1 Corinthians 11:30-32 “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (31) For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. (32) But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”
As and aside I will elaborate a little on the second hindrance encountered by believers in receiving their healing through the laying on of hands. As we have already mentioned, sin is not a hindrance for the unsaved because invariably their lifestyles are full of sin. So why is it that sin can hinder believers from being healed? Part of the answer to that question is given to us in the above quoted passage of scripture, for in this passage the apostle Paul teaches us very plainly that one of the mechanisms the Lord uses to chasten His children if they refuse to repent of their sinful practices, is sickness. And so clearly, until the saints repent of their sin the Lord will not remove the sickness that He has placed upon them to chasten them. I will end off this section with a personal testimony. The Lord never chastens new born believers for sin, simply because they are young in the Lord and don’t know any better. And so for several reasons, when baby Christians get sick it is that much easier to lay hands on them to be healed because as those who are newly saved, unbelief is not a problem and they are more receptive to God’s healing power. I recall on one occasion that I prayed for a woman who had recently been saved and who was totally deaf in her right ear (she had been deaf in that ear since she was a child). I told her about the healing power of the Lord Jesus and that it was a very small thing for Him who created her ear, to restore hearing to that ear. I personally like to use the word “expect” when I am about to lay hands on individuals, because it is a word that is more easily understood in today’s vernacular. And so I said to her that when I laid hands on her that she should expect God to heal her ear, and that is exactly what He would do. I asked her if she was ready to receive her healing when I laid hands on her and she eagerly answered that she was. You could tell by her countenance that she was in faith and she was expecting to be healed. The moment I put my finger in her ear and prayed, it felt like static electricity jumped from my finger into her ear (remember we spoke about the transference God’s of power through the laying on of hands) and she was instantly healed and could hear perfectly through that ear.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments