People and governments are increasingly not just immoral, but amoral, without any sense of right or wrong. Even in churches, many pastors believe righteousness is a means to financial gain – to the extent that I cannot even bear the sight of so many on TV – posturing and being so theatrical, having the form, but lacking the power.

However, we have confidence and foreknowledge in that Paul warned us of what would occur in the last days, as in these words in 2 Timothy 3;

” 1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

As we see the evil become more evil, the insatiable greed of corporations and their managers; and the growing secularity of nations, it should encourage us that Christ is coming soon. It should also inspire us towards good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do. The time is short.

God is not impressed by the nations that rage and the people who plot in vain. In fact He laughs and scoffs at them (Psalm 2) and soon will rule them with an iron scepter, dashing them to pieces like pottery.

I’ve been focusing too much on the world these days, terrorism, wickedness, impunity, corruption, greed, and too little on what God is doing. That must change. I will instead, focus on what God is doing and what He is calling me too. I will fix my heart and thoughts on things above, where Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand. That is the wisest course. When the dust settles over His creation, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Then we will see that it was the best decision to serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling and take refuge in Him. May you be similarly encouraged in Jesus. Amen.

The next day, she called me even more distressed, with the news that one of his lungs had collapsed, he was now in intensive care, in an induced coma, as his discomfort was acute. His doctors did not know what else to do. She asked me to pray as the hospital outlook was bleak and getting bleaker.  I wasn’t too surprised by the turn of events based on what  had heard the first time, although a bit surprised at the speedy deterioration.

I’ll tell you what I did and what I did NOT do.  I did not call a prayer line or a prayer chain.  I didn’t get on the telephone with masses of people.  If the Lord led me to, I would have, but as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I believe it is a disgrace for hundreds of Christians to pray against one or a few spirits of infirmity.  One believer should be able to minister effectively against the attacks of a horde of demons, with Greater One on the inside.

I entered my “prayer closet” and took the offensive against this infirmity.  I prayed in the Spirit and I prayed with my understanding.  I took authority over the situation and spoke healing over the boy.  I prayed a couple of times – perhaps an hour each time.  When the burden lifted, I stopped, called the mother and told her I believed her son would be fine. At this point, there simply was no outward evidence of this, but I was convinced it would be so.

Although she called me the next day with grimmer news of how his collapsed lung was scarring and he was now unable to breathe on his own, I was not moved.  OK, maybe some concern in the flesh – I’ll be honest – but I’ve learned that the flesh and mind will sometimes react to stimuli in ways that you cannot fully control.  If someone jumps out with a gun, your  adrenaline will spike even if you know the angels of God are protecting you.  That’s what I mean. You must realize though, that this is separate from faith.  Faith is what you KNOW, not what you feel.

In my heart and mind and words to her, I knew and told her he would be fine – but it was interesting watching my own emotions at times.  Sometimes even amusing.

OK, what happened?  Two days after that bleak report, he began recovering rapidly and was out of the Intensive Care.  The doctors and nurses who treated him in intensive care were all coming by to marvel at his “miraculous” recovery.  Another two days and he was home, playing with his siblings like nothing ever happened.  The doctors had said that the scarring in his lung would take at least 2 years to heal, but at his last visit, there was no trace of scarring, the doctors pronouncing his lungs to be “like Lance Armstrong’s”!!

So praise God for this all.  This is not about anyone’s greatness of faithfulness, but God’s.  He preserved my cousin from “sorrow upon sorrow” and kept the life of a boy who will live to serve Him and glorify His Name.  I pray that your hearts might be encouraged, just as mine and my cousin (and her family) have been, through the Lord’s healing mercy. Amen.

A man came by and sat down on my left and I thought nothing of it. A minute later, I saw a man on the opposite platform walking to and fro, mumbling to himself and occasionally calling out to no-one in particular.

Viewing this as a ministry opportunity, I leaned over to the man on my left and asked, “Do you know what his problem is?” He answered right back, “What’s his problem?” I smiled and responded, “He’s probably demonically oppressed,” and then continued, “do you know there’s a world beyond this physical one?”

This is when things got interesting. He gave me a wan smile and said to me, “I guess you’re a Christian. Listen to this…” He then launched into a short burst of speaking in tongues. I was surprised but managed to recover. “I guess you’ve probably heard the gospel before”, I said with a grin.

“You listen to me,” he demanded. “I was in the ministry for years and was in ministry school.” “But,” he continued, “we prayed and prayed and God didn’t heal the seven sick people we prayed for. They all died. That’s when I left the ministry.”

I didn’t know too much about the Word but I replied that our faith in God did not depend on who got healed or not. I told him I didn’t understand why those people didn’t get healed as I wasn’t there. But I said, God was still faithful and He was and is still our Healer.

He wasn’t moved, as our train pulled in. “All I want”, he said, “is one minute when I die, to say my piece and tell God how I feel about it. So much power over there when we need it here!” I patiently responded that it wouldn’t play out that way, that no one gets to vent in heaven.

The funny thing was that as he kept telling me how he didn’t want anything to do with Christianity, he kept talking about God and what he wanted to say to him. I tried to talk with him before my stop, about 15 minutes later and he kept asking me to refute what he was saying, but he was way too angry. I just told Him over and over that God loved him and was faithful. My stop came along first and I got off the train.

This man was in a place that I’ve seen others get to over the years since that day in 1987. I refer to people who have seen failures over and over, particularly ministers- folks who have had to comfort the bereaved again and again. It can be heartbreaking and I can even understand mentally, how he arrived at that place. I have been tempted too. Tempted to just walk away and not even bother to pray any more – just send people to the doctors and leave it to others who are willing to test their faith and face the risk of failure.

