Healing the sick is a vital part of a disciple-maker’s life. What? Heal the sick? How can I do that? Only God can heal the sick! True. But it’s also not true. It can’t be both. Or can it?
There are several foundational things needed in disciple-making movements. Obedience to God’s Word is one of them. In movement training, we often focus on obedience to Christ’s command to share the gospel or baptize new believers These are critically important! If movements are built only on miracles, they tend to be shallow and often don’t see deep and sustained generational growth. At the same time, Jesus gave us a model to follow. He healed the sick and trained His disciples to do the same.
Jesus said, “Heal the sick.”
It is interesting to notice in Luke 10, that Jesus told His disciples not only to pray for the sick but to heal the sick.
8 “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”– Luke 10:8 & 9- NASB
Yes, it is God who heals, but He does this healing work through people. He heals through me and you. We heal people by His power, not our own.
Every Disciple Making Movement around the world, be it a historical or modern-day one, has been characterized by signs and wonders – including the healing of the sick.
It is part of the way God works. He confirms His Word through signs and wonders. He demonstrates His love and power by doing miracles.
An Entire Village Believes
Let me tell you about Jeremiah*. I met him when I was teaching in a training program. The topic was “God’s heart for the Lost.” He was a very simple man. When he was about 30, he put his faith in Christ and slowly taught himself how to read. He had only studied in school up to Class Two.
As I taught that week, he listened keenly. I shared about God’s desire for all to be saved. At the end of the week, he committed to take the good news to a nomadic unreached people in his nation who were hunters and gatherers. He moved to where they lived and began to build relationships with people from this group.
They listened to his message but they were not ready to receive it. He told stories from the Bible of how Jesus healed the sick and set people free from demonic power. They listened but didn’t want to commit to this new “foreigner’s” religion. Then one day it all changed.
Many of the villagers were suffering from sickness. About fifty families had become ill. Jeremiah went to talk with the village chief. Expressing his concern, he offered to pray to Jesus for healing. As he laid his hands on the chief and his family, strange things happened. A type of flying insect came out of the skin of the man and others in the village. Once this happened, the entire village recovered fully.
The chief was convinced. Within a few weeks, he called a meeting and the entire village decided to put their faith in Jesus. If He loved them and could heal them, they would give their lives to Him. On one day more than 50 adults obeyed Christ’s command and were baptized! A new church was born!
We read stories like this and get excited. We want these things to happen in our people group. Yet, we still feel cautious.
What makes you hesitant to pray for the sick?
3 Things That Block The Release Of Healing
1. Unbelief.
This sin isn’t easy to identify. For me, it isn’t that I don’t believe God can heal. It is that I doubt whether He will heal through me. In the book “The Essential Guide to Healing,” Randy Clark writes about “Unbelieving believers and believing unbelievers.” How often as believers, we slip into unbelief! I know I have been guilty of this! My words say I believe, but my actions show something different.
The good news for multiplication is that often the unreached around us are often more quick to believe the Word of God than we are! Crazy, isn’t it?
When we share scripture and stories of what Jesus did when He was here on earth and tell them God’s word is true today…they believe us! God loves the faith of new believers and seekers. He often releases miracles in response.
Could you be struggling with unbelief?
2. Prayerlessness.
Jesus’ disciples tried in Matthew 17 to cast out a demon, but they could not. Why? Jesus told them that this kind only came out through prayer and fasting. It isn’t a magic formula- I pray more and God will heal more. It is a principle to follow. As we spend more time in prayer, in God’s Presence, connected to the vine, abiding in Him…demonstrations of power flow out of us. He lives in us more fully. His works flow out of us more freely.
Could it be that you need to pray a bit more?
3. Timidity.
Sometimes we are afraid to take a risk of faith. We are hesitant to ask someone if we can pray for them. This is especially true when you are praying for something more than a common cold! You see someone in a wheelchair. All kinds of reasons enter your mind as to why you shouldn’t offer to pray for them. So we don’t. Sometimes even when we feel a prompting by the Holy Spirit to do so, we ignore or dismiss it.
2 Timothy 1:7- “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”– New Living Translation
Could it be that fear is greater in your life than faith?
Ask God to help you overcome fear and to fill you with His love, His power, and the self-discipline to obey His command to heal the sick around you.
Your act of risky faith may catalyze a new movement in your village, city, or area! It has happened in many other places.
Why not where you are? Why not today?
*Name has been changed.
Comments
God bless you for sending me important materials.
You mentioned three reasons. However, is it not true that miracles were limited in Jesus’ hometown due to unbelief?
Mark 6:5- 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6He was amazed at their lack of faith.”to do miracles among His townspeople.
