Authors: Praying Medic
This is a great way to practice hearing from God. If you’re afraid to go out in public by yourself, doing it in a group may be a safer approach. Treasure hunts partner more experienced healers with beginners and allow beginners a chance to see God at work. They’re also a biblical model of ministry since Jesus sent His disciples into the community two by two. Finally, treasure hunts, because they require God to lead you to certain people, are likely to be more effective than approaching people at random.
I watched a video testimony from a woman who went on her first treasure hunt with a group of friends. The clues led them to a woman in a wheelchair at a bus stop who had multiple sclerosis. They asked the woman in the wheelchair if they could pray with her and she agreed. After prayer, she was healed. She got up from the wheelchair, thanked them and got on a bus, leaving the wheelchair behind.
In practice, we can lay hands on people for healing or stand a few feet away. We can command healing silently or out loud and we’ll probably see the same results. The sick were healed by the anointing that was on the Apostle Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons. I love Pete Cabrera’s illustration of this principle, when he commanded a plastic spoon to heal the sick and two people were healed by holding onto the spoon. Lisa Fitzgerald-Adams released healing bubbles on a young man with an ankle injury from skateboarding. Tom Fischer once healed someone by having them hold onto a rock that he prayed over. Jason Chin re-created the “shadow of Peter” effect by walking near a woman who was healed of a shoulder injury as his shadow passed over her. Had I had not seen the videos, I wouldn’t have believed these stories. I’ve heard many testimonies of healing that came by speaking the word of God over the sick. There is no reason why we should limit healing to a certain method. Be creative and let God amaze you.
As your familiarity with the ways of God grows, you’ll be able to see things that can only be seen with your spiritual eyes. I have friends who have developed the ability to see things in the spirit with amazing accuracy. They see “devices” that are impaled into people, like spears, swords or metal bars. It’s common to see serpents coiled around people or metal bands around parts of their body. In most cases, these devices require removal. The act of removing an impaled object, cutting a metal band or removing a serpent may bring immediate healing. These things are done by faith, believing that what you see in the spirit is real and its effect will cease if the object is removed. After the device is dealt with, there may be wounds (in the spirit) that require prayer for healing. Pay attention to the wounds you’re shown and keep praying until they either disappear or the person tells you they believe the healing process has been completed.
The streets and shops you visit are full of people who desperately need to know that God cares about them. All around you, crippled people struggle to cope. The blind are robbed of experiencing the abundant life Jesus died to give them. You are the one who can release the power that changes those circumstances. Street healing is easy; it just takes a little compassion, a little boldness, some faith, and a desire to see God’s love in action. This is the model Jesus gave us. And if a skeptic like me can be used to heal the sick, so can you.
T
HE FIRST TEN VERSES OF
Luke chapter 5 describe what happened to Peter when he allowed his workplace to be a platform for the ministry of Jesus. After the Lord taught from Peter’s boat, He asked him to go into deeper water and let down his nets. After telling Jesus he’d been fishing all night without catching anything he reluctantly obeyed. He was astounded when the catch was so great it began to sink the boat, requiring help from others to bring it in. God blessed Peter, James and John with an immediate increase in their business when they allowed their occupation to be used by Him. Just as He did with the fishermen, God wants to bless us when we’re willing to be used by Him where we work.
One day, while working on the ambulance, my regular partner took the day off. I worked with someone I didn’t know very well. Megan and I were having a slow day. We were five hours into the shift and hadn’t run a call. To help the time pass, we talked about different things that interested us, including one of my favorite subjects – dreams.
I shared a few dreams I’d had about healing, which led to a discussion of healing itself. I shared a few healing stories, which prompted her to tell me about the car accident she was in a few years ago that left her with chronic pain between her shoulder blades. We talked and I gained her trust. So when I asked if she wanted to be healed she was comfortable having me pray with her. I explained the process then put my hand on her back and commanded it to be healed and it was.
Many of us would like to introduce our co-workers to Jesus, but our attempts often fail. Sometimes we fail because we don’t know them well enough for them to receive our testimony. Sometimes our testimony lacks relevance to their needs. To someone with a medical condition that is no better after being treated by doctors, a Jesus who can heal them is extremely relevant.
In the short time I’ve been healing people at work, I’ve been amazed at the number of co-workers wanting to ask me how it works. I never wonder any more how I’ll tell a co-worker about Jesus. As people are healed and word gets around, they come to me wanting to know more. I suspect that might be why Jesus trained His disciples in healing.
The degree to which you’ll minister to anyone is dependent on the relationship you have with them. Asking a stranger if they want to be healed isn’t something most people do. They’re bound to wonder what’s in it for you. Expect to have your motives questioned. Think about why you want to heal strangers so when they ask, you’ll have an answer. With a stranger, it’s helpful to engage in safe conversation, allowing them a few minutes to evaluate your motives. If the one who needs healing is someone you know – the relationship may already be strong enough for prayer.
As we minister in the workplace, we should remember a few things; Jesus healed all who came to Him, but many chose not to come. As badly as we may want others to receive God’s healing touch, we must always ask permission and respect the wishes of those who say no. If we show honor and respect, it will be shown to us, even from those who disagree with us.
“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him”
(see Prov. 16:7).
Another thing to keep in mind is that employers hire us to work and they have a right to expect us to be productive. We should want to make our employer successful. If we spend too much time engaged in ministry at work and it interferes with productivity or proficiency, they may need to take corrective action. We should treat customers and co-workers well and be diligent in our duties. When we’re good employees, we fulfill the command to “do all things as unto the Lord.”
