The Order of St. Luke The Physician in The United Kingdom Benevolent Society
Healing and a New Beginning
Christian Healing Ministry Pamphlets By Hilda M. Moore
WHOLENESS.
Have you noticed how often Jesus used the word "whole" in His talks with people? Let me remind you of one or two instances when He did this. Jesus said to the man who had been waiting by the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years "Wilt thou be made whole?" (John 5 v 5) Then later an in the story He says to the man "Thou art made whole; sin no more." Then we have the story of the woman who touched the hem of His garment and Jesus said to her "Daughter thy faith hath made thee whole; sin no more." (Mark 5 v 34)
If I said to you now "Would you like to be made whole? What would it mean to you personally? Would it just mean that you would like to have your bodily sicknesses removed from you; your heart trouble, your arthritis, your indigestion etc? This is probably what it meant to many of the people who came to Jesus for healing in Biblical times, just as it still means the same to many people today. But to Jesus it meant far more than that, and this is another of the things He tried to teach them during His ministry here in earth. Jesus knew that the human personality comprises more than a body. Each one of us is a combination of body, mind and spirit, and each part constantly interacts upon the others so that they cannot be separated.
The Medical Profession is finding more and more that a sick or unhappy mind can and often does lead to a sick body. If we desire to be really healthy then we must seek for the healing of all three. We must seek for complete wholeness. In doing this we shall be bringing ourselves in line with the will of God.
Jesus healed very many people and it was such an important part of His ministry that not only did He heal people Himself but He also instructed His disciples to do the same, and through them His Church. We are told how He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9) and then we read how He instructed a further 70 to go out and do the same. (Luke 10) He told them to preach the Gospel AND heal the sick, so linking the two together as one ministry.
Jesus was working under the same limitations of time that we are. How often have we said, "If only I had more time I would do so much more." He knew that His time was limited and that He needed people who would speak for Him and so He sent these men out on His behalf. On both occasions when He was giving them their instructions as to what He wanted them to do He linked "preaching" and "healing" together, thus showing His concern for people's bodies as well as their souls. In other words He wanted men to be completely whole.
People who have asked for prayer have sometimes said to me "Is it right that I should go to my doctor and take medicine or am I showing a lack of faith by doing so?" We do right to see the doctor and should follow his advice and do our best to co operate with him. There are many ways in which God is healing all the time. He heals through medicine, through a surgeon's skill, through the care of doctors and nurses, through the love of friends and relatives, through the offices of the Church, through the laying on of hands and through prayer. But the real source of health lies within us.
God has given us a wonderful gift in the human body but there are certain laws we must follow to keep it in good working order. When sickness enters in it is because these laws have somewhere been broken maybe deliberately or thoughtlessly or in ignorance. Many people are suffering in innocence through sins committed long ago; the accumulation of wrongdoing or wrong thinking by the human race maybe generations ago. But whatever the cause of our sickness we must begin right away to obey those laws. To use our bodies correctly to use our minds correctly to get rid of all such things as resentment, unforgiveness, hate, negative thinking and the like. We must fill our hearts and our minds with love, joy and peace.
I have heard it said that everything starts with a thought. If this is so, it is very important that we should think correctly. But how easy it is to do just the opposite. We hear of someone who has just been diagnosed as suffering from a certain illness and immediately we begin to think of the symptoms that usually go with that particular illness. We even see him as far as the operation table, although his doctor may not yet have mentioned such a thing. Even those of us who have been involved in the Healing Ministry for some time still find ourselves unconsciously doing this at times. This is not to be surprised at because this is the way we have been thinking for many years. We have been building these pictures of the illness into our unconscious minds and when the illness is mentioned it is only to be expected that we shall visualise the picture that is there. What we have to do here is to re educate our unconscious minds with a new picture. With a picture of health and well being instead of a picture of illness.
PICTURE PRAYING.
One of the ways in which we can do this is by what we call "Picture praying". When the group to which I belong put a person's name on the Prayer List. We usually send them a letter explaining a little about the Healing Ministry; and this is one of the things we say to them: "When you pray, may we suggest that you do not think or speak about your illness but rather concentrate upon your health. Build a picture in your mind of yourself in full health and strength just as you would like to be. We shall be thinking of you in that way and praying that the pictures in our minds shall be taken by God's Holy Spirit and made into reality within your person.'' This is "Picture praying".
The best way in which I can illustrate it is by telling you the story of a little girl named Lois for whom we were asked to pray. Lois was 7 years of age and had appendicitis and peritonitis which was followed by internal gangrene. Her parents were told that there was no hope whatever of her recovery. On the Saturday her temperature was 106 deg. F we were asked to pray for her and did so on the Sunday morning and again in the evening. The Minister told us her story and asked us to picture her not as a sick child but as a completely well child. He then built up a picture of her playing with her toys, getting into mischief and riding her bicycle down the road. He then suggested that we had a quiet time during which we could ask God to make her just as we had pictured her.