I pray and fast weekly but rarely see healing in my westcoast Canadian secular context.
Thoughts?
Author
Hi Steve. Thanks for your question. How often do you pray for or engage with the sick? I was told once that if we pray for 100 sick people, we will see some healed. The next several hundred we will see more, and each time we will see more. I believe our own faith is involved as well as the faith of the person we pray for. There’s no formula, but I agree that faith is a factor. In your context, what is impacting the lack of faith? What could you do to increase faith in those you pray for? Scriptures, testimonies of healing, etc. Just a few off the cuff thoughts to consider.
God bless you for the word of encouragement to our faith, you boost my faith and it is fact.my people are perishing because of lack of knowledge.
Thanks for this revelation, very impartful.
Thank you so much for sharing this withme.
The message is very powerful. Amen. What stops us from working miracles.
I have found out that I am timid. Please pray with me that I boldly do the promptings if the Holy spirit.
Amen
Yes, I believe that healing is really important in making disciples. Without this ministry you look like there’s something lacking in you as God’s steward for healing the sick. Besides, people within reached expect you that God brought you for a reason, and one of the reason is for their healing both their physical and spiritual sicknesses. So this is important.
Blessings sister Cynthia Anderson and k. Sutter.
That’s true!
Thank you sister Cynthia for the encouragement, really we need to work towards the demonstration of God’s power as disciplemakers
Praise God!
I a Pastor called by God, but I have disobeyed His instructions. He had healed the sicks through me, but He wanted to magnify Himself through me in Guinea, where lived when l was a refugee while serving Him. He led me to touch the eyes of a blind lady who was very serviceable in the Lord’s house. Each time the Lord speaks to me to touch this Lady’s eyes to open, l was always scared. This happened on many occasions, most especially in a huge conference outside of our Camp, l disobeyed. I have returned to my Country and the lady died without seeing. I am always guilty when l think of this and still in such a fear. May God forgive me.
Author
IF you’ve asked for forgiveness, He has given it. Receive it and start afresh. Don’t live in self-condemnation but move forward in faith.
This message has really spoken heaps in my heart. I am moved to take some sort of action so that I will take this gift of healing in my town. Many times that sense of timidity and unbelief has limited me from taking action even when I feel prompted. I receive the spirit love, power and self-discipline to do your will Father. Thank you so much for sharing this incredible message.
I’m interesting I’m naeem from Pakistan I’m afraid to apply
Author
Why are you afraid?
Yes! It’s because we always find a lot of things that destruct us from God but we should always forget that.
“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (John 17:11, 14–15.)
My grettings to you from West Africa Liberia🇱🇷
I really want to be part of your ministry, I want you to pleas me teach me more about jesus
Author
It’s wonderful that you want to learn more about Jesus! He is so amazing!!! You are most welcome to join our community of disciple-makers. We are all volunteers so working with us is fully voluntary. The entry point to our community is to take one of our online courses. You can find out more about those at courses.dmmsfrontiermissions.com
It’s great exposition for sure faith in Gods word is a powerful tool through which God manifest Himself on our behalf
Thank you for your inspiring message,.my desire is continue knowing and working with God.To make disciples in my village and the sick to be healed as Christ healed me form cancer a few years ago.I know Christ can also do it to others.Thanks again.
Author
You are welcome Ann.
Thank you for the message.We started going to 2 houses who were relatives.We i.e myself and my team member.I introduced and spoke about Christ and about the love of God .She said she belonged to a church naming it and Speaking about the priest.My partner also said more about the Lord.She accepted Christ and we left.It was a family that had a lot of needs.Then we went to another where there are many but only the grand mother and one grand child was interested the rest were in and out.No respect and difficult grand children.The two accepted the Lord.Wr prayed for the sick grand mother
She was healed according to herself and we left.Next time we went which was two weeks ago the grand mother was sick.I shared the word and we prayed.W ofe were 3 this time.We prayed for healing and there after I suggested that she go for assessment at the clinic as she was dehydrated.Before she had a bath she refused to go to the clinic saying she was healed.Okay she was able to walk by herself.On wednesday week before last she passed on.I had to ask one Pastor to help with the burial as they fid not have a Pastor or church.This weekend we did not go will go again.The grand children were out of order drinking beer at the grave site before the grave was closed.It was bad.The grand mother was drinking but she accepted Christ but passed on very quick.To me she was asked.This was to be the place for church house I believe it will be.I still feel our church ministry will continue as there are very serious problems and Christ want us to tell people about His kingdom.Amen.
Author
Thank you for sharing Elizabeth and for all you are doing to love the broken and lost in your area, and make disciples. May God continue to annoint and strengthen you! Have you considered or already taken our online course called Getting Started in Disciple Making Movements?