6/ Jesus still heals today
When Jesus walked the earth he healed the cripple, the blind, the epileptic, the deaf and the dumb. No disease or sickness was too big, or small for Jesus. The apostles followed in their Master's footsteps, and by the power of the Holy Spirit and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, many were healed and delivered from sickness and disease. Over many years, due to unbelief by God's people, miraculous healings dwindled to the point, where they were no longer seen as being applicable for today. Yet Hebrew 13:8 states:
"Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and for ever."
People who are only religious and do not know Jesus personally feel that it is God's will for them to be sick. Yes, in some cases God allows sickness in a person in order to draw them to himself. Many people only ever turn to Him when in need. Sadly to say that was the case with me. The Bible also shows that God punished people through sickness.
2 Chronicles 26:16
"but when King Uzziah became strong, he grew arrogant, and that led to his downfall. He defied the Lord his God by going into the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense."
2 Kings l5:5
The Lord struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life.
The best thing to do is to ask God if you have done anything wrong, especially where unforgiveness is concerned, and ask Him to forgive you.
Many people never get healed because they haven't bothered to ask God why they are sick. Are you sick because there is a normal breakdown in the body function; is God dealing with you; or is the illness due to demonic spirits?
Luke 8:1,2 Some time later Jesus travelled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him, and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases:
Luke 13:10 One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. 11) A woman there had an evil spirit that had made her ill for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12) When Jesus saw her he called out to her, "Woman, you are free from your illness!" 13) He placed his hands on her and at once she straightened herself up and praised God. The religious leaders objected to Jesus setting this woman free on the Sabbath. Jesus replied: 16) Now here is this descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept bound up for eighteen years. Should she not be released on the Sabbath?
There are also incidents in the Bible that show children being ill due to demonic forces.
Matthew 15:22 A Canaanite woman who lived in the region came to him. "Son of David!" she cried out. "Have mercy on me! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition." 18) So Jesus answered her, "You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you." And at that very moment her daughter was healed.
Mark 9:20 They brought him to Jesus. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit, so that he fell on the ground, foaming at the mouth. 21) "How long has he been like this?" Jesus asked the father. "Ever since he was a child," he replied.
Jesus healed the boy and told the father, "Everything is possible for the person who has faith." If we expect God to do something for us, we really need to believe that he is capable of doing what he promises.
Over many years I have been healed and have seen many others healed. If I am sick I claim Isaiah 53:5 praying, Oh Lord my God, Isaiah 53:5 says 'We are healed by the punishment Jesus suffered, made whole by the blows he received.' I ask you now for the healing or wholeness of ........ (whatever). I also tell the pain to go in Jesus' name. I also tell any symptoms of the illness to go. Then I thank God for healing me according to his Word.
Healed from sclerosis of the liver
Lorraine had been given a death sentence by the doctors. So serious was her condition that she was medically retired by the Education Department. The situation looked grim, especially as she was the mother of a young child. Nothing to say of the agony her husband would suffer at the lose of his wife. After prayer God miraculously healed her. All praise and honour belong to Jesus Christ for his mighty miracle working power.
June and bowel cancer
The knock on the back door wasn't exactly welcome, for I was in the middle of getting ready for work, and running late at that. Nonetheless, I answered the door to find my landlord standing there, with tears in his eyes.
"June is in hospital. She is dying." "What's wrong with her?"
"She hasn't been able to go to the toilet for twenty days. The doctors say she has bowel cancer."
I told the man that I would visit his wife that evening and closed the door. As I walked towards the loungeroom, God said, "Rebuke the spirit of death over her."
"Wow". I thought. So June is dying. I prayed as God had instructed and hurriedly left for work.
That night I waved a bunch of flowers at June. Always as subtle as a sledgehammer, June told me she didn't want the flowers, but my prayers. I promised to pray for her on the night before the operation. In the meantime I sought God's help on how to pray. The following was the result:
Rebuke the spirits of the whip Satan is sending out to break the bond that Jesus has on her. Ask that God pour a burning mixture on that whip and burn it, so that Jesus has total free reign in her. Ask that God put his pace maker into her to control her heart, all her organs and that all her bodily functions be co-ordinated fully. Pray that God would give her the strength and will to fight through this. Ask God to make her body - that part of the infection and decay - strong and untouchable by further hurt from Satan. Ask that God cover her with His shield, his feathers, like a mother hen and that Jesus allow His blood to flow from Him to her, so that Satan cannot have her.