There were many people in Church that day and I shall never forget the atmosphere during those few minutes. One could literally feel the love and prayers of the whole congregation reaching out to God on behalf of that little girl that most of us had never seen or even heard of before that day. And those prayers were answered because the next day, Monday, her temperature dropped right down to normal. The following Saturday she was discharged from hospital symptom free. Ten days afterwards the Minister met her riding her bicycle down the road just as we had pictured her, although at the time we did not even know if she possessed a bicycle. This is a wonderful example of "Picture praying".
Another way I sometimes use myself is what I call the "Gradual method" for want of a better name. It is not always easy to picture a person, who is obviously very ill in any other way, especially when one has never seen them as a fit person. When this happens I allow myself to see them as they are a few seconds and then I use my imagination and picture them gradually changing to what they could become; fit and well and full of the joy of living. Then I am able to pray with the right picture in my mind.
If we are to lead a full and happy life this creative and positive thinking must be brought into our everyday lives. It is no good waiting, till we or someone we love falls sick. We cannot turn it on and off when needed like we turn on the water tap. It has to become part of us. It has to shine from us as we go about our daily business. We must also be quite sure that our connections with God are intact; that our prayer life is a living thing; that we are in close contact with Him all the time and not only when we go to Church on Sunday. We must learn to know Him so well that we can share with Him our joys as well as our sorrows. If we can do this we shall then find that we are able to bring our loved ones to Him in complete confidence and trust. In this way we can create the right conditions for healing, not only for ourselves but also for other people.
This is the kind of atmosphere that must have surrounded Jesus as He travelled around the country. We read in the New Testament time and time again how the crowd followed Him and how He healed all who came to Him. This is the kind of atmosphere that we who are Christians must try to create; an atmosphere of love, joy and expectancy of good health, an expectancy of complete wholeness.
ABSENT HEALING.
Absent healing and picture praying go hand in hand. Some people in the early days of their involvement in the work of healing find they have difficulty in praying for someone they have not seen. The same difficulty must have been felt, by the people when Jesus was here an earth and in most of the stories of the healings of Jesus there was some personal contact. However in the story of the healing of the Centurion’s servant Jesus shows that absent healing is possible, (Luke 8 and Matthew 7), where there is faith and trust in Him.
This faith and trust does not necessarily have to be on the part of the sick person, as frequently he is too sick to do this. This is what happened in the case of Bert who was involved in a serious car accident and was unconscious at the time. He was prayed for, by the group for many weeks and the following letter was subsequently received from him.
Dear Mrs Moore,
"As we spend this week end in Birmingham I am reminded once again of the great debt that I owe to you and those members of your congregation who, over the past year have remembered me in their prayers. I am happy to say that I am infinitely better, although at times I experience much pain and find myself easily fatigued. None the less I would not complain, as I am very conscious of the Divine purpose of my life and of God's goodness to me.There may be times when your members may wonder whether their prayers are of avail. Let me just tell you this:-
On the third night after my admission to hospital, although still unconscious, in my subconscious mind I was aware that I was very near to death I learned afterwards that this was indeed so. I was equally aware that my physical self, though fighting to survive was too weak to carry on.
It was at this stage that I was aware of what I can only inadequately describe as an awareness of good will; it was a warmth that made me conscious that I was not alone in this fight to survive. I am convinced that this was no mere physical reaction but that something was sustaining me and willing me to live.
From thence I rallied and I am convinced that it was the good wishes the thoughts of so many caring people the prayers call it what you will that sustained me in this time of crisis, I cannot thank you all too much. May God bless you all in your work of healing.
INTERCESSION PRAYER Picture Praying.
We come before You again Father on behalf of our sick friends and would offer ourselves once more as channels through which You can work. Take all that is best in us and use it take all that is worst in us and so transform it that even this may be used in Your service. We believe that Your will for all men is perfect health perfect wholeness and we come before You now believing that with You all things are possible. These are Your children Father; we do not see them as sick people. We visualise them as completely well people. Happy, free from fear and anxiety, free from pain, straight and strong and able to go about their daily business. We bring them before You now into the radiance of Your love and commit them into Your hands in the sure knowledge that Your promises are still the same, yesterday today and forever. Names:-
Beside these people we have named Father, there are many others we know who also need Your blessing and we would commit them also into Your care.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where the people recognised Jesus.
So they sent for the sick people in all the surrounding country and brought them to Jesus.
They begged him to let those who were ill at least touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.
Matthew 14- 34,36
“But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13 v13)