Apparently there is this blind dude from “The Order of the Well” form the Church of England coming to SA now in May. He has a healing ministry and was ordained into the clergy of the church without any formal training!

Let me know if you know him.

Our leadership school starts tonight, will let you know how it went!

Take care!

I love the thought and questions that are developing here… A few quick comments because I’m not a “deep” thinker

1. God IS able. (I don’t know whether he will heal X person but He is able.)
2. I don’t think we’ll figure out a cut and dried simple answer but keep looking to God’s Word for the answers
3. How will a specific healing bring God glory (I believe that He is able - God’s Word seems to back that up)
4. I believe that some of the more conservative churches don’t talk about healing simply as a reactionary move. I know I was surprised a few years back talking to an elder from my church that… the elders DO pray over the sick and will annoint them folks with oil as requested.

I think personally this is difficult because when someone we care about is sick/dying we WANT them to be healed period in OUR timeframe because after all that’s what we want AND as a benefit it will help someone else too! I too often don’t pray as long as I should simply because I don’t want God to disappoint me (I have much to learn about faith and perserverance). As if I should be after the Work He has done on my behalf.

Keep asking the questions they force us to think - Blessings

Just one thought on the “how much more should we pray for the spiritual mending of the broken hearted ” comment: should we separate healing like that? Jesus seemed to see people holistically and didn’t seem to separate spirtual as being more important than physical (or emotional, mental, etc). I think Jesus was all about health, full stop. And that health emcompassed the whole person. I don’t want to overly separate humanity into parts and make some parts more important than others. I believe Jesus came to rescue and redeem all of humanity and every aspect of humanity.

I guess the reason I started this discussion focussing on the physical side of healing is because this seems to have so much less of a place/emphasis in what I am seeing in many emerging churches. Of course we have hospitals and highly skilled doctors who I believe are part of the way God brings healing to people. But there are still many desperate people who need a supernatural miracle as their situation has gone beyond the realm in which medicine can help. So whilst there is undoubtedly more need in parts of Africa, for example, there really is still countless situations here in the West where, I believe, we should be seeking God for His supernatural breakthrough.

I understand, Nathan, why you would think a hateful heart being transformed is a greater miracle that a physical one, but, for me at least, I am not sure we can truly say what is greater. For the person who physical cancer is their greatest enemy, healing would be their greatest miracle. For the person who’s greatest enemy is their struggle with anger, healing of that would be the greatest miracle.

I guess ultimately, I don’t want either/or but both/and if that makes sense?!

I just think of the widow’s son that returned to life after Elisha prayed for him. What joy for the widow! Yet he returned to life, only to suffer death again at a later date. We should pray for physical healing, absolutely. But how much more should we pray for the spiritual mending of the broken hearted (Isaiah 61:1-6). It does little good to cleanse a physical wound if a poison festers beneath the surface.

To me, it is a much greater miracle to see a bitter, hateful heart transformed, yielding a kind, gentle, peacefully passionate person. For an individual to completely change their attitudes, passions, and disposition requires either some SERIOUS “positive thinking” or a divine intervention like only our great God can provide.

I have been doing alot reading on this lately and there are a few things that stand out for me.

- everyone will be healed in heaven; so even if we are praying now, we may not see it until then…should that lessen our faith? Our God is faithful.

- how many of us are missing our calling by not ministering OUT OF our illness? How many people could we be blessing that are brought into our lives as a result of sickness or illness?

- why do so many more healings occur in the third world churches? My take is, it’s because God is truly all they have. We put our faith in medicines, in doctors, and then, and often only then, do we seek God in the situation.

- Many of us have not grown up ’seeing’ miracles, and in our intellectual society, we need to see before we can believe. Doesn’t God say believe first?

- many of our churches have become program driven instead of Spirit driven. It gives many people the heebie-jeebies to think about / talk about the Spirit realm, and yet God tells us it’s there. We are (mostly) ignoring it if it doesn’t fit our ‘bless’ me box.

- (now this point is fully from my own belief in Natural Hygeine and Naturopathic principles ) Until we fully submit to God in our every day, we continue to slowly poison our own bodies…many of us don’t even include one actual fruit or vegetable ( in it’s raw state ) into our daily diet. We can’t be blind to how our bodies were created and expect supernatural energy and healing to occur. There will be those that want to jump on this statement and yes, I agree, not all illness is caused by this, but we have room for improvement.

Excellent choice of topics Sam…I feel some future blogs forming on this subject that I have just been itching to write..

Blessings from Canada!

V.

should we pray for God to heal? Or pray for his will to be done?

I think for me personally, I have felt it is important to have a view of physical healing that encompasses both this life and the next. For even though many may suffer physically this side of eternity we can still all look forward to the reality of God’s promise of a new body. And that new body will never again suffer from sickness and disease. The apostle Paul taught us the death is swallowed up in victory and I think it is so important that we always hold on this.

At the same time I struggle to match what I see happening today with the works Jesus did. Whilst Jesus certainly didn’t heal every sick person He saw, the Scriptures do record that every single person who went to Jesus seeking healing received it. And whilst I don’t understand why some are healed and others not, I cannot accept the teaching from some who say that Jesus sometimes says “yes�, sometimes says, “no�, and other times says “wait�. I sincerely believe that Jesus’ ultimate desire is for none of us to have to suffer from sickness and disease. Jesus’ death on the cross was to bring about a complete salvation: spirit, soul, and body.

But if Jesus does want us all to be healed, why aren’t we? Why do some receive miracles and others suffer all of their lives? Why do some get to live to 80 years old thanks to the supernatural intervention of God and others not live to see their 10th birthday? If God’s will is for healing and wholeness, why is there such a gap between His will and the reality of what happens down here on earth?

These are the really tough questions that we no doubt will never fully understand during our lifetimes. I think for me, the only way I can come towards some semblance of understanding is through grappling with what Jesus called the kingdom of God. I understand the kingdom of God as being the realm where what God wants done gets done. It is the realm where His will is done; the realm where heaven breaks into earth. And the truth is that we live in an era of time where God’s kingdom is both here and yet not fully here. The kingdom of God has come, is coming, and yet won’t fully come until Jesus Himself returns. And I for one really struggle to get my head round that! But when I see someone healed, I understand that as being God’s kingdom breaking in. It is the will of God in heaven being implemented here on earth. And Jesus taught us to pray for this. So whilst we won’t see the fullness of God’s kingdom until Jesus returns, as I see it, God wants us to pray in as much of His kingdom as possible. He wants us to partner with Him in bringing the reality of His will in heaven to bear down here on earth.

I guess for me, I know that I won’t see everyone healed, I know that I won’t see God’s will in heaven fully worked out here on earth, and I know that I won’t see the kingdom fully come, but I don’t want that to stop me from praying in as much of the kingdom in as possible in the meantime! I don’t expect everyone I lay my hands on to receive a miraculous healing, but I am going to lay my hands on as many people as possible and invite God’s kingdom to break in. As someone once said, “When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t�. And I want to give as much opportunity for “coincidences� as possible!