Subscribe to Every Post:Divine Healing
This week one of our house churches will be laying hands on a man who is losing his eyesight. He requested prayer for healing. This request and the prayer that will be offered by the house church is a great example of bringing heaven to earth – pursuing the advancement of God’s kingdom.
We have been talking recently about covenant and kingdom. Covenant is about the relationship God has established with us by his grace and the new identity he has given us as his child. Kingdom is about representing God on the earth as he shares his authority and power with us to advance his will on the earth and war against the kingdom of darkness.
Author and leader Mike Breen calls this the double helix of Scripture. Covenant and Kingdom are two major themes that run throughout the DNA of Scripture from beginning to end.
When this house church meets this week and lays hands on this gentleman for healing, this is a prayer to bring heaven to earth. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he told them to pray, “your KINGDOM come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10)
We know that losing eyesight or any other physical challenge is the direct result of living in a fallen world. Sin and the works of Satan’s kingdom bring death and disease. Sickness was not a part of God’s original creation and it will not be a reality when believers live in the new heaven and new earth.
Our friend will one day be completely healed and will have perfect eyesight when he lives on the new earth forever in glory. In the meantime, while we live in this life, God has given his covenant people the authority and power to bring his kingdom here on the earth. This is why we lay hands on people and pray for healing (by the way Jesus and the disciples used the practice of laying on hands as a symbolic gesture of God’s power). God may or may not bring immediate healing, that is up to him, but he will eventually bring the healing, and if he does it immediately, it serves as an example and foretaste of what is to come.
I want to encourage you as you gather with your communities of faith that you pray, lay hands on one another, and seek to bring God’s heaven to earth, not only in the area of physical healing, but in all the other areas of God’s will in heaven. This is what it means to be people who bring God’s kingdom to earth.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Chris,
I first just wanted to let you know that my wife and I are totally on board with your blog. This is something that we definately believe in and continue to do. Laying on of hands is scriptual and not something to be feared. Speaking in tounges is something that I am continuing to work on. First off, some background info, I grew up in a home where my mother is a “Jesus Freak!”, she loves the Lord with all her heart and soul and isn’t afraid to let the world know, so it should come as no surprise that she often spoke in toungues and prayed in the Holy Ghost. I have had hands laid upon me numerous times for different things and I truly belive in the power of the Holy Ghost. We have involved our children that when they are in pain or hurt that medical attention is good, but that the great physician is even better. They have both allowed me to pray for them and lay hands on them. My wife also has been praying in toungues and strongly believes in the power of laying on of hands.
I just wanted to let you know that God is real and of course you know this, but the direction that you and your family are headed is only by the prompting of the Holy Spirit and I truly believe that you are going to see miracles and things that you cannot explain happen, and it is only thru the power of the Holy Spirit that they do.
I really enjoyed reading your blog, and this makes me exited that our pastor believes in the laying on of hands and speaking in toungues.
God Bless!
March 12th, 2009 at 10:56 am
I wasn’t going to reply on this one, I don’t want to be a ( blog hog) ha ha. Phillip: what a great testimony and it’s great that you are seeking God for all that he has. Some times the excitment of a Jesus Freak kinda rubbs off. A quick testimony of healing that just happened in my own life, that our house church leader and some other saints knew about was 3 weeks ago. I felt pressue in my chest, and I have never had a heart attack but this did not get any better with not only that but I was light headed and totally worn out all the time. My wife was praying for me and I know our house church leader Tim was praying for me and very concerened and I appreciate that. I went to visit a person in our church one night that is in a wheel chair and there was a lady there from Africa that was taking care of him. Well we got into singing some songs that I learned from the scriptures and having a great time in the Lord when I asked her to lay hands on me and pray for me. Well she did that with alot of Jesus Freak zeal and said John Jesus has healed you. I received that by faith and looked to God to start moving in my life. Well things did not change over night but got a little worse. I tried in this time to very sensitive to God and what he wanted me to do. About a week latter after good night’s rest I notice that something had moved for me and I stated getting better every day. It has been about a month now and the pain is gone and I’m feeling alot better. Praise God that he had great mercy on me that I can continue to do the work in his Kingom. Father I pray even now that the mercy and kindness that you had towards me, you will show your mercy, grace and kindness to other members in our body at Grace Gathering to bring Glory to your name. js