That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:16-17 KJV)

12 Vital Keys to Getting Healed

Because Jesus healed them ALL

This is your Biblical road-map to receiving your healing just as the early church did!

Supernatural healing seems to be one of those subjects that puzzles the church today. Numerous people pray for healing with no results, yet in the early church divine healings were commonplace. Nobody who went to Jesus was turned down. It was clearly God's will to heal the people back then,
so why do we see such miserable success rates today? There are a few reasons, and in this teaching I will explore them.

I think it was last weekend when my pastor focused on healing, and he asked everybody who needed a healing to stand up. About a dozen people stood up. The Holy Spirit came down and moved upon the congregation as pastor Bruce prayed. Afterward, Pastor Bruce asked everybody who received a physical healing to raise their hand... about 8-10 people raised their hands! This is the kind of stuff that happens at my church!!!! This is the early church experience!!!! I don't think a week goes by without several miracles happening in my church... yet many churches can go 6 months and no see a single supernatural miracle! What is the difference? What was different about the early church? It was the teachings. The people believed the new covenant that God had with them! Religious teachings hinder, block, and corrupt the faith of the hearers!

Key #1 - You need to know it is God's will to heal you

One of the hindrances to our ability to receive from God has to do with the way we see Him. If we don't know or trust somebody, our ability to have faith in them is greatly diminished. God's Word tells us that we must be in faith when we approach Him:

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

Jesus freely healed ALL who came to Him, and He instructed His disciples to do the same. Freely didn't mean they were charging for ministry, but rather the frequency by which they performed these miracles. God wants us to FREELY heal the sick, meaning, He wants us doing it often and to many people!

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7-8 KJV)

How can we freely go forth and heal the sick, if we aren't sure if it's God's will to heal them? When Jesus gave the command, there were no exceptions that went along with it. This lines up with the example we are given in scripture where Jesus healed ALL who came to Him! How often did Jesus heal people? Let's take a look...

"And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them." (Matthew 4:24)

"...and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;" (Matthew 12:15)

What was Jesus doing? He was demonstrating a very important part of the covenant that He made with us through shedding His blood.

"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:16-17 KJV)

Jesus went about demonstrating the GOOD will of the Father toward mankind and the covenant of healing that we have today because of Jesus' work on the cross!

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6, He instructed them to pray that the will of the Father be done here on earth, as it is in heaven. If you want to see God's will here on earth, you need to look at what is allowed or not allowed up in heaven! Do you see sickness, poverty, or bondage up in heaven? Not at all. Unfortunately, God's will does not always prevail here on earth, because we live in a fallen world, and many times His will is hindered. If God's will always prevailed here on earth, then God would have to be behind every form of evil, sin, rape, murder, etc. Those things are clearly not God's will here on earth, are they? Absolutely not!

"Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:9-11 KJV)

Jesus compared the heart of a good earthly father to our heavenly father. Now what good earthly father would turn away their son or daughter from being healed if they had the ability to free them from all forms of sickness and disease? Any parent today that would either put sickness on their child, or refuse to get them adequate medical attention, can be convicted of a serious crime, and either wind up in jail or the mental hospital! While we would never do these terrible things to our children, we somehow believe that God would do them to us. Are we more loving and good hearted that our heavenly Father?

How we see God and knowing His nature is an important key to trusting him; you will have a hard time trusting somebody whom you have never known, or question their heart toward you.

Sickness is a result of a curse (Deuteronomy 28:59-61), and came into the world as a result of sin. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and of sin (1 John 3:8). If sickness is the fruit of sin, for God to be glorified by sickness, would mean God endorses the source of sickness, which would mean God also endorses sin. God does not endorse sin nor does He endorse the fruit of sin!

"...the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8 KJV)

The fact is, if you don't know it is God's will for you to be healed, then what you have isn't called faith, it's called hope. Faith is knowing that it is God's will to heal you. Hope is hoping that it's His will to heal you.

And finally, I want to ask you a good logical question: If it is God's will for you to be sick, then why are you fighting God's will in your life by going to the doctor or taking medications?

Key #2 - You must understand the covenant

I have a really important question I want to ask you: Is healing part of the atonement and new covenant we have through Christ?

