Keys to Healing - Part 2
Key #4 - Break down unbelief... what if God does heal you?
One of the devil's most used weapons is the whole what-if question game. He asks questions all the time such as "What if it isn't God's will to heal me?" or "What if I never receive my healing?" to create seeds of doubt and fear in our minds. These are dangerous seeds which grow into mountains of unbelief and discouragement. We can play this what-if game too by asking questions that cast doubt on the lies of the enemy. This is a highly effective tool to tearing down strongholds and quickly building faith in the things of God!
Below are some of the questions I want you to begin asking yourself. And don't just ask them once or twice; if this is an area which you struggle believing, you need to keep asking yourself these questions and ponder their answers.
What if God really did justify and forgive ALL of my sins at the Cross?
What if God Himself has chosen to not even remember my sins? (See Isaiah 43:25)
What if God's desire really is for me to be healed?
What if healing was something Jesus lovingly purchased for me at the Cross?
What if God really does heal me and I go on to live a healthy and blessed life?
What if God really does have good plans for me, to give me a long good (satisfying) and abundant life and an expected end?
If you want to build faith, you need to start casting doubt on the lies of the enemy.
Key #5 - Understand what really hinders a healing
Believing wrongly about what does hinder a healing can itself keep a person from having the faith to receive their healing. For example, if a person who is sensitive believes that some sin in their life is keeping them from getting healed, then they will work diligently to overcome every sin and live a sinless life, only to fail miserably and give up all hope of being healed. They don't feel that they are worthy to receive because of some sin in their life, when their imperfections were never the cause of their failed healing, but rather their lack of faith in the finished work of Christ. Telling somebody that sin in their life is God's judgment upon them, and that they won't be healed until they repent is exactly what a religious Pharisee would do in Jesus' day and it makes me angry when I see it happening today.
While sin in our lives do not hinder a healing, or else we would all be hindered, it can open the door to unclean spirits which can carry with them infirmities. Is it God's anger toward us for sinning? No, for God has vowed to us a solemn promise never to be angry with us or rebuke us (go read Isaiah 54:9). It is not God judging us believers when we sin, but rather our choice to sin can invite spirits which God never wanted us to have, and those spirits can carry infirmities with them. Unforgiveness can give those spirits to remain in our bodies, and thus the sickness remains.
Seeking a healing when you really need emotional healing or a deliverance is something that we need to consider. If you need a deliverance, and you're just trying to get healed, you may not get the result you want. Understanding why the sickness is there and dealing with the roots of that infirmity is crucial to getting healed and keeping your healing.
Faith does play a role in receiving the promises of God, but we have to understand what Biblical faith really is. Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ and receiving it (see Romans 10:8-17). Faith begins where the will of God is known, so knowing God's will to heal us is crucial to our faith to receive a healing.
If you have self-worth issues, or struggle with false guilt, then you probably aren't going to feel worthy to receive a healing miracle from God. Somebody who has spirits of guilt, condemnation, or mind control, can struggle with a feeling of unworthiness. Dealing with the root emotional and spiritual causes of these self-worth issues may be an important step toward your healing. Most guilt and self worth issues are rooted in lies that we have believed about ourselves or the forgiveness of the Cross. Feeding on God's Word about who you are, and how you have been totally forgiven and are much loved by God, are important keys to tearing down self-worth issues. Getting rid of spirits which hamper you with false guilt or condemnation is important to lasting freedom in this area. Sexual sins are a major source of guilt, condemnation, etc. because they invite spirits which seek to destroy our identity and sense of who we are in Christ.
There are other faulty beliefs which can make us feel like we somehow have to measure up to a certain standard to receive our healing, and will hinder us from receiving. For example, maybe you feel like you are a newer or immature Christian. Did Jesus wait until the people were mature believers before He healed them? No, He healed them right where they were!
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)
Wrongly dividing the Word is a major problem in the church, and is to blame for the lack of healings. Wrong doctrines can kill a person's faith, and destroy their chances of receiving the things that God has for them. Faith comes by hearing about the work of Christ on the cross for us; man's interpretation of the scriptures which are often derived out of their failed experiences (grandma died of cancer so it had to be God's will for her), do absolutely nothing to build our faith. Believing religious doctrines which come from pastors and churchy people will in fact make the Word of God to no effect in your life.
"Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye." (Mark 7:13 KJV)
Key #6 - Understand your authority over sickness
If you search the entire New Testament, you will find that there is very little said about praying for the sick. As a matter of fact, I am only aware of one scripture that even uses the words praying for the sick and that is James 5:15. All of the other scriptures and examples we find in Jesus' ministry and that of the early church has to do more with using authority and speaking commands to be healed. Jesus never prayed to the Father asking Him to heal somebody, He spoke to the person and said something like, "Raise and walk!" The early church did the same thing, except they added the name of Jesus. Peter didn't pray for the lame man to be healed, he spoke to the man saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." (Acts 3:6)
What is the point in all this? It has to do with our authority over sickness and disease. Authority doesn't ask or beg God to move on our behalf, authority speaks commands in faith. Jesus gave us authority over all manners of sickness and diseases, because we are seated with Him in heavenly places. Jesus wouldn't tell us to heal the sick if we had no authority to do so (Matthew 10:8).
"And these signs shall follow them that believe...they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18)
"For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." (Mark 13:34)
To beg God for something that has been provided to us in the covenant we have with Christ, is a demonstration of unbelief in that covenant blessing.
Since healing is indeed part of our covenant with God, it changes the way in which we call for a healing. In order to please God, we must be in a place of faith, and faith believes the promises and provisions of the covenant that we have through Christ. Begging for a healing is certainly not the prayer of faith we find in James 5:15. Notice that the only time we find the word prayer used for healing, we also discover that prayer for a healing is called a prayer of faith. "If it be God's will" is not a prayer of faith, but rather prayer of petition.
Key #7 - Deal with curses and spirits which carry infirmities
My good friend and ministry partner Jay Bartlett, who has performed over 12,000 exorcisms, once told me that while he doesn't believe he is gifted in the area of healing, he has seen every sickness you can imagine healed as the person went through a deliverance. Ask around to many of those in the deliverance ministry, and you'll find that many sickness and diseases are rooted in the spiritual and emotional realm. I find it interesting that the Bible tells us that Jesus went about healing all who were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38).
While I do not believe God puts sickness on the believer because of a particular sin in their life. I do believe that we can get sick because we've opened doors which invited spirits that carry infirmities. While there are spirits of infirmity, many times other types of spirits carry infirmities with them, such as witchcraft, rebellion, the occult, anger, etc. People who get involved with witchcraft often wind up with physical infirmities that the witchcraft spirits have brought in with them. When doing deliverance on somebody, it is a good idea to bind the infirmities to the spirits as they are cast out.
Sometimes a person may be sick because of a curse that has been placed on them. If this was done by somebody practicing witchcraft, the first thing you need to do is break any ungodly soul ties that you've made with that person. This is what allows them to pass curses, spells, and such to their victim. The next thing you need to do is make sure you don't have any physical items that they have given you... because they could be cursed or used as a vehicle to send a curse your way. Verbally break off any curses that have been sent your way from them.
A curse can also be a legal right; a spirit carrying an infirmity is the means by which a curse is carried out. Matthew 18:21-35 shows where the tormenters do the tormenting, because they have a right to do it... a right given to them by unforgiveness in our hearts! Unforgiveness is a legal right for spirits to indwell a person's body and inflict them with an infirmity.
Anytime a sickness is the result of a person's sin, it is not a purely physical healing that is needed, but rather a deliverance. A spirit carrying an infirmity has been let in, and needs to be driven out.
"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw." (Matthew 12:22)
"And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God." (Luke 13:11-16)
Many sicknesses are the result of a person being inflicted with a spirit carrying an infirmity, as we can see Jesus went about healing many who were oppressed of the devil:
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38)
When dealing with somebody who has an infirmity, it's always a good idea to ask whether they have family members or ancestors who have had the same infirmity. It could be a generational spirit which has been going down the family line and needs to be cast out.
