Chapter 14: Beginning to Minister
I’d like to share with you some strategies you may choose to use while ministering to others. Although some of what I present is only opinion, it is based on personal experience; and it’s felt that these pointers may prove useful to you too. You see, the Bible doesn’t give complete details on what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is and what it feels like; it doesn’t tell how to rebuke demons; and it doesn’t explain the best method for healing diseases. Although the Scriptures speak of these things, nowhere does it give “how-to” instructions. This lack of detail explains why these skills were lost to the church for so long. Now we today have to rediscover the skills and methods through trial and error. So as part of this section on practical applications I’ll give some suggestions based on what we’ve learned through our experiences.
I mentioned earlier that once you have the HS dwelling within you and you’re being transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus, there will arise in you a desire to help others and to minister to them. Once this happens you’ll find yourself praying for their needs and laying hands on them to bless them.
You have been learning that when praying for someone it’s important to place your hands on them. You have the HS within you in strong measure. They either don’t have the HS, or have Him in only a small amount. By placing hands on them, you’re transferring holy energy to them — for healing, for the HS, and for other blessings.
LAYING HANDS
Mt 9:18. “A certain ruler came and worshiped saying, ‘My daughter is dead; but come and lay hands on her and she shall live.’”
Mk 6:5(b). “He laid His hands on a few sick folk and healed them.”
Ac 8:18. “Simon saw that through the laying on of the Apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given.”
1Tm 4:14. “Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given by prophecy and the laying on of hands.”
Remember this rule (it has two parts): You can’t pass what you don’t have; &, You can pass what you do have. There are several points to be learned from this rule. First, you can’t pass the HS if you don’t first have the HS. Second, you need to have an abundance of HS in order to share Him. If you only have a small measure and try to pass that along, once you feel it leaving, you might instinctively try to grab it back; you may even take back more than you were hoping to give. Third, if you have an evil spirit with you while you pray, you can pass on negative effects rather than positive ones; and the person will begin to experience problems they didn’t have before you touched them. Realize that when someone asks for prayer, they are opening up their spirit to receive what you’re offering to give; they are very receptive and are not in a position to be discriminating. If at the same time, you don’t know your true spiritual condition, then you may unwittingly do more harm than good.
UNCLEAN
SPIRITS
Lk 9:54-55. “James & John said, ‘Lord shall we command fire to come from heaven & consume them?’ But Jesus rebuked them and said, ‘You don’t know what kind of spirit you have.’”
2Cr 11:3-4. “I fear lest, as the serpent beguiled Eve, so your minds should be corrupted … by one coming preaching another Jesus, or giving another spirit…”
Related to this last point, I’d also like to stress the importance of checking the spiritual condition of those who may ask to be a prayer warrior along side of you. As people see you praying for others and experiencing a degree of success, there will be many who will ask if they can help you pray for others. When this happens, before giving them an affirmative answer, ask the HS if you should let them join you. If He tells you, “No”; then you’re going to have to find some way to decline their request.
Before learning of this possibility, our prayer team had several occasions where the following events happened. Someone who wanted to be a prayer warrior, but whose spiritual life was troubled by an evil spirit, joined us (uninvited) in praying for several sick people. Each of the patients touched by the troubled one then began experiencing the same negative symptoms from which the new prayer warrior was himself suffering. The prayer team then had to go back to each patient and pray with them at greater length than before; first to free them from the new evil spirit, then to address again the disease for which they originally called us. Be alert; be careful. Listen to what the HS is telling you. Don’t let someone join you if something is making you uncomfortable with them.
