Our Sunday Night Healing Service

There's nothing "Same old same old" about the God we serve.  Last Sunday evening we held a healing service at our church.  Strangly, the people who earlier in the month said they needed healing prayer didn't attend. There were 12 adults and 5 children in attendance.  My initial response to this small number was disappointment, but what a foolish thing that notion turned out to be.  

Throughout the Gospel we have accounts of Jesus healing just one person at a time.  In those individual healings many marvel at the greatness, mercy and grace imparted in those single acts.  What foolishness is it for one to be distraught by small numbers seeking healing when all heaven rejoices over just one person coming to Christ?  

Sunday evening was as powerful as could be imagined.  The power and presence of God was undeniable and verifiable.  Four people (including myself) sat in for others in need of prayer while the prayer team prayed fervently over them.  One came for prayer for liver problems, another for vision issues, another for headaches and stomach pains, another for chronic abdominal pain, another for saving from matters of the flesh, and yet another for stomach pains.  The prayer over each individual was so filled with love, so filled with compassion, so filled with confidence that there was a nearly electric atmosphere in the sanctuary.  Many swooned upon feeling the Holy Spirit flow through their bodies.  One was slain unconscious; another unable to get out of the chair without assistance.  None came seeking signs and wonders, but God demonstrated that He was in control and in our midst.  

I never ask for a report card as to whether anyone felt healing.  Nonetheless, the exuberant expressions on each face gave a testimony.  Within 24 hours here is what has been shared:  One person being prayed over by proxy was at the emergency room awaiting what was thought to be emergency surgery for an apparent abdominal rupture.  After being prayed for the doctors were not able to find anything needing surgery and the pain subsided.  At the end of the prayer time the patient was released from the hospital.  Another person prayed for by proxy was told last week that his pancreatic cancer could not be treated with chemotherapy.  Monday he  saw the doctor and he said that he would schedule him to begin chemo later in the week.  The person asked why he could have chemo now when just last week they said it would do no good.  The doctor said: "Last week it wouldn't have done any good, but now we can treat it."  The brother of the patient called Monday saying "Preacher, I've got a praise report".  We both praised God with our mouths and tears of joy.  

What other reports will we receive?  I don't know.  If the bear hugs and tears of joy weren't testimony enough, I'm sure there will be more to tell as time goes by.  I know this:  God doesn't fit in the box we try to put Him in and it's totally awesome when he shows us the folly of our disbelief.    

A Season Ends...A New One Begins

It's been since last September that we held a healing service.  This past Sunday 2 members of the congregation were lifted up by others as needing prayer.  At that moment I asked if they wanted to have a healing service and there were many "Yes, yes, yes"'s shouted out.  As May is a very busy month in the life of this rural congregation *(many homecoming/memorial services to attend at other churches), we set the date for the healing service for the first Sunday in June.  Of course, those needing healing prayer before then, were welcome to seek it.  

After Sunday services concluded one of the two people in the congregation lifted up came up and asked for a prayer.  We stood there in the front of the church praying fervishly for her macular degeneration.  When we finished we both exclaimed our love for God and one-another...then walked our separate ways.  

It is so good to see a season of few healing services come to an end and usher in a new season.  Isn't it strange how sometimes our walk goes in seasons rather than being a constant?

"Oh (chuckle chuckle) So YOU Heal People? Ha!

My wife and I attended a banquet where I was to give the invocation last Thursday evening.  Whenever I'm doing anything public in service to Our Lord I wear my Order of St. Luke the Physician pendant.  Often it becomes a conversation starter.  Well, it did that night.  The banquet was held in the family life center (nice, big facility) of a large UMC congregation in the neighboring town.  The banquet was to benefit educators in the public school system and a member of that congregation's spouse is a teacher in the system.  During the social time prior to the banquet this man, we'll call him Tim, looked at the pendant and asked "is that the symbol for the Santa Fe Railroad?"  I said that it did kind of resemble it but no, it's the symbol for a religious order I'm associated with.  I explained that it was a healing order to which he replied:  

"Oh (chuckle chuckle) so YOU heal people?  Ha!"

