A healing service

Yesterday we had a healing service at church. It was pretty neat, I thought. Chris started out giving a general overview of how, in the beginning, we were created with perfect bodies and in a perfect world (Genesis 2:1-3). Then in Genesis 3 sin entered the world and affected everyone and everything. However, in Revelation 21:1-5 we read how, in the end, Jesus will once again make all things right. We are currently living in that in-between time and long for that perfection. Every now and then we see little glimpses of it... a taste of what it will be like... small droplets of Grace... breakthroughs of heaven... (I like that, "droplets of Grace." And I'm not sure why my Kindle insists on capitalizing Grace...).

Anyway, Chris then gave us these 5 specific principles of supernatural healing. Sometimes people are healed in natural ways and sometimes in supernatural ways. Regardless, it all comes from God. Here are the 5 principles:

1. You must desire and ask to be healed. Matthew 20:29-34.

2. Healing might be instantaneous, or it may take time. Mark 8:22-25. Pray for healing until one of three things happens: the person is healed, Jesus returns, or they are healed at death. The purpose of healing is not permanence, it is to give us a taste of heaven.

3. Healing requires some amount of faith and belief in God's power (even if it's only a little). Matthew 7; Daniel 3:17-18. Faith is a mystery and requires that we be confident but not presumptuous (per the Daniel passage).

4. Those not healed are heroes in heavens sight. Hebrews 11:36-40. If they didn't receive healing on earth they will be welcomed into the applause of heaven for what they had to endure.

5. Every believer can be trained to pray for healing. Luke 10:8-9; acts 9:17-18. Jesus was a portal to heaven, now we are portals to heaven too.

So, Chris ended by very thoroughly showing us exactly how to pray for someone for healing. Then he asked all those who wanted healing to stand. Maybe a fourth of the people there did (including me). Then he asked everyone else to look around, and those willing to pray to go and find someone to pray for. Once everyone who had asked for healing had someone to pray for them, he said to pray... and they did.

Caleb prayed for me. I told him I wanted healing for the plantar fasciitis in my right foot, for the strength to stop smoking, and healing for my heart - to take away the pain and bitterness. He put his hand on my shoulder and prayed. The music people played several songs, then we eventually drew things to a close.

I thought it was a great service. Plus it was so ironic after the post I put up yesterday ASKING for prayer. I had forgotten all about that we were doing that this Sunday. So, so far I have went two days without a cigarette. It hasn't really been too bad even. Who knows, maybe prayer does work.