This is a very serious endeavor on which you are embarking; and you must give it due consideration and importance. You are taking people’s lives into your hands: not only their physical lives in this world, but also their spiritual lives in the next. Don’t take it lightly. You are seeking to become a warrior in a great spiritual battle. As you begin attacking Satan’s realm and gaining victories here and there, you are going to come under his attack yourself. You may see your personal situation take a turn for the worse. Or, the attacks against you may be indirect; your family members and friends may begin suffering from new problems, or you may see people you’ve healed suddenly succumb again. This is to attempt to cause you to doubt your experiences so that you will stop engaging in battle. Don’t be deceived; when you are full of the HS, you are effective. But you need to learn how the Enemy operates, then adjust your strategy accordingly. Also, realize that as in any war, there are going to be casualties; that is, you are going to see people die. Know this in advance, and brace for it. You also need to be close to the HS so He can help you accept and understand the hard events.
SPIRITUAL BATTLING & LIFE SAVING
Ep 6:12. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against … the rulers of darkness in this world and spiritual wickedness in high places.”
1Tm 4:16. “Take heed to yourself and doctrine; continue in them, for in doing this you shall save both yourself and others that hear you.”
Jd 1:23. “Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.”
Ja 5:20. “He which converteth a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death.”
Now let’s get back to laying hands to bless and heal others. You will learn that it’s not enough just to pray for someone then send them on their way. You must also prepare them to withstand the Enemy when he comes to take away whatever good you’ve just given them. Warn them; educate them; ready them; for the Enemy will come to them after you’ve gone so he can try to get them back in his clutches. Let them know that they, too, can command the enemy to go away and leave them alone. Every child of God can order the Enemy to leave them alone; if only they have the presence of mind to do so. Don’t think only in physical terms; also strengthen them spiritually. This is done the same way — laying hands & giving as much HS as you have to give.
KEEP THE BLESSING
Lk 11:13(b). “How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the HS to them that ask Him?”
Mt 13:19. “When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in the heart.”
Don’t worry when, as you are giving the HS to someone, you feel as though you are being completely drained spiritually. That is normal. If that happens, the HS will give you a new measure; and even more than you had before. The more you give away the more you’ll receive back again.
Before going to pray with someone, you should be spending a lot of time in your own prayers. Recall that Jesus spent entire nights in prayer in order to be able to heal during the days. You must be prepared and spiritually strong before trying to bless someone else. It is possible to become so busy praying for others that you don’t have any time to pray for yourself. This is bad! Your own prayer life is most important; don’t neglect it. Remember, you can’t give what you don’t have. So don’t let your own prayer connection grow weak.
HEARING THE HOLY SPIRIT
Those who are still new in the BHS experience may be wondering how you can do all the things you are learning about. How does one know what to do? How does one hear the HS?
Once you begin sensing the physical manifestations of the BHS, you have a powerful tool to help in your prayers. Once you start receiving some type of physical sensation, you can use this to tell when He is “there” and when He is not. Of course, He is always there; but He doesn’t always make Himself felt. So when I speak of the Holy Spirit being with you, I’m referring to Him manifesting His presence to you in a tangible and physical manner. By paying attention to these sensations you can start using them to communicate with Him.
In the beginning of the BHS experience you can use these sensations in three main ways:
1) If He is there, then your relationship with Him is OK; if He’s not, there is something you need to correct in order to bring Him back. You will be able to sense when He has left because of something you’ve done to break the connection.
2) If He’s there, but it feels like He’s pulled back; you can take that as an indication that there are evil spirits near by. In this situation you need to rebuke them and order them to leave. You can say this softly; but it must be out loud, because they can’t read your mind.
3) When you feel He is there strongly; you can begin asking a series of “Yes & No” questions (Y/N). A strong sensation from Him in response to your question is an affirmative answer; an absence of sensation in response to your question is a negative answer; and a weak sensation indicates a problem with how you’re phrasing the question. With a series of questions from general to specific you can, with practice, get a fairly clear grasp of God’s desires for you.
Later in your experience, after you’ve grown good at conversing with Him through physical sensations and Y/N questions, He will move you to where you begin to hear Him almost audibly. Then your questions can become more sophisticated, and the answers will be more complete; at this stage you will have fewer misunderstandings of what He’s trying to tell you.
