power, indeed the corporate power of heaven, to change circumstances the mountains that confront us (Matthew 21:21). However God will only release His power to change circumstances in accordance with His will. In other words, we are not pushing the buttons but merely flowing in His will - in fact becoming, by His grace, one with God’s will in prayer and deed. Always be aware that in every consideration of the “blood covering,” we must be mindful of and trusting in Calvary’s sacrifice - that He took the punishment due to us, and the shedding of His precious, perfect, sinless Blood was necessary for the remission of our sin. In this we now have life, and in the power of the Spirit, abundant life is ours. This includes the protection the Blood now offers, as we take up our cross and follow Him. Know, however, that this prayer is not a magic formula, and cannot be used as a magic wand is used. The blood-covering prayer must be based on the solid ground where man’s soul was redeemed. This of course is Calvary - all that it has taken away (sin) and all that it has given (life and power over the sin nature). This type of prayer is not meant to be a replacement for power over sin. Nor is it a licence for unconditional protection. Only if our sin is confessed and dealt with can we be afforded the promise of the “blood covering.” It is meant to be part of the armour of the new man in Christ, who has been raised in newness of life and is trusting in Calvary’s finished work and a Saviour now seated at the right hand of the Father. Let us therefore pray the blood-covering prayer with this balance in mind, so that the Spirit of God may empower us, protect us and enrich our soul - as we seek to do His will in Resurrection power. “. . .God will only release His power to change circumstances in accordance with His will . . . we are not pushing the buttons but merely flowing in His will - in fact becoming, by His grace, one with God’s will in prayer and deed. . .” Note: The enemy can only attack us if we let our guard down: 1. By not progressing in our faith (and so becoming complacent or slack in regard to our Christian walk) (1 Corinthians 3:1,3). 2. By not being alert spiritually (even through being ignorant of His will). \ 3. By sinning, or not dealing with our sin through repentance by putting it under the Blood (1 John 1:9). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 32 All three areas can give the enemy inroads into our lives. If sin is not dealt with, it will keep us from entering the throneroom (and as Hebrews 4:16 states, it is only here we are able to find grace in our time of need.) Sin which is not confessed and repented of will also break our “blood covering,” and prevent us applying it again. Therefore God will be unable to protect us in the way He desires. If this be the case, we need to repent according to 1 John 1:9 and then thank the Lord for forgiving us, and cleansing us from the results of that sin. Then we need to thank Him for restoring our “blood covering” which is really the promise of protection in the New Covenant, based on the Blood of Calvary. “. . .Sin which is not confessed and repented of will also break our “blood covering,” and prevent us applying it again. . .” Remember that the weapons of spiritual warfare are not carnal (of this world) but rather spiritual and mighty. We are to fight the spiritual war with spiritual weapons, and protect ourselves with spiritual armour. 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3 For though we walk [live] in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons (Amp.) 2 CORINTHIANS 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical (weapons of flesh and blood), but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds (Amp.) If we are to enter into God’s promise concerning protection, however, we must be “sober” and “vigilant,” standing firm in our faith. Remember that we do not fight the devil, for scripture never tells us to fight him, only to resist him. 1 PETER 5:8 Be sober (mentally alert, focused), be vigilant (watchful); because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour (destroy): 1 PETER 5:9 Whom (the enemy and his forces) resist stedfast in the faith . . . (the faith always refers to what Jesus accomplished at Calvary on our behalf, so for this resistance to be effective, our faith must be anchored in His finished work) Instead we are to “fight the good fight of faith.” 1 TIMOTHY 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called (i.e. to follow Christ), and have professed a good profession (confession) before many witnesses (Timothy’s life and lifestyle attested to his faith). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 33 OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CHRISTIANS Background Reading: Mark 4:1-25 The Word tells us the conditions that we as Christians must meet in order to have victory in our lives. Indeed we cannot just do nothing and expect all God’s blessings to fall upon us. For instance, we are told in God’s Word we must fight a spiritual warfare, and 1 Peter 5:8 and Ephesians 6:12 tell us about our enemy: 1 PETER 5:8 Be sober (aware), be vigilant (watchful); because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking (people with little knowledge or faith) whom he may devour (destroy): EPHESIANS 6:12 For we wrestle (fight) not against flesh and blood (man), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Satan and his forces of evil). The devil tries to pervert and destroy all that is good. He hates and opposes God, and would seek to cause as much damage to God’s creation as he can. Two of his greatest desires are thus to afflict humanity in every way possible, and to take as many people to hell as he can. So we need to remember that he is our enemy (not people), and we should be aware of his tactics as he and his forces pursue their evil schemes. God has provided us with weaponry for this spiritual warfare. This weaponry consists of the armour of God and the sword of the Spirit. EPHESIANS 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day (of danger or trouble), and having done all (that is our responsibility as Christians to do), to stand (not giving ground to the forces of darkness). EPHESIANS 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (God’s truth which is His Word and will), and having on the breastplate of righteousness (Christ’s imputed righteousness which is ours through the Blood of the Cross); EPHESIANS 6:15 And your feet shod (being well established) with the preparation of the Gospel of peace (by living in it experientially); EPHESIANS 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith (the Cross is the object of our faith), wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (evil spiritual darts of persecution, condemnation, fear, etc). EPHESIANS 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation (comes through the renewing of one’s mind), and the sword of the Spirit (this is our offensive weapon, having all the power needed to defeat our spiritual foe), which is the Word of God God has given us, through the Cross, this spiritual armour and the sword of the Spirit as a weapon - but if we choose not to use them as He has commanded, then we should not blame Him for our failures or our problems. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 34 “. . .we need to remember that he is our enemy (not people), and we should be aware of his tactics as he and his forces pursue their evil schemes. . .” If people don’t bother to progress so that they become stagnant in their Christian walk, the enemy and his agents will not be too concerned about them, for such Christians can do him very little harm. He will be able to attack and harm them at his leisure, whether directly or indirectly. In most cases he will take the Word out of their hearts, and whatever heart-knowledge they had will be reduced to mere intellectual knowledge. With no faith or direction from the Lord, they will then walk around in darkness, and fail to discern between right and wrong. Remember that it is Satan’s nature and purpose to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10a), and that if we fail to seek, find and embrace God’s will for our lives, we will be giving our enemy legal ground to bring darkness into our lives that would render us completely ineffective as Christians. Not only this, but as Christians stagnate, they lose ground and fail to maintain a status quo in regard to their spiritual life. In other words, life’s current then pulls them backwards - until they are unable to see the spiritual danger they are in and the rocks that could destroy them. If Christians move on in Christ, however, they become greater targets for the enemy, and should prepare themselves for his attacks. But we must always remember that God is greater, stronger and mightier than Satan, his forces, and all of their plans. “. . .If we fail to seek, find and embrace God’s will for our lives, we will be giving our enemy legal ground to bring darkness into our lives that would render us completely ineffective as Christians. . .” The Lord promises that as we walk by faith in His Word and we obey, in the power given at the Cross, all that He commands, our enemies (spiritually speaking) will flee from us in terror and nothing will be able to stand against us. This is because, in this position, we will be walking under God’s canopy of protection. In this way, we can indeed be victorious in Christ. DEUTERONOMY 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord your God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth: JAMES 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God (His Word and His will). Resist the devil (in faith), and he will flee from you (in terror, by God’s power). DEUTERONOMY 28:7 The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be smitten (defeated) before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. (This is referring to Israel, but the Church is spiritual Israel in the Church Age and thus a recipient of these promises which relate to our spiritual enemy.) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 35 As we call upon the Name of the Lord, put our trust in Him and His Word, allow the Divine Nature to energize our human nature and turn our backs on sin (through repentance if needed), the victory shall indeed be ours. (For we do not have an unconditional Gospel as some would try to have us believe. There are conditions and requirements we must fulfill if we are to live in the victory already won for us!) God’s protection of His righteous servants is promised in His Word, and is to be greatly prized: ISAIAH 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgement you shall condemn (prove to be false). This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me,” says the Lord. DIVINE HEALING Background Reading: Matthew 8:1-17, 28-34; 9:1-9, 18-35 Many people ask about Divine healing in relation to the Bible. The purpose of this section is therefore to help Christians gain a basic understanding of what the Bible has to say about healing, and to help Christians learn how God’s principles of healing can be applied to their lives. As Christians, the focus of our faith must always be the Cross - therefore who we are in Christ and what we have in Him. This must always be the object of our faith. In regard to healing, many make the mistake of substituting a belief in healing for that which is really necessary, i.e. the receiving of God’s grace. This can be compared to believing in food - that it exists - without consuming it, or believing that water exists without drinking it. We must do both with God’s food which is the Word. We must both believe in it and eat it in order to digest it fully by His grace - if it is to bring about the healing we seek. To digest the food of God’s Word means that we have both belief and trust firmly planted in our heart (for from the heart flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:2023). This means we will have the faith we require to meet the need - as we act upon it. “. . .In regard to healing, many make the mistake of substituting a belief in healing for that which is really necessary, i.e. the receiving of God’s grace. . .” The power of God is ministered first to our spirit, then to our bodies (3 John 2). Therefore the prosperity of the soul usually comes (especially in regard to older Christians) before the prosperity of the physical body - for this is God’s Divine order. So instead of wondering if you have enough faith to be healed, let your spirit digest the medicine of the Word of God. Then by faith let the power of God flow throughout your whole being - spirit, soul and body. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 36 This may take time - not that God requires time, but for God’s power to heal unto health, sometimes a trickle of His power precedes a flood. We can impede the flow of His power by our ideas and attitudes, but God always wants to heal a broken body. As stated, it is God’s Divine order that prosperity of the soul is more important than physical healing. A prosperous soul is gained through mind renewal that includes heart changes which are character building. Not only does God want us to know His Word, but more importantly, He wants us to know Him on an intimate level. God wants us to communicate (walk or abide) with Him “in the cool of the day” (as Adam did), talking to Him and most importantly listening for the Master’s voice and seeking to understand His heart in all things. Christianity is meant on earth to be a relational walk at an experiential level, not just a legal position. True Divine healing always begins in the heart of man by the grace of God (Matthew 12:34-35). Our wealth is in God, or should we say, “God in us” (John 14:23). The riches we seek should not be those belonging to the temporal world, but rather those of the heavenly kind. The desire of our heart should be to seek God and His will, not earthly riches, glory and the favour of man. The riches of Divine love will far outweigh and outlast the love of things. Let our focus be therefore, “Lord, heal my heart, soften it, so that I can know and respond to Your will and no other.” This is the prayer of a humble Saint whom God will hear, and to whom He will respond (James 4:6). And this will result in true healing of the heart, which, before the Cross, was dead to the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Such a heart had no energy to do right, only evil - but the Cross changes everything. Only God can heal the heart, so that we become new creations in Christ, with a loving Father and a new heart (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:10). Let’s read Colossians 1:12-14: COLOSSIANS 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, Who has (qualified and) made us meet (fit) to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light: COLOSSIANS 1:13 Who has delivered us from the power (authority) of darkness (in every area), and has translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son (the Kingdom of Light): COLOSSIANS 1:14 In Whom we have redemption through His Blood (the ransom price for our salvation was the Blood), even the forgiveness of sins In Christ we have been redeemed - we have been delivered from the authority of darkness and placed into the Kingdom of God. This deliverance encompasses every area of our lives, spirit, soul and body, for this is our inheritance. The healing of our bodies is very much a part of this wonderful provision. “. . .Let our focus be therefore, “Lord, heal my heart, soften it, so that I can know and respond to Your will and no other. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 37 Claiming the inheritance we have in Christ can be likened to the Israelites in Old Testament times claiming the Promised Land. Let’s turn to Joshua Ch.1, to see what is required: JOSHUA 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spoke unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, JOSHUA 1:2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you, and all this people, into the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua begins his Ministry at the banks of Jordan, where Christ was baptized . . Israel had dwelt in the wilderness for some forty years; it was now time for them to go into the Promised Land : E.S.B.) JOSHUA 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses” (it was not God’s Will that one foot breadth was to rest in the hands of its former owners; likewise, the Holy Spirit intends presently for everything in our lives to be removed which hinders our progress with the Lord; it is God’s Will that we possess the entirety of the Promise, which pertains to total victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil [James 4:5]). (E.S.B.) God was instructing Joshua that even though He had already given the Promised Land to the Israelites, they still had to go in and take possession of it. If they had not done as directed, they would not have enjoyed the benefits of their inheritance. They had to go forth and take possession of it by placing their feet on that legal, God-given ground. The same is true for us today. In order to partake fully of our inheritance in Christ at an experiential level, we must place our feet on the land that is promised to us. And this land for us is the will of God in our lives. Concerning healing we need, by God-given faith, to place our feet on that particular ground and stand firm in the power of the new Nature, not yielding to fear, doubt, circumstances or negative emotions, etc. Healing is promised to us in the Word of God - it is there for us to claim as part of our inheritance, for it is already legally ours. The Old Testament provides the proper background for a Biblical understanding of the concept of Divine healing. God reveals Himself throughout the Old Testament via His Names, and one of these Names, “Jehovah-Rapha,” means that He is the Lord Who heals. This Name appears in Exodus 15:26 where the Lord assures Israel that He will not allow any of the diseases of Egypt to afflict His people. Indeed He declares in this scripture, “I am the Lord Who heals you,” that is, Jehovah-Rapha. There are also many other Old Testament scriptures which declare that God is the healer of His people (e.g. Psalm 103:3; Psalm 107:20; Proverbs 4:22). “. . .The Old Testament provides the proper background for a Biblical understanding of the concept of Divine healing. . .” To receive healing we need to immerse ourselves in God’s will concerning healing - so that the Holy Spirit can bring to us the hope needed, thereby creating the inner mould to hold the trust. In light of the Atonement and our understanding of it, the following Prayers Of Faith & Healing 38 scriptures leave no room for doubt in this regard, for they show us that Jesus paid the price for our healing, our wholeness and our forgiveness during the time of the crucifixion: ISAIAH 53:4 Surely He (Jesus) has borne our griefs (sicknesses), and carried our sorrows: yet we did (ignorantly) esteem (consider) Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ISAIAH 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions (rebellion), He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace (the punishment needed to obtain peace and well-being for us) was upon Him (and Him alone); and with (by) His stripes we are healed (and made whole). This Atonement constitutes Christ’s completed work, so that now we can be made whole, spirit, soul and body. Because of the Atonement we can pray in faith for the healing of our bodies saying “By His stripes I have been healed. Thank You Jesus. You are still the healer by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” From the New Bible Dictionary comes the meaning of “atonement” : “ATONEMENT. The word ‘atonement’ is one of the few theological terms which derive basically from Anglo-Saxon. It means ‘a making at one,’ and points to a process of bringing those who are estranged into a unity. The word occurs in the OT to translate words from the kpr word group, and it is found once in the NT ( AV), rendering katallagē (which is better translated ‘reconciliation’ as RSV). Its use in theology is to denote the work of Christ in dealing with the problem posed by the sin of man, and in bringing sinners into right relation with God.” 6 (underlines added) ROMANS 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation). Our spirit has already been healed legally and conditionally, but our mind and body are only legally (positionally) saved. For our mind to be saved conditionally, we need, by faith, to bring it into line with God’s Word in an experiential sense. If our body is sick, we need to know Jesus has provided us with the legal ground from which we are able to make proper demands on the promise that healing is already ours. The key is that we make proper demands on this promise. To do this will require the renewing of the mind. In this process the Holy Spirit will bring us, as we seek truth in regard to healing, to a condition of faith. It is then the grace of the Holy Spirit at work within us which energizes our very nature to believe and then trust on Calvary’s finished work for our healing: 3 JOHN 2 Beloved, I desire above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul (mind) prospers (through constant renewal). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 39 “. . .If our body is sick, we need to know Jesus has provided us with the legal ground from which we are able to make proper demands on the promise that healing is already ours. . .” The following section is vitally linked to healing in the sense that to discern properly the Lord’s Body is to identify in His suffering, death and Resurrection, and to know that healing is ours through the Atonement. Though recognizing we have previously addressed this section of teaching, we will review it here because it is so important to the subject of Divine healing. In re-introducing this material, our purpose is to help students gain a heartunderstanding of the powerful, spiritual truths involved in both the type-pattern of the Passover lamb, and the discerning of the Lord’s Body at Communion. Once these truths are digested, those who do so will be well positioned to seek healing from a spiritual perspective and thus to make proper and appropriate demands on God’s wonderful healing power. Remember that faith comes by the hearing of the Word of God, for knowledge precedes faith (Romans 10:17). As Christians immerse themselves in the knowledge and provision of healing through our Covenant in Christ, this understanding will certainly help clear unbelief from the mind and allow God’s power to flow unimpeded. Note that questions covering this section will differ to those asked before. DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY Our Ongoing Identification With Christ Through Communion Background Reading: Romans 6:3-11 Scripture speaks of coming worthily to the Lord’s Supper, discerning what it represents and recognizing that we are engaging in a sacred and holy ceremony. However, it can also be said that to discern the Lord’s Body and Blood at the communion table is to: 1. Acknowledge that the cup represents Jesus’ shed Blood (occasioning death) which was the price paid for our salvation (Hebrews 9:22). 2. Acknowledge that the bread or biscuit represents Jesus’ beaten and bruised Body, His suffering (both physical and mental) being necessary for man’s physical and mental healing. 3. Acknowledge that Jesus took man’s place at Calvary’s Cross, thereby obtaining salvation for all those who identify themselves with Him - by making Him their Lord and Saviour. Armed with this understanding of the Atonement, we are identifying ourselves with Christ, not only in His death but also in His Resurrection. When Jesus was raised from the Prayers Of Faith & Healing 40 dead, He broke the power of sin and everything associated with it (Colossians 2:15). This includes anything that would keep man in bondage, including all sickness and disease. Amen. Indeed when Jesus said, “It is finished,” sin was defeated. Therefore we are no longer under any obligation to obey sin or the sin nature, but instead should reckon ourselves to be “dead indeed unto sin” : ROMANS 6:11 Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. ROMANS 6:12 Let not sin (the sin nature) therefore reign (rule, gain the upper hand) in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof (ungodly lusts of the flesh). ROMANS 6:13 Neither yield your members (parts of your mortal body) as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin (the sin nature): but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead (raised in “newness of life”), and your members as instruments of righteousness to God (through the energies and graces of the Divine Nature). ROMANS 6:14 For sin (the sin nature) shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the Law (trying to please God in your own strength), but under grace (God’s grace is abundantly available to us as we yield and believe for it). Again, if we are discerning (understanding) the Body and Blood correctly (1 Corinthians 11:28-29), we will be identifying with Christ in all that He went through, knowing that as joint heirs with Him, we too have been legally set free from the power of sin, sickness and disease. He has paid the price, and we are raised up in victory with Him through His Resurrection into “newness of life.” Of course to take advantage of our legal position, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to educate our spirit through the renewing of the mind so that God can empower us, strengthen us and even heal us, if needed. Therefore every time we take communion, we should discern the Body and Blood of Christ in this light, knowing that we have been legally set free from every sin, every bondage and every disease through Christ’s broken Body and shed Blood. “. . . If we are discerning (understanding) the Body and Blood correctly. . .we will be identifying with Christ in all that He went through, knowing that as joint heirs with Him, we too have been legally set free from the power of sin, sickness and disease. . .” If we do not properly discern the Body and Blood, then yes, some may remain sick, become sick or even die prematurely. If we do not properly understand the meaning of the Blood of Christ, the devil will run rampant in our life - for only through the Blood can we be forgiven, cleansed and protected. And when we come to communion, if we have committed transgressions, we need to put them under the Blood if we are to fully identify with Christ. At this time of communion, we also need to discern the Body of Christ so that we may participate fully in the freedom He has won for our bodies and minds. To be able Prayers Of Faith & Healing 41 to discern the Lord’s Body properly will help bring our body (if we are sick) into line with the New Testament Covenant that God has made with us through Christ. For as we know, part of this Covenant includes the provision of healing. In other words we must understand the Atonement - the suffering, death and Resurrection of Christ - and how it applies to us in order to appropriate, on a personal level, the victory Jesus won for us. When we come together as a corporate body of Believers around the communion table, it can be a time where our faith is activated and even tested. The enemy knows this and will take advantage of us if we allow him to do so. Communion presents us with an opportunity to exercise our faith at whatever level of faith we are at. This of course will depend on how much we have allowed the Spirit to properly renew our minds with God’s Word. If we do not rid ourselves of sin before we partake of communion, by repenting of it and putting it under the Blood, then we will not be able, at an experiential level, to fully identify with Christ in all aspects - and we will fail the test. If this happens, the devil and his forces will take advantage of our failure to either take, or live on, the higher ground. Before the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites had to identify themselves with God Almighty by shedding the blood of the Passover lamb and painting this blood on the lintels of their doorways. Then the angels of destruction could not touch their households, having to “pass over” those identified by the blood. If they had not obeyed God in this area, then their households would have suffered loss (Exodus 12:3-13). The same can be said today if we do not continue to identify, in faith, both at communion and in our daily Christian walk, with the precious Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord’s Supper represents the crossroads at which we, as the Church, arrive, and what each individual does at this crossroads is important. The devil looks for weak sheep which he can attack, so do not allow yourself to become a weak sheep for there is no need. If you have problems with sin or faith, then seek out a mature Christian who can help you. Remember that God does not withhold His blessings from us - rather the enemy takes advantage of us if we allow him to do so (1 Peter 5:8). We will now go on to look at how we can discern the Lord’s Body from a deeper perspective, examining two Old Testament stories as type-patterns for today. The Journey Of The Strong Background Reading Exodus 12:21-36 To be able to discern the Lord’s Body properly will help bring our body (if it is out of line with our New Testament Covenant i.e. good health) into line with the New Testament Covenant that God has made with us through Christ. In the time of Moses, the Israelite people, who were God’s “Church” at that time, were taken out of Egypt by God’s hand. Even though they were not in the Promised Land but in transition, wandering in the desert, not one was feeble or sick (Psalm 105:31). In fact their sandals and clothing did not wear out (Deuteronomy 29:5), and God supplied the Israelites, who may have numbered 3 Prayers Of Faith & Healing 42 - 4 million, with every single requirement (Nehemiah 9:20-21). His Covenant with them was based on the blood of animals, which was a type-pattern of Calvary’s sacrifice. “. . .The devil looks for weak sheep which he can attack, so do not allow yourself to become a weak sheep for there is no need. . .” In one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church, which probably only numbered hundreds of Believers, many were weak, sickly and feeble. This was the case even though they were a part of the New Testament Church which was based on a Covenant of grace and not law, as the old economy in the Old Testament had been. This new economy, based on grace, was established by the Blood of Jesus. Why then did the Israelites seemingly enjoy greater physical blessings (in terms of health) than the church at Corinth? 1 CORINTHIANS 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 1 CORINTHIANS 11:29 For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation (judgement) to (upon) himself, not discerning (understanding spiritually) the Lord’s Body. 1 CORINTHIANS 11:30 For this cause (careless and unworthy participation) many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (have died prematurely). Concerning Moses and his people, it was only after the establishment of the bloodratified Covenant that God’s grace was able to protect, provide for and lead His people. Good health was part of this Covenant. PSALM 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes (numbering in the millions!). Today our Covenant with God has been ratified by the Blood of the perfect sacrifice. There is therefore no more reason to sacrifice for Christ fulfilled completely the requirements of the Law, saying “It is finished (fulfilled).” “. . .Concerning Moses and his people, it was only after the establishment of the blood-ratified Covenant that God’s grace was able to protect, provide for and lead His people. . .” A thing to take note of is that the Israelites did two things in regard to the sacrifice. Firstly, they applied the blood to the doorway of their houses for protection. In fact this was the first Passover, and it pointed to, and was a type-pattern of, the last Passover, Christ Prayers Of Faith & Healing 43 at Calvary. There were many type-patterns involved in the detailed instructions given by the Lord to Moses and Aaron regarding how the Passover was to be celebrated. EXODUS 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish (Jesus was without sin, “a Lamb without blemish and without spot” : 1 Peter 1:19), a male of the first year (representing Jesus Who died at the peak of His manhood): you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: EXODUS 12:6 And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month (they were to select the animal on the tenth day, and then kill it on the fourteenth day [Vs.3]; it was to be minutely inspected during these four days, that no trace of illness would be observed, representing Christ, it had to be perfect): and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (The actual Hebrew says, “between the two evenings,” which was about 3 p.m. This was the exact time that Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary [Matthew 27:46].) (E.S.B.) EXODUS 12:7 And they shall take of the blood (representing Jesus’ shed Blood), and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it (the blood brought protection from judgement). EXODUS 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night (referred to in a symbolic sense by Jesus in John 6:53-55), roast with fire (speaks of the judgement of God coming on the Sin-Bearer), and unleavened bread (denotes the perfection of Christ - no leaven = no sin); and with bitter herbs (these were to remind the Hebrews of the bitterness of their slavery in Egypt) they shall eat it. EXODUS 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water (Christ cannot be accepted without the Cross), but roast with fire (speaks of the price paid for sin at the Cross); his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof (all of what was accomplished at the Cross must be accepted and embraced). EXODUS 12:10 And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning (all of the lamb had to be eaten - all of Christ must be accepted, which means all that the Cross meant and achieved); and that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. EXODUS 12:11 And thus shall you eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste (in readiness to leave Egypt): it is the Lord’s Passover (the Passover was always a type-pattern of Christ and the Cross). EXODUS 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement: I am the Lord. EXODUS 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token (a “token” or symbol of the Blood of the real Pascal Lamb) upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you (this is, without a doubt, one of the single most important Scriptures in the entirety of the Word of God; the lamb had taken the fatal blow; and because it had taken the blow, those in the house would be spared; it was not a question of personal worthiness, self had nothing whatever to do in the matter; it was a matter of faith; all under the cover of the blood were safe, just as all presently under the cover of the Blood are safe; . . the Lord didn’t say, “When I see you,” or, “When I see your good works,” etc., but, “When I see the blood”; this speaks of Christ and what He would do at the Cross in order that we might be Prayers Of Faith & Healing 44 saved . . : E.S.B.), and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Salvation from the “plague” of Judgement is afforded only by the shed Blood of the Lamb, and Faith in that shed Blood : E.S.B.) EXODUS 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (The Passover is continued in the Lord’s Supper [1Corinthians 5:7-8] : E.S.B.) “. . .In fact this was the first Passover, and it pointed to, and was a type-pattern of, the last Passover, Christ at Calvary. . .” Note: In relation to the instruction to continue the feast of the Passover “for ever,” “it actually continues in the participation by Christians of the “Lord’s Supper,” which in a sense is an outgrowth of the Passover. In fact, God doesn’t recognize the Old Testament Passover anymore, and in fact, hasn’t recognized it since Jesus died on the Cross, and rose from the dead. It was not God’s Will after this great event for men to continue to look to the “type,” when in fact, the “antitype” had come, and had fulfilled all the type. Why does one want to offer up sacrifices of animals, when “the Sacrifice” has been offered!. . ” “In the Perfect Age to come, which is graphically outlined in Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22, seven times in this account the word “Lamb” as it refers to Christ, is used. Now please understand, in this Perfect Age to come, Satan and all his minions of darkness, plus every unsaved soul, will be in the Lake of Fire. And to be sure, they will be there forever. There will be no more sin or transgression of any nature, but yet, the Holy Spirit refers seven times, as stated, to the “Lamb.” So I think that this tells us that in some fashion, this “memorial” will be kept forever. The word “Lamb” referring to Christ, is used in this fashion, I think, in order that all Believers might know and understand that the great and glorious privileges that we will have forever and forever . . are all brought about as a result of what Jesus did at the Cross.” 7 As stated, today we keep this feast in the New Testament Church through the ordinance of Communion. Here we come together as a corporate body to remember, appreciate and celebrate Christ our Passover and what He has done for us. The second thing the Lord told His “Church” (Israel) to do was to eat the flesh of the Passover lamb. In order for God’s mercy and grace to be extended to the homes of the Israelites, they had to do these two things so that they could be protected and provided for and not come under judgement. “. . .today we keep this feast in the New Testament Church through the ordinance of Communion. Here we come together as a corporate body to remember, appreciate and celebrate Christ our Passover and what He has done for us. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 45 The first requirement represented in type our identification with Christ on the cross. In other words, we must be identified in His death so that we can be identified in His Resurrection. It is the Blood of Christ which is our covering. It is the Blood which saves from judgement, those who have had their sins forgiven. EXODUS 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. ROMANS 5:9 Much more then (if Christ died for us while we were sinners) being now justified by His Blood (how much more will He do for us now we are reconciled to Him!), we shall be saved from wrath (the wrath of God directed against sin) through Him. The second requirement, that of eating the lamb’s flesh, had nothing to do with judgement passing over the household, for only blood on the doorways could have provided them with this grace of protection. This second requirement of the Israelites in covenant with God not only gave them physical strength for their journey into the wilderness, it also revealed in a natural way the promise of what was to come because of Calvary in regard to Divine healing/health. Hence, “there was not one feeble person among their tribes.” PSALM 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes (truly an amazing statement!). When the Israelites ate the flesh of the lamb through physical digestion, this food was sent into their bloodstream to become part of them, flesh of their flesh, bone of their bone, skin of their skin, body of their body. It became part of them. It was a type of the Body of Christ. When we as a corporate body partake of the bread in the communion service, we are to remember we are part of His perfect Body by digesting the Word in faith in regard to this truth. Just as the Israelites ate of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:8-11), scripture tells us we are to eat of the Lamb of God, “the bread of life,” “the living bread” (John 6:48, 51, 5356). In reality, we eat of the Lamb by embracing all that the Lord commands for our lives, via the logos Word and the rhema Word, according to the leading of the Spirit. It is to do all, relying on His Lordship and so direction. With this God has promised to all who seek, find and embrace His will, the grace to do so. “. . .When the Israelites ate the flesh of the lamb through physical digestion, this food was sent into their bloodstream to become part of them, flesh of their flesh, bone of their bone, skin of their skin, body of their body. