The Coming of the Kingdom
This post explores the eschatological framework of the New Testament. A. Introduction Mark 1.14-15 ‘Now after John was…
1. INTERVIEW – DECIDE THE PROBLEM
ASK the person what they want prayer for.
LISTEN carefully to what they say.
LISTEN for promptings from the Holy Spirit.
DECIDE the problem and the root cause.
If the root cause is different, deal with the root cause first.
Gather relevant information by asking open questions – Where does it hurt? How long have you had this? When did it start? Do you know the cause? Do you see a connection to sin or relational strain?
2. CHOOSE A PRAYER STRATEGY
ASK Jesus how to deal with the root cause.
What does Jesus want to do?
How does he want to do it?
HINT: This may involve confessing sin, releasing forgiveness, renouncing vows, breaking soul ties or generational roots.
3. PRAY FOR SPECIFIC RESULT
PRAY in the way that Jesus shows you, expecting something to happen.
WATCH what happens while you pray.
Pray specifically for measurable
results. If you are praying for
pain, monitor the pain to see if it increases or decreases.
4. ASSESS THE RESULTS
CHECK from time to time what is happening.
ASK the person what is going on, but try not to interrupt what God is doing.
After a time of listening and praying, honestly assess the results. If the person is healed, stop and give thanks. If the healing has begun, keep praying or make another time. If not much has happened, be honest about it. Don’t pretend something has happened if it hasn’t.
5. AFTERCARE
DEBRIEF the person, explaining what happened. Check if they have questions.
TELL the person how to stay free.
A. HEALING THE SPIRIT
Sin breaks our fellowship with God. Confession of sin restores fellowship and brings cleansing.
1. Admit the sin, calling it by its real name.
2. Confess the sin (aloud) before God (1 John 1.9; James 5.18)
3. Renounce sinful behaviour.
4. Break vows and renounce any lies believed.
5. Declare forgiveness according to Jn 20.23.
6. Pray for cleansing.
7. Discuss restitution – apologizing and repaying those who have been hurt.
8. Teach about forgiving yourself.
9. Discuss strategies for avoiding and resisting temptation: taking the escape route (1 Cor 10.13); taking thoughts captive (2 Cor 10.4-5); Yielding to God (Rom 6. 11-13).
B. HEALING PAST HURTS
Binding up the brokenhearted is a key part of our kingdom mandate. This involves dealing with past hurts, bad memories, hard feelings and behavioural weaknesses. The person may have been sinned against by someone they trusted.
1. Ask God to reveal the event that caused the wound. Sometimes this will happen through a word of knowledge. Sometimes the person will remember or get a mental image of the painful event.
2. Through conversation, prayer and meditation take the person back to the past hurt. Ask the Holy Spirit to do this. The person will often see a mental picture or have clear recollection.
3. Walk the person through the bad memory in the presence of Jesus, reinterpreting his experience in the light of God’s purposes.
4. Ask Jesus to reveal where he was and what he was doing. Persist until they can see Jesus there. Allow emotion to come up. This is an important part of the healing.
5. Explain the process of forgiveness – the legal transaction (choosing to forgive) and the emotional transaction (feeling the forgiveness in your heart).
6. Help the person to release forgiveness to the person who sinned against them. Not forgiving binds the person’s sin to you and prevents healing and freedom (Matt 6.14).
7. Take authority over the effects of the parents’ sin by breaking the power of the blood line in the persons’ life in the name of Jesus. (eg insanity, alcoholism runs in the family; Exodus 20.5; 34.7)
8. Speak healing to the area just ‘operated on’.
9. Help the person to forgive themselves and to release any guilt.
10. Break the power of the bondage (sin, bitterness, etc). Command any demons attached to the wound to leave (e.g. abuse, unforgiveness, anger, bitterness).
11. Break the soul ties and other emotional ties that may have been set up. (e.g. some people have dominance over others).
12. Dedicate the parts of the body to the Lord. (Romans 7.23; 12.1,2)
13. Teach the person that forgiveness must be lived out and reinforced in daily practice.
C. HEALING THE BODY
1. Listen for promptings from the Holy Spirit about the root cause of the physical condition. Lay hands on the affected part of the body. If it is ‘private’ let them lay their own hands on.