I briefly replied saying "No, I don't heal anyone, God heals".  He immediately changed the subject and we both moved on to socializing with others.

That church holds monthly healing services the first Sunday evening.  With a congregation of over 400 maybe 20 come to the healing service.  It's essentially the same 20 who come to every Sunday night service.  It's a pity that of those who call themselves Christians so few embrace intercessory prayer for healing.  The majority don't witness the miraculous hand of God at work in these sessions so they fail to see it with their own eyes, hear the testimonies with their own ears, and feel the love within their own lives.  Perhaps it's because of the bad rap that healing gets from the charlatans on TV.  Perhaps it's because they genuinely don't believe it happens.  I don't know.  I do know that the majority is being deprived of the blessing that comes from praying for others in this way.

Frankly, I believe that most mainline Protestant pastors are reluctant to preach on the gift of healing for fear that the congregation will think that they are a whacko.  If they do hold healing services at some other time than Sunday morning, it's often promoted with the same enthusiasm as the announcement that the womens group will meet next Monday night.  We don't want to lift it up much higher than that for fear that we'll get replaced by the majority next year.   We''re afraid that most will think...

..."Oh (chuckle chuckle) so YOU heal people?  Ha!"

The Joy of Healing Prayer

Last night my Sunday night church group accepted an invitation to attend another local UMC for a healing service.  I was one of the two pastors administering healing prayer along with a prayer team of 5 others.  The expressions on the faces of those who came forward for healing changed from drawn and dread to beaming radiance in the course of praying for them.  

One woman who is facing surgery Thursday for scoliosis emerged from the prayer saying that she's ready to go home now if that's God's will - whether she's healed or not she knows that God loves her and would accept her into His glory.  It's all in His hands now.

A man with prostate cancer scheuled for surgery Tuesday rose from the prayer chair with a beaming smile, confident that with God everything will be ok.  The prayer team and the whole church shared his joy.  Likewise with the others who came for prayer.

The healing prayers were administered as follows:  The pastor for the church anointed the prayee with oil making the sign of the cross on the forehead, then on each hand, then led the prayer team in laying upon hands while he prayed for the specific condition.  This lasted 1 to 3 minutes depending upon how he was moved by the spirit to pray.  Once he was finished I closed the prayer by lifting the subject's chin and asking them to look at me while I prayed the Order of St Luke the Physician's prayer for laying upon hands, which is:  "Our Lord Jesus Christ who gave authority to his disciples to lay hands upon the afflicted that they may recover, have mercy on you; give you strength in spirit, strength in soul; strength in body, but most of all give you faith in His power to heal.  By His authority committed unto us we lay hands upon you in the name of Jesus Christ, our lord and savior."  

When the final prayer was given the tears of joy abounded.  By the end of the service the presence of the Holy Spirit was so intense that while the benediction had been given, nobody ran for the door.  All basked in the love that only comes from The Lord.  

God's will is just that.  Whatever healing he brings to those who came forward is what it is.  But in the process of praising Him and interceding with love on behalf of those needing healing, there is a joy that He reserves for special times...times like these when we're all about His business.  That is the joy of healing prayer.

Healings all around us

It has been a long while since I last posted.  In that while, there have been numerous healing services.  A woman with problems with back and leg pain has been healed. A woman with back pain has been healed.  One with bone cancer has been healed.  One with blood cancer has been healed. Dear Lord...what a wonderful manifestation of your love has been realized here in our little neck of the woods.  I stand in wonder of your healings.  I stand in wonder of your willingness to minister to our little flock.  I'm in wonder!

Please, Lord, keep on keeping on.  We're ready and willing.  I'm awed by Your Presence and Your willingness to minister to us.   To those who don't have healing services...please do so.  You'll be marvelled by the love of Our Lord.  Awesome!