Before the operation I once again visited June. I impressed upon her that I could do nothing for her, nor were my prayers of any use if she didn't call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Great Physician. I took her through a simple prayer and she asked Jesus into her heart. She also asked for forgiveness for her sins and the healing of her body.
The following morning when the doctors operated, they found only one large tumour, instead of the cancer, as shown by the X-rays. The doctors could offer no explanation for what had happened.
The next step was to clean out the intestines. Once again I promised to pray for June before the operation.
If Jesus' followers, 2000 years ago were commanded to ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, how much more should that command apply to us now. For that reason I took June through a prayer asking to be filled with God's Holy Spirit. The next day the operation ran smoothly and a bag was placed on the outside of her abdomen to drain the intestines. Miraculously within two weeks the bag was removed and June, strong as an ox, was back digging in the garden.
After several weeks I was surprised to find the whole family lined up on the driveway, waiting for me to come home. "Mrs. Mrs.", the landlord cried, "June is in hospital again." Apparently she had collapsed, because her bowels hadn't been functioning properly. I was unable to go to the hospital that afternoon, but promised to pray anyway. Two days later I finally had a chance to visit her.
"How are you June?" "Great, great!" came the reply. "Can you go to the toilet yet?"
"Oh yes!" "When did you start?"
"Two days ago, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon."
This had been the exact time I had prayed for her. My simple prayer being, "Oh Lord my God please let June's bowels function as perfectly as on the day when you created her." Praise God, June was totally healed and never suffered from bowel problems again.
Healed from a terrible skin condition
Have you ever seen someone whipped? The skin rash I was suffering from looked like I had been whipped. The swellings were extremely itchy and burnt as if a blow-torch was being held at my skin. Needless to say I sought the Lord on the matter.
Prayer 1/ Bind the spirits causing the swelling and inflammation in Jesus' name. Cover the rash with the blood of Jesus and say to Satan that the rash is cleansed and healed by the blood of Jesus. Ask God to pour out Jesus' precious blood over you. In Jesus' name and the authority of His holy and precious blood the rash shall then be healed.
The rash still persisted.
Prayer 2/ Keep on praying as I told you to and rebuke those spirits. Stand before God and ask Him to pour His blood and healing power over you. Ask God to cover every blemish, every bit of the rash and throw them into the deepest part of the ocean and you shall be healed. I will give you passages from the Bible you are to sit down and read them to the rash - Satan. After you finish reading each passage claim your healing by the power and authority He has invested in us, in order to cast out demons.
There was a tremendous improvement, but not all of the rash had gone.
Prayer 3/ Your rash is gone! Ask Me to open your eyes to this. The longer you think you've got a rash the longer it will stay. You must wipe the memory of that rash from your mind. Ask Me to forget you ever had it, because the longer you let it annoy you, the longer it will stay.
After this prayer the rash disappeared very quickly, until it was totally gone. I learnt a few lessons from this experience.
(1) Be persistent, don't ever give up!!
(2) The importance of trusting God's Word. If His Word says we have the victory in Jesus' name, then just accept it.
(3) The constant emphasis on the mighty power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:14 ... how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit He offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God.
Revelation7:14 ... These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 12:11 Our brothers won the victory over him (Satan, by the blood of the Lamb and the truth which they proclaimed;
By the precious blood of Jesus the rash was defeated. Also if the blood of Jesus can wash our conscience and robes white; how much more can it wash us clean from sickness and disease. Jesus most certainly washed my body clean from that terrible rash.
The above Bible verses, plus Colossians 1:20 & 2:15 and Hebrews 2:14 were Bible verses God gave me in relation to Prayer 2.
(4) Knowing the Word God and applying it to the situation.
Healed from haemophilia
As the grandfather and mother of my student sat opposite me during the parent interview, I informed them that the child's progress was not satisfactory. Their response shocked me. "Don't you know he suffers from haemophilia? That is why he is absent from school so much."
I could have slid under the table with embarrassment.
On one of the rare occasions, when he was in class, I decided to pray for him. As I stood near him I prayed this simple prayer, in my mind.
Oh Lord, my God, please drain all the imperfect blood out of him, and fill him with new blood containing blood clotting cells. Lord Jesus let your blood flow through that boy's body. Then I claimed the boy's total healing and wholeness, according Isaiah 53:5.
