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Ministering Healing When You’re Not Ministering Healing

 

We received this testimony which I know you’ll enjoy:

I was diagnosed with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis back in October. I took a blood test and the inflammatory marker called C Reactive Protein was 190. The norm is below 5. The other day, Rev. Joel took my hand and healing power was imparted to me. The day after, I got up from bed normally. I usually would be bowed over and really stiff. I also took my first morning shower in 3 months and have been taking morning showers ever since!!! When my lab work was drawn – that same day – my CRP had gone from 190 to 4.9, which is normal!

We all rejoice at healing testimonies such as this one, but a short testimony doesn’t always convey the full story. In this case, the backstory is quite remarkable.

Before I share how this unique healing took place, it’s important that I share some thoughts regarding the power of God.

 

Understanding God’s Power

In order for supernatural healing to occur, there must be a flow of God’s power. But God’s power doesn’t flow randomly. Spiritual power moves and flows the same way that natural power moves and flows. Just as electricity must have storage places and avenues through which to travel, God’s power requires the same. His power can only flow when a suitable place has been prepared for it. It’s important to learn to cooperate with God’s power.

Although electricity flows to different places and accomplishes many different tasks, it’s still just electricity. It’s what we connect to the electricity that determines its function. The power that heats a building is the same power that cools a building. Same power, different outcome. We don’t call it cooling power or heating power, it’s just power; the same electricity accomplishing different tasks.

So too, God’s power flows to different places in order to accomplish different tasks. Although we often speak of “power to save, power to heal, power to fill, power to supply,” etc., it would be incorrect to think that the power for each application is of a different variety. As in the natural, it’s the same power accomplishing these varied tasks. We often call this spiritual power the anointing. Thank God for His anointing: His great power.

I made these comparisons between natural and spiritual power to illustrate an important point regarding this testimony. We often minister healing (as we should), believing that God’s power will effect positive change in the lives of those that are sick. We speak of God’s healing power, but again, it’s really just power. The same power that saves us heals us. Yes, God gives certain ones special endowments to minister healing in specific areas, but at its source, power is power.

My spiritual father, Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin, would often lay hands on people for them to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Many times, these people were surprised to find that they were not just filled, they were also healed! Brother Hagin – not surprised – would comment, The same power that fills also heals.

 

We Weren’t In Church

When reading the testimony of this lady’s healing, one might naturally assume that her miracle occurred during a church service, perhaps while I was laying hands on individuals for healing. Not so! Although I do often minister healing through the laying on of hands, that wasn’t the case here. In fact, I didn’t know that this lady needed healing, nor did I know until hearing her testimony that she had received healing.

We had been in church, but I wasn’t ministering that night. I was in the congregation, participating in the service with everyone else. The minister began preaching on the subject of the joy of the Lord and, as the service progressed, a tangible manifestation of joy was experienced.

As I yielded to expressions of divine joy such as laughing and praising, I found myself overcome with joy. In fact, I became spiritually saturated – drunk, you could say – and spent most of the service laying on the floor, unable to get up.

I was so spiritually sloshed that my physical senses were overcome. I was unable to speak, walk, or even open my eyes and had to be carried out of the service. A trio of ushers helped me over to a hospitality area where an after-service meal was to be served, and left me in a chair at one of the tables.

After a period of time, I was able to open my eyes. Then, a few minutes later, I could move my eyes and head. Shortly thereafter I could speak, yet I was still very much under the influence of God’s power. This experience was neither an emotion nor an imagination. It was real: a tangible demonstration of the Spirit’s power.

 

Overcome By God

I don’t know if you’ve ever been overcome by the power of God but it’s an interesting experience. On one hand, it’s so enjoyable that you never want the experience to end. On the other hand, you get concerned that it never will end: that the incapacitation of your physical body will continue perpetually. When you find yourself “stuck” in the God-realm, the thought occurs that you might never get back to the natural realm: that, like Enoch, you might just transition right over to glory.

There I was, seated at the table, slowly regaining the use of my senses, when this lady came over to me. She was helping serve the meal and came to see if I needed anything. Although she was inquiring if I wanted some food, I asked her if she could simply take my hand. I couldn’t yet move it and, by this time, was looking for someone to help me. I knew that if she grabbed my hand, some of that power would lift off of me.

When she took my hand, God’s power rushed into her. Right there, in a room full of ministers eating and talking, she began shouting like she had gotten hold of a live electrical current. She eventually collapsed on the floor behind me, where she lay motionless for several minutes. Several days later, I received her testimony.

What happened here? The time I had spent yielding to God in the service made me a storage battery for His power. My hands became like wires through which His power could flow. And, this woman’s faith and simple obedience to take my hand became the switch that turned that power on, causing it to flow out of me, into her.

 

It Matters That We Yield

As I read her testimony, several thoughts ran through my mind: What if I hadn’t yielded to God during that service? What if I had stayed out of the flow in order to keep it together and remain in control? What if I had been quick to jump back into the natural? 

Please understand: nothing in my natural personality desires to act in such a way that I need to be physically escorted from the room. I don’t desire to be the center of attention, wobbling around like a drunk while people stare and laugh. Yet, I desire to yield to God more than I desire to retain my dignity or composure. I care more about what God thinks than what people think.

If it means someone receiving healing from a foul, crippling disease, I’ll gladly lay on the floor under the influence of God’s power. I’ll happily dance around the room while TV cameras stream my wild gyrations to the world. I’ll do whatever it takes for God to be able to do whatever He wants.

The thing is, I didn’t know that my yielding would lead to her healing. God doesn’t reveal the outcome of our obedience ahead of time. He requires that we simply follow Him by faith. We must develop the habit of quick, constant, and full obedience to the moving of God’s Spirit. Someone’s healing – indeed, someone’s life – could depend on it.

Yes, I’m a minister and have a healing anointing, but that’s not why this healing occurred. On this particular night, I was just a participant in the flow of God—no different from any other believer. I’m convinced the reason power flowed from me was because I flowed with the Spirit. I ended up ministering healing when I wasn’t ministering healing.

I haven’t always perfectly followed God but, after seeing the results of obedience, I’ve purposed to yield to Him even more. I’m determined to fully flow with the moving of His Spirit. Always. How about you?