WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHO, WHEN
Jesus instructed His disciples to: preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. All sickness, disease and disability were considered forms of satanic oppression; therefore, in freeing people from them Jesus demonstrated the presence of the kingdom of God.
Three elements of healing are mentioned in the New Testament [Anointing with Oil (James 5:14; Mark 6:13), Laying on of Hands (Mark 16:18; Acts 28:8) and Prayer (James 5:14; Acts 28:8)]. The early church combined these three elements into a single activity with the objective of healing.
Glossolalia and/or occult spirituality may be counterproductive.
Almighty God, who inspired Your servant Luke the Physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of Your Son: Graciously continue in Your Church the love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of Your Name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
In Luke 9:1-2; Mark 6:7,12-13 and Mat 10:1,7-8, Jesus said to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. This instruction was given to the twelve. In Luke 10:1, 8-9, 17, Jesus said to heal the sick who are there and tell them the kingdom of God is near you. This instruction was given to the seventy-two. All this was taking place against the backdrop of the great war between God and Satan.
A theme that underlies the entire ministry of Jesus Christ is the apocalyptic assumption that God is battling Satan for all creation and the souls of all mankind. Jesus understood Himself to be the one in whom this battle was to be played out in a decisive way. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and establish God’s domain. This objective was accomplished when God the Son allowed Himself to be crucified (Heb 2:14) as the only possible sacrifice to generate the reconciliation, expiation and propitiation that took place between God and His creation and God and the souls of all mankind. The death of Jesus Christ occurred at a specific time and place (John 19:30); but the consequences of this substitutionary atonement instantly exploded throughout Heaven, Hell, and the universe, throughout all that has been, all that is and all that ever will be.
By the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, all creation was redeemed from the bondage of evil and each soul was offered redemption from the bondage of sin. But Satan was not a willing seller and is at war with God to retain possession. The outcome of the struggle was completely decided by the substitutionary atonement. Yet few would claim Jesus has set His corrupted creation free from the influence of Satan or set redeemed souls free from the influence of sin. Evil continues to rage; the world, at every level, is at war. Christians are on the front lines of this Great War between good and evil whether we like it or not. As we stand side by side with Jesus in this war, the suffering of the Christian soldier has a meaning and value to God commensurate with this titanic spiritual struggle of the ages.
The text in chapters 9 and 10 of Luke and the unique roll of healing in the great war between good and evil seem to suggest that the instruction to heal the sick is just as universal, for each Christian and the church as a whole, as the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
The human body is a part of creation and is, therefore, redeemed or set free from the bondage of evil by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. But the human body, like all creation, has not been redeemed from the influence of evil and is a prime target for Satan and his minions. Satan’s diabolical, structural and pervasive influence can only be effectively opposed by prayer.
Every healing by Jesus marked an advance toward establishing the kingdom of God over and against the kingdom of Satan. In contrast with any view suggesting that disease and disability somehow serve a divine purpose, Jesus always viewed them as the work of the enemy. He consistently treated diseased and disabled people as casualties of war. Furthermore, rather than accepting their circumstances as mysteriously fitting into God's sovereign plan, Jesus revolted against these circumstances as something that God did not will and something that ought to be vanquished by God's power. All sickness, disease and disability were considered forms of satanic oppression, and so in freeing people from them Jesus demonstrated the presence of the kingdom of God. (Boyd, p 35-37)
The Healing Activity should be administered to those characterized by: broken relationships, emotional distress, sickness, disease, injury, disability, seeking God’s guidance, loneliness, anxiousness, despondency, desperation, hopelessness and fear.
Anytime!
(See also Sections 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 of Theology Corner)