I finally realised that the child hadn't missed classes for some time. I asked him how he felt. The boy told me that neither he, nor his family could understand why he hadn't needed a blood transfusion for four weeks. Usually, at least one transfusion a week would have been necessary. Also due to constant injections in the left arm, the muscles had wasted away. He was totally amazed that I had prayed for his healing and that God in fact had worked a miracle. Praise God, when Jesus healed the blood condition, he also restored the muscles in the left arm.
Guy's skin rash
Guy had been suffering for some time from a skin rash. No amount of medication had helped the situation, until God told me how to pray for him.
Ask that Jesus remove the dead layer of skin and take with it the infection. Ask that Jesus would give him a new, more resistant layer of skin. Pray that Guy may reach out and touch Jesus' cloak and be healed. Pray that the blood of Jesus cover every sore of that man. Tell Satan that Lazarus had many sores and persecutions, but he still went to heaven, as will Guy.
Praise God, Guy's skin rash disappeared.
Francisco's skin rash
God is truly wonderful, for the work done on this young man's face. Francisco, a year 11 student, came to Bible study one lunchtime. His face horrified and disgusted me. Except for his eyes, his neck and face were covered with big pussy pimples. He looked truly revolting. During Bible study I couldn't help but ask if he wanted prayer. Without hesitation he answered, "Yes".
Besides praying for the boy then and there, I asked God for a word of knowledge. (I Corinthians 12:8 "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit").
Rebuke the pins that Satan has embedded in Francisco's face, through which all the poison is entering. Command that the pins be removed and that the antiseptic of the Lord Jesus Christ fill the gaps. Ask that God siphon all the blood vessels under the skin which have been poisoned. Ask that God remove the impure blood from the cells and replace it with the perfect blood of Jesus Christ. Ask that God wrap himself around the skin and protect it from all the environment and satanic elements.
The surest way to know that you have prayed correctly is by the results. Within days there was a tremendous improvement in the boy's skin. Three weeks later there wasn't a pimple left on his face, nor were there acne scars. Praise God!
My foot
If I sat, or stood in one position for a while, it became very painful to move my foot again. (Ezekiel 6:3) Ezekiel spoke to the mountains, the hills, the gorges, and the valleys. He also spoke to the "very dry bones" in the "valley of the bones" (Ezekiel 37:1-14). He commanded the bones to be covered with sinews, muscles and skin, finally commanding the wind to breathe life into them. God gave me a similar prayer for my foot.
Take hold of your left foot and say in Jesus' name, I take all the blood vessels, tissues, ligaments, bones; everything that makes up that foot and tell them to release that pain in Jesus' name. Tell them that you pour out the blood of Christ on that foot and that pain and they can't disobey, because they are dwelling within the temple of God.
How wonderful to read in God's Word, 2 Corinthians 6:16, "We are the temple of the living God!" Likewise God showed me a powerful truth in this Bible verse, Psalms 148:5&6 (Good News version):
5) ... He commanded, and they were created;
6) by his command they were fixed in their places forever and they cannot disobey.
My blood, bones, tissues etc., are created, therefore they cannot disobey a command in Jesus' name. As expected, my foot responded to the Word of God and has never given me any trouble again. Also bear in mind that the Devil and his angels are created beings and likewise cannot disobey a command given in Jesus' name.
Erika's Headaches
Erika used to suffer terribly from headaches - not anymore, praise God.
Rebuke the clamp on her head and ask God to unscrew that tension. Also ask God that he would put a protective cap on her head to stop her from getting further tension headaches. Also that Jesus would fill her with His peace.
Marisha - Mental disorder for 12 years
For twelve years Marisha had been in and out of mental institutions. The situation put tremendous strain on her husband and children. God gave me the following prayer for her.
Rebuke the spirits of depression, suicide and unwillingness to go on in life. Ask God to fill her with the need to live. Ask God to allow her to see the little she has done in her life and therefore make her realise she's lived too little of life. She's only got one short life and she shouldn't lose it. Rebuke that which has a hold on her mind showing her the uselessness of life. Name the number of the demons.
Within three weeks Marisha was out of hospital, totally restored.
Stating the number of demons - God showed me the following:
Sometimes you have to say the number of demons, in case you are not forceful enough with a particular demon. Naming the number gives you more authority against them, when you tell each demon to go, because you're staring them in the face, telling them to go.
Anthony - Diseased Glands
Anthony, a friend of my daughter's, came to our home when he was 17. After a while he accepted Jesus into his heart and was baptised.