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 46 Eating of all the flesh of the lamb (Exodus 12:10) constitutes a type-pattern which points today to obeying all that our Lord, the true Passover Lamb, has said. When we embrace all that God has said, and the Spirit leads us to do, we will indeed be eating all the Passover Lamb and so giving no grounds for the enemy to afflict us, mind or body. After the Israelites did what the Lord had told them to do with the blood and the body of the lamb, they “journeyed” (Exodus 12:37) out of Egypt. As they “journeyed,” their sicknesses and diseases left them. Sickness was eradicated, diseases were no more, feebleness was a forgotten thing. The Covenant provided for Divine health. If the Old Covenant could offer this, what more can the grace of God, which comes through Christ, give to those who believe? No less can or should we expect, for the old economy pointed to the new economy in Christ. The Old Testament Covenant proved that God is “the Lord Who heals.” The New Testament Covenant showed the reason for this grace, that it came through the real Lamb of God, by Whose stripes we are healed, of whom the Passover lamb was a type. God was honouring the real Lamb of God ahead of time, in the type, based on the assurance of His foreknowledge. The following story illustrates this truth more clearly. “. . .If the Old Covenant could offer this, what more can the grace of God, which comes through Christ, give to those who believe?. . .” THE BRASS SERPENT Background Reading: Numbers 21:4-9 The second Old Testament story concerns the brass serpent. This story follows on from a situation where the people sinned by murmuring against God. Venomous snakes then bit many of the people so that they died. NUMBERS 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against you; pray unto the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people (interceded on their behalf). NUMBERS 21:8 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Make thee a fiery serpent (representing sin), and set it upon a pole (representing the cross): and it shall come to pass, that every one who is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live (the curse of death shall be lifted, as with those who look upon Christ and the Cross).” If we look at the story in Numbers 21:4-9, we will see that the Israelites, who sought healing after being bitten by the snakes, had to look with repentant hearts upon the brass serpent on the pole and believe that God would heal them. This brass serpent on the pole was a type-pattern of Christ, as our Sin Bearer. The snake represented the cursed man, Prayers Of Faith & Healing 47 Jesus, the Sin Bearer, Who was cursed on our behalf, taking the penalty of death in our place (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:23). When Jesus walked the earth in His ministry, He healed people one at a time. After the Cross however, God, being no respecter of persons, made healing available to all - to whosoever would look towards the Cross and have faith in the wonderful Atonement that saves spirit, soul and body. Similarly, under the Lord’s direction, Moses made a serpent of brass in the wilderness and held it aloft on a pole. Those who looked upon the serpent of brass, if they had been bitten by a serpent, were saved from death. NUMBERS 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived (it was to Moses . . that the Lord proclaimed the way that the Son of God would die; it would be by the Cross, symbolized by the serpent on the pole : E.S.B.). The brass serpent on the pole is clearly a type of Christ bearing the sins and sicknesses of man. The serpent was a symbol of sin. Christ Himself never became sinful on the cross but was made the sin offering for the whole world. At this time even the Father forsook Him - while He became the “Sin Bearer” and the sin of the world was legally (though not experientially) attributed to Him. In this way sin’s penalty could be paid, and those who then identify with the Saviour can become righteous in Him! 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 For He (God the Father) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin (a sin offering) for us, Who knew no sin (He was sinless); that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (our sin was imputed to Him, His righteousness imputed to us). MATTHEW 27:46 And about the ninth hour (3 p.m.) Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is to say, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” As the Israelites, with humble, repentant hearts, looked upon this brass serpent which represented Christ as the Atonement sacrifice, today we must also, with humble hearts, look in faith upon Christ Who was placed on the cross (pole). As we do so, we must trust that through Him, our sin and sickness bearer, we have been made whole (been healed), spirit, soul and body. He paid a debt He did not owe. We owed a debt we could not pay. As our Kinsman Redeemer He took the penalty we deserved, thus satisfying the law of perfect justice. This has brought us peace and reconciliation with our God. Amen. COLOSSIANS 1:20 And God purposed that through - by the service, the intervention of - Him (the Son) all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him [the Father] made peace by means of the Blood of His cross. (Amp) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 48 “. . .As the Israelites, with humble, repentant hearts, looked upon this brass serpent which represented Christ as the Atonement sacrifice, today we must also, with humble hearts, look in faith upon Christ Who was placed on the cross (pole). . .” All Sin And Sickness Is Nailed To The Cross When the Israelites looked upon the serpent, it represented Christ the cursed One, Who would nail our sin and everything associated with the curse to the Cross. This of course was a once-only payment to bring to nought our sin, and to give us power over sin and the sin nature itself. Only if they looked upon that which represented the Redeemer (Who would stand in their place, become a curse for them and take the punishment due to all men on their behalf), could God bring His grace to the rescue - even that day hundreds of years before the sacrifice. In God’s perfect foreknowledge, it was counted to the Israelites as salvation as they trusted (unknowingly) in the Saviour of the Cross - through the type-pattern of the serpent on the pole. Really they were trusting in God’s representative Moses who spoke God’s Word and told them to look upon the serpent and live. This gave God the legal ground to heal them, as He, by His foreknowledge, worked backwards from the Cross. So although they didn’t understand, in a spiritual sense, they were trusting Christ, the Lamb of God, as revealed by God after the Fall. GENESIS 3:15 And I will put enmity (animosity) between you (here the Lord is speaking to Satan) and the woman, and between your seed and her seed (Jesus the Redeemer); it (He) shall bruise your head, and you shalt bruise His heel. Each time the Israelites, according to the Law, made a blood sacrifice for sin, they were trusting ahead of time, because of the type-pattern, in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, i.e. that their sins would be forgiven. The types were a result of Calvary, even though they were forerunners. In trusting in the types, they were trusting in that which was to come. This enabled God to account it to them as righteousness. So as stated, they were really trusting in Christ through the type-pattern that the serpent on the pole represented. “. . .Each time the Israelites, according to the Law, made a blood sacrifice for sin, they were trusting ahead of time, because of the type-pattern, in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, i.e. that their sins would be forgiven. . .” They trusted and relied on the Saviour, Who was to come by promise, that what He would do would negate sin’s power and anything associated with it. In this they looked upon the serpent who represented the cursed Christ, the One Who was to take the Prayers Of Faith & Healing 49 punishment of the curse, namely death. If they did this, i.e., looked upon the serpent and trusted in what God’s servant Moses had said, then they were able to enjoy some of the benefits of the Cross - even at this point in time. GALATIANS 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, “Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23) Nothing has changed in this New Testament Age except the Saviour, Who was to be put on a cross that the pole represented, has come. The promise has been fulfilled. In the Old Testament era, the people of God had to look forward to the Cross, trusting in the types which represented Christ. In this New Testament Age, we must look back to the Cross and focus our attention on Him with a repentant heart, so as to allow the Blood of Christ to wash our sin away. In this our sin, and anything associated with it, is nailed to the Cross. We no longer need types for the real Saviour has come. Indeed He died and was raised from the dead for us, so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Christ took our complete punishment on the Cross so that we could have complete salvation of spirit, body and mind. However only if our sin is left at the Cross can we then by faith enjoy all the benefits of the Atonement. In other words, we must, with the eye of faith, with a clean heart and a humble spirit, see ourselves after our sin is nailed to the Cross of Christ as being raised up with Christ into newness of life (as partakers of the Divine Nature): 2 PETER 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises (refers to the Word of God): that by these (promises) you might be partakers of the Divine Nature (the Divine Nature implanted in the inner being of the believing sinner becomes the source of our new life and actions; it comes to everyone at the moment of being “BornAgain” : E.S.B.), having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (speaks of salvation and ongoing sanctification). Therefore, in dealing with sin, we must forever look to the crucified Christ, and leave all our sin nailed to the Cross through repentance. Then with a heart of faith, we must see ourselves in Christ, denailed from the Cross, and raised with Him to enjoy the benefits the Cross has afforded us (Romans 6:1-8). So in order to be raised with Him in a conditional sense and enjoy the graces provided by the Atonement, our day-to-day sin must be nailed to the Cross. To have unconfessed sin in our life, or not to have proper focus concerning the spiritual realities of the Cross, will cause us not to experience the benefits of our salvation at an experiential level. In other words we are to look on and trust in the Christ of the Cross, and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the truth of the greatest words that were ever spoken: “It is finished.” It tells us in Hosea that God’s people can be destroyed through a lack of spiritual knowledge (Hosea 4:6). But Christ promised that He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to teach us and lead us, as Christians, into all the truth needed to live in abundant life (John 14:16, 17, 26). Even today the snake-bitten sons and daughters of Adam need to trust in the crucified Christ to be healed of their sin. Even as a Christian, if sin enters one’s life, the Cross and Prayers Of Faith & Healing 50 the Blood must be the answer. This is true, however, for all sin, that of the heathen and the Christian alike. Deliverance from sin and its curse comes only as we look upon Christ on the Cross, determining to leave our sin in the hands of the Saviour through our repentance and trust in Him. “. . .So in order to be raised with Him in a conditional sense and enjoy the graces provided by the Atonement, our day-to-day sin must be nailed to the Cross. . .” Not to continue to develop in our relationship with the Lord, by growing in the knowledge of God’s will and Word and the power thereof, will cause sin to accumulate in our lives. This will drag us back in those areas of sin to live in its dark valleys. We need to leave our sin behind, nailed to the Cross, so that the process of ongoing sanctification may take place. In this way we can become more Christ-like, and develop a passion for the things of God. Then the Holy Spirit can help us develop faith in our hearts to move the mountains that would try to stop God working in our lives and us serving Him on the mountain tops. However everything proceeds from the Cross. We cannot bypass the Cross, for all sin - past, present and future - must be nailed to it. When this happens, we who are in Christ are denailed from our sin. Only when the Blood is applied to our sin can all this take place. If you are a Christian living for God and you become sick, then this is the time to focus your faith on the fact that Christ allowed Himself to be nailed to the Cross so that along with our sin, all sickness could also be nailed to the Cross. For as we have said, He became a curse for us. In other words, He took all the punishment required to free us from the curse we were under - and this includes the curse of sickness. With this focus of all sickness being nailed to the Cross, you can then either pray yourself or receive the prayer you need from another. As this takes place, let the picture of Moses and the serpent on the pole be in your mind’s eye. Know that it was a pattern or a type of Christ, our Deliverer, on the Cross of Calvary, so that we could be identified positionally and conditionally in His Resurrection. ROMANS 6:4 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (we died with Christ, we were buried with Him along with all our sins and transgressions, and His Resurrection was ours as well into newness of life!). The abundant life spoken of in the scriptures (e.g. John 10:10) includes freedom from sickness and disease, for through His stripes and the Cross (within the context of the complete Atonement), He paid the price for the curse of sickness to be lifted (Isaiah 53:5). Our focus must be Jesus our Lord, the object of our faith must be His Cross and we must recognize our power source as the Holy Spirit. Then we will find our victory in Him. As we with proper focus identify with Him, the power of His Resurrection is made available to us. But for this to be a reality in our lives, we need faith. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 51 We can be confident that both sin and sickness are nailed to the Cross of Christ. We need only then allow the Holy Spirit to develop the faith in us to believe this - so that the victory may be ours. “. . .Our focus must be Jesus our Lord, the object of our faith must be His Cross and we must recognize our power source as the Holy Spirit. . .” With Christ as our focus and the Cross as the object of our faith, know that the Holy Spirit will bring the power of God to heal broken bodies according to the finished work of Calvary and the boundaries of this work. The story of the brass serpent represents to us, in the New Covenant, man repenting and putting his sin under the Blood of Christ, then trusting in the Lord that the power to heal will be available because of the Atonement. The Lord Our Healer The Atonement has provided God’s grace by which we can be made whole in every area. As we have stated, Christ paid the full price for our redemption and this includes healing. Faith must reach out and grasp it when it is needed so that the Father may be glorified through Jesus. Again it is by faith in the Cross (the Atonement) that the benefits of the Cross flow to us in an experiential way, from salvation to bodily healing. God was not only the Israelites’ Deliverer from the destroyer, He was also the Healer of their diseases. In fact one of God’s Names is “Jehovah - Rapha” which means “the Lord our healer” or “the Lord Who heals” (Exodus 15:26). God is the same yesterday and today, and will be the same tomorrow and forever. He changes not. The Lord still heals today as we eat by faith God’s living Word, Jesus the Pascal Lamb of God, so as to be one with Him. As we have said, this eating is a spiritual action involving the embracing of all God has for us. In doing this we will be believing to be filled with God’s life-giving graces that will bring about change, first on the inside (to the mind and heart) and then on the outside (to the body) - as faith is developed within us to make proper demands on heaven’s power. Christ went through all that He did not only so we could have life (so that our names could be written in the Book of Life in heaven) but so that we could have abundant life. This is essentially to have the power of God to walk in His will, and so to please the Father in all we do. JOHN 10:10 The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (to the full). Under the Covenant, sickness and disease are therefore a marked enemy to be eradicated on sight. The only way to experience this abundant life, however, is by taking Prayers Of Faith & Healing 52 up your cross, then yielding daily to the Holy Spirit so that the graces and energies of the Divine Nature are made available to you both to will and then to do of God’s good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Don’t let sin rob you of your inheritance in Christ. Repent, be restored by the Blood and eat of Christ until full of His grace so that you may run the race set before you. The Israelites’ race was set before them, but sadly many did not enter the Promised Land of God’s will, flowing with milk and honey. “. . .In doing this we will be believing to be filled with God’s life-giving graces that will bring about change, first on the inside (to the mind and heart) and then on the outside (to the body) - as faith is developed within us to make proper demands on heaven’s power. . .” Only as we, by faith, apply the Blood to our sin so that we are washed clean, can we then eat by faith of the goodness of Christ’s flesh. As we do this, as we journey with the Spirit Who leads and empowers us, and as we apply the Word of God to any need for bodily healing, sickness and disease will have no place in our lives. We will grow old gracefully, still in our old age running as a foot soldier of the Cross, not in the power of the flesh but in the power of the Divine Nature which energizes our very being, and helps us become one with God. 2 PETER 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We can even have the mind of Christ, which is to think as He thinks. This is to have the same mindset Christ had when He walked the earth, a divinely-energized mind so that in thought and power, He could do the will of the Father. