How To Pray For Healing – Part 2

“Do or do not – there is no try.”

Yoda, Star Wars – “Empire Strikes Back” Episode V

This quote may seem like a strange way to start off a post about praying for healing but it is actually very fitting.

Jesus told the disciples to just go and do it. He didn’t tell them to find someone who was sick, run back to him to ask if it was ok, then run back and heal. He didn’t say to try and heal people. No, he outrightly said, “Now you go do it” (Matt 10:8).

But how do we actually do this?

In the 3 previous posts, which you can find by clicking, here, here and here, I laid the foundation for preparing to pray for healing.

In this post we’ll get down to business about how to actually pray for and see people healed.

Down to practicalities

As I have said above, it is well worth your while to go through the previous 3 posts on miracles and healing before you begin. Get these things settled into your spirit and your heart and it will certainly increase your faith and belief that God is indeed good – all of the time!

When you are first starting out, it’s sometimes easier to start off with a person whom you are already comfortable with. If you can either see that they have an injury or a sickness or they are telling you about it, you can ask them if it would be OK for you to pray. If they say yes, and you are comfortable to do so, you could ask them if it is ok for you to put your hand either on their shoulder or their arm. The reason for this is that the Bible says in Mark 16:18 that you shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

Let’s say a person has a sore hand from an injury. A very simple prayer to start off with is:

Thank You, Father, that you are good and that it is always Your will to heal. Thank You for Your healing power that is in us. I command the inflammation and pain to leave this hand right now in Jesus’ Name. I command complete healing and restoration to come and full use of this hand to return right now. Thank You, Father, that You have heard our prayer and thank You for the healing. Amen.

I tend to ask the person to simply say, “I receive the healing now.” They are then actively receiving the healing for themselves.

It really is as simple as that. Jesus was succinct in His prayers – so must we be.

You can then ask the person how their body part feels. If they are healed, rejoice with them. If they are not, pray again. If you still don’t see healing, pray for God to bless them and protect them as they go about their day but keep believing that the healing will manifest in the coming times.

It’s impossible for you to pray the Lord’s will (which is always healing) and nothing happen. Whether you see it or not, something is always happening.

Sometimes you may not actually see a lot happen. Don’t be disheartened. Sit and quietly ask the Lord to tell you or show you the next step. I prayed for a lady’s hip one time and nothing happened when I prayed. I asked the Lord what was happening and in my mind, I saw a picture of a broken heart. I realised that her emotionally broken heart was manifesting in physical pain in her hip. I gently asked her about it and she confirmed that she was hurting badly emotionally. I was then able to pray for her that God would bring her comfort and peace as well as healing.

Sometimes the person can wake up the next morning or be going about their day before they realise that they were actually healed. Know that your job is to pray and believe (Mark 11:24). Healing is God’s job.

Unforgiveness is a blockage to healing at times. If nothing seems to be happening, you can gently ask if they may need to forgive someone. If they say no, just let it go and ask the Lord to bless them and heal them in the way they need. If they say yes, you can let them share if they want to or just ask them if they are willing to choose, by an act of their will, to forgive those who have hurt them. Remember to ask them if they are willing to forgive themselves. Sometimes that is the hardest thing for them to do but it is necessary. It brings freedom and life. (I wrote about how to forgive others when people don’t want to here.)

Excuses

If there are any excuses not to pray for healing, I am sure I have used them all.

Not very long ago, the Lord asked me to do something and I told Him that I couldn’t do it. He said, “Donna, you actually have the ability to do it but you are letting fear rule your decisions. It’s not that you can’t, you are just choosing not to out of fear.” Ouch. He was right, of course so I went and did it. Scared but obedient.

Don’t make excuses. “Someone’s miracle is waiting on the other side of your obedience” as Terri Savelle Foy Says.

A Practical Story

Back in March, I was at my hairdressers and a lady was beside me with her foot and leg in a special boot. As there were only the 3 of us there, it was hard not to overhear the conversation. This lady had very seriously damaged her ankle and she was going to be in the boot and on crutches for the next 6 months. I began to share of some of the healings that I had seen and heard of and her interest was piqued. Before she left, I asked if I could pray for her and she agreed. I very gently placed my hand on the boot and prayed the prayer above. She couldn’t tell if was healed or not until she took the boot off that night. She left and I went home.

At my next appointment, 6 weeks later, the hairdresser was so excited when I came in. She asked me if I remembered the lady I prayed for and I said yes. Well apparently, 3 or 4 weeks after I had prayed for this lady, she had come into the salon wearing high heels … on both feet. The hairdresser was so amazed that she asked me all about how it happened. I had already been sharing Jesus with her so this just opened another door for conversation.

I again went to my hair appointment this week and since the last time I was there, my lovely young hairdresser had told me about how she was telling some other clients about what God had done. This lady isn’t a Believer just yet but she is sharing about the goodness of God to those around her. How amazing is that!

Romans 2:4 says that it is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance.

Praying healing for people is just another way to reach those who don’t know Jesus yet.

The absolute bottom line.

I was struggling with how to end this post as there is SO much information out there. For a week I have been asking the Lord what the bottom line is to healing. I then listened to a message by Bill Johnson, which you can find here and the Lord gave me the answer.

You must be convinced that God ALWAYS wants to heal. It is His heart to heal those who are sick, hurting and under oppression of the devil (Acts 10:38).

I have believed the following for years but the Lord gave me my needed confirmation today. Here is what I believe is the foundation for healing and indeed for life:

To have a burning affection and a heart of adoration toward Father God and husband Jesus, and

Being fully convinced that God is good and knowing that being in His presence is where everything changes.

In Acts 5:15, people were placing the sick on the side of the street hoping that Peter’s shadow would pass over them as they had faith that they would be healed. There was nothing special about Peter’s shadow. Peter was so aware and filled with God’s presence that just by him walking past, God’s healing power emanated from him and completely overhauled people’s lives.

Imagine if you, me and every other Believer on the planet became passionate about Jesus. Imagine what could happen.

The world would truly be drastically transformed and earth would become like Heaven.

Back to my original quote from Yoda at the top of the post. You and me just need to roll up our sleeves, consciously make a decision to pray for healing and just do it.

(For more information on healing, read or listen to Chris Gore, Randy Clark, Oral Roberts, Bill Johnson, Katie Souza, John Mellor, Robbie Dawkins and many others.)

Revelation 5 talks about bowls in Heaven that are filled with prayers. This indicates that prayer is accumulative. If you don’t see results straight away, don’t give up. Keep praying as things are happening in the spirit realm that you aren’t seeing. God always moves according to prayers of His will – and healing is one of those for sure. Keep going. You will get your answers. The bowls will eventually tip then answers will flow and breakthrough will manifest.

My prayer for you today is that you will long to be with the One who loves you fiercely and passionately. I pray that you will become so conscious of and enamoured by His presence that your heart will burn for Him and that you will fall so in love with Him that the world around you will be transformed – just because you are there.

In the coming weeks, if you have a story of how you stepped out and prayed for healing, whether healing came or not, please share below as I would love to celebrate with you. If you have fears about stepping out, please share them too so we can encourage you together. I so look forward to your stories!


Many, many blessings to you,

Miracles Do Happen Today!
Does God Always Want To Heal You?
How To Pray For Healing – Part 1
How To Pray For Healing – Part 2