When I say you hear Him “almost audibly”, note that it’s ‘almost’ audible. What you hear are thoughts in your mind that seem to be in your voice. Yet when you ask if it’s just you talking to yourself, the HS lets you know the message is coming from Him. While you’re still new at hearing His voice, you may fall back on looking for the physical manifestation of His presence and use Y/N Q’s to give confirmation of what you’ve just heard. But with practice you become able to recognize His voice and understand the things He tells you.
Once you’re spiritually strong, you can go to pray for others. When you enter the room of the one to receive prayer, check again your connection with the HS. If, as you enter the room, you feel the HS within you seeming to weaken, then you can know that there is an evil spirit present which you will have to rebuke. The weakening of the HS doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong; it’s meant as a sign that there is an evil spirit nearby. Find it and deal with it.
You may find you are like many people when they first begin to fight the Enemy, and you may feel it difficult to say to the person, “There seems to be an evil spirit present.” But if you fight the temptation to say nothing and instead let them know, many times you’ll find they are already aware of it, to some degree. When we tell people this we often get the response, “Oh; well that explains a lot of things. I knew there was something wrong; something strange.” Of course, you must be tactful. Don’t say, “I think you’re possessed!” But if you say something like, “There is an evil spirit troubling you.”; it is easier for you to say and easier for them to hear.
Even so, be aware that there will be some people who get very upset when you tell them they’re bothered by demons. They think this can’t possibly happen to them! This is because of the concepts and images they have from the way movies and TV present demon-possession. Also, they think there’s a stigma attached to being bothered by Satan. They think this only happens to evil people. But actually it’s the reverse; Satan attacks those who are trying hard to get closer to God. The ones that are already under his control, he doesn’t need to bother with any further.
You may rebuke the demon and command it to leave as soon as you become aware of it. However, the chances are high that later during your prayer you’ll feel it come back. This happens when the person unwittingly invites it back. So in those situations where you find an active and persistent demonic presence, you’re going to have to discuss with the person the possible causes for the presence and help the person resolve the underlying issue.
Don’t get discouraged if you find the demon or the disease to be more persistent than you are. Just plan on having multiple prayer sessions to address everything. Also invite more experienced prayer warriors to join you. All of us encounter situations where our fighting alone isn’t enough, and we need to call on others to help.
I mentioned that there may be times when you sense the presence of evil spirits nearby. It may happen that you walk into a room and are suddenly struck with a powerful negative force that’s heavy and oppressive, and which seems to instantly blow away your sense of peace and well-being. Or it may happen that at first you don’t sense any problem, but as you pray for someone you gradually become aware that something is disturbing your thoughts as you’re trying to pass a blessing to the person. Whatever the means may be that you become aware of the presence of an evil spirit, you should address the demon at the earliest convenient time. Don’t leave it there to keep bothering you or to discourage the person for whom you are praying. You may have to talk with the other person a bit first, to let them know what you have to do; but don’t leave the house without having done all you can to get the demon out of there.
Once you are successful at making the demon leave, you should feel the atmosphere in the room lighten. This is a bit hard to describe; you’ll have to experience it to fully understand. But let me give it a try. You know the sensation of lying in a dark room with your eyes closed, then someone turns on the light. Even with your eyes closed, you can tell that the light has come on. You can see a bit of light coming through your eyelids even though they’re closed. Well, when the spiritual feeling in a room lightens, it’s like the place is suddenly brighter in some way, even though you don’t “see” the difference with your eyes. You feel it with a different sense.
If you start experiencing any of the above sensations, take note of them. The ability to sense the presence of evil spirits grows stronger with practice. Also being able to do so will make your ministry more effective; because you will be better able to direct your efforts. As you pray, you will know if you are dealing with a physical problem, an emotional problem, or a demon.
