Miracle Invasion: The Holy Spirit's Gifts At Work TodaySample

Gifts of Healing   

Of course we all know that Jesus was a great healer of the sick all through his ministry. He even commissioned his disciples to go on doing the same, making a rather audacious statement at the Last Supper: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12).

The story of the early church includes healing stories right and left. And not all of the healings were produced by the apostles. Ordinary Christians got in on the action, too.

The spiritual gift that restores broken or compromised bodies is still alive today. Not everyone who is prayed for gets healed, to be sure. But more do receive healing than those who are never prayed for! 

Jamie Rauch is a young Vancouver evangelist who leads churches in seminars that show how to share the gospel freely and pray for the sick whenever possible. He emphasizes bringing God’s healing power into present needs.

After one such seminar in a Seattle suburb, he sent everyone out in teams to practice what they had learned. Jamie and two women went to a large mall. “They’d never done this kind of thing before,” he says, “but they were willing to step out in faith.”

One woman mentioned that her daughter worked at a cosmetics store. She wasn’t on duty that particular day, but she had told her mother about a fellow employee who used Lofstrand (forearm) crutches. The young woman, 27 years old, managed to perch on a high stool and do makeovers despite her chronic pain—which she had endured ever since she was eight years old.

The trio stopped by, said hello, and added that when she went on her break, they’d like to pray for her. She agreed, and in fact brought along her parents, who were visiting her workplace. Soon, out in the busy concourse, the group gathered in a circle and quietly directed the pain to go, in Jesus’ name. They prayed for her hip joints to be restored and for feeling to return up and down her legs.

Then Jamie Rauch said, “Are you comfortable trying to walk down the hall here without your crutches?” She hesitated for a moment but then agreed to try. Handing her crutches to her parents, she began moving past a couple of stores unaided. She didn’t stagger or flinch; her gait was steady. She then turned around and walked back to the group, a look of amazement on her face. Her mother burst into tears, while her wide-eyed father stared into space, the color having drained from his face. Within minutes, all pain and stiffness were gone.

The Great Physician had sent his assistants to the mall on a Saturday afternoon.