Pray it then say it

The Potential of Proclamation

Jesus did not pray for any of the people to whom He ministered. I
mentioned this in my last article, but it is worth repeating. Jesus prayed
when He was alone with His Father. However, when He was ministering
to people, He did not pray. He identified their need, often made
physical contact with them, and then either proclaimed them healed,
or instructed them to do something which indicated their restored
condition. I believe that the reason Jesus didn’t pray for the sick was
simply because He knew the will of His Father and realised that He
already carried the anointing to minister healing.

Prayer is a form of communication, not an agency for spiritual ministry.

When we pray, we talk to God. We might ask for anointing, or we may
inquire if something is according to divine will. Prayer therefore
precedes spiritual ministry yet we habitually pray for the sick when we
minister to them, instead of simply ‘healing’ them. We don’t seem to
know the will of the Father. We are unsure whether it is His will that we
heal the sick, so we lay hands on the infirm, interceded for them by
praying to God for mercy, and then add “if it be thy will”. Jesus, on the
other hand, knew His father’s will, and so He had no need to pray when
ministering; He simply went ahead and healed. But how did He do this?
He often healed by laying His hands on the afflicted people but in most
cases He spoke authoritatively; He proclaimed healing.

I am not suggesting that words contain power. An essential tenet of

magic is that certain words have the power to control nature, to
transform physical elements, and to evoke spiritual beings. I do not
believe this. However, words do play an important role in the process
of transferring power. The Roman Centurion of Luke 7:7 understood
the power of authoritative proclamation because he said to Jesus, “say
the word, and my servant will be healed.” His servant was in another
town some distance away, yet the soldier knew that Jesus was capable
of healing with a word.

Consider the actual phrasing of the Lord’s commission to His disciples.

To the twelve He said “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those
who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely
give.” (Matthew 10:8). Luke adds the insight that Jesus ‘gave them
power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.’
(Luke 9:1) To the seventy-two other disciples Jesus simply said, “Heal
the sick who are there…” (Luke 10:9) He did not say “pray for the
sick”, nor did He instruct them to ask God to heal. He gave them both
power and authority, and then told them to get on and DO it!

Having said all this, it would be unwise for me to end this short article
without a caution. There is a difference between proclamation and
presumption. I really don’t think that we should pronounce people
healed (past tense) unless we have received a genuine gift of faith to
do so. This would be presumptuous. However, I do believe that we
should proclaim healing (present tense) when we minister to the
infirm. Suitable proclamations would be “receive healing in Jesus
name” or “be healed in Jesus name.”

So, to put it all together, what I am proposing is that we first pray for
both power and direction, and then in faith receive the anointing of the
Holy Spirit. After that we should minister to those in need by humbly
yet boldly proclaiming in Jesus name. Prayer – Power – Proclamation.

This article is part of a series introducing Dr Peppler’s

new book – P3: Prayer, Power, and Proclamation
which you can order from www.chrispy.co.za