Prayer and healing
Matthew 26:40-41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (41)
Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #364 Sweet Hour of Prayer (#482 in previous version) In order to do the evangelism movement and begin anew, there are three things we must fix posthaste. The first is powerlessness. Even if two people were to do the same thing, it would be impossible for a person who is powerless. What immediately follows powerlessness is poverty. Finally, we must heal our spiritual problems, particularly our nature. Healing this is the most important truth of prayer.
1. Fundamentals of healing
The foundation of healing stems from the understanding of the word ‘only’ in the Bible. The Bible tells us it is ‘not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit.” (Zechariah 4:6). It also tells us, ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:8).’ Unless we are filled with only Christ, only the Gospel, only the Holy Spirit, and only prayer, healing will never take place. And when healing does not take place, we will fall into trials as a result of the most trivial of matters and face difficulties.
2. Method of healing
God of Healing can heal our powerlessness, poverty, and weak spiritual natures. When we focus on God, we can taste healing taking place. Focusing on God is an important part of prayer. Prayer that takes place within the Gospel while holding on to the covenant is the greatest method of healing. How do we pray? First, the Early Church held on to the covenant of Christ and the kingdom of God and prayed wholeheartedly (Acts 1:14). At this time, the powerlessness and poverty plaguing the Early Church were healed, and the work of the Holy Spirit arose throughout Jerusalem as important evangelism doors opened. Second, we need to focus on prayer as we embrace the field in our normal, everyday lives. It is at this time that God’s healing powers will manifest itself in the fields of idolatry, fortune-telling and shamanism.
3. Healing diseases
How can we heal our physical afflictions? We must focus on the Bible. When the Early Church wholeheartedly taught the spiritual Word regarding Christ, paralytics and lepers who were suffering physical ailments were healed (Acts 8). Additionally, when Paul’s evangelism team focused on prayer for two demon-possessed people, healing took place (Acts 16), and many of the diseased were healed after two years of delivery of the Word and focused prayer (Acts 19). When we focus on prayer within the Gospel, we will witness the work of physical and spiritual ailments being healed.
- If we are able to focus on prayer toward God, we will not only overcome our own weaknesses, powerlessness and illness, but transform the world. Take the time to pray to God today. Study of Evangelism Message / 2011.9.27