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5 KJV)

Now some of you might say, "But that was just for our spiritual healing. That couldn't be for our physical healing!" Turn to Matthew 8 and read the story in verses 16 and 17:

"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:16-17 KJV)

Were those "spiritual healings" or were those full blown physical healings that took place? I would say that irrefutably proves that our physical healing was indeed part of the atoning work of Christ on the Cross. Don't you?

If healing is part of our covenant with God through Christ's atoning work, what is this business about "in God's timing" or "if it's God's will to heal me"? If He has made a covenant with us, and Jesus has paid the price for our healing in the atonement, then for God to withhold on that provision, His integrity would be worth squat.

Many people are not healed because they lack basic knowledge of the covenant we have with God. Just as we are told in Hosea chapter 4, Christians today are destroyed for lack of knowledge:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." (Hosea 4:6 KJV)

We need to be diligent in seeking to understand the scriptures and not be ignorant of the things which God has for us. You can stake your life on God's integrity, but we doubt His integrity when we still ask if it's God's will to heal us, as it's clear that healing is one of the benefits of the New Covenant.

The thing we have to keep in mind is that the promises of the New Covenant are received by faith. Just as Jesus died for the sins of the world, does not mean that the world will be saved.

Key #3 - Realize that you are worthy to receive

One of the major blockages to receiving the things of God, whether it be a healing, a breakthrough in our finances, or a deliverance from some type of bondage in our lives, is the self-worth stumbling block. Have you ever seen the prophet who is incredibly gifted and can give the most wonderful life-changing words to everybody around them, but finds it nearly impossible to receive a good word from God for themself? Or the person who is incredibly gifted with faith and healing gifts, and can get everybody around them healed, but struggles themself to receive a healing? This is because they don't feel worthy to receive. They see everybody else as worthy and favored by God, but struggle to see themself as worthy. Dealing with self-worth issues is a major key to healing for many Christians today.

This feeling of unworthiness is a sign of unbelief in another benefit of the covenant that Jesus so lovingly purchased for us... that is, the total and complete forgiveness of our sins. Jesus paid-in-full the price we were supposed to pay, and for God to make us pay for our sins after Jesus already paid for them, would discredit or ignore the price that Jesus paid... as if it were not sufficient!! Who is behind false guilt and condemnation? Satan! What is he really trying to do? Get us to not really believe in the wonderful work that Jesus did for us, by paying the steep and terrible price for ALL of our sins! Satan does not want you and I to realize that our sins have been totally paid for.

You are justified by the Blood of Jesus (Romans 3:24). To be justified in the root Greek word, literally means to be made just as if you have never sinned! The righteousness of God is upon you (Romans 3:22) and your sins have all be washed away, so far as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12).

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26 KJV)

You are made righteous, justified, and totally forgiven of all your sins, and are in a covenant with God which includes your healing, and yet you still believe you are unworthy to receive? That's unbelief in the work that Christ has done for you. You were not made worthy by your own works or attempts to live a sinless life, but Christ made you worthy to receive all the promises of God when He shed His blood for you and I on Calvary!

How we see ourselves will greatly affect our faith and ability to receive the things that God has for us. Many times we have to believe this first provision of the covenant (the forgiveness of our sins) before we are ready to believe the other promises such as healing.

I like how Joseph Prince said he used to preach the 7 things which would prevent a person from being healed, until the Holy Spirit spoke to him about this and told him to begin preaching that the people are worthy to receive because of what Jesus did for them. What happened? Healings broke out everywhere in his church!!! This goes along with faith coming through hearing the gospel message of Christ. If you look at the context of this next verse, you'll find that it wasn't just the Word of God, but the message of what Jesus did for us which builds faith:

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17 KJV)

Key #4 - Break down unbelief... what if God does heal you?

One of the devil's most used weapons is the whole what-if question game. He asks questions all the time such as "What if it isn't God's will to heal me?" or "What if I never receive my healing?" to create seeds of doubt and fear in our minds. These are dangerous seeds which grow into mountains of unbelief and discouragement. We can play this what-if game too by asking questions that cast doubt on the lies of the enemy. This is a highly effective tool to tearing down strongholds and quickly building faith in the things of God!

