God is answering prayer and healing people at Brimfield Faith. This week's sermon focused on how we partner with God in prayer to unleash his divine healing. We also heard testimony from a young woman named Ashley who was healed of pregnancy complications. Follow the link to download the sermon or read the text below.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4ttyw5mmjlj/Healing Prayers.mp3
“Healing Prayers”
Brimfield Faith UMC
March 7, 2010
James 5:13-18
I want to leave time for a time of activation at the end of the sermon, so I’m going to jump right into things this morning. During the first two weeks of our Lenten Series, “Jesus-Care,” we have addressed several important questions about God’s ability to heal. In week one, we talked about why God heals: it is in God’s character and nature. We talked about who God’s healing is available for: everyone. We also addressed the question does God still heal today: yes. Last week, we talked about how God longs to heal not just the body, but the entire person: mind, body and spirit, the Hebrew word Nephesh. This morning and next week I want to talk about how God heals.
As we read through the pages of the Bible and look at church history, we discover a God who is active in the world and involved in the lives of his people. God walks with Enoch; he guides Moses and the Israelites through the wilderness; speaks to the prophets through dreams and visions. In Jesus, God becomes a man. Jesus then walked, talked and touched the people he encountered. While God is actively involved in the world today, God’s primary way of action is through his followers. As part of God’s Church, the body of Christ, the people of God, we are called to be his primary agents upon the earth. Therefore, it should be of no surprise that God uses people as his primary means of bringing about healing on the earth. Generally speaking there are three ways God facilitates healing.
GOD’S HEALING WAYS
#1. The first means of God’s healing is through the immune system. God has designed our bodies to heal themselves. Our immune systems are a unique gift of God which work towards keeping us healthy. The immune system both prevents diseases and fight off sickness that enters the body. I don’t know much about how the immune system works but it is vital to our health. It is one of the primary ways God keeps us healthy and the one we think of least. It is good idea thank God for your immune system and to pray for a strong immune system. Without a strong immune system you are left vulnerable to all kinds of diseases and sickness. In a real sense, God has equipped us to heal ourselves.
#2. The second means of God’s healing is through other people and medical professionals. We have achieved tremendous advances in medicine and medical procedures. We can do everything from cure the common cold to replace knees to transplant organs. Doctors, nurses and E.M.T.s have saves millions of lives because of their training and expertise. Counselors, psychologists, and pastors are also used daily to bring mental, emotional, and spiritual healing to people as well. Whether it was putting a band aid on a cut, giving someone a Tylenol, or listening to a friend’s struggles, Most of us have been used as a healing agent of God at some point or another. God allows and uses other humans to bring healing to one another.
#3. The final means of God’s healing is through divine healing and miracles. In the Scriptures there are countless stories of God breaking the natural order and performing supernatural acts of divine healing. There are times and circumstances when the immune system and the medical profession cannot heal the person. In those times God is able to move in power and do things that would otherwise be impossible. There is still a real and powerful purpose for God to work through divine healing today. Divine healing and miracles are one of the most powerful ways to experience intimacy with God.
HEALING PRAYERS
If we seek to be whole and healthy, then we need to draw up all three means of God’s healing. Without God we can benefit from our immune systems and the training of doctors. Both of these have their limitations though. The immune system wears down. The doctor’s expertise only stretches so far. Therefore, it is important to ask God to be involved in our keeping us healthy. James 5 affirms the power of prayer in relationship to our health and wellbeing: “Are any among you suffering? They should pray… Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them… The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” When we are walking with God, we have access to tremendous power through prayer. Prayer can strengthen the immune system. It can guide the doctor. It can initiate divine healing. Therefore I want to spend the remainder of our time this morning talking about how we can effectively pray and experience God’s healing.
#1. We pray specific but simple. When you are praying for someone, always begin by asking, How can I pray for you? Their answer will help guide you as you pray. Being able to pray specifically for a need is always a good thing. So once you have some initial information, you can begin to prayer for a person’s health and healing.
Now I know for some of you this is the scary part. How many of you don’t like to pray out loud because you are worried about what you are going to say? You are over thinking it. God doesn’t care what you say. After all, he is able to interpret our groaning. In fact, Jesus chastises showy prayers. Instead, in Matthew 6, Jesus encourages us to pray simply: “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” If the person is seeking healing in their leg, we can simply pray: “Lord please strengthen and heal Joe’s leg.” You don’t need ramble on using, “Thee’s, Thou’s, or Thy’s.” You just need regular, heartfelt words. I can tell you this, no one will remember what you prayed if God touches them and heals them.