I’ll be honest though and share the determination I made years ago that no matter how many tragedies I see, God is still a Healer and His Word is still true. What’s the worst that could happen? We go to be with the Lord, which is better by far. Why would I want to arrive in heaven, with the thought in my heart: “you didn’t believe in God’s healing promises!” No, I won’t be condemned for it, but why not fight, why not believe, why not engage?

Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith..” (1 Timothy 6:12). He said “We wrestle not against flesh and blood…”(Ephesians 6:12) . He continues, “Run in such a way as to win the prize…” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Do we have this thought that it will always be easy, especially in the West? Do we think that healings are not a prize to be fought bitterly for, in prayer?

Jesus said, “This kind can come out only by prayer.….” (Mark 9:29). Do we still pray and fast, or are we caught up with activities that just engage the flesh? Is there too much “seeker-friendliness”, with mime and dance and too little all-night prayer and intercession? God help us! Philip didn’t need street mime and dance to cause Holy Spirit-led havoc in Samaria, did he?

As we struggle with church programs and ‘church growth’ activities, we’re wearing ourselves out with “stuff”. If one blind person received sight in your church each week, even with 4 services on Sunday, you would have lines that stretched for blocks. You would need the police to keep order.

Our leaders are so afraid to preach, teach and demonstrate healing though, that for many, this is beyond their reach. It’s at a point where so many just don’t believe anymore. Like my friend on the train, they may have started with zeal, but disappointments got the better of them. They not only refuse to believe now, but are deeply bitter at unrealized hope.

Like my friend the real cause of the bitterness is that they know healing is there and is real, but somehow or the other, they could never attain it. That’s where the broken heart and deep bitterness comes from, “..so much power over there when we need it here!”

There is a path to healing in our churches. It is not easy, but it is not obscure either. Preach it, teach it, pray for it, minister it, and repeat over and over until breakthrough comes. What if it tarries? Read John Wimber’s story if you find the time (Power Healing). You simply continue as a church until breakthrough comes.

Well, what if it still doesn’t come, you ask? Better to enter heaven declaring the truths of God’s Word and kingdom than to give up. I will never give in or give up. For me though, healing has already come, over and over again.  May such steadfastness undergird your own soul, may the Holy Spirit encourage you and reward as you persist in seeing the manifest promises of God fulfilled in your life and the lives of those around you. Amen.

When the Shunammite woman came to Elisha after her son died, notice what Elisha did.  He took a specific set of actions. Gehazi was to take the Prophet’s staff and lay it on the boy’s face.  He was not to speak to anyone on the way.

It is interesting that the boy did not immediately recover and Gehazi returned, unsuccessful.  Didn’t Elisha hear God, you may ask?  I’m inclined to say he did.  Why didn’t the child come back to life then?  I don’t think the Bible spells it out explicitly, but I would lay the blame on Gehazi’s doorstep,  as being an unsuitable vessel of grace.  He later proved this in the case of Naaman the Syrian.

In any case, when Elisha finally arrived, he didn’t anoint with oil or lay hands on the boy, but instead, did something that would be strange in any age.  He lay on the boy nose-to-nose (2 Kings 4:32) and eventually the boy came back to life.  Again, he didn’t walk around the bed seven times in the manner of Jericho or smash arrows on the ground as in the case of King Jehoash (2 Kings 13:18).  He was specific in what he did and got results.

Jesus put his spit on a man’s tongue (Mark 7:33), spat in another man’s eyes (Mark 8:23), and asked Lazarus to come forth (John 11:43).  He asked the 10 lepers to go and show themselves to the priests in one instance (Luke 17:12), but laid hands on the one leper who sought healing (Luke 5:13).  Jesus was precise, He didn’t try everything, He did one thing.

If you are in healing ministry, realize you can minister in hundreds of ways to any healing candidate.  Will every approach work?  No, but the one the Holy Spirit illuminates in your heart will in most cases.  I say most cases, because it is not that simple working through the vessels of clay that we are. Unforgiveness on the candidate’s part, tiredness on our part, or disorganization may just a few obstacles to healing.

Yes, we must know all the Biblical approaches to healing, many of which are listed on this blog.  But we must always strive to hear the Holy Spirit in every situation.  We must also be flexible and open to his direction during the healing encounter.  I have seen dual errors of treating every situation like a nail when you only have a hammer (e.g., laying on of hands on everyone you meet), and being so inflexible during ministry, you don’t receive a change in direction from the Holy Spirit.  We would do well to avoid both.

May you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as you minister, may you be flexible enough to deal with changing circumstances in healing ministry.  Amen.

I recognize that some ministries today are moving in power, but there is much from that era that I believe we lack. I recall an account from John Lake , who while ministering in South Africa, went through an extended period where every person he prayed for and laid hands on was healed – every single person!

It is easy to think that as your local or national church goes, so goes the whole church globally. Many of us see little and thus become discouraged.  However, remember that we only ever see a small part of the fabric.  Even here in the USA, there are pockets of miracles, faith, healings and deliverances.  All over, from Kansas to California (go IHOP and Bethel!), Pennsylvania to Florida.

This is not even to speak of Chinese teens raising the dead in rural China and blind eyes being opened in Mozambique.  We must keep in mind that as in Isaiah 9:7,

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

I encourage everyone involved in the ministry of healing to read about the likes of Lake, Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman, Jack Coe, Aimee Semple-Macpherson, John Wimber, and others used mightily in faith and healing.  Their life stories will encourage you, motivate you and mobilize you in moving more effectively and determinedly in the ministry of healing.