Below are some of the questions I want you to begin asking yourself. And don't just ask them once or twice; if this is an area which you struggle believing, you need to keep asking yourself these questions and ponder their answers.

What if God really did justify and forgive ALL of my sins at the Cross?

What if God Himself has chosen to not even remember my sins? (See Isaiah 43:25)

What if God's desire really is for me to be healed?

What if healing was something Jesus lovingly purchased for me at the Cross?

What if God really does heal me and I go on to live a healthy and blessed life?

What if God really does have good plans for me, to give me a long good (satisfying) and abundant life and an expected end?

If you want to build faith, you need to start casting doubt on the lies of the enemy.

Key #5 - Understand what really hinders a healing

Believing wrongly about what does hinder a healing can itself keep a person from having the faith to receive their healing. For example, if a person who is sensitive believes that some sin in their life is keeping them from getting healed, then they will work diligently to overcome every sin and live a sinless life, only to fail miserably and give up all hope of being healed. They don't feel that they are worthy to receive because of some sin in their life, when their imperfections were never the cause of their failed healing, but rather their lack of faith in the finished work of Christ. Telling somebody that sin in their life is God's judgment upon them, and that they won't be healed until they repent is exactly what a religious Pharisee would do in Jesus' day and it makes me angry when I see it happening today.

While sin in our lives do not hinder a healing, or else we would all be hindered, it can open the door to unclean spirits which can carry with them infirmities. Is it God's anger toward us for sinning? No, for God has vowed to us a solemn promise never to be angry with us or rebuke us (go read Isaiah 54:9). It is not God judging us believers when we sin, but rather our choice to sin can invite spirits which God never wanted us to have, and those spirits can carry infirmities with them. Unforgiveness can give those spirits to remain in our bodies, and thus the sickness remains.

Seeking a healing when you really need emotional healing or a deliverance is something that we need to consider. If you need a deliverance, and you're just trying to get healed, you may not get the result you want. Understanding why the sickness is there and dealing with the roots of that infirmity is crucial to getting healed and keeping your healing.

Faith does play a role in receiving the promises of God, but we have to understand what Biblical faith really is. Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ and receiving it (see Romans 10:8-17). Faith begins where the will of God is known, so knowing God's will to heal us is crucial to our faith to receive a healing.

If you have self-worth issues, or struggle with false guilt, then you probably aren't going to feel worthy to receive a healing miracle from God. Somebody who has spirits of guilt, condemnation, or mind control, can struggle with a feeling of unworthiness. Dealing with the root emotional and spiritual causes of these self-worth issues may be an important step toward your healing. Most guilt and self worth issues are rooted in lies that we have believed about ourselves or the forgiveness of the Cross. Feeding on God's Word about who you are, and how you have been totally forgiven and are much loved by God, are important keys to tearing down self-worth issues. Getting rid of spirits which hamper you with false guilt or condemnation is important to lasting freedom in this area. Sexual sins are a major source of guilt, condemnation, etc. because they invite spirits which seek to destroy our identity and sense of who we are in Christ.

There are other faulty beliefs which can make us feel like we somehow have to measure up to a certain standard to receive our healing, and will hinder us from receiving. For example, maybe you feel like you are a newer or immature Christian. Did Jesus wait until the people were mature believers before He healed them? No, He healed them right where they were!

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)

Wrongly dividing the Word is a major problem in the church, and is to blame for the lack of healings. Wrong doctrines can kill a person's faith, and destroy their chances of receiving the things that God has for them. Faith comes by hearing about the work of Christ on the cross for us; man's interpretation of the scriptures which are often derived out of their failed experiences (grandma died of cancer so it had to be God's will for her), do absolutely nothing to build our faith. Believing religious doctrines which come from pastors and churchy people will in fact make the Word of God to no effect in your life.

"Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye." (Mark 7:13 KJV)

Key #6 - Understand your authority over sickness

If you search the entire New Testament, you will find that there is very little said about praying for the sick. As a matter of fact, I am only aware of one scripture that even uses the words praying for the sick and that is James 5:15. All of the other scriptures and examples we find in Jesus' ministry and that of the early church has to do more with using authority and speaking commands to be healed. Jesus never prayed to the Father asking Him to heal somebody, He spoke to the person and said something like, "Raise and walk!" The early church did the same thing, except they added the name of Jesus. Peter didn't pray for the lame man to be healed, he spoke to the man saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." (Acts 3:6)

What is the point in all this? It has to do with our authority over sickness and disease. Authority doesn't ask or beg God to move on our behalf, authority speaks commands in faith. Jesus gave us authority over all manners of sickness and diseases, because we are seated with Him in heavenly places. Jesus wouldn't tell us to heal the sick if we had no authority to do so (Matthew 10:8).