To be able to pass along the HS, or healing power, or life energy, or some other blessing, you should be full of the HS and full of that power yourself. Yes; it is possible to pass along blessings by faith; even when for some reason you’re not feeling the HS in you powerfully. However, the results will be more pronounced and longer lasting when you pray for people while you are fully “charged”, so to speak.
Having full power requires knowing your position before God. You have to know you’re a son or daughter. You have to know the HS is within you in great measure. You have to know you have dominion. You have to know that demons and diseases flee at your command. You must know what power there is in your words and in your touch.
KNOWING WHO YOU ARE
Ro 8:14, 16. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God … the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.”
Mt 10:1. “When He had called unto Him twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases.”
Mk 16:17-18. “These signs shall follow them that believe, in My name they shall cast out devils … they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.”
Lk 9:1. “He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases.”
Jn 1:12. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”
Jn 15:7-8. “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.”
All these things come not through trying to convince yourself that you have them; they come through the HS revealing them to you. He says, “You now are this”; or, “You now have that.” Receiving these messages, these new blessings, comes through complete surrender and dedication to the HS. If at any point you find you’re not steadily advancing to ever higher levels, then you need to take time to re-examine your spiritual condition. For no matter where we are in our growth, the whisperings of the Enemy and our own inertia keep causing us to run into preconceived ideas or limitations in our ability to understand just how much we can do.
There is no end point in our spiritual development. There is no level where you finally say, “I have it all!” Your growth will continue indefinitely. The only variable is the speed at which we continue growing. As the Bible says in 2Cr 3:18, “We all … beholding the glory of the Lord … are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.” What we need to focus on is learning as much as possible at each new stage, and progressing from level to level as rapidly as we can.
The more you learn and the more you have of the HS, the greater will be your abilities and your successes. As you gain new talents and power, your mind will open to ever greater possibilities. That is, the more you can do, the more you want to go even further. We want to progress until we’re perfectly transformed into the image of Jesus; doing what He could do; just as He promised us. Jn 14:12, “The works that I do shall [you] do also; and greater works than these shall [you] do.” Just keep growing!
THE “DANIEL PRINCIPLE”
I’d like to speak to you a few minutes about what I term, the “Daniel Principle”. Daniel 9:1-4 reads, “In the first year of Darius … I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes”.
Skipping down several verses, Daniel 9:20-23 reads, “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and making my request to the Lord my God for His holy hill — while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision came to me in swift flight and said, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given which I have come to tell you; for you are highly esteemed.’”
Like all the people of his time, Daniel was looking for deliverance from captivity and the restoration of Jerusalem. But even though he was very busy with his job handling the affairs of state, he never got too busy to continue studying the Bible and to spend lots of time in prayer.
Daniel understood that the time had come for the promised blessing. But knowing that it was time, he didn’t just wait passively hoping that God would automatically do what He had said. Instead, Daniel began to fast and pray for the promise to be fulfilled. Even though God had given a promise, Daniel understood that promises are usually conditional. Thus he began to pray that the condition might be met so that the promise could be fulfilled.
Likewise, we today are awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise to give us the “Latter Rain”(LR). We know that the LR has been promised; we know that when it comes we, Jesus’ latter disciples, will be able to do the miracles of Jesus’ early disciples; we understand that this NOW is the time for the LR to fall. But unlike Daniel, too many of us are waiting idly for things to happen by themselves. This is a mistake! We must follow Daniel’s example. We must fast and pray for the LR; and we must study and learn all we can to be able to work effectively with it once the LR comes. What we are learning about the BHS and the gifts of healing IS our means of preparation. “The falling of the LR” is another way of saying “the outpouring of the HS”; and this is what we are learning about and praying for — the outpouring of the HS in a measure similar to that given to the early disciples on the “day of Pentecost”. We are also learning how to use the gifts in the measure we have already, so that we will know what to do once we have them in full measure.
Use
the Daniel Principle: don’t just wait for an expected event to
come; prepare for it and pray. Be like Daniel. Use this time to
ready yourself and to pray to God that the conditions will be met so
that the LR of the HS will be poured out in fullness.
