Here is a book which I benefited much from in my journey towards praying for the sick. Dr.Randy Clark is much loved and respected world wide for his ecumenical view that all denominations should work together in carrying out healing and deliverance, signs and wonder as a matter of obedience to the commission given by Jesus Christ.
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:7-8 New King James Version)
Benefited much by going through the The Ministry Training Manual written by Randy Clark. The Ministry protocol intro section reminded me the the need to strive for perfection (Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.) These points appear to a few list items – but they are so profound and deep, they are very refreshing and encouraging for me to strive for. I discovered that I need to have a servant’s heart with ingredients of humility, obedience, faithfulness, absence of desire for recognition, willingness to continue ministering up to the end of the meeting. The scripture references provided reinforced all these attributes. The need to have a teachable spirit with a willingness to receive and give ministry as well as to accept correction was valuable pointers that I should bear in mind. The need for having a good and healthy relationship was valuable and this being reiterated in terms of being free from rebellion, anger and disobedience was a useful check before ministering to others. Though the lifestyle points seemed basic, these were useful showing me areas of gaps in my daily routine. Though I read the Bible daily and pray individually and pray along with my wife, I was corrected that I do not have a daily routine of praise, worship or adoration. I was reminded that I need to be walking in forgiveness and repentance as a lifestyle not only being limited to the weekly church service or along with the occasion of having the Holy Communion. I was reminded that I should keep working on being filled or rather refilled with the Holy Spirit from time to time. I should be able to for my own awareness be able to show forth demonstration of the fruit of the spirit in my life viz. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Self-control. I was reminded that my daily life – how I live and what I do daily matters more than what I say or do in ministry. Wow, the beauty of these insights amazed me.
The need to be a channel of God’s love and the comfort and power of the Holy Spirit also was a precious reminder for me. In the past few years I have had multiple longings to love people around me in a more sincere and genuine manner – being aware of the lack of sincere love. When I read that as a preparation for ministry I need to pray daily to receive more of God’s love. The teaching that eagerly seeking and praying for increase in anointing was yet again another eyeopener. The need to wait upon the Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to search one’s heart regularly, wholehearted worship, receiving prayers from others – all these are lessons I seek to roll out as a habit in my life. The valuable insight that one would seldom err if we pray prayers based on scripture was also precious. The need to be open and ask when in doubt if a particular impression in one’s spirit made sense or means anything to the person prayed for was precious. The highlighting of the importance of being a channel of God’s love mattered most – as such a ministry would certainly impart God’s love to those prayed for was a much required learning for me.
That Sozo – the ministry of healing and deliverance has been mentioned many times – even over 110 times reminds us how much this is a dimension of Christian life. Sozo, a terminology that I had neither heard in the churches in India and in Dubai explained well in this manual helped my understanding. Got to know that this Greek term meant saved / rescued from Satan’s power and restored into the wholeness of God’s order and well being. That it meant (i) saved from eternal punishment for sin, (ii) healed of disease (iii) freed from demonic oppression. Thus meaning is saved completely. Among the many scripture references in the manual, this one struck a special cord with my soul. ( Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God )
The manual has the 5 step prayer model for ministering healing, words of knowledge, healing specific conditions, hindrances to healing and other chapters including one on deliverance. Would strongly encourage anyone desirous of being used effectively to read this book and bring through changes in one’s lifestyle and increase in the knowledge of all that is required to be used by Christ Jesus in the healing ministry.