Healing Revival Tonight in a Rural Alabama Methodist Church

Tonight was the culmination of a 4 night revival for the church I pastor. I've been there since late May and they've been told via my sermons and prayer meetings that I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, specifically, as it relates to the sign-gift of healing. Sunday through Tuesday was all about the power of the Holy Spirit, specifically, being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Tonight, it was the final night and the Holy Spirit was present....INDEED! Eight people (from an attendance of about 40) came for healing. More powerfully, I asked everyone to close their eyes and be in prayer for everyone there, and I asked who wanted healing prayer without having to come publicly - to receive it where they sat. Three quarters of those there raised their hands. What an awesome God we serve.

First things first...of those who came for healing we prayed for suicidal tendencies, demonic possession, as well as diabetes, arthritis, lung disorder, addiction to alcohol, cancer and other maladies. The expressions of those for whom prayer was administered moved the entire congregation. More specifically, each one prayed for felt the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit. I was so totally drained from the prayer that the prayer team sat me down in the prayer seat and prayed over me until I was able to continue the service. (I didn't realize that it was so obvious that I was drained and depleted...but their prayers worked wonderfully and I continued.) Then came the most challenging, demanding, prayerful experience I've ever had in the healing ministry.

A young husband came to the alter for prayer. He had just recently lost his mother (a week ago) and was in a terribly difficult situation with his step father about everything. He was forbidden to attend his own mother's funeral. He was distraught. When I looked him in the eyes and asked what he wanted prayer for, his eyes became bloodshot and he said...."I want to leave my wife. I want to leave my child to be. I want to leave this world. I don't want anything good." At once I realized that I was talking with a young man who was possessed. Rather than anoint him one time with the sign of the cross with oil, it was put on my heart to anoint him three times. I looked him in the eyes and asked if he wanted deliverance. He shrugged. I asked again...he shrugged. Then I called him by name twice and he said yes.

I've only once before been called upon by Our Lord to cast out demons and I was weak in faith at that time...but I couldn't resist the word of God as it pertained to this young man. I tried to sit him down but he resisted. I tried again and he resisted again. I said..."In the name of Jesus accept His love". He sat down. He looked at me with piercing, bloodshot eyes and I asked him if he was ready for healing prayer. He didn't say anything. I told him I was going to pray for him whether he wanted it or not. I complimented him on beating down the resistance to make his way to the alter. So we prayed. There were 5 prayer warriors plus me praying for him. And we prayed. Without knowing the names of the demons in him (and not wanting to know their names) I prayed over him saying that Jesus knew who was trying to control his life and in the name of Jesus they are to be bound and cast from him. I was moved to bind and cast out 3 different demons in this young man in the name of Jesus Christ.

At once, his bloodshot eyes became clear. He proclaimed Christ as the ruler of his life. His countenance became one of calm and peace. But we didn't stop there. We continued to pray over him for strength and perseverance in Christ for the moments, days and weeks ahead. Oh what a glorious time it was in the service of our risen Lord.

We closed the service by praying for those who lifted their hands earlier that didn't want to be publicly brought into the love of The Lord. My friends, it was a powerful ending to a wonderful 4 nights of revival. Indeed, revival happened in our rural church in Alabama. It happened in ME!

In Christ....

We're Leading Up To Healing Revival, Wednesday

The theme of the revival this year at our little rural church is Baptism In The Holy Spirit. I've been talking about how the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not limited to those early Apostles, rather, for all believers who succumb to and totally submit to the presence of the Holy Spirit in themselves. It is an awesome thing to let Christ live through us today. When reflecting upon John 17: 20-22, it is apparent that we are here now, to be Christ for the world.

As Christ healed...we heal. Period. I've witnessed everything from freedom from terminal cancer to beyond...and it is awesome to behold. Are we worthy? The question I would ask is are we willing? I am willing. Are YOU?

The last thing I seek is to make hippocrates of anyone in the healing ministry. Rather, may we be subject to His will? I make myself subject to His will in these regards while I'm unworthy, yet willing. In a back-handed way I ask, can we all? Let us be subject to His will and create new persons in Christ, through the mystery and majesty of His presence. I'm awed by His presence. Aren't we all? In His name I pray...Amen.