Now some of you might think it safer to pray silently for someone. There is nothing wrong with silent prayer but when we are praying with someone it is important to pray out loud. In Romans 10: 17 it reads, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our words have power when we speak them with God’s authority. Allowing a person to hear the words you speak over them, can give them the faith they need to receive the healing of God, which brings us to the next point of how we pray.
#2. We pray with faith. God calls us to pray with faith. It is important to understand that not every prayer for divine healing will be answered in a miraculous fashion. While a lack of faith may play a role in unanswered prayers, I think it is less significant than we think. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus tells us: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” A mustard seed is really, really small. It proves you don’t need much faith to see miracles happen. I believe the act of praying out loud displays enough faith for God to perform a miracle. So take the step of faith and remember God is the primary mover. Healing is more about God’s faithfulness and his promise to heal than our faith.
To pray with faith means to pray with words of faith. Have you ever had someone pray for you and you feel worse afterwards? Sometimes we dwell on the sickness rather than focus on the healing power of God. Words of faith are focused on God and his power, beauty, compassion, and love. They remind us of the God that can and does heal instead of the sickness. The aim of our prayers should be to heal and lift up not to wound and drag down. When we our words draw us to God, they have the ability to bring healing.
#3. We pray with touch and with others. Touch is an important component of praying for someone’s healing. Jesus modeled the important of physical touch as he prayed with the untouchables of his day. He healed lepers through touch even though he risked becoming infected. He also touched people who were considered ritually unclean and who could have prevented him from entering into the temple. There is nothing magical about laying hands on someone as you pray for them, but there is something powerful about it. If done properly, it can communicate a love and acceptance. James 5:14-15 reads: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
There are plenty of studies that show the importance of human touch. If touch is about expressing God’s unconditional acceptance, then it becomes important to pray with others as we lay hands. At charge conference this past year, Valerie and several of you came and laid hands on me as I got ready to take Michelle to the hospital to give birth to Caleb. I don’t remember a word of what was prayed, but I remember those warm hands and the feeling of knowing I was a part of a loving community of people. God is able move in a special way through the laying of hands. I fully believe additional healing power is released when we loving surround someone in prayer and lay hands on them.
CONCLUSION - HOLISTIC PRAYERS
#4. We pray holistically. As we touched on three basic ways to pray for divine healing, I want to touch on one last aspect of how we pray for healing. I think it is important that we pray for divine, miraculous healing to occur. It is part of God’s plan and will for our lives to experience it. As we understand divine healing to be one of the ways God heals, we should remember to pray holistically for healing. I want to suggest three additional prayer focuses to support our prayers for divine healing.
1) Pray for a strengthened immune system. We know God uses the natural immune system more than anything other means. Prayers for peace of mind and spiritual wholeness may contribute to a strengthened immune system and a healing of the entire person.
2) Pray for the doctors and medical professionals that might be treating the person. Pray that they might be guided by Jesus, that they might have clear understanding, and that they might receive God’s blessings.
3) Pray that if this person isn’t healed that God will still use the situation for his glory. Pray that the person receives God’s strength and grace in the midst of it. Although we can never know for sure, sometimes God doesn’t heal the person we are praying for. This doesn’t preclude them from God’s grace and love.
4) Pray for the miracle. Be bold. You know that God can perform miracles and wants to. So… Pray simple. Pray with faith. Pray with touch and with other.
When we pray for these four areas way, we can be assured that God will answer one of those prayers. Although it might feel like spiritual hedging, it isn’t. Rather it is informed by our understanding of the ways that God heals. God always desires for our entire person to be healed and in right relationship with him. God cannot be confined to certain ways of healing. In order to be channels of God’s healing we must learn to pray in accordance to his will and ways.
A QUICK GUIDE TO PRAYING FOR THE SICK
In conclusion, I want to have us practice praying for the sick. My hope is that the next time someone asks you to pray for them or add them to a prayer list: offer to pray for them right there in addition to adding them to the prayer list.
RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WANT PRAYER
GROUPS OF 3-4 people around person needing prayer. (MOVE!)
1. Ask what person about their prayer need.
(Medical details not necessary.)
2. Ask permission to lay hands on them.
(Can I lay a gentle hand on your shoulder?)
3. Listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
(Are you led to focus on one of the four areas below?)
4. Pray simply and with faith.
a. Immune system
b. Doctors and nurses
c. God’s strength and grace
d. For the miracle!
5. Check with the person to see if anything has happened.
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