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A STUDY ON HEALING
Divine Healing
In the healing process there are some components that I consider important. They are present in the Bible and were seen during Jesus' healing ministry. Their application is not important just for healing, but also for other areas of our life. Some of them are motivated by love, and some by faith. These components include the following: hope, desire, patience, prayer, love, joy, faith, command, expectation, determination, petition, action, confession and perseverance. They are all inter-related to each other and when put into practice they work in a powerful way. Let's see some practical examples from the Bible and from life experiences as well as the results of the application of some of these biblical components in the healing process. Mark 1:40-42 - "A man with peprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ' I am willing,' He said. 'Be clean.' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured." In this short passage we see some of the components being put into action. For example, the man with leprosy came to Jesus. It means he took ACTION by going after Jesus. he had DESIRE to be made whole. he had HOPE to find a cure for his body. When he saw Jesus he EXPECTED to receive healing. He BEGGED (petition) Jesus on his knees. "Filled with COMPASSION, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. 'I'm willing,'He said. 'Be clean!' (COMMAND) Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured." And JOY sealed the process. It is amazing how effective Jesus was in His ministry. It is important for us to know that the power of God is still as available to us today as it was to Jesus 2000 years ago. His power is available through the person of the Holy Spirit, through the name of Jesus, through the Bible, and through you and me, because Jesus gave us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Let's look at another example of God's power in conjunction with some of the key components. Mark 5:24-34—"A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched my clothes?' 'You see the people crowding against you,' His disciples answered, 'and yet you can ask, "Who touched me?"' But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.'" Let me ask you something. What do you think motivated that woman to keep searching for healing without giving up? Just a simple desire to be made whole. She had a deep desire to become a normal person. Her desire generated perseverance and action (during 12 years she went from place to place and from doctor to doctor searching for healing without giving up). Finally, when she heard about Jesus she was determined and single-minded. She knew in her heart that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The moment had arrived and once again she took action to go after Jesus with single-minded determination to be healed. She set a condition for herself: "If I touch His clothes I will be healed . . ." Her faith was based on that condition, but her determination would not accept failure. She knew what she wanted and she got it. As I mentioned before, these key components are inter-related. They begin with desire and end with faith. Love and compassion are also important ingredients in this process. Never despise them. Let me tell you the story of a lady who came to me two years ago asking for prayer. In 1996 I was teaching spiritual warfare in an evangelical seminary in Brazil. One day I was in the prayer room praising the Lord when a woman came to me asking for prayer. She began telling me her story. The reason she was there was because of a problem in her back. She had been feeling constant pain for about four years. Her spine was curved like an "S", she was crippled in one foot and had one leg five inches shorter than the other. That's the reason she was in so much pain. This is her story just as she told it to me: "Four years ago I used to work in a friend's house as a housekeeper and nanny for the children. I was practically living with them. I didn't know that they were involved in drug trafficking until the day I overheard them discussing a drug deal in the living room. When they realized I was listening to the conversation they threatened to kill me if I didn't help them. They forced me and another woman to take an international trip carrying drugs. The destination was the United States. When we got to the airport in Sao Paulo, the police discovered that we were carrying cocaine. From that moment on my life was turned into a living hell. They arrested us as drug traffickers and treated us as if we were the worst criminals on the face of the earth. They beat us almost every day and as a result of the mistreatment they broke one of my legs and they didn't allow me to be treated by doctors. They broke my foot and my leg in four places. They didn't even allow me to have a cast. I stayed in prison for almost four years. Finally they gave me a conditional release, but every once in a while I'm visited by the police. That also is one of the reasons I want you to pray for me. I don't want to go back to prison any more. As you can see, I have a six year old daughter and she already has spent too much time without me. I want to take care of my daughter and husband. I'm innocent." While she was talking, all three of us were crying (the woman, her daughter and I). My heart was filled with compassion. As I asked her to sit in a chair in the middle of the room, I noticed that she had a very serious problem with her back. It was totally crooked. Her foot was also crippled and crooked. One leg was five inches shorter than the other. In fact, she told me that she was embarrassed to be around friends because of her problem. She couldn't even wear a nice shoe, and she told me that only a miracle would bring her life back to normal. Finally, I laid my hands on her and I commanded the foot to become normal and the leg to grow, and suddenly, right before my eyes, her foot became normal, her leg grew five inches and her spine became straight. Totally healed! She received a miracle from God instantly! Now I want to point out what caused that miracle to happen. First of all, she had a DESIRE to become a normal person with a normal life. She came EXPECTING a miracle from God. COMPASSION filled my heart at the moment she was talking. I gave a COMMAND and FAITH just arose. But nothing would have happened if she didn't have a desire to become a normal person again, healthy like others. The desire motivated her to go after the solution and she MOVED toward the miracle. She took ACTION. She was full of HOPE. That's why she received the miracle. All these components of the healing process produced the miracle. Always remember the Psalm that says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Another Testimony "What brought you here?" I asked her. She answered, "I'm here because only a miracle from God can save my life." What an answer! "Only a miracle can save my life and I expect it from God. That's why I'm here," she said. The motivation for her was God's miracle. She was desperate, but at the same time she was expecting a miracle. She had a desire to be made whole, not through the doctors only, but through God's power. "You have the right motivation," I told her. "Put your hand on your breast and tell me what you feel." "I can feel them all. I can touch each and every one of them and there are 15," is what she said. "Keep your hand on your breast," I said. At that moment I commanded the lumps to come out of her breast, one by one, in the name of Jesus. Instantly she lost track of them and she couldn't find any of them except for a little one. "Just one left," she said. I gave another command and the last one found its way to hell where its father (Satan) was. She couldn't find or touch any lump anymore. I told her, "Go back to your doctor for confirmation of the healing." As you can see, the power of God is still in operation today. Many people are receiving the touch of God in their lives. God is healing people today. He is restoring families and also transforming lives all over the earth through His unconditional love. He has been revealing Himself throughout all generations because He wants His people saved and not lost. That's why He is giving us insight and revelation through His Word just because He wants us to have abundant life through faith in His glorious Son Jesus Christ who reigns forever and ever, Amen. Remember, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). What a promise!
Excerpt from "The Creative and Transforming Power of Desire" by Carlos A. Oliveira
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Last Updated: July 10, 1999 |
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