A generation ago, it was common for people to talk about their faith in the workplace. Today, separatists and secularists are trying hard to ban public discussions of faith. Workplace discussions about God are becoming a risky proposition. In some parts of the world discussing Jesus puts you at risk for harassment, punishment or termination. Many people believe we have no right to engage in religious discussions while on the job. Make no mistake; if you hope to be an outspoken disciple of Jesus, there will always be a cost to consider.
At the outset, I had some concerns that God would not heal the people I prayed with and that I would look foolish. Concerns about how we’re perceived by others are sometimes rooted in pride. In my case, I had to choose obedience over what others thought about me. Humility allows us to take risks at the expense of our ego. My fears were short-lived. I did go through a season of praying with people who weren’t healed, but not because God didn’t want them healed. It was because I didn’t know what I was doing. After changing my approach and commanding healing instead of begging God to do it, the number of people who were healed increased dramatically. I never experienced the things I’d feared. I suppose the enemy may have been trying to discourage me. He’ll probably try it with you, so be brave if God asks you to heal in your workplace.
Rules regarding discussions of faith vary depending on your occupation and where you work. Check with your employer and regulatory agencies to learn what restrictions apply to you. The medical industry allows some people to discuss faith openly with patients. If you’re on the pastoral staff you’re allowed a lot of freedom. These positions enjoy a privileged status the rest of us don’t have. There seems to be a trend toward more restriction on workplace discussions of faith. This trend needs to be challenged and the responsibility falls on us. If you work in a place where you aren’t free to talk about God, it’s your responsibility to engage in discussions with management to have the rules changed.
If our attempts to bring Jesus into the workplace cause customers to go elsewhere or co-workers to file complaints, perhaps we should rethink our strategy. After years of “witnessing” to people on the job, and having no fruit come from it, I began to offer healing prayer instead. In all the time I’ve used this approach, I haven’t had a complaint from anyone. Many people have been healed, and those who were not healed were grateful that I offered to pray with them.
There are many ways in which healing can be brought to the workplace. I keep my eyes open for anyone walking in a way that shows they’re in pain or suggests they are disabled. I tune in to certain conversations and tune others out, listening for medical words. After a bit of practice you’ll become more perceptive to the needs of others. It’s surprising how many people discuss their health problems in public. When someone discusses a surgery, a chronic painful condition or even something like insomnia, there’s a need for healing standing in front of you. All you need to do is politely ask about the condition, maybe share a testimony of healing and ask if they’ll let you pray with them.
After a few people are healed, your co-workers will begin to talk. As word gets around, you’ll find more opportunities. As more people are healed, your faith will grow and you’ll probably see more miracles. One day you’ll realize that asking a stranger if they want prayer is no longer considered “risky behavior” but a normal activity.
The disciples of Jesus became habitual healers. They kept routines and visited certain places often. And wherever they went, the sick were healed and the dead were raised. They became so well known for healing, and their routines so regular that people laid the sick in their path, knowing that sickness and disease would leave. There’s nothing keeping you from developing this same kind of reputation for healing. It’s a matter of how much compassion you have and how closely you want to follow in the steps of Jesus.
I
‘
VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE
the opportunity to see many people healed in the setting of emergency medicine. I think healing and medicine make a wonderful partnership, though not everyone agrees. There are many issues that need to be considered if you want to use divine healing in your medical practice. In this chapter, we’ll discuss the most common problems and look at some solutions.
Before I began operating in divine healing, one of the things that bothered me about claims of healing miracles, was the apparent lack of credible testimonies from medical experts. The few stories I’d heard were reported in such a way that made their verification impossible. Symptoms were poorly described, no diagnosis or mention of medical treatments was given and little was provided in the way of diagnostic testing afterward to verify the claims of healing. I found these stories hard to take seriously.
Since then I’ve learned that a lot of clinical research has been done on healing prayer and much of it suggests that the power of prayer can be observed and predicted through clinical trials.
In 1988, Randolph Byrd shocked the world with the results of a study he had conducted five years earlier on the effects of prayer on cardiac patients. Byrd studied 393 patients admitted to a coronary care unit in a San Francisco hospital. The patients were “statistically inseparable,” meaning their conditions and symptoms were all similar.
Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups – those who received intercessory prayer and those who didn’t. Neither the doctor nor the patients knew who was in which group. Byrd gave the first name, diagnosis and condition of patients in the prayer group to different groups of three or four active Christians from several denominations. These groups prayed for their patient daily throughout the patient’s stay, away from the hospital, without meeting the patient. They prayed for a timely, easy recovery and one free from complications.
When the study concluded, Byrd found that there was indeed a significant difference in the quality of recovery among patients who received prayer: The prayer group fared better on average than their fellow patients who did not receive prayer. Almost 85 % of the prayer group scored “good” on the rating system used by hospitals to rate a patient’s response to treatment. They were less likely to have a heart attack, need antibiotics or require interventions like ventilation or intubation. By contrast, only 73.1% of members of the control group scored “good.”
Research on prayer has nearly doubled in the past ten years, says David Larson, MD, MSPH, president of the National Institute for Healthcare Research, a private nonprofit agency. Even the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which refused to review a study with the word “prayer” in it four years ago, is now funding one prayer study through its Frontier Medicine Initiative.
A survey conducted in the year 2000 evaluated scores of studies on the power of prayer and other types of distant healing. The researchers found 23 studies that featured high-quality methodologies (the steps used in experiments to measure results and control for external influences).