2. Speak to the condition and tell to ‘go’ or be ‘repaired’, etc. (‘mountain’ is a Jewish metaphor for difficulty, Matthew 17.20-21; Peter’s mother-in-law, Luke 4.39; Mark 1.31)
3. Listen to God for any specific instructions or words of knowledge that might constitute an ‘act of faith’ which releases the healing (blind man, John 9.1-1).
4. Watch for manifestations of the spirit upon the person’s body and bless what God is doing (see ‘spiritual phenomena’ below.)
5. Find out where the faith lies.
(Jesus healing the paralytic, Mark 2:1-5; Paul healing the paralytic, Acts 14:9)
6. Ask the person to pray if necessary.
7. Break unbelief, doubt, fear if it hinders healing.
8. Ask the person how they feel.
9. Instruct the person to read the gospels and refer them to a physician.
D. HEALING THE DEMONISED
1. Consider the setting. Demons can manifest anywhere. In meetings, they often manifest during worship or ministry.
a. Try to do deliverance in a private setting
b. Guard the person’s dignity as far as possible. This ministry may take time.
2. Work in teams of two to five people. One person leads, others pray or observe. Someone may record what happens.
3. How do I know that there really is a demon?
a. Sudden change in personality or behaviour. E.g. swearing, sleepiness, fear, desire to flee (Mark 5:1-5).
b. Watch the eyes:
i. they roll back/hide.
ii. A film over the eyes.
iii. Dilation of the pupils
c. Physical manifestation.
d. Discernment or Word of knowledge.
4. Get control of the eyes, ‘Look at me’ (Acts 3:4).
5. Command the spirit to tell you its name (Mark 5:9). ‘What is your name?’
a. ‘What does your name mean?’
b. ‘What do you do?’
6. Identify other demons that may be present and find out which one is in charge. Deal with this spirit.
7. Forbid the demon from causing harm or mess (Mark 1:34). Silence it if necessary.
8. Consecrate parts of the body to the Lord (Romans 12:1,2)
9. Rebuke the demon and command it to leave (Acts 16:18)
a. ‘I command you to come out in the name of Jesus.’ ‘Go to the place that Jesus sends you.’
b. Continue until you have the witness that all have gone.
c. Be wary of hiding tactics.
d. Forbid the spirit from returning.
10. If the spirit refuses to leave, it may have a ‘legal right’ to stay, such as secret or unconfessed sin, vows, false beliefs, generational (bloodline) ties (see John 14.30). This ‘right’ should be revoked.
11. Restore the person – Fill the clean house (Matthew 12:43-45).
a. Invite the Holy Spirit for fill and cleanse.
b. Receiving salvation or the baptism of the Holy Spirit for empowering.
c. Armour of God.
E. SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA
1. From our experience of inviting the Holy Spirit to minister, we have observed certain spiritual phenomena or ‘manifestations’ that sometimes occur when a person is being prayed for, and also when a person is doing the praying.
2. These phenomena do not necessarily have to happen. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.
3. Spiritual phenomena are manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s presence on a person. Observing them you can help you to see what the Spirit is doing. We can not explain all the various manifestations.
4. If these phenomena are not present, it does not mean that the Spirit is not on the person. However we have found that they often occur when the Spirit moves.
5. Some common phenomena on people who are being prayed for:
a. Hot flushes in certain parts of the body (eg. neck, hands, back etc.)
b. Tingling sensations (‘goose bumps’)
c. Tenderness and tears.
d. Brokenness and sobs.
e. Stiffness in certain parts of the body (the hands).
f. Trembling and shaking (mostly of the hands)
g. Falling down under the power of the Spirit.
h. Being in a trance.
i. Strong electrical current
j. Light headed and woozy.
k. Tired or weary.
l. Deep peace.
m. Radiance on the face.
n. Ripple on the skin, movement under the skin.
o. Laughter and joy.
p. Heavy breathing
q. Moaning and groaning.
6. Some common phenomena on the person ministering healing:
a. Sensation of warmth (flowing out of hands).
b. Tingling feeling (‘goose bumps’).
c. Slight trembling of the hands.
d. A sense of anointing.
e. Sometimes NOTHING AT ALL – THEN you minister from your authority on the basis of what you know.
f. Special anointings – power going out of the body.
g. Inward witness of presence to heal.
h. Electricity.
i. Sense of knowing.
j. Ability to stand back and watch yourself operating in God – a sense of detachment.