"And these signs shall follow them that believe...they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18)

"For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." (Mark 13:34)

To beg God for something that has been provided to us in the covenant we have with Christ, is a demonstration of unbelief in that covenant blessing.

Since healing is indeed part of our covenant with God, it changes the way in which we call for a healing. In order to please God, we must be in a place of faith, and faith believes the promises and provisions of the covenant that we have through Christ. Begging for a healing is certainly not the prayer of faith we find in James 5:15. Notice that the only time we find the word prayer used for healing, we also discover that prayer for a healing is called a prayer of faith. "If it be God's will" is not a prayer of faith, but rather prayer of petition.

Key #7 - Deal with curses and spirits which carry infirmities

My good friend and ministry partner Jay Bartlett, who has performed over 12,000 exorcisms, once told me that while he doesn't believe he is gifted in the area of healing, he has seen every sickness you can imagine healed as the person went through a deliverance. Ask around to many of those in the deliverance ministry, and you'll find that many sickness and diseases are rooted in the spiritual and emotional realm. I find it interesting that the Bible tells us that Jesus went about healing all who were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38).

While I do not believe God puts sickness on the believer because of a particular sin in their life. I do believe that we can get sick because we've opened doors which invited spirits that carry infirmities. While there are spirits of infirmity, many times other types of spirits carry infirmities with them, such as witchcraft, rebellion, the occult, anger, etc. People who get involved with witchcraft often wind up with physical infirmities that the witchcraft spirits have brought in with them. When doing deliverance on somebody, it is a good idea to bind the infirmities to the spirits as they are cast out.

Sometimes a person may be sick because of a curse that has been placed on them. If this was done by somebody practicing witchcraft, the first thing you need to do is break any ungodly soul ties that you've made with that person. This is what allows them to pass curses, spells, and such to their victim. The next thing you need to do is make sure you don't have any physical items that they have given you... because they could be cursed or used as a vehicle to send a curse your way. Verbally break off any curses that have been sent your way from them.

A curse can also be a legal right; a spirit carrying an infirmity is the means by which a curse is carried out. Matthew 18:21-35 shows where the tormenters do the tormenting, because they have a right to do it... a right given to them by unforgiveness in our hearts! Unforgiveness is a legal right for spirits to indwell a person's body and inflict them with an infirmity.

Anytime a sickness is the result of a person's sin, it is not a purely physical healing that is needed, but rather a deliverance. A spirit carrying an infirmity has been let in, and needs to be driven out.

"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw." (Matthew 12:22)

"And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God." (Luke 13:11-16)

Many sicknesses are the result of a person being inflicted with a spirit carrying an infirmity, as we can see Jesus went about healing many who were oppressed of the devil:

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38)

When dealing with somebody who has an infirmity, it's always a good idea to ask whether they have family members or ancestors who have had the same infirmity. It could be a generational spirit which has been going down the family line and needs to be cast out.

Key #8 - Debunk the lies that keep people from getting healed

Paul's Thorn is a big argument used to prove their theory that God will allow a person to have a sickness for the glory of God. Look carefully at the context and what it is actually saying, and you see that (a) this was not a physical sickness but rather a messenger of Satan, and (b) it involved persecution and distresses which we were never promised deliverance from here on earth:

"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 KJV)

The story of Job is another common argument, but then again, we have to look closely at what was really going on. First, none of the physical problems Job had was purely physical, but caused by demons. Secondly, Job did not have a covenant with God concerning his healing. Third, Job saw God as a God who gave and took away, and later on in the book of Job, we find that God rebuked him for his way of thinking (Job 38:2) and Job repented for his foolish rants about the nature of God (Job 42:3). We like to quote Job's foolish rants as if they were scripture, and it just goes to show everybody how little we really understand the story of Job. That is wrongly dividing the Word of God and it has cost many people dearly because of the twisted picture of God which was fed to them from the pulpit. That makes me mad!

