An Invitation to Learn About Healing Prayer
By Sandi Edgemon
Does God call and empower us – ordinary Richland Lutheran Church Christians – to heal those who are sick physically, mentally, emotionally, and deliver them from evil spirits? If we believe the Bible, the answer is, emphatically, “Yes”.
- Jesus ministered to people and healed them. After he called the disciples, “Jesus went through Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:18)
- Jesus gave the disciples “power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2)
- Jesus, “appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…Heal the sick who are there and tell them ‘The Kingdom of God is near you…’ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'” (Luke 10:1-23)
- As Christians, we are Jesus’ disciples, so we follow Jesus and do what he did. He commissions us with all authority in heaven and earth given to him. He sends us to make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey everything he commanded. (Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus’ commission applies to all Christians – yes, even us – even today. God uses ordinary Christians every day to heal the sick and hurting through the Holy Spirit’s power and in Jesus’ name.
Conducting healing prayer should be as normal to us as worship, communion baptism, and Bible reading. Beginning April 7, at 9:45 in the Friendship Room, we’re going to learn more about healing ministry using Healing, a book by Francis MacNutt, PhD, an expert in the modern healing ministry revival. Join the study by signing up in the narthex and picking up your book, or contacting the church office, and join us as often as you can to understand healing prayer, how God equips us, and how to minister to others through the power of the Holy Spirit.