Some Make it Tough to be in the Healing Ministry

Just gotta say, there is an outpouring (if you buy into this stuff) in Lakeland FL. A certain person in the name of Todd Bentley from Canada (no ill references to decent Canadians intended) is Big Time into revival in Lakeland, FL. I hold this person in disdain.

Give me money. Buy my CD. Be a "partner" for $30, 50, or 100 more a month...and God will bless you in a special way. I'm almost embarrassed to be in the healing ministry! Why do these charlatans get such press and support from churches throughout the nation? I don't get it? Is there nobody who has discernment? Again, I'm somewhat embarrassed to be in the healing ministry because of charlatans of this like.

Some may read this blog thinking that I'm into anything "healing". Nope. Not. I'm into the healing that comes from God, Almighty, who sometimes picks on someone like ME to be a facilitator. I do not buy into the alleged revival of this Todd Bently person. Not for a moment. It's all about making a dern good life off of sheep willing to give big bucks to be in his good graces. Charlatan...nothing less.

If I offend any friends who follow this blog, I am sorry that I have rained upon your parade. If you think he is of God....you are mislead. For anybody who doesn't know about Todd Bentley, please Google his name and read. Your eyes may be opened.

I know of two people from our very small community who have attended the revival in Lakeland, FL...and none are any better for it. Oh yes, they felt an euphoria at the time...but their symptoms and problems came back immediately after coming out of the influence of the hypnosis that this supposed revival is all about. False. False. False.

Our loving Lord reveals Himself through deep, spiritual, selfless prayer and love. In that, healing comes. If you have to buy anything...BEWARE!

I sometimes wish I could pave the way to easy street by being a charlatan...but God says NO...don't fall for that crap. Please, believers...don't fall for that crap!

On Healing Services....Worth It Or Not?

In late February our church held a healing service. It was open to the public and to anyone who would come. We had nobody in particular to pray for, but advertised and spread the word by word of mouth, and it happened. There were over 20 who came.

We prayed over a boy with a brain tumor. We prayed over a man with lung disease. We prayed over a child of God who had a bone tumor. We prayed. And we prayed.

I NEVER ask for a report card on how God worked in the situations prayed for. I just don't do that. I trust that word will come back to us about how God entered into the situations we prayed for. I cannot report on this or that, but I can report that there was a testimony given today in our church about the results of that service. A woman came forth to ask us to pray for her daughter who has a tumor on the bone in her arm. That tumor led to her bone breaking unexpectedly. She testified that when we prayed for her daughter, with her being there to represent her by proxy, that the bone tumor had healed more in one week than it had in the 5 months of medical treatment. Isn't our God an awesome God? She went on to testify that she had had a terrible headache, which she never has, and that the headache was miraculously healed when we prayed over her for her daughter. Again, an awesome God!

The man with lung disease....left under his own power, pulling the detached oxygen tank and breathing under his own power. I don't know the fate of the child with the brain tumor. In due time, I'll get feedback.

I pray that we, Christians, and even those of the Methodist fold, appeal to our Lord for miracles to happen and that God manifests His glory in our lives. He will reveal Himself...if only we invite Him to do so. I'm a witness to miracles. Are you?

Discernment - a Key to Discipleship

Counselors and therapists make careers in discernment. What is the root cause for what ails someone. Why is this attitude or that problem really there. How do we help to make it go away? I learn so much from the committed Christian healers as it goes to the issue of healing physical problems, when I realize that the physical manifestations of pain and disease so often stem from a mental or spiritual affliction.

At one of our healing services someone came forward for healing. She had a general malaise and was in a deep depression. What could I pray for? What healing was she truly in need of. She is a friend and I knew that she was very upset about the loss of her sister who had been in Hospice for a few weeks prior to passing on. I was stuck in the moment, not certain what to pray for. I closed my eyes and prayed that God would reveal how to pray for her. Suddenly I heard myself telling her to let it go..."you're not responsible for her dying. It was God's timing and you had nothing to do with it." ...is what my mouth said without my brain directing it! We then prayed for her to be released from guilt and when we had finished she was radiant.