One day he came to me and asked if I could pray for his throat. Since he was a little child he had suffered from swollen glands. At times they would swell so much that he would have to be hospitalised and put on a drip. At times his condition became so bad that he couldn't swallow his saliva. There was the constant fear that he would one day choke to death. As I was about to pray, God said to me:
"Why don't you just ask me to cut out the old diseased glands and give him a set of new ones?"
Praise God! How easy!! Anthony, for many years now has been totally healed and delivered from that condition.
My crippled Right Leg
The abdominal operation had been simple enough. Complications set in when the doctor accidently cut the nerve to my right leg. I woke up from the operation and had no feeling in my leg, from the knee down.
For more than a year I had to wear special shoes with a brace attached to help me walk. Gradually the muscles wasted away and died. The leg shrunk to 25 cm in circumference. On a daily basis I prayed to God to heal my leg, finally after one year feeling returned and the muscles started to develop again. Today my right leg is as normal as my left leg. Only near the ankle is a small patch that has a feeling of pins and needles. God told me this would be a reminder to me, of how he had brought my leg back to life,
Jesus healed the cripple two thousand years ago; things haven't changed, only people's faith!
Warts
His hands were always hidden in his pockets. As he held the pen I realised why; they were covered in warts. Warts grew upon warts, they looked like little mountains.
"Brad, come and see me at lunchtime and I'll tell you how to get rid of those warts." When he came, I offered to pray for him. His face said it all; utter disbelief! I can't remember what little prayer I had said, but God had heard it, because three weeks later he came and showed me his hands - not one wart was left. At first I thought he was joking and maybe he had undergone a skin graft. However, he assured me that a few days after I prayed for him the warts turned black and fell off.
The same situation arose while teaching at another school. This time the student even had a large wart growing on his eye lid, there were others on his arms and legs as well. He was in a worse condition than the child at the previous school. Once again I told the child that Jesus could heal him from the warts. I prayed a simple prayer, commanding the warts to die from the roots up. When Jesus commanded the fig tree to die "all the way down to its roots". I used the same principle on the warts.
Sonja's Broken Arm
Praise God he is still in the miracle working business. We had gone to a barbecue organised by my grandson's football team. Together with other parents my daughter and I took it in turn to supervise the children. Sonja went downstream and I went upstream. Twenty minutes later there were cries for help, not from the children, but Sonja.
By the time I arrived people could be heard saying, "Oh no, she's broken her arm." Somebody made a sling for the arm, for it and the fingers had become badly swollen.
As I left the bottom of Macquarie Pass, Sonja tried not to cry and begged me to pray against the excruciating pain, as well as praying for God to heal the broken bones. Although the bones did not actually come through the flesh, they were sticking out, as she had fallen with all her weight on the point of the elbow.
I prayed as asked. After ten minutes of driving my daughter told me that her shoulder, arm and hand had gone numb and that she felt no more pain.
When we arrived at the hospital they laid her on a trolley. The doctor examined the arm and Sonja heard him whisper to the nurse that he might have to operate.
Needless to say while we had been waiting for the doctor to come and then for the X-ray to be taken, I prayed earnestly. The X-ray showed no fracture, chipped or broken bones. Also miraculously the bones had gone back into place and the swelling went down. The doctor upon examining the X-ray, having seen the arm, could not believe his eyes. He prescribed a strong pain killer, but as God had already given Sonja a sedative she didn't need to take even one tablet. Although there was no pain while the arm was held still, the amount of pain or discomfort, when the arm was moved did not warrant pain killers. Massive bruising came out on both the elbow and hand later on.
Later that evening some of the parents rang to see how things were. They could not believe that there were no broken bones, but as I pointed out there had been broken bones - only God had mended them.
Kim's Paralysed Arm
In late September 1996, while visiting my daughter I met her friend Kim. Due to an accident her arm had become paralysed. After four weeks of everybody praying for her nothing had changed. Once back in Sydney, while pottering around the flat, God spoke to me and told me to pray for Kim's arm. This was about 11 a.m on a Thursday morning.
The next week while visiting my daughter's place I happened to answer the phone; it was Kim. To my surprise when I asked how her arm was, she said it was perfectly normal again. Apparently the previous Thursday she had been to the doctor in order to start electric shock treatment. Just as a matter of course the doctor had asked if she could move her arm even slightly. Incredibly, much to the doctor's and Kim's amazement, she lifted the arm above her head. This had happened at the same time I had prayed.
My prayer had been that the dead arm would come to life again. I also prayed according to Ezekiel 37:4-8, where Ezekiel speaks to the bones, sinews and muscles.