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have (access to) the mind of Christ (so that we are able to see things as He sees them through the eye of faith). “. . .Only as we, by faith, apply the Blood to our sin so that we are washed clean, can we then eat by faith of the goodness of Christ’s flesh. . .” As we come around the communion table let us remember that the Lord is not only the Forgiver of sins but also the Lord Who heals all those who would, by faith, eat of the Passover Lamb of God. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 53 PSALM 103:3 (Bless the Lord) Who forgives all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; ISAIAH 53:4 Surely He has borne (in punishment) our griefs (sicknesses), and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ISAIAH 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions (rebellion), He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace (the punishment that brought us peace) was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed (and made whole). Sickness should then have no more power over us than sin. We should no more accept sickness in our lives than we accept sin. Both have been dealt with through the Cross. There is nothing left to do, as we have said, except repent (of sin), believe (God’s Word), reckon (ourselves to be dead to the old man and alive to the new man in Christ), then yield (on a daily basis to the Holy Spirit) (Romans 6:8-13). With the Divine Nature of which we are now partakers in Christ (2 Peter 1:4) energizing us, we can become one in faith with Christ. Then through prayer, Anointing for healing is able to flow from the centre of our being outward to touch our flesh (or through prayer, the flesh of another). Only holy faith can make proper demands on the Anointing of God. Only in the energy of the Divine Nature can we obtain this faith - this belief and trust in Christ, His Atonement and what it has given to us, health and wholeness in every area. When we take up the cup that represents the shed Blood of Christ, we should do so with a heart which expresses gratitude that indeed our sins have been washed away. We should also give thanks to the Father that the power of sin has been broken in our lives. In fact it no longer has any dominion over us. This is because, being raised with Christ, each of us has become a partaker of the new Nature within. We are to be thankful and appreciative that we have been born again, and that the old (unregenerated) man is no longer with us, having been nailed to the Cross with Christ. This is how we discern the Lord’s Blood. When we eat the bread we are to rejoice in faith that healing is now ours - that by His stripes we are healed, and we are one with Him. What He has, we have, for we are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh and body of His Body. In this we rejoice that in addition to sin, sickness no longer has any power over us. This is how we discern the Lord’s Body. EPHESIANS 5:30 For we are members of His Body, of His flesh, and of His bones. The key is that after the Israelites made a Covenant, they “journeyed” (Exodus 12:37) under God’s direction given through Moses, God’s saviour for Israel, a type-pattern of the Christ Who was to come. If they had not “journeyed,” they would have remained in Egypt. If they had stayed in or turned back to Egypt, they would have removed themselves from the Covenant, for the blessings that came with it were conditional upon them following God’s directions. When the Israelites did follow God’s directions, sicknesses and infirmities left them. If we do not “journey” hand in hand with God in our walk on the earth, then the blessings of the Covenant will be denied us because we are not seeking or allowing the Lord to show us the path for our life. In this New Testament age, we do not live under the Prayers Of Faith & Healing 54 Law of Moses as the Israelites did to obtain God’s blessings. Rather we live under the law of grace. In this the only requirements are that we abide in Christ, are led of the Spirit, and have faith in God’s Word. “. . .Sickness should then have no more power over us than sin. We should no more accept sickness in our lives than we accept sin. . .” Today not law but faith releases the Covenant’s promises. By obeying the Law and following Moses, the Israelites found that sickness and disease were no longer in the camp. Today we as Christians could go to church faithfully every Sunday, but this would not necessarily bring to us any of the Covenant blessings beyond salvation. Indeed unless faith accompanies our actions, we cannot appropriate the promises of our New Testament Covenant. This, of course, includes healing. HEBREWS 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is (that He exists), and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. Discerning The Lord’s Body Faith recognizes the truth of God’s Covenant and holds fast to the promised benefits of Christ’s Atonement. At communion we, by this faith, are saying that when we partake of the bread, we are one with the Lamb of God and He is one with us. With this faith we can profess that “by His stripes we are healed.” Eating in faith means becoming one with Christ through faith in the Atonement, which then affords us the physical benefits of our Covenant with God. In communion we are to remember the applied Blood. We are also to remember that by faith, we have eaten His flesh through identifying with Him on the Cross as our substitute, and, in His strength, embracing all that He commands us to do. He was beaten so that we can be made whole, free from all sickness and disease. He suffered pain so we don’t have to suffer the pain of sickness. Remember all this when you partake of the bread of communion. MATTHEW 8:17 And thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases. (Amp.) “. . .Eating in faith means becoming one with Christ through faith in the Atonement, which then affords us the physical benefits of our Covenant with God. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 55 In the church at Corinth many were sick, showing that surely something was lacking - as it is in many churches today. As we have said, and let us never forget, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the God Who heals all our diseases. By faith we must accept this. In the power of the Divine Nature we must take up our cross of self-denial, and by faith we must “journey” so as to follow the same Spirit Who led the Israelites finally, when all unbelief was gone, into the land of promise. To the Believer who would trust in His Covenant, God has proven Himself over the many centuries to be the Healer of sickness as well as the Forgiver of sins. Both have been taken care of in the Atonement. So we need to “arise” from our bed of sickness - if we have one - in the power of the Spirit of Truth. Jesus’ Blood was shed at Calvary not only for the remission of sins, but to seal the promise by which we can be healed. This was paid for by His stripes, the terrible beating and the punishment that He endured, while still believing and trusting in the Father. Jesus maintaining His faith in the Father at this time was essential for the benefits of the Atonement to come to us - for it meant He did not sin. Faith prevailed in His life, proving that no matter what the world or the devil did, He was going to remain righteous to the end. He was crushed for our guilt, the punishment needed for us to obtain peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are (have been) healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains). We are made whole through this great Atonement - spirit, soul and body. He took away our infirmities, every last one - feebleness of mind and body, and all weaknesses. Infirmity and sickness should have no more power over us than sin does. Again, if we don’t accept sin in our lives, then we should not accept infirmity and sickness. Christ paid the price so that we do not have to be shackled by sin and sickness. By taking the red liquid at communion, we are remembering the shed Blood that saved us from our sin and washed us clean, giving us spiritual healing. By eating the bread at communion, we are bringing into remembrance the sacrifice of the broken Body so that we might have physical healing by having faith in the Atonement that makes us one with Christ. LUKE 22:19 And He took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, “This is (represents) My Body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.” LUKE 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is (represents) the New Testament (New Covenant) in My Blood, which is shed for you.” 1 CORINTHIANS 11:24 And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “Take, eat: this is My Body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.” I CORINTHIANS 11:25 After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in My Blood: this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 CORINTHIANS 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ? Prayers Of Faith & Healing 56 We need to discern with proper focus in order to appropriate, by faith, the Lord’s Body for our healing. When we discern the Lord’s Body properly, we will not do as many in the church at Corinth did - take the Lord’s supper unworthily. We need to understand our Covenant with God - that it is a Blood and Body of Christ Covenant. The power of the Blood was such that it was able to ratify the Covenant between man and God. In the Old Testament spiritual economy, because of the state of man and the worth of the animal sacrifices, these sacrifices had to be performed on a yearly basis. The offering of a perfect sacrifice fulfilled all the requirements of the Law, and introduced the New Testament economy of grace. Because of the worth of this sacrifice, no further offering or sacrifice is needed. The Covenant has been ratified by the Blood shed at Calvary on our behalf. The price for our sin, for our health and for our future has been paid in full. “It is finished,” Jesus said. The price was paid and accepted by the courts of heaven. So because the Blood has ratified the Covenant of Divine healing, we can now say, “By His stripes I am healed.” “. . .The price for our sin, for our health and for our future has been paid in full. . .” The Blood is the answer to the problem of sin. The wounded Body of the Saviour was needed to answer the problem of sickness and disease. As the old hymn proclaims: “There is power, power, wonder working power in the Blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder working power in the precious Blood of the Lamb.” Jesus’ Stripes The healing power of God is available today because Jesus maintained His faith in His Father’s Word during His time of terrible physical and mental suffering on and before the cross. He maintained His faith in the Father, having complete trust that He would not ask anything of His Son that wasn’t necessary. This testing proved Him to be the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sin. Note that the word “stripes” in Isaiah 53:5 is properly translated from the original Hebrew as “wound.” JOHN 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged (whipped) Him. ISAIAH 53:4 Surely He (Jesus) has borne (taken) our griefs (sicknesses), and carried our sorrows: yet we did (ignorantly) esteem (consider) Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ISAIAH 53:5 But He was wounded (pierced) for our transgressions (rebellion), He was crushed for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace (the punishment that brought us Prayers Of Faith & Healing 57 peace) was upon Him (and Him alone); and with (by) His stripes (wounds) we are healed (and made whole). Wuest writes concerning the “stripes” of 1 Peter 2:24, which Peter wrote about in reference to Isaiah 53:5: “The word “stripes” in the Greek presents a picture of our Lord’s lacerated back after the scourging He endured at the hands of the Roman soldier. The Romans used a scourge of cords or thongs to which latter were attached pieces of lead or brass, or small, sharppointed bones. Criminals condemned to crucifixion were ordinarily scourged before being executed. The victim was stripped to the waist and bound in a stooping position, with the hands behind the back, to a post or pillar. The suffering under the lash was intense. The body was frightfully lacerated. The Christian martyrs at Smyrna about A.D. 155 were so torn by the scourges that their veins were laid bare, and the inner muscles and sinews and even the bowels were exposed. The Greek word translated “stripes” refers to a bloody wale trickling with blood that arises under a blow. The word is singular, not plural. Peter remembered the body of our Lord after the scourging, the flesh so dreadfully mangled that the disfigured form appeared in his eyes as one single bruise. Thus we have the portrait of the suffering Servant of Jehovah, His blessed face so pummeled by the hard fists of the mob that it did not look like a human face anymore, His back lacerated by the Roman scourge so that it was one mass of open, raw, quivering flesh trickling with blood, His heart torn with anguish because of the bitter, caustic, malevolent words hurled at Him. On that bleeding, lacerated back was laid the Cross. Unsaved reader, this was all for you, just as if you were the only lost person in the universe. The Lord Jesus died for you, in your stead, took your place on the Cross, paid your penalty, so that God could offer a salvation from sin based upon a justice satisfied. Will you not right now appropriate the Lord Jesus as your own personal Saviour, trust Him to save you? And saint, does not all this make you love the Lord Jesus more, soften and make more tender your heart? Does not all this make you say, “I can see the blood drops, red ’neath His thorny crown, from the cruel nail-wounds, now they are falling down; Lord, when I would wander from thy love away, let me see those blooddrops shed for me that day?” The blood of Christ heals our sin in that He by one offering put away sin forever.” 8 (underlines added) In this physical state, our Lord would have suffered incredible physical pain that would also have produced enormous mental suffering. The stripes, mentioned in Isaiah 53:5, caused much pain and suffering to our Saviour. The injustice, betrayal and abandonment He experienced were added to increase His soulish suffering (mental anguish) so that we may have peace and wholeness in our minds. In the suffering and ultimate death of the Lamb of God on the cross, holy justice was satisfied, the curse upon man (spirit, soul and body) being taken care of through the Atonement. The “stripes” (wound) relates to the physical suffering Jesus endured - so that we may be healed. As we have said, the Atonement consists of the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus. The suffering aspect of the Atonement included the physical suffering of Jesus, the mental suffering of Jesus and the spiritual suffering of Jesus - throughout the crucifixion and the lead-up to it. After this time of terrible testing was finished, Jesus’ death and then His Resurrection completed the Atonement process. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 58 However it is not just by the stripes which Jesus bore that we are able to be healed. It is because He maintained His faith through this whole time of testing that we, today, can obtain the healing power of God when we need it. It was by His shed Blood that the promise was then sealed, and healing became available to us. Our debt for salvation, as well as the debt for the healing of our soul and body, have been “paid in full” through the Atonement. Let us never forget that Jesus bore the punishment due to us through this whole process. 1 PETER 2:24 Who His own self bore our sins in His own Body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes you were (past tense) healed (body and soul). HEBREWS 5:9 And (through His completed experience) being made perfect He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them who obey Him Our Saviour’s sufferings in relation to the Atonement were vicarious, “borne” by Him on behalf of man to save him from the consequences of sin: Romans 8:17. We could then see Isaiah 53:4 in this same light, “Surely He has borne (paid the price through vicarious suffering for) our griefs (sicknesses).” Yes sin was “borne” by Christ, but so was all sickness and disease that sin had brought into the world. However, He did not bear our sins and sicknesses in His Body as such. He bore the penalty for our sins and our sicknesses, the penalty being the debt we could never pay. He bore the penalty for the curse of sickness to be lifted. MATTHEW 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.” “The word “infirmities” in this 17th verse speaks of feebleness of mind and body, malady, frailty, disease, sickness and weakness. All this Christ bore on the Cross fulfilling Isaiah 53.” 9 Therefore we can see that Jesus has already paid the price for us to obtain healing and wholeness in every area of our lives. Our healing was paid for approximately 2,000 years ago. God waits for us to meet the conditions so that His power can make this truth a reality in each of our lives, for we can know from the promises in scripture that God wants His people to be fit and well, and to live in good health. “HEALING, DIVINE, THE MINISTRY OF: The dynamic ministry of Jesus not only revealed God’s heart of love for mankind’s need of a Redeemer, but unveiled God’s compassionate heart of mercy for mankind’s need of a Healer. The will of God was perfectly disclosed in His Son; we are to seek ways to fully convey that perfect revelation. Just as the Fall of man introduced sickness as a part of the curse, the Cross of Christ has opened a door to healing as part of salvation’s provision. Healing encompasses God’s power to restore broken hearts, broken homes, broken lives, and broken bodies. Suffering assumes a multiplicity of forms, but Christ’s blood not only covers our sin with redemptive love; His stripes release a resource of healing at every dimension of our need.” 10 (underlines added) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 59 Jesus Himself, spirit, soul and body, had to receive the punishment due to us for sin. He had to suffer in these three areas of man’s makeup in order to pay the price for man to be made whole in each of these areas. Therefore He suffered mental torment so that we can have peace (“the chastisement of our peace was upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5). See also Luke 22:44). He suffered physical torment so that we can be healed in our body (“and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5. See also Isaiah 52:14, Luke 22:63-64). His spirit suffered in that the Father turned away from Jesus as He became the “sin bearer” (Matthew 27:46). Ultimately the price paid for wholeness in our spirit was death - for without the shedding of Christ’s Blood (bringing about death) there can be no forgiveness. “. . .Just as the Fall of man introduced sickness as a part of the curse, the Cross of Christ has opened a door to healing as part of salvation’s provision. . .” In suffering in His righteous spirit, soul and body, Jesus became a complete sacrifice for our spirit, soul and body. He suffered to the full extent, spiritually, mentally and physically. This suffering constituted, before death, as much pain and suffering as any man could endure while remaining alive and sinless. This mental and physical suffering was necessary for the healing of our mind and body. Then for our spirit, He shed His Blood and laid His life down so that He could die in our place. He took this, our penalty, so that we could be cleansed (healed) in our spirit, and brought back into proper relationship with the Father. ISAIAH 53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord (Jehovah) to bruise Him (Jesus); He has put Him to grief: when You shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed (spiritual offspring = born-again Christians), He shall prolong His days (this refers to the Resurrection), and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper (all shall be restored as it was before the Fall) in His hand (by His rule). ISAIAH 53:11 He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied (the redemptive price having been paid): by His knowledge (the knowledge of Him being imparted to men’s hearts) shall My righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities (through the Atonement). As Dake wrote concerning Isaiah 53:10: “Complete sacrifice (Isaiah 53:10). Himself - His entire self, not His personal soul only. It took His body, soul, and spirit to make a complete offering for sin and sickness. He was a complete substitute for man. Since the body, soul, and spirit of man had sinned and were under the sentence of death, it took the whole being of the Messiah to take man’s place. The word soul is sometimes used of an individual (Genesis 12:5; 41:26). There is no such thing as sinning with the flesh and not with the soul and the spirit, as taught by some. The flesh cannot be filthy and the soul and spirit holy. The body became sinful, depraved and diseased by sin in the fall, and the body must be redeemed from these things if redemption is to be complete.” