In my years ministering as a permanent deacon, one thing I regularly emphasize is the healing power of God. Whatever wounds we have, whether they are physical, spiritual, emotional or psychological, we need to seek His healing through our faith, all the while concluding our requests with the words of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
But in what ways should we seek healing from God? Here are seven suggestions I’d like you to consider.
SURRENDER TO GOD’S LOVE, MERCY, and POWER. In my ministry, Spirit Filled Hearts, we often say that the greatest and most difficult journey is 18 inches, from the head to the heart! If we know God, just in our head, we will never experience the power that God wants to give us. Remember on the road to Emmaus the disciples said, “were our hearts not on fire?” One of my favorite Scriptures, and I have many, is Luke 12:49, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!”
I experienced the fire of Christ when I gave my heart and life to Jesus at the age of 28. Suddenly, the Scriptures came alive. I couldn’t put the Bible down. I read it hours and hours at a time. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jesus and telling other people how much Jesus loved us. My mother thought I joined a cult. Others felt I was just crazy. The reality? I was totally in love with Jesus. Despite many challenges, that love has only grown!
One of the great revelations to me was that I was truly loved and not being condemned. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
Nothing will separate us from the love of Jesus!
“For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
I have seen countless examples of His love and mercy. It is critical that we surrender to Jesus and let Him flow through us. One great example was an event at Christ Cathedral in the Diocese of Orange, California that manifested the love and mercy of Christ. There was a woman, about 27, who was in a wheelchair and was being pushed by her boyfriend. I saw her in a theater holding about 300 people. I felt immediately the Lord telling me, through His mercy, that He wanted to heal the woman in the wheelchair. At the end of the event, the woman was pushed to the stage of the theater. I walked up and began speaking to her. I never introduced myself as a deacon or someone who had a healing ministry. I simply said, “God wants to heal you tonight.” She looked at me like I was crazy! I felt like she was about to yell “security!” So I mustered up courage and with a loud voice said, “In the name of Jesus, stand!” I found out later that she hadn’t stood in 16 years. She looked at me and her eyes were completely dilated and her arms started shaking. She then stood for the first time in many, many years! However, that was just the beginning of God’s mercy. I put my hand on her back and felt that it was about a half moon, totally curved. Suddenly, the back began moving and became straight as a board. She began crying with joy and went to her knees praising God. Suddenly the whole arena was singing “alleluia.” It was an incredible moment of God’s mercy!
ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BE RELEASED WITHIN YOU. Remember it is not enough that we are baptized and confirmed! We must want the Holy Spirit to be released within us. At an event, a woman wanted me to pray over her. At first, I felt I didn’t have time, but the Lord told me to pray immediately over her. I didn’t know what she needed to heal. I laid my hand on her and she started screaming. She had been deaf in one ear since birth and suddenly she could hear perfectly out of the ear! She started crying and screaming with joy!
At another event, the Lord told me, out of the blue, to go to a table and pray for a woman. As it turned out, the woman was in severe pain with a tumor in her neck. I prayed over her with the love and mercy of Jesus and she was instantly healed. Her physician told her it was a miracle!
EXPECT AND EXPERIENCE MIRACLES. So much of understanding the love and mercy of Jesus is to ask for faith “to move mountains.” At a prayer and teaching seminar, a woman told me that her aunt was in the hospital and was in serious condition with a brain arrhythmia. She was not expected to live more than a few days. We have the ability to “stand in the gap” for people through the mercy of Christ. I prayed over this woman and in a couple of days she told me that her aunt was completely healed!
Another example of mercy is a man who told me that his brother was not expected to live. He had stage four cancer that had progressed. Once again, the man stood in for his brother and I prayed for the brother’s healing. It was actually many months later that I learned that his brother had been instantly healed! How great is God’s mercy!
EMBRACE HOLINESS. To be holy is our destiny and calling. We are called to be saints. We must want it. We must seek it. St. Teresa of Calcutta told us we must seek it with all our hearts. We are told in Leviticus and in 1 Peter that we are to be holy and keep ourselves holy. Most people don’t think it is possible for them to be holy. We see our sin and our brokenness. The key to understanding holiness is not what we have done, but accepting what Christ has done for us through His death and resurrection. The holier we strive to become, the more God will use us in a mighty way.
EMBRACE THE SACRAMENTS. To experience the love and mercy of Christ it is necessary to grow in our love of the sacraments, starting with Reconciliation.To be holy, we must examine our conscience daily and go frequently to confession. Attending and embracing daily Mass and receiving the Eucharist gives us both strength and protection. It also dramatically assists the miracles that flow through us. After one Mass, I was told a young woman, in her mid-30s, had stage four cancer and was not expected to live. In the chapel, with my wife assisting, I prayed over her. We all started crying because we felt profoundly the love and mercy of Jesus. When she went to her oncologist, he couldn’t find any cancer! Once again, God’s mercy was there with great love and power.
WIN THE BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND. We are at war. We must realize that the enemy wants us to be discouraged and feel defeated at all times. We must ask for more faith and expect that we will receive it. It is faith that will blunt the fiery arrows of the devil. We need to learn how to praise and use the name of Jesus to protect us. We also need to take every thought captive to not give the enemy a foothold in our ministry.
It is critical that we learn the power of the rosary. I pray at least three a day. I also feel it is necessary to pray 12 Divine Mercy chaplets daily. We need tools and weapons to defeat an enemy who wants very much to defeat our purpose in life, which is building up the kingdom of God and His Church!
THE GIFT OF PERSEVERANCE. As I have said, “don’t give up, don’t give up, don’t give up.” The devil will always work on us to quit our ministries and what God wants us to do. I often ask my brother, “why is life so difficult?” His answer is, “it is supposed to be.” There is nothing easy about this world and being a warrior for Christ. There are many roadblocks and obstacles. However, God is greater than anything that will be thrown at us. Draw upon His mercy! You will receive great power and accomplish more than anything you could ever imagine.
You are destined for great things due to the mercy of Christ. You will be used for many miracles!
