This workshop is available to members on an optional basis. The chapter or cluster may make this workshop available from time to time.
Goals of the workshop:
1. To explain the different aspects of healing.
2. To experience the healing love of Jesus.
3. To raise up men and women who would minister to others through a gift of healing.
Resource persons needed:
1. Workshop leader.
2. Speaker (normally the workshop leader).
3. Music ministry.
Sample schedule:
1:30 p.m. Arrival and registration
2:00 Worship
2:15 Talk “Receiving the gift of healing”
3:15 Break
3:30 Led prayers
4:00 Group prayers
5:00 Close
TALK: Receiving the Gift of Healing
Expanded Outline
A. Introduction.
1. Jesus’ public ministry had three aspects: evangelization (proclaiming the gospel),
formation (teaching) and healing (curing disease and illness). Mt 4:23.
2. We in CFC carry on Jesus’ salvific work.
a) We are very strong in evangelization and formation. These have been institutiona-
lized.
b) We have also experienced many healings, including miraculous physical healings.
We would however like our ministry of healing to become more commonplace in
our community experience.
3. When we talk here about receiving the gift of healing, we mean two things:
a) That we can be healed of our affliction by Jesus. We receive healing.
b) That we can receive the gift of praying for someone and being used by the Lord
as an instrument of his healing. We “give” healing to another.
B. Four kinds of sickness and the corresponding healing.
1. Personal sin. This requires repentance and forgiveness.
2. Demonic oppression. This requires deliverance.
3. Emotional sickness. This requires inner healing.
4. Physical sickness. This requires physical healing.
C. Healing for today.
1. Jesus desires to heal everyone.
a) The gospels record that Jesus healed all who came to him.
* Mt 8:16; Mt 12:15; Lk 4:40; Lk 6:19.
b) Jesus also commissioned the apostles and disciples to do the same. Their procla-
mation of the kingdom of God was to be accompanied by healing.
* Mt 10:7-8; Mk 16:15,18; Lk 9:2; Lk 10:9.
2. Today people still need to hear the good news and also to receive healing.
a) Just as in Jesus’ day, people are naturally attracted to healing, especially dramatic
physical healings.
* This accounts for the popularity of televangelists who claim the gift of healing.
b) But though certain individuals may be given an extraordinary gift of healing, every
follower of Christ can also become a channel of his healing love to others.
* Jesus is the healer, and he certainly can choose anyone to be his instrument.
* Praying for healing can become a powerful way of manifesting our love for our
brethren in our community and for others outside.
D. Important elements in praying for healing.
1. Laying of hands.
a) This is a nonverbal way of communicating love and concern.
b) Jesus frequently used touch to express his love.
* To express loving concern. Mt 19:13-15.
* To heal. Mt 8:3; Mt 8:15; Lk 13:13.
* To raise the dead. Mk 5:23,41-42.
c) Jesus’ disciples were to do likewise.
* Acts 9:17; Mk 16:18.
2. Praise and thanksgiving.
a) In praying for healing, praise and thanksgiving are powerful tools. Especially
when one praises and gives thanks for all things without exception.
* As we do so, we open ourselves up to Jesus’ healing power. This is because
Jesus becomes the center of our prayer, and we move away from being self-
centered to being centered on Jesus. Thus he can act.
b) According to Webster’s dictionary, to praise means to extol, laud, honor, acclaim,
express approval. To praise then is to give positive affirmation, expressing our
approval of something.
* When we praise God even in difficult situations (such as sickness), we are
approving of God’s workings in our life, no matter what is happening to us.
* We are putting our faith in the God who wants only the best for us. We
acknowledge that we trust in God’s perfect plan for us, even if that includes
suffering and pain.
c) Thus when we praise and thank God as we pray for healing, we are abandoning
ourselves (or the one being prayed with) to his perfect will for us (him), and we
are allowing him to act in accordance with that will, not according to what we
think best.
3. Forgiveness.
a) A barrier to healing is unforgiveness.
* Jesus’ healing power cannot penetrate through unforgiveness. Mt 6:14-15.
* Both the one praying for another and the one being prayed for have to forgive.
b) Thus, before praying for healing, the one praying for another must not have any
unforgiveness in his heart.
* Forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. Even if we still feel hurt by someone,
we simply decide to forgive that person.
* We can do it if we consider how the Lord himself has forgiven us, even as we
have sinned more greviously against him. Col 3:13b.
* We can visualize the person in our minds and see him as the Lord sees him. We
can say “I forgive you and love you because Jesus loves you.”
* How do we know we have forgiven actually? When we are able to pray for the
person. This is because when praying for a person, we are asking the Lord to
bring good things and goodness upon the person. To love is to want what is
best for a person. Praying for a person is a manifestation of love in action and
forgiveness.
c) We should also ask the one being prayed over to forgive whomever he has a
resentment against.
E. Different prayers for healing.
- Prayer for inner healing.
- a) Many if not all of us have experienced traumas which continue to affect our life.
These events may have occurred many years ago and we have forgotten them, but deep inside us the hurts or wounds may continue to fester. Asking the Lord to touch these areas can be a big step to experiencing complete healing--physically, spiritually and psychologically.
- b) The person is asked to recreate the scene or sad experience in his mind. But this time Jesus is brought into the picture.
- Since God will not violate our free will, it is necessary to invite Jesus to enter into our heart and touch any painful wounds we have there.
- Even if we can recall nothing which might impede our spiritual growth, we can still ask the Holy Spirit to direct Jesus’ healing touch to wherever it is needed.
- c) The painful memory may not necessarily be erased, but what the Lord can do is to release us from its bondage. Though we may still remember the sad experience, we can be delivered from negative feelings of fear, anger, sadness, guilt or pain.
- d) Inner healing can be immediate, or it can be a continuous process over an extended period of time.
- Prayer for deliverance.
a) Many of the healings by Jesus in the New Testament were accomplished by
casting out an evil spirit.
* Because man is composed of body, mind and spirit (physical, emotional and
spiritual), a disorder in one area can prevent healing in another area.
* Many times, deliverance precedes physical healing.
* Also, a demonic oppression can cause physical sickness.
b) Thus in such cases, the root has to be attacked. Prayer for deliverance would be
necessary before prayer for physical healing.
* Here we need discernment as we pray over someone.
* Be attentive to the root causes of oppression that the Lord may show us in our
mind. These may be lust, guilt, pride, envy, hate, anger, jealousy, rage, greed,
rebellion, resentment, fear, hostility, lying, cheating, sorcery, idolatry, witch-
craft, etc.
* Call out these root causes and in the name of Jesus command them to leave.
* Then pray for the indwelling of the Spirit of Jesus to fill in the void vacated by
the evil spirit.
3. Prayer for physical healing.
F. Procedure for our prayers for healing (explain very briefly).
- Led prayers.
- a) Introductory prayer, including a prayer for protection.
- b) Prayer of repentance. c) Prayer of forgiveness. d) Prayer for inner healing. 2. Small group prayers. a) Prayer for deliverance. b) Prayer for physical healing. c) Prayer for receiving the gift of healing. 3. Please remain quiet after your group finishes. Continue to pray for the others. We will all end our workshop together.
G. Conclusion.
- Let us be confident in our God who desires so much to heal us.
- Let us open ourselves up to become channels of God’s healing love for the world.
Procedure for healing prayers.