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 60 “Why God was pleased with the death of Christ (Isaiah 53 verse 10). The only reason it pleased Jehovah to permit Him to be crucified was to bring about the redemption of the whole creation so that His eternal program could be carried out with man on earth (v10). He could not have been pleased with the mutilation of His beloved Son because He punished men for this (Acts 2:22-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:16). Both the Father and the Son volunteered to suffer such indignities for the salvation of men (John 3:16; 10:18). Such a sacrifice on the part of God showed His divine perfection, justice, mercy, and boundless benevolence. The law was upheld, sin was judged, and a basis of pardon and eternal reconciliation was made possible.” 11 “. . .Since the body, soul, and spirit of man had sinned and were under the sentence of death, it took the whole being of the Messiah to take man’s place. . .” The Atonement has completely addressed all of man’s problems both in a legal sense and a conditional sense. It has not only dealt with sin and satisfied justice but has made the way for the grace of God to empower us to live in God’s abundant blessings. Indeed the Atonement has opened heaven’s gates so that now in Christ we are blessed with “all spiritual blessings” (Ephesians 1:3). Because Jesus suffered on our behalf in His body, soul and spirit, the Atonement is complete in addressing the entire need of man, body, soul and spirit. Receiving Healing MATTHEW 8:16 When the evening was come (the Sabbath Day of rest ended at sunset), they brought unto Him (Jesus) many who were possessed with devils (demons): and He cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all who were sick This scripture reveals to us God’s will concerning healing, for Jesus did not pick and choose who would be healed and who would not. Nor did He declare that God was testing those who were sick so that they might grow in faith or patience, etc. What does this verse say to us? It says that Jesus “healed all who were sick.” This is the wonderful message of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. God wants to bring all men to salvation, not only of spirit (1 Timothy 2:4) but of mind and body also (3 John 2). We see Jesus’ desire to heal in the following verses: MATTHEW 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper who worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” MATTHEW 8:3 And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, “I will; be thou clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 61 There is simply no question that He would do otherwise. The term “to heal” means “to cure,” “to repair,” “to restore,” “to make whole.” It denotes soundness, completeness, restoration, wholeness, etc. Divine healing has been made available to us so that our physical bodies can be restored to complete health and wholeness. The healing power of God is a spiritual force which was present in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Acts 10:38 tells us : ACTS 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power (as a man, Christ laid aside His power and glory, and depended on the Holy Spirit to empower Him for service and ministry): Who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. So God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, and Jesus travelled through the New Testament area of Palestine, healing “all who were oppressed of the devil.” This work of Jesus is still continuing today in the lives of Believers who are touched by the Gospel, for Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forevermore (Hebrews 13:8). From Acts 10:38 and Luke 13:16, we can also see that it is Satan who is the father and instigator of oppression. LUKE 13:11 And, behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together (bent over permanently), and could in no wise lift up (straighten) herself. LUKE 13:12 And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him (means this miracle was unsolicited), and said unto her, “Woman, you are loosed (delivered) from your infirmity.” LUKE 13:13 And He laid His hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God (acknowledging the Source of her deliverance). Jesus said: LUKE 13:16 “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham (this indicates Covenant relationship), whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath Day?” Therefore if you are suffering from any form of disease or oppression, you need to acknowledge that this is not God’s doing. Sickness, disease and other forms of bondage are promoted by Satan to afflict man and cause him distress and torment. Indeed, other scriptures tell us that Satan seeks to kill, harm and destroy people, given any opportunity to do so. Sickness and disease are thus not tests and trials sent by God to increase our faith. If people believe this, then there is no reason to ask God to heal them. If people desire healing, this sort of unbelief will cause doublemindedness, and this will block the release of God’s power (James 1:5-8). Sickness and disease are not sent by God but are works of the enemy by which he would bind, dishearten and destroy humanity (1 Peter 5:8). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 62 “. . .Sickness, disease and other forms of bondage are promoted by Satan to afflict man and cause him distress and torment. . .” It is God’s will today that all be healed and live in good health. He can only fulfill His Word, however, as people open up and respond to it. We need therefore to meditate on the promises of God concerning healing - to help the Holy Spirit build hope on the inside of us. The living Word can then be placed in our hearts as illuminated revelation knowledge. Psalm 103:1-3 tells us: PSALM 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name. PSALM 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (while Christ is the Source of all benefits, the Cross is the means): (E.S.B.) PSALM 103:3 Who forgives all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases (the Lord Alone can forgive sin [1 John 1:9]; the Lord Alone can heal [1 Peter 2:24]); (E.S.B) Also, Psalm 107:20 tells us: PSALM 107:20 He sent His Word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions (the grave). The Lord has sent His Word and has promised that it will not return to Him void, as we fulfill the conditions. The conditions are of course that we make proper demands on our Covenant from a proper perspective - that being, of course, having our faith firmly focused on the “finished work of the Cross.” And remember that only holy faith, developed as our human nature is energized by the Divine Nature, can make these proper demands on heaven’s power. God indeed is faithful to His Word of deliverance, and is watching over it, desiring to bring it to fulfillment in our lives. JEREMIAH 1:12 Then said the Lord unto me. “ . . for I will hasten (watch over) My Word to perform it (to bring it to pass).” ISAIAH 55:11 So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void (empty), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (achieve the purpose for which I send it). Note: In order to have the Lord fulfill His Word in our lives, we, with the help of the Spirit’s Divine energy, need to walk in humility, forgiving others who have wronged us and repenting of sin (Isaiah 55:7; 1 John 1:9). Scripture tells us that God will not respond to a man or woman who is walking in unforgiveness or pride - or harbouring blatant unconfessed sin (Psalm 51:16-17; Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 59:2; Mark 11:25-26; James 4:6). (This of course is dependent on the degree of sin being practised.) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 63 “. . .In order to have the Lord fulfill His Word in our lives, we, with the help of the Spirit’s Divine energy, need to walk in humility, forgiving others who have wronged us and repenting of sin. . .” We also need to understand that physical and emotional healing are just as much a part of the Gospel as the message of spiritual regeneration. Many do not receive healing or the blessings of God because they do not know His will on the subject. As a starting point, therefore, we need to understand and acknowledge that sickness and disease resulted from the curse, and are promoted by Satan. To be liberated in the areas of sickness and disease a Christian needs to: 1. Testify and believe that they are not under the curse (because they have been baptized into Christ’s death and raised with Christ into “newness of life”) (Luke 10:19; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:13). 2. Repent of any known sin - in other words, nail it to the Cross (Romans 6:6-7; 1 John 1:9). 3. Bind and loose Satan’s influence, as the promoter of all sickness and disease, from their body (Matthew 18:18; James 4:7; 1 John 3:8). 4. Pray for healing, as needed (Matthew 18:19; 1 Corinthians 12:9). 5. Pray for a miracle, if needed (Mark 11:22-26; 1 Corinthians 12:10). Also, some people do not receive because after praying, there may be no obvious results and so doubt and unbelief flood their minds and their faith becomes depleted. It is important, however, to continue to believe for one’s healing, even though, if after prayer, there may seem to be no immediate changes. For “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4), not walk by sight. We will now go on to look at the healing process and to provide further information which may be helpful for those seeking healing or good health. The Healing Process Healing may take place immediately or may occur over a period of time, for the Word states, “They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). The prayer of healing may help speed up the body’s natural healing processes and also help kill or expel any foreign substance, e.g. a virus. So instead of it taking six weeks to recover from an illness, it may take, for example, two weeks or less, or healing may even occur immediately. Generally a sickness or disease comes upon a person gradually. It usually begins in one area, then seeks to spread itself throughout the body in a destructive manner, causing its Prayers Of Faith & Healing 64 victim pain and/or distress. Knowing this to be the case, it is quite understandable that healing may sometimes occur in a similar way. For example, the healing process (God’s healing power) may begin working in a particular area and then move gradually throughout the body, displacing the sickness or disease with health and wholeness. Once the prayer for healing is prayed and believed upon, we must continue daily to take the spiritual medicine of God’s Word in a balanced way. We need to begin of course with our attitude towards man (having love, compassion and forgiveness) and God (having humility and reverence), and then to progress on to faith in our Covenant in relation to healing. We need to swallow each dose of scripture so that God can perform His work in us, little by little, until we actually digest it in our hearts. “. . .Once the prayer for healing is prayed and believed upon, we must continue daily to take the spiritual medicine of God’s Word in a balanced way. . .” After a person receives prayer for healing, the results may be immediate or gradual. Sometimes healing is immediate, but if it is not, do not think that the healing process has not begun. Knowing that healing is taking place, we need to stand in faith, as the Book of Ephesians tells us: EPHESIANS 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day (of danger or trouble), and having done all (that is our responsibility as Christians to do), to stand (not giving ground to the forces of darkness). EPHESIANS 6:14 Stand therefore (in faith), having your loins girt about with truth (God’s truth which is His Word and will), and having on the breastplate of righteousness (Christ’s imputed righteousness which is ours through the Blood of the Cross); After praying in faith for healing, we need to continue standing on the Word and not yield to our senses or circumstances. Believe you received your healing when you prayed, and continue to thank God for it - He will honour His Word. However, if you are not, at this point, in a position to receive, you need to acknowledge this and seek medical assistance. You can then determine to search the scriptures and build up your faith with the help and empowerment of the Holy Spirit - in order to become stronger in this area. Or you may need to find out from the Lord the reason why you were not healed. As we have said, sometimes blockages exist which may need to be dealt with before healing can take place, e.g. attitudes of unforgiveness, resentment or hatred, not having done what the Lord has told us to do, or just lacking a proper spiritual focus in regard to healing for ourselves. “. . .However, if you are not, at this point, in a position to receive, you need to acknowledge this and seek medical assistance. . .” Prayers Of Faith & Healing 65 As we have learned, healing is provided to restore our physical bodies and to make them whole. Divine healing fastens up the healing process. In some instances, however, a miracle may be needed to bring about complete wholeness. A miracle is different to a healing, although they are closely related, for both are manifestations of God’s supernatural power. Miracles, however, are creative in nature and, in regard to a person’s body, are manifested in situations such as: the restoration of lost limbs, fingers and toes; the filling of tooth cavities, etc. Miracles thus encompass the bringing into existence of bodily parts which did not previously exist or are no longer present. Miracles also serve to restore functions or organs of the body which were not restorable by medicine or the natural healing process e.g. a blind eye, withered limb or a diseased organ. Remember that, concerning healing or any other promise, as we allow the power of God into our lives, we are exalting His Word, and through our living witness, the Father is truly glorified (John 15:7-8). Freedom For The Weak In Faith In cases where people require healing or another need to be met and their faith level is low, they can call upon the elders of the church or other mature Christians of faith to pray for them: JAMES 5:14 Is any sick among you? (This refers to physical or emotional illness of any nature.) let him call for the Elders of the Church; and let them pray over him (refers to asking the Lord for healing regarding the need), anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord (the “oil” has no medicinal purpose, but is rather meant to symbolize the Holy Spirit, and is used as a point of contact concerning our Faith; prayer is to be offered in the Name of Jesus [John 16:23]) : (E.S.B.) JAMES 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him (The conditional clause, “if he has sinned,” makes it clear that not all sickness is the result of sin, but some definitely is. That being the case, the Lord will both heal and forgive upon believing Faith : E.S.B.) Mature Christians who are strong in faith (and when led by the Spirit of God) can pray effectively for people who are in need (James 5:16). If the people being prayed for have to repent of any known sin, they must follow up with actions of true repentance - by turning around from any wrong they had been doing - so that the bondages concerned have no legal ground to return (John 5:14; Luke 5:20). This is because sin is the devil’s legal ground to enter a person’s life, and it is like cancer - if left unchecked it will spread, and gradually cause destruction. God tells us, however, that if we come to a position of faith, He will give us the power and the strength to resist the devil - if we do things His way. We need to believe and reckon we are dead to sin, count the sin nature as being disengaged, and yield to the Holy Spirit so that we may be partakers of the Divine Nature at a conditional level (Romans 6:4-6; 2 Peter 1:4). As we yield to the Holy Spirit, we will then gain the empowerment we need to walk in righteousness - God’s will. Indeed God will empower us to defeat any evil in our lives if Prayers Of Faith & Healing 66 we will to do things His way, by submitting to Him and His Word and relying on His grace to empower us to believe and trust. Therefore: 1 PETER 5:6 Humble yourselves (allow yourselves to be humbled) therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: EPHESIANS 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another (caring for other’s needs) in the fear of God (walking daily in the Spirit). JAMES 5:16 Confess your faults one to another (refers to being quick to admit fault, if such be the case : E.S.B.), and pray one for another, that you may be healed (The Holy Spirit, through James, broadens the aspect of prayer for the sick as applicable to any Believer : E.S.B.). The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (refers to both positional and conditional righteousness) avails much. “. . .We need to believe and reckon we are dead to sin, count the sin nature as being disengaged, and yield to the Holy Spirit so that we may be partakers of the Divine Nature at a conditional level. . .” In some instances when people are in need of God’s power (e.g. when healing is required), God, in His wisdom, may require that they submit themselves in the Lord to other members of the Body of Christ for prayer - before healing can take place. Some reasons for this may be: 1. So that pride can be removed (for any sin of pride can block God’s healing power) and humility developed in the person seeking help. 2. So that people do not become islands unto themselves - independent of other Christians. 3. So that others may be taught the importance of humility - even though the person concerned may already be humble and in faith. 4. So that people who are present may learn from the example and put into practice and teach the scriptural principles which have been demonstrated. 