Dick Leggatt, President of Derek Prince Ministries – USA and this comprises his September 8, 2017 Newsletter.  Click here to receive the Derek Prince Ministries emailed E-devotional.

 

Are you in need of physical healing?  Does it raise some unsettling questions when you face illness or physical affliction?  Is the whole matter a mystery to you?

Physical healing can be a perplexing issue, especially when the Bible makes it so clear that healing was purchased for us by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  All well and good, but what about the mysterious aspects to this provision.

For example, why does the Lord instantaneously heal some people, but not others who are equally sincere in their pursuit?

I don’t think anyone can fully explain or understand all aspects of healing.  But it is healthy for us to dig deeper into this topic with the following goal: to increase our faith concerning healing.  May we seek it and find it when we reach out to Jesus for just one touch.

An Invitation from Jesus

Over the years, I have interacted with believers from all walks of life.  Some of the people I have met have been miraculously healed of an illness by the Lord.

Many others continue to face struggles with ill health.  Do those who have been healed possess a greater measure of faith or devotion than those who have yet to be healed?

In most cases, I would have to say the level of sincere belief in God’s healing power seems about the same.

In the midst of these reflections, I came upon a very encouraging passage of the Bible — one totally unrelated to healing.  It was Jesus’ declaration to all within the sound of His voice: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink”  (John 7:37b, NAS).

Could this offer apply to healing as well?   Anyone.  Anywhere.  At any time.  No restrictions; nobody excluded. Is physical healing a possibility for everyone who seeks it?

Perfectly Well

My current focus on this topic was intensified when I read Matthew 14:35–36:

“And when the men of that place [Gennesaret] recognized Him [Jesus], they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.”

What a statement:  perfectly well!

I have always been deeply moved by the account of the woman who was instantly healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment (see Matthew 9:20–21; Mark 5:27–29; Luke 8:43–44).

Until recently, I thought her case was the only time healing occurred in that way.  However, here in Matthew 14 we find another incident where not just one person, but all the sick people from an entire city were healed in the same way.

Lest we think this phenomenon — everyone being healed — only happened when Jesus was ministering, Acts 5:16 carries a similar report about the ministry of the early church.

“Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”

Extraordinary Miracles

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if such reports of complete healing for everyone in an entire city happened every time?

But this wasn’t the case.  The Bible makes it clear that even in the ministry of Jesus, there were times when “the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick” (Luke 5:17b, NIV).

Even more pointedly, the Word tells us that sometimes — because of a lack of faith and gross unbelief — miraculous healing was impeded.

Matthew 13:58 says Jesus “did not do many mighty works there [in His hometown] because of their unbelief.”

Mark 6:5, NIV says it a different way: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them.”

Such cases, thankfully, were rare during Jesus’ earthly ministry — the exception rather than the rule.

On that same positive note, we can be especially encouraged by supernatural times of anointed healing like the ones during Paul’s days in Ephesus.  The Word says, “God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul”  (Acts 19:11, NAS).

Will we begin to see these same experiences happen in our day as well?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see an outpouring of miraculous healing for multitudes with just one touch?

Helpful Insights

In a message called “Overcoming Barriers to Healing,” Derek Prince shed light on some of the questions we have been exploring.

In this particular teaching, Derek covered many of the puzzling aspects of this topic — more than can be included in the section that follows.  (Later in this letter, however, we will give you an opportunity to get this full teaching for your personal study.)

In the excerpt that follows, we provide Derek’s helpful summation of his perspectives on how healing works.  Here is a portion of that insight:

“Now, I am fully aware that there are many wonderful Christians, sometimes perhaps the most consecrated and dedicated and faithful, who don’t get healed.

Once, in a healing service, a young woman came up to Ruth and said, “You minister healing and you’re wearing glasses! How come?”  So Ruth said, “I can’t explain it.” Do you realize there are some things even preachers can’t explain?

But I do have a scriptural answer which I think can help you. I don’t want my teaching to leave any sick Christians feeling that they are second-class Christians, because that’s not the way it is.  One Scripture that has helped me tremendously is Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever….”