What about the man born blind? Let's take a close look at this passage:

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:1-4 KJV)

First of all, I believe the punctuation marking was wrong. In the original manuscripts, where were almost no if any punctuation marks used. Notice that they did not ask Jesus why the man was born bind. If that ask Him that question, we could see Jesus answering it with something like, "God made him that way for His purposes." So what question was Jesus asked? "Who sinned?" What did Jesus answer? "Neither him nor his parents sinned." That's where I think there belongs a period, instead of a colon. The next thing Jesus said didn't really answer the question they asked, and I believe starts an entire new train of thought. Then Jesus goes on to say that the works of God must be made manifest in this man's life, for the works of God was the very purpose of Christ coming to this world. What were the works of God that Jesus manifested in this man's life? His divine healing. God wanted his body HEALED. God didn't put sickness on him so he could be taught something. Jesus' only intent in this passage was to get the man healed, because it was the works that He came to do.

We are called to rightly divide the Word, and I honestly don't think the common interpretation of this passage lines up with the rest of scripture. Is it like the loving nature of our heavenly father to cause a man to suffer from blindness his whole life? Is that something you would ever do to your child? Then why on earth do we pin this terribly selfish thing on our heavenly Father? That just doesn't line up with the nature of God. This is one of those verses that doens't make sense when lined up against the rest of the Bible, and therefore our interpretation of it should be questioned.

If you still don't agree with me, I want to point out that God got glory by HEALING the man, not letting him take his sickness to the grave. The glory God got out of the situation was in the miracle that happened. Many people use this verse to undermine the healing ministry, then wind up never getting healed.

Also notice that Jesus said that it was the works of God which must be manifested in Him. The work of God was HEALING!! It was not to teach him something, it was not to make him stronger, it was to get this man healed and physically whole! That was the WORKS OF GOD that Jesus was talking about!! This man did NOT have a sickness given to him to teach him something or to make him a better person. EVEN IF this sickness was given to him by God, it was for the purpose of showing the people that God wants to heal them!!

Then there's the story of Lazareth, where Jesus could have came sooner and healed him but decided to wait until he died, then came and rose him from the dead. Lazareth's healing was delayed for an greater miracle. Again, people quote this passage to undermine the healing ministry, then end up taking their sickness to their grave. Next time I see somebody dying of a sickness and somebody uses this passage, I'd like to see them raise the person from the dead after they've went on. THAT was what happened in this story in the Bible!

On top of all that, what did Job, the man born blind, and Lazareth have in common? None of them had a covenant with God which included their healing, as we do today. They were all sick under the Old Covenant, before the New Covenant was established. Remember, if God withholds a piece of the covenant for His sovereign purposes, it makes His promises unreliable and His integrity a farce. Either healing is part of the atonement or it isn't.

A religious belief system is a poison to our faith in the real things of God, such as healing. Why is it that in the early church and in other third world countries, healings and deliverances are easy to come by? Over in third world countries, the ministry of healing and deliverance are easily manifested. It's easy to see the blind eyes opened, deaf ears hear, and many get healed in Jesus' name. Yet in America, it's like pulling teeth. Do you know why? It's because of the dead religion that we've been fed over the years. Over there, if you tell them that God is a good God, then that's all they know about God. If you can get a person to really "get it" that God loves them as much as He loved Jesus, it's easy to get them to receive the things God has for them! But here in America, religion had poisoned our faith in the goodness of God. Religion has told us that God uses sickness to teach us things, or that He might just kill us like He did Aunt Betty who died of a terrible cancer. Religion has told us that God just might put poverty on us to keep us humble, when the Bible says the exact opposite (see my teaching on Biblical Prosperity)! You cannot trust somebody who you aren't sure is looking after your best interest, and this is the very reason why Satan, through dead religion, has taught us some terrible things about God, so that our perception of His heart toward us is poisoned.