THE PRAYER OF FAITH & THE “FATHER’S BUSINESS” PRAYER
Next I’d like to talk to you a bit about how to pray. In earlier lessons we’ve talked about “the Prayer of Faith”(PoF) and “the Father’s Business Prayer”(FBP). However, since there may still be some confusion about these two prayers; I’d like to go over them again to clarify a bit.
We have mentioned that you will begin by using the PoF; then, as you grow proficient, you will use the FBP. Some people may feel that feel that these two prayers are so different from each other that they don’t understand when to use which, or what to do in one situation or the other or both. But in actuality, these two types of prayer have distinct similarities.
Both the PoF and the FBP have two basic elements — 1) Pray until you know God’s will; and 2) Speak to the problem. These elements are the same for both prayers; although they will look different due to the experience of the user.
In the PoF, the first element, praying until you know God’s will, involves several steps, and takes almost all of the prayer time. First you pray for forgiveness for yourself; then you find a promise; then you meet the conditions; then you pray for the patient’s forgiveness; then you claim the promise on their behalf; finally you wait for an assurance from God that this promise can be applied here and that He has accepted your intercession.
Once you get an assurance from God, you know His will; so you have then completed the first element of the prayer. You then go to the second element: speaking to the problem. For the beginner, this part is new and uncomfortable. Many feel that if they speak too boldly, they might be presumptuous; so they don’t spend much time on this part. They tell the patient that God has heard their prayer, that the answer has been granted, and now they just need to wait in faith until the prayer is fulfilled. The beginning prayer warrior then stops here and goes home. They might check later to see if there has been a result yet; and if not, encourage the patient to continue waiting in faith. This represents many Prayers of Faith.
The FBP has the same two basic elements, but the amount of time spent on each is different. Whereas the PoF spends a lot of time on the first element and only a little on the second; the FBP spends only a short time on the first element and a lot on the second. This is why they appear different.
The FBP, as the other, looks to know God’s will. But because of lots of experience in claiming promises and seeing God’s willingness to heal, the prayer warrior can abbreviate this step to just a few minutes. The prayer warrior then enacts the second element of the prayer — speaking to the problem.
The prayer warrior can speak with great confidence, first because he or she knows it’s God’s will to heal; and secondly because he or she is familiar with the invitation God has given for His children to “come boldly to the throne of grace”, and to speak “confidently” in His name.
(ref.: He 4:16. “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, so we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.” 1 Jn 5:14-15 “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commandments and do what pleases Him.”)
The experienced prayer warrior likes to spend a lot of time on this second element of the prayer because he or she has learned that this is the most powerful time of the prayer. The prayer warrior’s faith and boldness opens a channel for the HS to flow into the patient; and this flow brings the desired healing. As long as the prayer warrior stays there praising God, the patient continues to be filled with the HS. Also, as the patient hears the prayer warrior’s faith and assurances, this helps build the patient’s own faith as well.
Many times the infilling of the HS and the patient’s faith is such that a result is seen immediately. Even so, this doesn’t happen in every case. So the building of the patient’s faith is helpful for him or her to then be able to remain in confidence themselves as they wait for the healing, which has now already begun, to be taken to completion.
The prayer warrior will also ask an opportunity to pray with the patient again. This is not because the first prayer wasn’t effective; but because the prayer warrior wants the healing process to be quickened. The more HS you give, the sooner the healing will be completed. The prayer warrior is also concerned that the healing be firmly established so that the patient doesn’t lose it somehow. Healing can be lost either by the Enemy coming to steal away their faith in the healing; or by the patient returning to the same things that caused the illness in the first place. The prayer warrior must work to try to prevent both of these eventualities.
