In the last 3 posts, we have examined the preamble to either self-ministry by a sick person or ministry by a person or team to a seeker. We have established what a person believes, plus possible obstacles to healing and lifestyle adjustments that should be made.
Typically, I will then ask a seeker if they are a Christian. Have they confessed the Lordship of Jesus as Savior and Lord and have they believed that He died and was raised from the dead for their justification? Very often, seekers have simply never heard the gospel presented clearly and I have seen many led to the Lord this way.
Of course, if they are hesitant, I will immediately proceed to prayer. Jesus Himself healed some who did not believe in Him and in one case, He healed the man born blind who didn’t even know who He was, in John 9,
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Notice that the man didn’t recognize, know, or worship Jesus until after he was healed. As a pastor once said, “Healing rings the dinner bell for salvation.” Most people will readily accept Christ after they are healed.
Once we are at this point, I listen acutely to God as to how I should minister to a seeker. Often, I’ll receive a leading to pray, or perhaps make declarations over the person. Other times, I will be led to anoint with oil. The most important thing here is to be led by the Spirit. Will you always receive an impression? Probably not, if you are like me. In that case, you may simply pray for the person or get into agreement with them regarding their case.
Be very watchful and observant. I cannot stress this enough. Sometimes you will see something happen to assist your next action, other times, you will just sense it. Also, try to keep your eyes open when you pray. This is for two reasons. Sometimes people will fall under the power and you might have caught them if your eyes were open! Also, if people begin to manifest demonic activity, it is useful to have your eyes open or you might not notice.
The last point I’ll make is that I almost always have the seeker sit down. I do this for two reasons. The first is to get it clear in the seeker’s mind that falling is not the same as being healed. We have this thought in the Pentecostal church especially, that makes us seek to fall under the power of the Holy Spirit, or failing that, just fall. A lot of folks fall of their own accord, so I just take this out of the equation by having them sit. Then they can focus on the healing, not falling.
Second, these days, too many healing ministers are looking for seekers to fall, as a sign God is working through them. Just sit the person down. I’ve picked up too many people who stayed sick. Some ministers even pray for sick people to fall when they minister! Don’t laugh, it’s true… I just pray that the person is healed, not that they fall. OK then, I will conclude the individual path to healing in my next post.