In that moment I realized that God revealed what it was for which she truly needed healing. I realized that in my quest to be a better disciple God provided the discernment that I could not. Discernment is a gift that we can open ourselves to through deep prayer. And when that moment of discernment comes, one may find themselves speaking prophetically and simply following what God has revealed. I pray that the next time I'm called for healing prayer that true healing comes through God revealing the root cause so that it can be healed, rather than the symptoms.

Healed of Cancer - Praise God

Word came back to me today that God is not out of the miracle business. In the early fall we held a public healing service...that is, one that was advertised and open to all who desired to come. A woman attended with her husband and she was the last to come for healing prayer. She had been diagnosed with a massive cancerous growth. Her prospects were bleak. We prayed for her and laid hands upon her. I remember that the Holy Spirit was powerfully present at that very moment.

The couple came from about 30 miles away and I'd not seen or heard from them since. Until yesterday. The husband called a mutual friend and he called us to say that the doctors were dumbfounded. After analyzing her last MRI they said that the growth is gone! There is no sign that it was ever there and they have no way to explain it. She and her husband know what happened to it...God made it go away.

God blesses the faith of believers. God blesses us all when we turn to Him with expectancy, humility, and faith, regardless of what the world throws our way. Praise God!

Local Healing Services in the UMC

For the past few months I've been attending the healing services of two FIRST UMC churches. It is an awesome thing that God has chosen these two pastors to work through for healing. I'm utterly awed.

The notion that God still works the miracle of healing in this day and age, and it is uplifted to the community of believers at these two churches, is unprecedented at these churches. But the pastors aren't without critics. Nonetheless, I lift up them up as examples of where our congregation needs to go in order to make the presence of the Holy Spirit more present in the lives of believers/congregantes more than ever before. I salute them!

Your church should consider such a move. It is wonderfully, spiritually, and emotionally moving. Putting your congregation ahead of yourself is a good thing. Step out, and welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit and miracles will happen...if only you reach out to them in the name of Jesus. Am I off-base appealing to clergy to make this happen? I don't know. But if one invites the Holy Spirit to present itself for healing, it is awesome how often that healing comes to pass. Miracles happen...if we only invite them to come. I saw a miracle tonight. I saw a miracle last week. I see miracles happen all the time. It is said that Albert Einstein once said that if you don't believe in miracles you'll never see one, but if you do believe in miracles you'll see them everywhere.

When 2 or 3 or More are Gathered in His Name

I'm ever-so-humbled to have been a part of the prayer team last night at a healing service held at a local United Methodist church. The congregation is very conservative and this type of service is only the second one they've held since their new pastor's assignment began there last June. Prior to his appointment they had not ever held a healing service.

In the time prior to starting the service there were strange looks on the faces of those in the sanctuary. Some looked skeptical, others anxious. After the wonderful hymns were sung, a brief sermon delivered, then the blessing of the anointing of the oil, it was time for the healing prayer to begin. Nobody immediately came forward. After a minute or two, a man came forward for healing of his memory. We prayed for him, with our hands laid upon him, anointed him with oil, and all felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in that moment. When finished, he stood up, beaming with a radiant smile, and went back to his pew. Then another came for healing of his vision. Then another for arthritis and a yearning for a more spiritual relationship with God. Then another with a back problem. Then another, then another and yet another.

I had not looked at the others on the prayer team until we were praying for the last person. I looked and saw tears of love on the faces of everyone there. As the pastor was closing the service, he was moved to share that he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way. I could hardly stand. With the service closed, two more people approached the pastor for healing prayer. As I noticed the pastor praying over them I moved through the congregation to join in. It was powerful.

Each person prayed for expressed joy and an improvement in their situation. One woman sought me out for a hug. We cried together with optimism that God touched her in her situation. She said that she wanted to keep feeling the way she felt right then when she went home and from then on.

I share this in the hope that someone may come to initiate a healing service or ministry in their church...where perhaps there has been none in the past. There is an awakening of the spirit in people who attend...those who do the praying...and in the body of Christ at large. When we step out of our comfort zone and invite the presence of Our Lord, with 2 or 3 or more gathered in His name...He comes!