An example of the first possibility might go as follows. You pray for a sick person until you get an assurance that he is healed. The sick person also feels that the Holy Spirit has done something to help him, and he believes that he will get well. However, after you leave, something happens to shake the person’s faith. A friend comes over to visit and tells him he looks very weak. The recovering one relates that he has been prayed over, but the friend only laughs at this; so he begins to doubt a little. Later that evening he feels a little bit of the old pain again, so he starts to doubt a little more. It isn’t too long before he is calling the prayer warrior to say that the prayer didn’t work, the experience he had during the prayer was just coincidence, and he is now even sicker than before the prayer.
Examples of the second possibility might be someone healed of cancer who then goes back to smoking or someone healed of depression who continues to dwell on past circumstances. The prayer warrior is well advised to follow up with the healed person for at least a couple of visits to help ensure that their faith stays strong in spite of what they might feel or the discouraging words of well-meaning friends; and to persuade the healed one to give up any sins or bad habits which caused or contributed to the disease in the first place.
ON FORGIVING SINS
Jn 20:23, “Whosesoever sins you forgive, shall be forgiven; but whosesoever sins you retain, shall be retained.”
We as humans are naturally judgmental. It seems to be part of our preservation mechanism. But being less than perfect, we are often less than fair in some of our decisions. For example, we judge ourselves softly, but judge others harshly. When weighing a penalty for ourselves or loved ones, we rationalize giving no more than a slap on the wrist; but when considering a punishment for someone we don’t like, we go beyond what fits the crime.
As we submit ourselves to Jesus and become filled with the Holy Spirit, our attitude becomes more forgiving of others and more closely matches Jesus’ attitude toward sinners. We come to recognize that we shouldn’t criticize others for having the same weaknesses we’ve suffered.
When you’re praying with someone it is often the case that you learn of their sins and mistakes; either by them telling you or through the HS letting you know. You will also frequently see that there is a link between their actions and the problem which they are experiencing. As you learn of their sins and guilt, and see the connections, you will likely experience one of several feelings.
1) You may feel a strong desire to forgive that person and lift their guilt from them. If you have this reaction, please feel free to declare your willingness to forgive. You may think you’re not able to speak for God; but you can at least speak for yourself. Declare your willingness to forgive. Then consider: do you think it’s possible that you could be even more willing to forgive than God? Of course the answer is ‘No’. So, if you can find it in you to forgive, God is much more willing to forgive. You also have His promise that He is willing to forgive anyone who confesses their sins (1Jn 1:9).
2) Alternatively, you may find yourself repulsed by the sins you hear. But as you look at the individual and hear their story, you come to realize that they have done these things because they are under the influence of Satan. So you then forgive the person and free them from their bondage, then place the guilt for their actions on the Enemy. Once again, you recognize that if you can “love the sinner while hating the sin”, and are willing to forgive them and free them, then God is much more willing to do the same thing. So if you can find a way give forgiveness on your own behalf, don’t worry whether or not God will be able to do the same.
3) Conversely, there may be someone who presents himself before you to receive some blessing, but as you hear of what he’s done there arises within you a feeling, not of forgiveness but of condemnation. You recognize that their actions aren’t the result of being enslaved to Satan but are instead the result of fully informed choices. Then despite being startled at yourself for your seeming judgmentalism and struggling to find a way out of this conundrum, the feelings of disgust persist and even grow stronger. At this point you have only a couple of options. You might excuse yourself and leave, saying, “I can’t help you; you’ll have to find someone else.” Or you might speak to him against the things he’s doing and warn him that if he doesn’t change quickly he’ll soon be called into judgment. This feeling you’re being given represents a warning to him. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t comply, however; because by the time such a warning is given, a person usually has long since stopped listening to their conscience and the Holy Spirit and he will not accept your reproof. Even if you attempt to heal him or bless him, it is unlikely to have an effect. This feeling you’re getting is God letting you know that you may try, if you wish; but don’t get your hopes up. There are some people who can’t be helped: Not because of God’s unwillingness; but because of the person’s unwillingness to recognize that he’s doing anything wrong and his resistance to change. If you are the type of person who doesn’t like to take “No” for an answer, then you may continue to work with this person until you achieve a breakthrough. If you’re willing to stick with it, despite the person’s lack of cooperation, you may eventually find success; because if you persist, the Holy Spirit may finally break through their defenses. But know that it will be a difficult job with only a small chance.