5. So that God can use another’s faith because of the immaturity or lack of faith in the one needing healing. In a service, when an altar-call is given to those requiring healing, God may tell an individual not to join the prayer-line but rather to simply believe and receive. Yet He may tell another person to join the prayer-line and receive healing through this means. It is God’s desire to heal each person by the power of His Word, but He will use different methods with different people in order to achieve this result. Remember that God knows what is best for each individual and what is needed to bring each person to a position where Prayers Of Faith & Healing 67 they can receive. Therefore we should listen to God and let Him choose the method He desires to use so that the best results can be obtained. In Christian circles, many people have become regimented concerning praying for the sick. This is seen in the fact that they will only use a singular method which has been tried and proven. Although this method may still produce results, such a practice can block the Spirit from utilizing other methods which would be more effective with different individuals. Consequently a regimented approach can hinder and limit the overall benefit to the Body of Christ. The rule is that in all things, we should be led by the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to tell us what is right. “. . .It is God’s desire to heal each person by the power of His Word, but He will use different methods with different people in order to achieve this result. . .” The methods which Jesus used to bring God’s healing power to people were varied (e.g. Matthew 9:27-30; Mark 8:22-25; Luke 5:12-14, 6:6-10, 7:2-10; John 5:2-9, 9:1-7). Let us then also remember to seek the leading of the Spirit so that we may know God’s will in each situation. In doing this, we will not become dependent on any one method, but rather, we will be placing our reliance upon the Spirit’s leading. It is not the method which produces the healing virtue - but the Spirit of God Who uses different means to give the Believer an opportunity to act on his or her faith. Each method provides the Believer (being prayed for) with a platform from which they can either release their faith, or open up to God’s power. Also, Christian experience will tell us that some seeking healing need to first attend a service and listen to the preaching of the Word under the Anointing of the Spirit. This can bring them to a position of being able to receive through responding to the Spirit’s direction, whether it be to believe and receive for themselves, or to be prayed for by another in faith as this person feels led by the Spirit to do so. All of this shows the importance of being sensitive to the Spirit’s promptings and acting accordingly, the end result being that each individual’s need will be met and God will be glorified. The Process Of Prayer God’s Word states that He wants to heal and make whole the spirit of man, the mind of man and the body of man - in that order. In seeking healing, however, some Christians may need to be prayed for more than once to help bring them to a position of complete openness to God’s power. To come to this position, the influence of unbelief in this area of healing must be removed. This can be likened to breaking a rope which has a one thousand pound breaking Prayers Of Faith & Healing 68 strain. One end is connected to unbelief and the other to the heart. In order to break this rope, certain pressure is required. Sometimes the rope can be cut immediately by the power of God - if the person concerned has the required faith and has met the conditions relevant to that situation. However if the person does not have the required faith to allow God to cut the rope that is anchored to the unbelief (the fear or whatever the case may be), they can call for the elders of the church to pray for them. Before that day, most will need to be built up on the Word of God. This takes place as they seek the Lord and His Word, and hear the preaching and teaching of the Word. Most will need to be readied in this way before Holy Spirit surgery can take place. Then even if this action does not cut the rope, they should allow the prayer, whether their own or that of another, to be the process starter that begins to apply tension to the rope. Then by faith, the person concerned should allow the tension to increase and increase, whether it be minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, or even month by month. In this way the strands of the rope gradually break until finally the rope snaps, freeing the former victim that Satan had ensnared. They then become free to receive God’s healing power as they believe for it. The increasing tension on the rope comes as a result of one digesting the Word of truth given by the Holy Spirit. “. . .In seeking healing, however, some Christians may need to be prayed for more than once to help bring them to a position of complete openness to God’s power. . .” The way to add further tension to the rope can be as follows. As has been stated, a person may need to be prayed for more than once in order to build up the required resistance. Prayer which invites God to divinely touch, fill and change will add tension to the rope. Also, as the person holds fast in faith to their confession of God’s promises concerning healing (with a focus on Calvary, the Atonement), then in Christ further tension will be added. The spiritual rope will eventually break, leaving the person free from unbelief and open to receiving God’s healing power. So if there is a rope holding you back from receiving God’s healing or miraculous power, this is one way to snap that rope that would keep you from God’s promises. Therefore do not give up if there are no immediate results. Just remind yourself of God’s promises and remember that He wants us to be healed and made whole in every area. It is man who must change, not God - for Jesus is the same “yesterday, and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So let us change through the renewing of our minds, by the washing of God’s Word. Let us read it, hear it, confess it and live it until we become one with it, and appropriate its promises. Note: In cases where faith is either at a low level or non-existent, and the person is not able to receive healing through a mature Christian’s faith, the person should acknowledge this fact and then go to a doctor for the necessary help. People in this situation should not allow condemnation to attack them. They should acknowledge their weakness - their lack of faith in that area - and then search out and study the scriptures in order to hear the voice of the Spirit, gain faith and become strong in the power of God’s Word. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 69 Also, as we have stated, people may take a short time to be completely healed or healing may occur immediately - for God has to deal with the complexities of each individual person. Whatever method God chooses or is allowed to use does not alter His promise to the sick. The Word states clearly that whatever we ask of the Father, in faith, in Jesus’ Name (according to the Word), He will give to us. “. . .as we have stated, people may take a short time to be completely healed or healing may occur immediately - for God has to deal with the complexities of each individual person. . .” We need, however, to be balanced and realistic in our faith-walk. There are many Christians who try to operate in so-called “hyper-faith,” otherwise known as presumption. They believe with their heads but not their hearts, and so are deceived into thinking they have strong faith when in fact they do not. All they usually have is mental assent to the truth, with a determination to “confess” their healing into existence. Some of these people are so zealous, they do not see or perceive the blockages in their own lives. If the illness is serious enough, such people, if they are seeking healing, can be putting their lives at risk. God’s power can only be released as we have active faith in His Word and meet all the Word’s conditions. Remember - from whom much is given, much is required. LUKE 12:48 But he who knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required (demanded): and to whom men have committed (entrusted) much, of him they will ask (expect) the more. More is required of an adult than a child. Much more is required of an eighteen year old than a ten year old. And so it is with older Christians. God’s principles do not change, but the responsibility to perform - to make use of the knowledge given - increases with time. For example, some people when first saved seem to receive healing very easily. However, a few years later on, God may not overlook their wrongs or their ignorance so easily, and when they seek healing or a promise, sometimes it does not seem to come as readily as it did in their early Christian walk. For reference purposes, the following list from Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible has been included here. You will not be required to answer questions on this section, but a careful examination of these facts will give further light on the subject of sickness and healing. Thirty Five Facts About Sickness And Healing 1. Health was natural and eternal before the fall (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:17) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 70 2. Both death and sickness originated with sin and are now being propagated by Satan (Romans 5:12-21; Job 2:6-7; Luke 13:16; John 10:10; Acts 10:38; 1 John 3:8) 3. The first prophecy and promise of redemption included healing (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:24) 4. The first recorded bodily affliction came through wrongdoing (Genesis 20:1-18) 5. The first recorded healing was by the prayer of a prophet (Genesis 20:7, 17) 6. God made covenants with His people to heal them (Exodus 15:26; 23:25; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24; James 5:14) 7. God has always kept His covenants and has healed multitudes by spiritual means (Psalm 103:3; 105:37; 107:20; Acts 10:38) 8. Spiritual means to heal is all that God promised and commanded (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 91; Isaiah 58; Matthew 8:17; 13:15; James 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24) 9. Spiritual means were used in the wilderness by Israel (Exodus 15:26; Numbers 11:1-3; 12:13-16; 21:1-9; John 3:14) 10. Healing was promised on condition of obedience (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; Exodus 15:26; Psalm 91; Isaiah 58; James 5:14-15) 11. God permits Satan to afflict sinners and even His own people when they go astray, to bring them to repentance (Job 33:12-30; Psalm 38; 103:3; Numbers 12:13-16; 21:9; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 2 Corinthians 2:6-11; Galatians 6:7-8) 12. God always healed when lessons were learned and men repented (Genesis 20:7, 17; Numbers 11:2; 12:13-16; 21:1-9; Job 33:12-30; 42:1-12; Psalm 103:3; James 5:14-15) 13. Health as well as healing was promised when men met certain conditions (Exodus 15:26; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; Psalm 91; Proverbs 3:1-8; 12:18; 13:3; 15:4; 18:8, 21; Isaiah 58; James 5:14; 1 Peter 3:10-11; 3 John 2) 14. Christ came to redeem from both sin and sickness (Isaiah 53; 61:1-2; Matthew 8:17; 9:5; Galatians 3:13; Romans 8:11; Acts 10:38; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 3:8) 15. Healing is in fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 35; 53; 61:1-2; Matthew 8:17; Acts 10:38;1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 13:15) 16. Jesus proved His Sonship by healing all men (Matthew 4:23-24; 11:3-6; Luke 4:16-21; Acts 10:38; 1 John 3:8) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 71 17. Every disciple called and sent by Christ was given power to heal (Matthew 10:1-8; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 10:1-21; Acts 1:8) 18. Jesus commanded His disciples to become endued with power to heal before they went out (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8) 19. All disciples throughout this age are commanded to observe the same commands Christ gave the first disciples (Matthew 28:20; Acts 1:4-8; Mark 16:15-20) 20. Early disciples did confirm the Word by healing (Mark 16:15-20; Acts 2:43; 3:1-12; 5:12-16; 6:8; 8:7-13; 11:19-22; 14:3; 27; 15:4; 12; 19:11-12; 28:9; Romans 15:18-19; 2; 1 Corinthians 16:10; Philippians 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:3-4) 21. The Holy Spirit was sent into the world to carry on the healing ministry (Acts 1:1-8; 2:33; 1 Corinthians 12; Hebrews 2:3-4) 22. Jesus promised every believer, not only ministers, power to do the works that He did (Matthew 17:20; 21:22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; 16:15-20; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:2326; Acts 1:4-8) 23. Gifts of healing and other gifts are promised as the spiritual equipment of the church (1 Corinthians 1:7; 12:1-11; Romans 1:11; 12:6-8; 15:18-19, 29; Hebrews 2:3-4) 24. Healing is part of the work of the church (Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 10:1-21; 24:49; Acts 1:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12; James 5:14-16) 25. Healing is provided as part of Christ’s atonement (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; 13:14-15; John 3:14; 10:10; Romans 1:16; 8:11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; Galatians 3:13; James 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 John.2) Cp. Exodus 15:26; Psalm 91; 103:3. 26. Healing is part of the children’s bread and their promised right by virtue of redemption (Matthew 7:7-11; 15:22-28; 17:20; 21:22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; Luke 13:16; John 3:1416; 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26, 1 John 3:8, 20-22; 5:14-15; 3 John 2) 27. Healing is one of the signs of the gospel to follow believers (Mark 16:15-20) 28. Healing was not only for the O.T. Days (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 91; 103:3) and for the Millennium (Isaiah 30:26; 33:24; 35:1-10). It is also for this age, or the gospel is faulty and the new covenant worse than the old one (Matthew 8:17; 21:22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; 16:15-20; John 14:12-15; 15:7; 16; 2 Corinthians 3:6-15; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Hebrews 2:3-4) 29. Healing proves that God’s promises are true (2 Corinthians 1:20. See above point) 30. Healing is part of salvation for the Heb. and Gr. words for salvation all imply the ideas of forgiveness, healing, health, and full deliverance from the curse (Romans 1:16; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) Prayers Of Faith & Healing 72 31. Healing can naturally be expected as part of the infinite care of God over His children (Matthew 6:10; 7:7-11; 17:20; 21:22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-8; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:4-8; 5:14-16) 32. Healing is on the same basis as forgiveness of sins - prayer and faith (Matthew 9:1-7; 13:15; 21:22; Acts 28:27; James 1:4-8; 5:14-16; Hebrews 11:6) 33. Healing proves the resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:48; 2:33; 3:16; 4:12; Romans 8:11) 34. God has provided all necessary means of healing and complete defeat of Satanic power (2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Ephesians 6:10-18; Mark 16:15-20; John 14:12-15; James 4:7; 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24; 5:7-9) 35. Healing is always the will of God for His people who may “ask what ye will” (John 15:7); “whatsoever” (Matthew 21:22; John 14:12-15; 15:16); “anything” (John 14:14); “what things soever ye desire” (Mark 11:22-24); and “much more” than earthly parents would or could give their children (Matthew 7:7-11) Thus it is clear in Scripture that bodily healing is provided for in the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament is based upon better promises than the Old Testament (Hebrews 8:6). 12 OBTAINING GOD’S GRACE Those who are in need, for example in need of healing or deliverance, or who lack spiritually or physically because they are ignorant of God’s Word, do not need justice but rather extra (greater) grace. It is through God’s mercy we obtain grace (Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:19). And the only way to obtain this grace is by clothing ourselves with humility. We can only enter the throneroom of grace when we are humble in heart - and even though a person may be ignorant of God’s Word in certain areas, if they come to Him in humility, God’s mercy may reach such a person who wants to be delivered and desires to do things God’s way. Jesus said: MATTHEW 11:28 “Come unto Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (peace, rest from your own works). MATTHEW 11:29 Take My yoke (refers to the cross of self-denial: Matthew 16:24, Luke 14:27) upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly (humble) in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. MATTHEW 11:30 For My yoke is easy (when we carry it in His strength : John 15:5), and My burden is light.” The condition for receiving this rest, however, is that we must take up Christ’s yoke of humility. Therefore: Prayers Of Faith & Healing 73 JAMES 4:10 Humble yourselves (allow yourselves to be humbled) in the sight of the Lord (under God’s hand), and He shall lift you up. 1 PETER 5:5 . . . Yes, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists (opposes, sets Himself against) the proud, and gives grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34) 1 PETER 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you (lift you up) in due time With this attitude of heart we are able to come into the throneroom of grace in full confidence, expecting to be delivered in our time of need: HEBREWS 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace (the goodness of God that is required) to help in time of need. Note: It is the work of the Spirit within us to bring us to this condition of humility. In other words, it is only when God’s hand is allowed to mould us, and only under His direction and empowerment, that we become truly humble of heart. “. . .it is only when God’s hand is allowed to mould us, and only under His direction and empowerment, that we become truly humble of heart. . .” So if you do not know the reason your need has not been met, repent of all known sin and even that which you may be unaware of. Come before the Lord with “a contrite (repentant) and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15). Repentance will eliminate any legal ground which the enemy may have. Then ask God for His help (power). After doing so, you will need to follow up with study and prayer in order to discover any area of wrong or ignorance, and to correct it accordingly by purposing to act on God’s Word in all humility. With this attitude of heart we can be empowered by the Spirit of Grace to receive all that God has for us. If you, dear Saint, would allow the Holy Spirit to do so, He can take you on a journey which will give you enlightenment that would cause you to believe and not doubt. By His empowering grace that enables us to believe, we enter the realm of faith, causing heaven’s current to run through our very being. This current then flows outward to meet the need, whether it be our need or the need of another dear soul who has their hand stretched toward heaven, asking for salvation of spirit, soul or body. In regard to power to live the saved life, the Cross is the fuse in the spiritual wiring which stretches from heaven to us. The moment we place our trust in anything else, including our good works, the fuse is blown and mighty as heaven’s power is, the Father cannot help His son or daughter. This is because every grace must come via the Cross. Indeed the message of the Atonement must form the basis of our every prayer, for it is from this sure ground that every promise of the Bible stems. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 74 Our Focus Point When Praying When praying, many people have a wrong focus. They concentrate on the negatives and centre on the symptoms, the circumstances or themselves, instead of believing the promises in God’s Word. We should, however, always place the Word above everything that would come against the truth of God’s promises. “. . .the Cross is the fuse in the spiritual wiring which stretches from heaven to us. The moment we place our trust in anything else, including our good works, the fuse is blown and mighty as heaven’s power is, the Father cannot help His son or daughter. . .” Those who allow circumstances to govern their actions and do not give God’s Word pre-eminence in their lives, walk in unbelief. Because of this, they become ineligible to receive the fruit of God’s promises. In fact, God cannot help them, for with this attitude they have willed Him not to do so through their unbelief. Hebrews 11:6 states that we must activate faith in order to receive from God, for faith opens the door to God’s blessings and provision. HEBREWS 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him (faith is heaven’s currency): for he who comes to God must believe that He is (exists), and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. MARK 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire (one seeking to do the Will of God, will want only what God desires), when you pray (the value of prayer, without which these things cannot be done), believe (have faith) that you receive them, and you shall have them (as is obvious here, the receiving of these things, whatever they might be, requires relationship, and that is the key). (E.S.B.) In order to pray effectively, we must believe that we already have the promise before we can receive it. To insist we must see before we can believe is to remain in the natural realm. Those who must see before they can believe will be limited in gaining help from God. As Christians, we must have faith before God can properly fulfill His promises to us. For example, a Christian who needs to take hold of the promise of healing will first need to be healed on the inside before they can be healed on the outside. That is, they will need to allow God to fill them with His Word concerning the promises of healing so that they can be totally convinced and assured in their hearts that it is God’s will for them. They will then be standing in a place where trust can be deposited in the inner mould of hope, thereby producing faith. When this faith is activated (the promise is believed and acted upon), it will bring into existence the manifestation of God’s healing power upon the flesh of man. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 75 “. . .a Christian who needs to take hold of the promise of healing will first need to be healed on the inside before they can be healed on the outside. . .” Major Conditions For Receiving We have been addressing the issue of Christians being prayed for in Jesus’ Name and still not receiving from God (healing, deliverance, etc). The following list gives some requirements which may need to be fulfilled before proper demands can be made on heaven’s power. Of course all prayer must be conducted in the power of faith. 1. Humility: We must submit to God before we are able to resist the devil (James 4:67). 2. Honesty: We must acknowledge any sin which has not been dealt with (Psalm 66:18). 3. Confession: We must confess all known sin (1 John 1:9). There is no reason we cannot do this privately, but sometimes deliverance can be more effective if we confess our sins in front of another (who has our best interests at heart) (James 5:16). 4. Renunciation: After acknowledgement and confession of sin, we need to renounce (forsake) any known sin (Proverbs 28:13). A sinner must be willing to forsake not only “his way” (his outward acts) but also “his thoughts” (any inward sinful leanings or desires) (Isaiah 55:7). Having the willingness to forsake or abandon sin is essential in order to obtain God’s mercy, forgiveness and empowerment to overcome. To forsake sin we will need to rely on God’s empowerment. Remember that our focus must always centre on the finished work of the Cross, and the nailing of our sins to the Cross through repentance. 5. Forgiveness: Jesus showed us in Mark 11:25 that when we come to receive from God, we need, in the power of the new Nature of which we are now partakers, to forgive anyone who has wronged us, and to let go of all unforgiveness, hatred, resentment, etc. A resentful and unforgiving spirit will block God’s power from operating (Hebrews 12:15). In fact all traces of resentment and unforgiveness should be uprooted entirely. After all this has been done, a prayer for deliverance or healing etc., can be prayed by: 1. The person concerned, or 2. Another who has the faith to do so. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 76 In either case, the person who needs God’s help can claim the promise contained in God’s Word: JOHN 14:13 And whatsoever you shall ask in My Name, that will I do (the Christian is given the Power of Attorney to use the Name of Christ . .), that the Father may be glorified in the Son (is accomplished through the great Work of Christ being extended through all Believers) (E.S.B). JOHN 14:14 If you shall ask any thing in My Name, I will do it (refers to that which is in harmony with His Character and Will). (E.S.B.) This promise is based on the finished work of Christ at Calvary - which gives us the faith and the power to be delivered from any bondage. GOD’S DESIRE FOR US God is always willing and able to forgive, forget and heal, for God is a God of truth, Who always fulfills His Word. So in every situation, we can always trust Him and rely on Him unreservedly. God has placed so much importance on His Word that He has magnified it above His very own Name. He does this by submitting to His Word, and the evidence of this is seen in His works throughout history. In other words, whatever God has said He will do, He will do (Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 55:11). “. . .God is always willing and able to forgive, forget and heal, for God is a God of truth, Who always fulfills His Word. . .” We too should magnify the Word of God above all else, and hold it in absolute esteem. Note: Even though the Lord exalts His Word above His Name, the Word of God brings integrity to His Name because He fulfills it. PSALM 138:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple (Oh Lord), and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth and faithfulness: for You have exalted above all Your name and word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name. (Amp.) The Word of God, if properly studied, shows us clearly that He desires to heal us, spirit, soul and body. Some Christians still struggle in this area because of erroneous doctrine which claims that God afflicts us with sickness in order to test us. However we see in the Old Testament that God told His people, “I will put (allow) none of these diseases (to come) upon you . . . for I am the Lord Who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). And in the New Testament, Jesus healed all the sick who came to Him, none being excluded (Matthew Prayers Of Faith & Healing 77 4:23-24; Matthew 8:16). Scripture also reveals that it is Satan himself who would afflict and torment man: ACTS 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. We also find Satan to be identified as “the thief (who) comes .... to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). However Jesus says in this same verse, “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” “. . .The Word of God, if properly studied, shows us clearly that He desires to heal us, spirit, soul and body. . .” So immerse yourself in the Word of God - for it reveals to us our Heavenly Father’s desire, character and nature. Know that He loves you and would have you well in every area of your life, beginning with spiritual health and ending with physical health, yes perfect health. Understanding this, we can then seek the victory we need in our lives, basing our faith on the Word of God and following its instruction, digesting the Word as medicine for our souls. When we do this we are indeed esteeming God’s Word and giving Him glory. The Bible reveals that God desires to fellowship with us and manifest Himself to us: REVELATION 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. JOHN 14:21 He who has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves Me (the measure to which we obey the Lord’s commands in His strength is here defined as the measure of our love for Him): and he who loves Me shall be loved of My Father (John 14:6), and I will love him, and will manifest (reveal) Myself to him (means to fully disclose His Person, Nature, and Goodness to the Believer : E.S.B.). Jesus said to knock (at the door of truth) and the door will be opened - but we need to knock with a sincere, unbiased heart, really desiring to know. MATTHEW 7:7 Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it (the door) shall be opened unto you. MATTHEW 7:8 For everyone who asks (believing) receives; he who seeks (truth) finds; and to him who knocks, the door (of truth) will be opened. God communicates with us primarily through His Word and personal fellowship. This is why it is so important to have a daily study program. We also need to hear the preaching of the Word under the Anointing of the Spirit, and to join in corporate fellowship in the Prayers Of Faith & Healing 78 Lord with fellow Believers. Through all these avenues, God will speak to us - but we must ready ourselves to hear His voice of direction and correction. As we spend time in His Word, and in meeting together with our Heavenly Father on a daily basis, we can allow God to share more of Himself with us. Indeed the Lord desires to fellowship with each of His children, and to share His love with us - and He will reveal Himself to us as we seek Him, day by day, again with a true, sincere and open heart. JEREMIAH 29:13 And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. Let us therefore live in the love of Christ and experience the joy of fellowshipping with the Lord in the way that this scripture promises. To help people who may be having difficulty receiving from God, or experiencing the empowerment which comes as our human nature is energized by the Divine Nature, a list has been compiled of some of the possible reasons for unanswered prayer and attacks of the enemy. Note: You will not be asked to answer questions on this next section. SOME POSSIBLE REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER OR ATTACKS FROM THE ENEMY MAY BE:1. Asking the Lord without: (a) Knowing God’s perfect will on the matter (Romans 12:2) (b) Asking in faith, expecting to receive (James 1:6-8) 2. Harbouring unforgiveness or having resentment towards someone, knowingly or unknowingly (Mark 11:25; Leviticus 20:9). 3. Rejecting part or all of God’s will for your life (Hosea 4:6; Romans 6:16). 4. Living, or coming to church, with a “get” attitude, rather than a “giving” attitude (Luke 6:38). 5. Not walking in Godly love (1 John 4:7-8; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3). 6. Having a lack of concern for people’s eternal fate (Ezekiel 3:18-21). 7. Not serving or submitting to your fellow man’s needs according to the leading of the Spirit (James 2:15-17; Philippians 2:4). 8. Putting other things or people before the Lord and His will (Matthew 10:37-38). 9. Putting your children in front of your marriage partner (Ephesians 5:28; Titus 2:4). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 79 10. Putting your family in front of the Lord (Matthew 10:37). 11. Having a bad attitude after having been corrected by the Lord through one of His vessels (Hebrews 12:5-10; 13:17). 12. Non-Christian attitudes or behaviour (Romans 13:9-10; James 3:9-18; Colossians 3:110). 13. Losing your temper with something or someone (Ephesians 4:26-30; James 1:20). 14. Having not studied diligently to find out the commandments of the Lord (Joshua 1:8; Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 5:13). 15. Having not rebuked or resisted the devil when needed (James 4:7-8). (a) Not binding him in Jesus’ Name (Matthew 18:18). (b) Not loosing him in Jesus’ Name (Matthew 16:19). (c) Not telling him to go in Jesus’ Name (Luke 10:17). 16. Fellowshipping on a deep or continual basis with lukewarm Christians (Christians who do not try to live according to God’s commandments) (Philippians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Revelation 3:16). 17. Having slowed or stagnated in your Christian walk (Matthew 13:22; Luke 9:23). 18. Having not acted fully on what the Lord has told you to do, or maybe having just forgotten (Joshua 1:8; James 1:22-25). 19. Slackness or a lack of commitment to the Lord (John 8:31-36; Matthew 22:37-40). 20. Having been “church hopping” (2 Timothy 3:7; James 1:8) in order to fulfill your own desires. 21. Not desiring to settle down to fellowship in a church on a regular weekly basis (Hebrews 10:25). 22. Not desiring to go to church meetings on a regular basis to receive teaching (spiritual food) (Hebrews 10:25). 23. A lack of revelation knowledge (Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 5:13). 24. Not fully knowing your position, your authority or your rights in Christ (Mark 16:1520; Luke 10:19). 25. Not asking God (James 4:2). 26. Asking amiss (not according to His Word) (James 4:3). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 80 27. Having not believed for the cleansing power of God after repentance (1 John 1:9; Hebrews 11:6). 28. Not truly repenting (2 Corinthians 7:10; Galatians 5:19-20). 29. Having not believed for the cleansing of unrighteousness before believing for God’s healing power (1 John 1:9; 1 Peter 2:24). 30. Being controlled by your five senses and your emotions rather than by what the Word of God says (2 Corinthians 5:7; Proverbs 3:1-10). 31. Taking the problem back from the Lord by worrying or doubting, not trusting in His promises (knowingly or unknowingly) (Matthew 6:25-34; 1 Peter 5:7). 32. Having a lack of faith with your actions (Hebrews 11:6; James 2:18). 33. Lacking actions with your so-called faith (James 2:17-26). 34. Having not been witnessing about Jesus (lacking boldness) (Romans 10:14-17; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Acts 4:29-31). 35. Living with fear or doubt in your life (Romans 8:15; 1 John 4:18; Joshua 1:9). 36. Being too tense physically to receive spiritually (Philippians 4:6; Matthew 6:25-34). 37. Trying too hard to receive spiritually (Philippians 4:5-6). 38. Operating in presumptuous faith (James 1:22-26; Numbers 14:44-45). 39. Having not acknowledged, correctly, your calling or your faith level, and then having not acted accordingly (Luke 6:49; Romans 12:3-8). 40. Not covering yourself spiritually, by faith, with the Blood of Jesus (Revelation 12:11; 2 Corinthians 10:3-4; 1 Peter 1:2). 41. Having not been water-baptized according to the Word (Matthew 28:19). 42. Having been water-baptized, without knowing what you were doing (Isaiah 5:13; Romans 6:3,4). 43. Having not acknowledged the possibility that a devil may have caused you not to receive (Ephesians 6:12; Romans 6:16). 44. Having not acknowledged that evil spirits can oppress Christians (Luke 13:11-16). 45. Not disciplining your children according to God’s instructions (Proverbs 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14; Ephesians 6:1-4). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 81 46. Rejecting the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, 2:4, 2:17). 47. Not being aware of what sin is (James 3:17; Romans 14:23; Hosea 4:6). 48. Not walking in honesty (Romans 13:13-14; Proverbs 28:13; Hebrews 4:12-13). 49. Being involved in strife and wrong arguments (2 Timothy 2:23; James 3:14-17; Titus 3:9). 50. Fellowshipping with unrighteousness (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11-17). 51. Having not kept, in the power of the Spirit, ALL the commandments of God (Joshua 1:8; James 2:10; Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 6:4). 52. Sinning - knowingly or unknowingly (Luke 12:47-48; John 8:34). 53. Having been listening to wrong teaching (2 Peter 3:15-18; 1 Timothy 4:1-4; Matthew 7:15-16). 54. The church you attend does not proclaim the full Gospel of Jesus, only part of it (2 Timothy 3:5; 1 Corinthians 4:20; Mark 7:6-13). 55. Being unable to sense God’s leading (Hebrews 5:14). 56. Having been listening to too many different doctrines, therefore creating confusion (Ephesians 4:14). 57. An overboard approach to praise and worship (thinking it alone will give you what is needed) (John 8:31-32). 58. Having problems with praise and worship (Colossians 3:16). 59. Having a lack of faith with your praise and worship (John 4:23-24). 60. Not giving the Lord His tithes and offerings according to the Word (Malachi 3:8-11; Matthew 5:17-18). 61. Giving your tithes and offerings with a wrong attitude (2 Corinthians 9:7). 62. Taking communion with unforgiveness in your heart (Matthew 18:23-35; Mark 11:26). 63. When you have taken communion, not correctly discerning the emblems that represent the Body and Blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:28-34). 64. Having been divorced legally, but not having cut the spiritual tie according to the Word (Deuteronomy 24:1). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 82 65. Overfeeding yourself on the Word (too much at once) (Proverbs 25:16). 66. Trying to eat the meat of the Word when all you can handle is the milk of the Word (1 Corinthians 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:1-2). 67. Wives not submitting to their husbands in the Lord, and husbands not submitting to the Lord (Ephesians 5:21-24; Colossians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5). 68. Husbands not submitting to their wives’ needs in the Lord (1 Peter 3:7; Ephesians 5:2425; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5). 69. Not submitting to the laws of the land (Titus 3:1; Romans 13:1-8; Matthew 22:21). 70. Not submitting to the authorities that God has placed over you: (a) In natural matters (Romans 13:1-8). (b) In spiritual matters (Hebrews 13:17). 71. Not using commonsense (Proverbs 19:3). 72. Having abused your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, with: (a) Food (wrong foods or too much) (Philippians 3:19). (b) Drugs (cigarettes, etc.) (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). (c) Lack of exercise (Ecclesiastes 10:18). (d) Lack of commonsense (Proverbs 19:3). 73. Being selfish - putting self first (Matthew 16:24-27). 74. Having not taken up your cross of self-denial in the power of the Spirit (the Divine Nature) (Luke 9:23-26; Luke 14:27). 75. Being religious and not operating in the true unity of the faith (Mark 7:1-9; 2 Timothy 3:5). 76. Being unequally yoked in deep relationships with non-believers (2 Corinthians 6:1418): (a) In marriage (but you must stay married according to 1 Corinthians 7:12-15) (b) In partnership – business (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) (c) In friendships (James 4:4) 77. You don’t practise what you profess (Titus 1:15-16). 78. Having not shaken the dust of the unbelieving (both saved and unsaved) from yourself (Luke 9:5; 10:11; Acts 13:51). 79. Having not respected another person’s right to accept or reject truth, i.e. having tried to control (Deuteronomy 11:26-28; Deuteronomy 30:19). Prayers Of Faith & Healing 83 80. Having a negative attitude and confession (Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 12:37; Philippians 4:8; Proverbs 18:21). 81. Having little understanding of the Cross (the Atonement) and so not having properly, at an experiential faith level, identified yourself with Christ in both His death and Resurrection (Romans 6:3-6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Timothy 2:11). 82. Having used your willpower to try to defeat sin instead of yielding to the Holy Spirit so that your human nature can be energized by the Divine Nature according to Romans 6:3-4; Romans 7:6. 