There are two kinds of things: secret things and things that are revealed.  As a teacher of the Scriptures, it is not my job to pry into the secret things.  My job is to teach the things that are revealed.  But there are secret things—for example, why some people are not healed. God doesn’t choose to let us know.  We just have to rest in His sovereignty.”

Reaching Out to Jesus

Wise and helpful words from Derek: “We just have to rest in His sovereignty.”

It is truly a good place to rest.  At the same time, the Lord challenges us not to give up, but to rise up in faith for healing — reaching out to Jesus as the multitudes did for just one touch.

So many inspiring Scriptural images come to mind.  The remarkable faith of the four friends in Mark 2 who broke a hole in the roof to lower their paralytic friend to Jesus.

Or the leper in Mark 1 who said to Jesus, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

What was Jesus’ emphatic response? “I am willing; be cleansed.”

The Word tells us the result in verse 42: “Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.”

Do those testimonies inspire you to reach out to the Lord for healing in that same courageous way?  Let’s do so together with the following prayer.

Lord, I believe You can heal me.  I remove all doubt from my mind about Your willingness and ability to heal me.  All it will take is just one touch from You or one contact with even the hem of Your garment.

Right now, Lord Jesus, I reach out to touch You in faith.  Please remove every barrier and obstacle to my healing and health.  I identify now with the woman who had the issue of blood and the sick people in the cities where You ministered, all of whom were healed by You.  I ask You now to do the same for me.

Heal me, Lord.  Make me whole.  Cleanse me completely.  I reach out my hand to touch You now, in Your mighty name.  Let Your power flow into me.  I give You my thanks and praise in advance for the healing You will bring to me.  Amen.

The Power of God

Take a moment now to let the power of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit move throughout your body. Make the truth found in Romans 8:11 your own personal declaration:

“The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me, so He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to my mortal body through His Spirit who dwells in me.”

Do you see in this verse the powerful activity of the Trinity in your body?

The Holy Spirit of your heavenly Father, who loves you dearly, and who raised His son, Jesus, is dwelling in you, working in you, bringing life to your mortal body. It is not a one-time event.  The Holy Spirit is living in you continually — ready and able to do what this verse promises.

Please let us assist in the healing process you have begun today with this prayer and declaration.  Our greatest hope at DPM is that we can encourage you and strengthen you in the steps you are taking to experience more and more of the power of Jesus in your life.

The teaching tools available through DPM can give you a huge boost, and we are happy to get them into your hands, starting with the message mentioned earlier, “Overcoming Barriers to Healing.”

We want to offer this inspiring teaching to you free of charge, and we know it will help greatly in your further exploration of the important topic of divine healing.

Making these materials available is a tangible way for us to express our gratitude for your partnership with us.  Through your prayers and financial gifts, you have joined with us in the work of the Lord — and we are glad to encourage you as well.

Removing the Obstacles

What you have prayed and proclaimed today can remove some obstacles to your walk with the Lord.

Sickness (and the discouragement it can bring) is often a daunting barrier to spiritual growth and life in general. It makes everything more difficult and complicated.  No wonder the Lord encourages us to pursue His healing, restorative power for our lives.

You and I have moved forward in that pursuit today.  We will need to stand in faith and walk ahead in hope — entering into the magnificent future God has planned for us.

Perhaps our experience will be like that of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed in Luke 17, whose complete restoration came “as they went” or “while they were going” (v. 14).  Ours may be a progressive healing as well.  Or, it may happen right away.

Regardless of how that healing comes, the process has started for us today. It began, and will continue, from the point when we came to Jesus — asking Him for just one touch.

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All the best,
Dick Leggatt
President, DPM–USA

P.S. We are extremely grateful for your friendship.  Your prayers and support for us are a tremendous encouragement.  Please make sure to download, “Overcoming Barriers to Healing” by Derek Prince.  We know this message will help and encourage you.

           

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Materials used by kind permission of Derek Prince Ministries.

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