Kristy's Eyes
My granddaughter Kristy had been born with an inturned eye. At the age of four she was operated on and the muscle was tightened. Her eyesight was so poor that the glasses she had to wear were the thickness of a Coca Cola bottle. Over the years my daughter and I had prayed to God to heal the eye that wasn't functioning properly, as well as giving Kristy better vision.
A few months before her tenth birthday she complained that the glasses she was wearing were causing her vision to become blurry. Besides that she was complaining about headaches. We all thought this was an excuse not to wear glasses any more, as other children were teasing her. To top it all off, the bad eye started to turn in, even if only for a moment. So my daughter decided to book Kristy in to the therapist.
Careful examination by the therapist showed that there was nothing wrong with the eye. Even more amazing, when the eye sight was tested, it was found that the vision had improved to such an extent that Kristy no longer needed to wear glasses. The therapist's verdict was backed up by the eye specialist.
God had allowed the eye to turn inward, to force my daughter to take Kristy to have her eyes checked, for the glasses she had been wearing were not suitable anymore and were doing more harm than good. Persistence had paid off, even if it had taken almost ten years. Praise God Kristy can see perfectly and does not need to wear glasses anymore.
Healed from AIDS
A homosexual man, classified as AIDS positive, was introduced to me. I knew that the man was homosexual, but I didn't know that he had a death sentence hanging over him. As a matter of course I shared the mighty miracles of Jesus with him. Later that night I prayed that God would give him a second chance at life.
The following week when I spoke to him, he told me an amazing story. The same night that I had prayed, he had also prayed for the first time, since childhood. He had asked God to give him a second chance at life. As he did so God spoke to him and said, "Marlies has already prayed for you." A few days later he decided to have more tests done; they proved to be negative. I mentioned the fact that God had been wonderful to give him a second chance at life. He looked amazed and asked how I had known that he had asked God for a second chance at life. I hadn't!
About two weeks later, God spoke to me about this man. I was to ask him to give God the first chance to come into his life, considering he had been given two chances. The news was listened to, but not acted upon. Apparently the fear of man, and what other people would think of him, if he became a Christian, was stronger than the gratitude for having received a second chance at life.
AND YET THEY DIE
From the few examples it is easy to see that no sickness is too big or too small for Jesus and yet people die. The following two cases give an indication why some people are not healed.
Cancer
My girlfriend's husband was dying from cancer. God gave me the following prayer for him.
Ask that the molten blob be removed from his blood stream and that God strain Evan's blood through his sieve. Ask that he'd be filled with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and that Jesus would give him the will to fight through this sickness. Ask that Jesus would give him the sense to get up and ask God - for he asks, fine, but lacks faith. He doesn't fully believe that God will heal him. Rebuke the feeling that this problem is too big for God and the thought that it's a problem that needs to be healed with time, food and medicines, but God is the only one who can heal him.
Evan died, he put more faith in the doctors than God. Also if we are sick we need to get up and fight. This man gave in and died.
Loren
The following is a diary entry made in November 1996.
Loren rang to wish me a happy birthday; I wish she hadn't. For almost 2 hours she argued why she should still listen to her meditation tape, "Self Healing", read "Positive Thinking" books and generally put her faith in New Age ideas, instead of trusting Jesus Christ for her healing.
After lunch while standing near the sink God said to me, "You see now why I gave you the song, "I Surrender All" for her. I hadn't sung, or even heard the song for a while.
All to Jesus I surrender
All to him I freely give,
I will always love and trust him
In his presence daily live.
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to thee my blessed Saviour
I surrender all.
Loren hadn't surrendered her New Age activities to Jesus Christ, yet she expected him to heal her. She died a few months later.
Jesus healed when he walked the earth; he still does today. Dare you
trust him? I do!!
1/ Fiji
2/ Egypt
3/ Israel
4/ Papua New Guinea
5/ Forgive or I cannot forgive you
6/ Jesus still heals today
7/ Suicide
8/ Long Bay Gaol
9/ Attempted murder
10/ Bathurst Gaol
11/ Angels
12/ How to pray
13/ Cords
14/ Counting the cost
15/ The heart condition
16/ Lorraine
17/ Dracula - fact or fiction
18/ If you love me
19/ Being gay
20/ Faith
21/ Roots
22/ Malaysia
23/ Fiji revisited - 1997
24/ What Jesus means to me
25/ My diary entries
26/ Conclusion