83. Having not established the Cross as the object of your faith, as the solid ground for receiving from God (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:14). 84. In regard to the sin nature, having not properly believed and reckoned yourself to be dead to it, so as to yield to the Holy Spirit according to Romans 6:7-13. Once you have located any possible reasons for unanswered prayer or attacks from the enemy, you will need to follow up with diligent study of God’s Word concerning these areas. This will enable you to position yourself under God’s mighty hand to obtain the faith needed to allow God’s truth and grace to set you free. Indeed Jesus told us that when we know, believe and act in the newness of the Spirit on His Word of truth, God’s power will be released to set us free from any form of bondage (John 8:31-32). We can therefore see that faith is not the only thing needed to receive from God. We also need to position ourselves so we can focus our faith correctly. Remember: It is not God Who is withholding His blessings from us and preventing us from receiving from Him. Rather the problem lies either with ourselves or with the enemy for he will take advantage of any wrongdoing or ignorance on our part. The Lord has already given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). However if we are sinning in some way, knowingly or unknowingly, the enemy takes us captive in this area and God is shut out. We are, nevertheless, legally speaking, “the righteousness of God in Him (Christ)” (2 Corinthians 5:21), this being our position as Christians. Therefore when God looks upon us, He sees us as being righteous - clothed with Christ’s righteousness. We are also joint heirs with Jesus, and so what He has, we also have as our inheritance. “. . .We need to allow the Holy Spirit to teach and empower us in the energy of His Divine Nature so that true deliverance will come, and a holy character will be formed deep on the inside. . .” Armed with this knowledge we should endeavour to live in righteousness on an actual and experiential level, through the grace and power given to us by the Holy Spirit. The Lord delights in blessing His people, and these blessings will come upon us as we “walk Prayers Of Faith & Healing 84 uprightly,” serving in “newness of life.” It is the grace given to us at the Cross which will energize our very nature, and cause us to live in this way, abiding in Him day by day. PSALM 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to teach and empower us in the energy of His Divine Nature so that true deliverance will come, and a holy character will be formed deep on the inside. In this we will truly become one with the One Who loved us and died for us. May you have the victory in Christ. TIME LIMIT - Due on or before......................... This time limit is based on a minimum of ....... hours of study per week. You should allow as a general guideline, ........... hours to answer the questions. TOTAL ALLOWANCE ......... hours. If you are having problems completing this study within these guidelines, you may need to seek assistance from those in charge of distribution. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 85 STUDY QUESTIONS The following questions are designed to assess how much you have understood and retained from your studies. Answer and number all questions on line-ruled paper, giving two or three scriptures with each answer whenever possible. Also give an explanation, whenever possible, of how you arrived at your answer. Answer these questions according to the instructions given regarding the grade you have chosen to work at, i.e. either Intermediate Grade or Ordinary Grade. If you do not understand a particular question, contact those responsible for distribution. For ease of correction write the actual question down on your answer sheet before answering each question, and please print all answers to the questions. Note: If you do not agree with any particular viewpoint expressed in the studies and you have another viewpoint, answer questions relating to this area in the following manner: The view that the studies teach is . . . . . . . . . . . But I believe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (and state the reasons why you do so ) Note: Remember the time limit and complete the study and your answers within the allotted period. If you are studying at Intermediate Grade, you will later be eligible to do the Advanced Questions if you so desire. You will not be able to use your study books or notes to help you answer these questions. In fact all you will be able to use are Bibles and Concordances. So prepare for this by studying properly and answering these questions according to the instructions given. (See letters concerning how to study.) ____________________________________________ PRAYERS OF FAITH Study Questions 1. What is prayer, and what are some of its functions? 2. What is spiritual hope and how is it obtained? 3. How do Christians obtain the blueprint for healing? 4. Why is the proper use of words important for the development of spiritual hope? 5. What is the role of confession in the development of faith? 6. How do people develop an inner image of failure and what do they need to do to counteract this? 7. What are some of the truths of God’s Word we need to be reminding ourselves of so that our image of who we are in Christ agrees with God’s view? 8 (a) How and why is hope an anchor for the soul? (b) What difference should such hope make to our lives? 9. What is the relationship between hope and faith? 10. What is Bible faith? 11. What is the only proper object for our faith if we are to have a victorious walk, and how does this work? 12. When Paul says “I do not frustrate the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21), what does he mean? 13. Explain how Bible faith is obtained, making reference to: (a) Belief, trust and the dimensional framework (the mechanics of how faith is obtained) (b) The Divine Nature and the human nature (the means by which faith is obtained) 14. Once a promise becomes a reality in our hearts, how do we birth this promise in the physical realm? 15. What makes faith a journey and not just a goal? 16. What are some of the spiritual benefits of faith’s work in us? Prayers Of Faith & Healing 87 17. To pray effectively, what is the only way to gain access to our Heavenly Father, why is this so, and in doing this, what are we acknowledging? 18. According to John 15:7, what is a major condition for having our prayers answered, and what does this verse really mean? 19. What does God require of us when we ask Him for anything, and what does scripture tell us will be the result if we do not ask in this way? 20. What is a major reason people pray in hope rather than in faith and what is therefore essential if we are to pray in faith? 21. How is God’s will revealed to us? 22. What does “praying in faith” mean to you, and is it dependent upon our emotions or formulas? 23. Once we have asked the Father in Jesus’ Name and according to His Word (His will) for a need to be met: (a) What kind of attitude should we maintain? (b) What should we be careful of in our speech? 24. If Christians are unable to rely on their own prayer for a need to be met, what can they do? 25. Apart from prayer, what may also be needed if Christians are to be healed? 26. When we are being prayed for or are praying for someone else, of what should we be mindful of and why? 27. If it is not by the prayer of faith, how do we receive the strength we need to live the Christian life on a day to day basis? 28. What is the purpose of the prayer called “grace” ? 29. What can a consistent prayer and study life help produce? 30. For many people, when is the best time for prayer and why? 31. What is the “quiet-time,” what should it include, and what benefits can we gain from it? 32. List the four areas into which our prayer life can be divided, and give an explanation of each. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 88 33. What was defeated by the Cross, what are the keys now in Jesus’ hands and what can these keys do? 34. What had to take place before God could legally recover His right to man, and what spiritual laws were satisfied in this process? 35 (a) In Old Testament times, what was the significance of the Mercy Seat, stained with blood, placed over the Ark of the Covenant? (b) Apply this type-pattern in a spiritual sense to our situation today. 36. “To Jesus hanging on the Cross, the sin of the world was imputed.” What does this mean, and where does it place Jesus in regard to sin? 37. What gave God the legal right to raise Jesus from the dead, and what does His Resurrection mean for us personally? 38 (a) Concerning the Passover, to what part of their houses did the Israelites apply the blood and what was the purpose of this action? (b) How was God’s judgement executed on the night of the Passover? 39. Who is our Passover Lamb today, and what is the significance of Calvary in terms of our spiritual protection? 40. As God protected the Israelites on the Passover night, so this protection is available to Christians today. What is this protection and how do we take advantage of it? 41. To whom and to what can we apply the “blood covering,” and what can the “blood covering” prevent the enemy from doing? 42. If we are to use the blood covering successfully, what is needed on our part? 43. What is and what isn’t the “blood covering”? 44. If we are not to base our blood-covering prayer on what the Israelites did at the first Passover, on what should we base it? 45. The blood-covering prayer is not a formula for protection for the lazy Christian. Comment on this statement. 46. When should we pray the blood-covering prayer, and under what circumstances should we be particularly mindful of our “blood covering”? 47. What is the prayer of binding and loosing, how does it work, what does it achieve and of what do we need to be mindful before praying such a prayer? Prayers Of Faith & Healing 89 48. Under what circumstances can the enemy break through our “blood covering,” and what is then required of us for it to be restored? 49. What are the devil’s major goals? 50. What armour and what weapon has God given us to use in our spiritual warfare? 51. Explain what may happen to a stagnant Christian. 52. What does God promise in James 4:7 and Deuteronomy 28:7, and what are the conditions which govern this promise? 53. Why must we believe in, eat and then digest the food of God’s Word if we are to receive healing? 54. When our focus is on the temporal things of this world, what healing of the heart is needed and how is it obtained? 55. True Divine healing always begins in the heart of man. What are some of the changes that reflect this kind of healing? 56. Using Colossians 1:13, explain how many areas of our lives deliverance has been made available to. 57. Explain how claiming our inheritance in Christ can be likened to the Israelites taking the Promised Land. 58. How does the Old Testament give us a proper background for understanding that God is the healer of His people? 59. How does a proper understanding of the Atonement itself enable us to pray in faith for healing? 60. If we properly discern the Body and Blood of Christ at communion, what opportunities are made available to us? 61. If we do not properly discern the Body and Blood of Christ, what losses may we suffer? 62. How do we know that the exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land was the “journey of the strong” ? 63. God required the Israelites to do two things during the first Passover that relate to the Body and Blood of Christ. (a) What were these? Prayers Of Faith & Healing 90 (b) Apply these type-patterns to us today in a spiritual sense. 64. Describe the type-patterns involved in the story of the brass serpent (Numbers 21:49), and state how we can apply the truths of this story to our lives today. 65. In trusting in the types, the Old Testament Israelites were trusting spiritually in that which was to come. Explain what this means in relation to: (a) The brass serpent. (b) The blood sacrifices. 66. Are type-patterns still needed today? Why? 67. How do we nail our sin to the Cross, and what happens to us, as Christians, if we don’t? 68. How can we perceive that all sickness is nailed to the Cross, and how can this picture benefit us? 69. What are the benefits which flow to us from the Atonement? 70. Jesus came so that we can have abundant life. What does this really mean? 71. “Sickness should have no more power over us than sin.” Why? 72. At communion, how do we discern: (a) The Lord’s Blood? (b) The Lord’s Body? 73. As the Israelites “journeyed,” sickness left. What was important about the “journeying,” and how can we apply this to our lives today? 74. What released the promises of the Covenant in Old Testament times, and what releases the promises of the New Covenant today? 75. Describe fully what was needed for the healing power of God to be made available to us today. 76. What picture is presented by the words “stripes” and “wound” (Isaiah 53:5)? 77. There were three ways in which Jesus suffered in order to complete the Atonement. What were these, and how are these three different types of suffering related to us today? Prayers Of Faith & Healing 91 78. Why was all this suffering necessary? 79. How do we know God’s will today concerning healing? 80. Give the full scriptural meaning of the term “to heal.” 81. Who is the father of all forms of disease and oppression, and how do we know this? 82. If Christians believe that sickness and disease are tests and trials sent by God to increase their faith, what will be the result? 83. As God’s children, how do we make proper demands on the power available through our Covenant? 84. Describe some of the different ways the healing process may take place in a person’s body. 85. When a person is prayed for, if healing does not occur immediately: (a) Does this mean that the healing process has not begun? (b) What should the person do? 86. What is the difference between a healing and a miracle? 87. We will receive empowerment to defeat any wrong in our lives if we will to do things God’s way. What is “His way”? 88. Sometimes God, in His wisdom, may require a person (who has a need) to submit to other members of the Body of Christ for prayer. What could be some reasons for this? 89. Why is it wise for leaders not to have a regimented approach to praying for the sick? 90. Describe some of the methods Jesus used to bring healing to the sick and explain why this was the case. 91. Explain the rope principle, showing how tension is increased, why this is necessary and how the rope eventually breaks. 92 (a) Explain the term “hyper-faith.” (b) What may Christians be doing if they are relying on this so-called “faith” to be healed? 93. Apply the principle of “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48) to the Christian who needs healing. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 92 94. When we have a need, how should we approach the throneroom and what is it that we need? 95. If your need has not been met by God, what actions should you take? 96. The message of the Atonement must form the basis for our every prayer. Why is this so? 97 (a) When Christians do not give the Word of God pre-eminence and they allow circumstances to govern their lives, what are they walking in? (b) Why is God unable to help people in this situation? 98. What are some of the major requirements that must be fulfilled before proper demands can be made on God’s power? 99 (a) What scriptural evidence do we have to show us how God views His Word? (b) What does God submit to and how do we know this? 100. In what ways does God primarily communicate with us, and what must we do if we are to hear His voice? 101. At what grade did you study this booklet and answer the questions, Ordinary Grade or Intermediate Grade? 102. Do you wish to commit yourself to studying at 7 hours a week or 4 hours a week in regard to your next study? Note: Please send $.................. with these answers for your next study. Note: Under certain circumstances, you may not feel you can commit 7 hours a week to the next study. You can then opt to study at 4 hours a week. The time limits will be adjusted accordingly. Should your situation change, you can increase your time to 7 hours a week - just notify the college or those in charge of distribution. Prayers Of Faith & Healing 93 STUDY TIMES MONTH Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday TOTAL WE BELIEVE: 1. The Bible is the inspired, infallible and authoritative written Word of God. 2. There is one true triune God, eternally co-existent in three persons Who form the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Word and God the Holy Spirit. These three dwell together in perfect unity, forming one heavenly government called God, and each of the three divine persons we recognize to be God. 3. God the Word stripped Himself of His rightful godly privileges and became flesh, a human being called Jesus Christ. Nevertheless He remained God the Word, being both truly God and truly man. 4. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin. He was crucified, buried, and then raised from the dead by the power of God. He now sits at the right hand of the Father, and is the only Mediator between God and man. 5. In the spiritually lost condition of men - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (are deprived of God’s saving presence). 6. Salvation is found in no one else except Jesus, and there is no other name under heaven which is given to men whereby mankind can be saved. 7. In the essential need of the new birth by faith in Jesus Christ. The only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ. 8. Spiritual regeneration (the new birth) is brought about by making Jesus Christ Lord and Saviour, and by believing that Jesus’ precious shed blood was the price needed to redeem man from sin. 9. In the Person and work of the Holy Spirit with His gifts and fruit abiding in the Church. 10. In the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, as the Spirit gives utterance. 11. That believers should be water-baptized, as the Lord commands, by full immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 12. That divine healing is provided in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, by applying faith to God’s Word of promise. 13. In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by Whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life. 14. Jesus Himself shall descend from heaven to resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living saints to meet with Him in the air. This event is known as the Rapture of the Church. 15. In the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth along with His glorified saints. This event will take place after the Rapture (the snatching away). 16. That all who accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour will enjoy everlasting life with Him. 17. That all who do not accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour will spend eternity in everlasting torment in the lake of fire, along with Satan and his forces of evil. 1 Wuest, K.S., Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Galatians 2:20. 2 Wuest, K. S., Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Great Truths To 3 S.B.C. Exodus, pg. 426. 4 S.B.C. Exodus, pg.429. 5 S.B.C. Exodus, pgs. 428-429. 6 Wood, D. R. W., New Bible Dictionary, 3rd Ed., page 102. 7 S.B.C. Exodus pg.171 8 Wuest, K. S., Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, 1 Peter 2:24. 9 S.B.C. Matthew, pg. 136. 10 Hayford, J. W., Hayford’s Bible Handbook. 11 F.J.Dake., Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible. 12 Dake, F.J., Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible. Live By, pg. 86.