Are you walking in the Old Testament ways of praying for a miracle or are you walking in the New Testament ways of praying in faith with the Holy Spirit knowing that healing can be done in Jesus’ name, exercising your power and authority?
This question came to me as I have been reading through Acts and discussing it with my team and some students. I can see that Jesus really revolutionized prayer and the standard operating procedure (SOP) of prayer. Jesus’ ministry was so different from anything that people had seen before. A major portion of His ministry was healing. He would start with healing someone physically and then spiritually. People had seen some other faith healers or witch doctors able to heal one person or one ailment but never someone as constant and consistent as Jesus. When He healed someone it was not maybe a fix but it was sure and complete!
Jesus’ prayers were short and powerful:
+ Luke 4:35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon through the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
+ Luke 4:38-39 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering with a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
+ Mark 1:40-42 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
The Lord has been challenging me in the way that I pray. Somewhere along the line, I learned through the Western church style of prayer, to pray for the Lord’s will and not to be powerful in prayer. When I am praying for a sick friend, I know that the Lord’s will is for us to be well, so I need to command that in Jesus’ name, not just to ask for His will to be done. There is incomprehensible power in the name of Jesus. And I know that I have the authority to use His name in prayer. I need to be direct and speak the change I am asking for, not skirting around an issue or illness.
Do I trust Him enough to do what He has said He will do? Do I trust Him enough to use me to fulfill His will?
Great blog. I can’t wait to see you in about a week my friend
Always enjoy reading your blogs. Love, Mom
This is such a hard issue for me. Like you said, we’ve been taught to seek God’s will and often we have the issue of Paul’s “thorn” that God refused to heal/remove….so where is the line of praying for what we want authoritatively/praying for God’s will. Is His will in fact always for us to be physically well?
Tina, trusting Him is not easy, until you trust Him enough, then it sometimes seems easier! 🙂 See you soon! Kris
Thinking of you and praying for God’s power to be manifested in you and thru you to love and serve your team and the people He brings to you. May you have the right word at the right time, May God grant you His peace that passes understanding, May God reveal Himself personally and powerfully to you and to your team mates. Praying for you with love
Mindy