Then we believe lies such as "in God's time" when God's time for Aunt Betty never came, and many of us never will. Many times when a person believes that, they never get healed, the doctor bills mount up, and we start to feel like God really doesn't care. That's the image of God that we get when we believe in the flesh. Just as we can walk in the flesh, we can also believe in the flesh! Believing in the flesh is a result of trying to reason away failed healings, and calls God's Word and His integrity a farce. We need to stop looking at what happened to Aunt Betty and start believing what the Word has to say. We don't know why Aunt Betty died of cancer, but we're awfully quick to blame God for her death when she didn't get healed. This is believing in the flesh.

When we believe all these wrong things about God, it makes it nearly impossible for us to receive from Him. God's Word tells us that he who comes to God must not waiver like the wind, but be in faith and believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him:

"But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." (James 1:6-7 KJV)

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

And what does James tell us concerning the prayer for healing? It's called a prayer of FAITH! It's a prayer where you are going to God with faith, knowing that it is His will for your healing:

"And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." (James 5:15 KJV)

Key #9 - Deal with unhealthy emotions that invite infirmities

Anytime somebody is seeking a healing, it is a good idea to check for unforgiveness, as it is often found behind most types of cancers and numerous other diseases. Whenever a sickness is held up by unforgiveness, you aren't dealing with a purely physical problem, but rather an issue with the tormenters (demons) which Jesus warned us of in Matthew 18:

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." (Matthew 18:21-35 KJV)

All sicknesses coming out of unforgiveness (and there are many of them) are indeed spiritually rooted. We are required to forgive those who offend us, which is very important to our emotional, spiritual, and physical health.

What exactly does it mean to forgive? To forgive does not mean to trust. If a person was raped, nowhere do we find in scripture that they are required to put them self in a vulnerable position with that person ever again. While trust can be rebuilt, it may never happen and that is okay. What forgiveness is, is letting the poison out of our heart which we hold against them. The feelings of hate may not go away right away, and require emotional healing to be resolved. But we must purpose it in our heart to forgive them because Jesus requires that of us. Make the decision to forgive, and then seek emotional healing so that you can be healed of the wounds that still remain.

Various things in our lives will cause emotional wounds. Things like rejection, abandonment, abuse, trauma, etc. will create wounds which cause feelings of fear, resentment, jealousy, anger, unforgiveness, and such. These things by themselves are hard on our systems, but they can also invite in spirits which inflict our bodies with various infirmities. Diabetes is often found to be rooted in rejection. Lupus is often found to be rooted in self-hate. Cancer is usually rooted in unforgiveness. There is a really good book called A More Excellent Way by Henry Wright which goes all into the spiritual roots of many diseases. It has a wealth of information on the subject and is a must-read book for anybody in the healing or deliverance ministry!

Getting to the root of the problem often requires emotional or inner healing ministry, where the person goes back to the point of pain and forgives and releases it to Jesus. We need to forgive, but often that alone doesn't heal the wound that was left. This is where emotional healing is so important. Dealing with the wounds that brought in the infirmity spirits is crucial to getting a person truly free from the spirits which enter in through emotional wounds.

Key #10 - Stop being passive about Jesus' gift of healing!

Many times when somebody gives us a gift, we are very excited and thankful, but when Jesus paid a price of near-death abuse (the lashings on His back) just for our healing alone, we are often very passive and "hope" to be healed. We need to change our attitude concerning the things God has provided for us in the covenant, and out of a thankful heart full of faith, we need to boldly take hold of what is rightfully ours because of what Jesus did for us! We need to develop an attitude against the works of the devil in our lives!!

If we are truly believing that we are made worthy, and that such a great purchase was made for us, then we would be overflowing with joy and a passion against the thing (sickness) which rises itself against the finished work of Jesus in our lives! Our lack of passion is a fruit of unbelief on our behalf. Jesus hated our sickness passionately, so much so that He nearly died as payment for our healing!

Let's say that somebody that loved you dearly, went out and spent their life savings to buy you the most beautiful home to live in with your family, but some thief was making every attempt to take that home away from you or keep you from receiving it by burning it to the ground. How would you feel toward that thief? Would you be furious and stand up to that runt? Or would you be passive and watch such a beautiful gift be destroyed and do little about it? Why can we get so worked up over a material gift, but let the gift of the healing of our bodies go to waste, as if Jesus didn't do a single thing for our healing? We need to confront our sickness with an attitude similar to how we would handle a thief or somebody trying to burn that home down! By having a passive attitude about receiving the things which Jesus purchased for us, tells Jesus that we really don't care all that much about what He did!