Start with a song of praise. Then all be seated.Introductory Prayer
Father in heaven, in the name of your Son Jesus, we come before you. Lord, we praise you, we glorify you and we thank you, that you have assembled the brothers and sisters today. We praise and thank you for your Holy Spirit, and for the different gifts of the Spirit, especially the gift of healing. We praise and thank you for sending Saint Michael the Archangel and your holy angels to be with us and to watch over us in this workshop. We praise and thank you for shedding your blood for us, forgiving us and redeeming us. We praise and thank you for extending to our lives the power of your cross and of your resurrection. Dear brothers and sisters, we have come together in the name of Jesus, who restored the sick to health and who even raised the dead back to life. We have our confidence in him, who suffered so much for our sake, that we might become whole. He is here present among us, wanting to extend his healing touch. And so we recall the words of the apostle James, “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.”Prayer of repentance
Let us call to mind our sins and repent for all of them. (One or two minutes of silence). All together: I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, and I ask Blessed Mary ever a virgin, all the angels and saints, and you my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen. Let us now, in the silence of our hearts, take a few moments to repent of specific sins in our lives. (One or two minutes of silence). Please repeat after me: Lord, I am a sinner,/ I take responsibility for all my sins./ I am sorry for having offended you/ in thoughts, words and deeds,/ and in what I have failed to do./ I sincerely ask for your forgiveness. Sing a song of repentance (e.g., Create in me).Prayer of forgiveness
Let us now call to mind any person against whom we may harbor a grudge, illfeeling, resentment, or hatred. And let us ask Jesus to show us the way to forgiving that person, in the way that Jesus himself has forgiven us. (One or two minutes of silence). Please pray in your heart with me: Lord you forgave me even as I was still sinning against you. You in fact went to the cross in order that I might be forgiven for my sins. Your love knows no bounds. Lord I come to you in my weakness. I know that you are asking me to forgive those who have wronged me. With what you have done for me, how can I not forgive? Lord touch my heart. Remove the pain and the resentment. Fill me with your love. And with your love help me to love those who have wronged me. Yes Lord, I do forgive them. Sing a song of forgiveness (e.g., Prayer of St. Francis).Prayer for inner healing
Let us now ask the Lord to touch our inner selves and heal all those areas that are in need of inner healing. Please pray in your hearts with me. Lord Jesus, I ask you to enter into my heart and touch those areas which need to be healed. You know me so much better than I know myself. Bring your love to every corner of my heart. Whenever you discover the wounded child, touch him, console him, and release him. Walk back through my life to the very moment when I was conceived. Cleanse any bloodlines and free me from those things which may have exerted a negative influence at that moment. Bless me as I was being formed within my mother’s womb, and remove all barriers to wholeness. Heal any physical or emotional traumas which could have harmed me during the birth process. Thank you Lord for being there to receive me into your arms at the moment of my birth, to welcome me and assure me that you would never fail me or desert me. Lord Jesus, I ask you to surround my infancy with your light and touch those memories which keep me from being free. If I needed more of a mother’s love, send me your mother Mary, to provide whatever is lacking. Ask her to hold me close, to rock me, to tell me stories and fill in those empty parts of me which need the comfort and warmth only a mother can give. Perhaps the child inside feels deprived in the area of a father’s love. Lord, let me be able to cry “Abba, daddy” with every part of my being. If I needed more of a father’s love and security to assure me that I was wanted and loved very deeply, I ask you to hold me and let me feel your strong, protective arms. Give me renewed confidence and courage to face the trials of the world, because I know my Father’s love will support me if I stumble and fall. Walk through my life, Lord, and comfort me when others are not kind. Heal the wounds of encounters which left me frightened, which caused me to retreat into myself and erect barriers to people. If I have felt lonely, abandoned and rejected by humanity, grant me, through your healing love, a new sense of worth as a person, as your beloved child. Jesus, I give myself to you--body, mind and spirit. And I thank you for making me whole. Thank you Lord. I love you Lord. Sing a song of thanksgiving (e.g., Give thanks).Prayer for deliverance, physical healing, and receiving the gift of healing
We will now pray with one another for deliverance, physical healing, and for receiving the gift of healing.Give the following instructions:
- Form yourselves into groups of four persons each. Men with men, women with women. (Tell them how).
- Each will be prayed over in turn by the other three. Each will in turn take the lead in the praying over. Aside from the first prayer leader, the one who was prayed over will be the next prayer leader. The other two should support the prayer leader.
- The one being prayed over sits down. The other three can either stand or sit, but should be close enough to lay hands on the one being prayed over.
- Ask the one to be prayed over if there are areas of bondage which need to be delivered. Also ask for areas for physical healing. If none, just move on.
- Start with praising the Lord.
- Pray in tongues, coming against the evil one. Pray for deliverance. Include any areas of bondage or oppression that the Spirit has given you a sense about.
- Pray for physical healing. Sum up with a prayer for general health and well being.
- Pray for the gift of healing to be bestowed upon the person.
- End with praise and the Glory Be.
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