Finding the healing touch of Jesus

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.– Psalm 103:1-2 KJV

James, the half-brother of Jesus, said, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well: the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15).

“OK,” you ask, “then why don’t we do this today?” The answer is probably because of our awkwardness and fear. We refuse to be identified with unconventional preachers who run healing services like performers at a circus. Or maybe we’d rather talk about how God has blessed us with medical science through which He heals humanity, because we lack the confidence that anything significant would really happen if we pray over and anoint another with oil.

“Healing,” says Charles Farr, whose ministry has touched the lives of thousands of hurting people, “is any sign of God’s kingdom in a person’s life – not necessarily an answer to every medical or physical need.”

“Healing in Scripture,” he says, “does not refer to becoming as you were; it is becoming what you should be.”

Physical healing alone should never be the focal point of our worship. Following proclamation and teaching, healing of all kinds should be the result of the Holy Spirit’s touch on the lives of hurting people. For any pain and suffering in our lives today, God is still the only medicine.

Used with permission from Guidelines Philippines, Inc. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, please write to Box 4000, 1280 Makati City, Philippines or e-mail address [email protected]. You may also visit our website at www.guidelines.org.