We need to HATE sickness, bondage, and the things which God hates and that Jesus paid a steep price that we could be freed and healed of! I encourage you to speak to that sickness and tell it, "I am a son/daughter of God, and I am in a healing covenant with the Father because of the work Jesus did for me in the Atonement. Sickness (name it specifically), you are a violation of the rights that I have in Christ Jesus! I curse you, and command you to leave my body in Jesus' name!"

Just as we need to stand up for the freedoms that our forefather's (in America) have died that we might have, we also need to stand up and take boldly the things which Jesus has made atonement for us. To take a passive attitude is to show no appreciation for the great things that were done for us!

Key #11 - Gifts of healing, laying on of hands, and anointing with oil

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." (James 5:14-15 KJV)

Things like anointing oil and laying on of hands (Mark 16:17-18) helps connect that person in need with the power of the Holy Spirit in the person praying, and allows the healing power of God to flow through them and can trigger a manifestation of a healing. Other points of contacts are used as well, for example, prayer clothes were used by Paul to get people healed who were a good distance away and unable to travel:

"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." (Acts 19:11-12 KJV)

The laying on of hands can encourage the transferring of power from us into the person and heal them, just like the woman who felt power flow from Jesus when she touched the hem of His garment (Mark 5:30)! Jesus said that those who believe will have the Holy Ghost flowing out of their innermost being (John 7:38-39), and even Peter's shadow healed people (Acts 5:15)!

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18 KJV)

Key #12 - Why some lose their healing and how to keep yours

Something that has plagued many in the healing ministry is that some people who receive a healing, can lose their healing within a few weeks. They call it losing a healing, and it's usually blamed on the person's faith not holding up. This made no sense to me, because as a good Father, it makes no sense for Him to give a person back their sickness if their faith should slip. Then one day the Holy Spirit gave me a revelation on what is really going on. At first the person may be healed of a purely physical condition, or maybe a spirit causing an infirmity, but when it comes back, it's always demonic. It's a spirit that came to replicate the pain or infliction, but when we confront it in Jesus' name, it goes away quickly. I like to tell people to use their authority in Christ and tell that pain, spirit behind the infliction, or whatever, to go in Jesus' name. We have that authority you know!

Maintaining a holy lifestyle is the best way to keep from inviting spirits in which carry infirmities. When Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon her, was due to her infirmity being caused by a spirit which entered in through her sin or sinful lifestyle. Going back to a sinful lifestyle which got you the demons in the first place, is a great way to wind up with 7 worse spirits than you had before:

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first." (Luke 11:24-26 KJV)

I don't like to use this scripture often because it can create fear in some people of even going through deliverance in the first place. For the sincere believer who is living for Jesus and stumbles and falls, I don't see them getting 7 worse spirits. Sometimes they slip up and we just have to go through some deliverance a second time, but it's usually not that big of a deal. It's when a person turns back to a sinful lifestyle or dive deep into sin again, is where they get jacked up with several times as many demons as they had before.

Some closing thoughts

God not only wants us healed, Jesus has paid the price for our healing, and included it in His atoning work. That makes all the difference when it comes to God's will and how we minister healing. Many times, physical infirmities are brought on by unclean spirits carrying infirmities, and in such cases we need to dig into the emotional and spiritual root of such cases. If it's there because of unforgiveness, then we need to get that person to forgive and then take them through emotional healing to clean up the emotional wound. Once the emotional wound has been healed, we need to take authority over the sickness and the spirits which brought in the infirmity, and drive it out in Jesus' name.

It takes real faith to believe that we are totally forgiven of all our sins, and worthy to receive complete healing of our bodies because of the atonement of Christ which cost Jesus dearly. We need to change how we see God. We can't keep seeing Him through the eyes of religion, where God puts sickness on His people to teach them things. We need to start believing the Word of God strait up. Jesus made it very clear who came to kill, steal and destroy, versus who came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (see John 10:10). If God's will for His people in the Old Testament was that they all be healed, how much more would it be His will under the New Covenant, where healing is actually a part of the atonement?

"He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes." (Psalms 105:37 KJV)