BE LED BY THE SPIRIT
Finally, I’d like to speak to you a few minutes about being led by the Spirit in whatever you do. We’re told in, 1Cr 12:4-6. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”
Although you’re learning from this book how to pray and how to minister with the gifts of the Spirit, when it comes time for you to begin working for yourselves, you will find that you will develop your own style. Your way may end up being different than what you have read here. Remember that although we’ve told you several ways it may be done, these aren’t the only ways it can be done. Instead of thinking of what you’ve seen as rules, think of them as guidelines; and understand that you have latitude to develop your own ways within this general framework. The only real RULE is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Whenever you are praying, tune into the Holy Spirit and let HIM lead your prayers. If you go into a prayer with a lot of things in mind that you think you must do, it’s then easy to begin concentrating only on the prayer and its technique rather than concentrating on God. Take care not to lose your focus. It’s good to learn what to do, and to prepare ahead of time; because this helps you understand what the HS is doing when you seem Him work. But always remember to let Him lead the prayer, and you follow what He says exactly and quickly. Whenever you let the HS lead, you’ll of course find many prayers happen just as you’re expecting; but there will also be situations that are surprising and exciting.
For example, there has been more than one occasion where we were preparing to pray for someone but were quickly impressed by the HS that we didn’t need to pray, but were to just declare it done and send the person away. The first time this happened we were surprised, and our preconceived ideas made us think we had heard wrong. We thought, ‘This person has come for prayer, if we send them away without it, what will they think?’ So we said a short prayer first, then told them it was done and sent them home. It turned out that, Yes, what they had requested had been done and was waiting at home. But God rebuked us afterward for doubting His word to us and not following His instructions. The next time it happened that we were told to just declare it done without prayer, we obeyed and gave the instructions exactly as told. The person went home and found things as described, and was very impressed.
There may also be times that God reveals to you that even though you are praying for someone’s healing, there is something in their life that is preventing them from receiving healing; so what you’re requesting can’t be granted. You may then talk with the person about the problem that is blocking the healing; but you’ll often find that people in this situation are closed to taking advice and making the needed changes.
There was a young man in the final stages of cancer whom I was called to pray over for healing. During the prayer God revealed to me that the young man would not be healed and would die. I rebelled at this thought and asked God why; wasn’t He always willing to heal? He showed me that the young man had a lifestyle issue that was the cause of the cancer, but that because the man was refusing to recognize that problem and change it, there was no way to heal him. I asked God for permission to talk to the man about it; and He said ok. When I tried to broach the subject, I found the young man in complete denial. He wouldn’t even allow the possibility that he was doing anything wrong. God gave me to understand that although HE was willing to heal, the young man was not willing to accept healing; because although he said he wanted to live he was only willing to do things on his own terms. The young man passed away a few hours later.
I mention these examples to you because you are going to run into many different situations; some happy, and some not so happy. When something unusual happens, the Enemy will try to get you to doubt God and doubt your authority. First, never ever doubt God’s willingness to heal. Second, your dominion is as sure as your faithfulness. So if you know you haven’t done anything wrong, then this shouldn’t be a problem; of course, if you have been unfaithful in some respect, you might encounter uncertain results. Third, recognize that at times the patient’s free will can become a factor in the results you see. This doesn’t happen often, but it does on occasion; and usually when it does, the patient is unaware of what they’re doing.
Again, as we’ve said many times, there is much yet for you to learn. So lean heavily on the HS and let Him guide you and teach you. Yes, it’s a rough road ahead which you have chosen to travel; but one from which you won’t want to turn. Because despite the bumps and valleys, the high spots are well worth anything you may have to experience along the way.
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