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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 a previous 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. If you would like to read this, and my other books, please visit www.truthistheword.com or click HERE.

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The Prerogative of Power

As with Jesus, so with Peter, and so with us.

In another article, I wrote about the privilege of prayer; in this article I want to touch on the prerogative of power. The dictionary defines the word prerogative as ‘a privilege or right enjoyed by a person occupying a particular position.’ As sons and daughters of God we, who are born again in Jesus name, have the privilege of asking for, and receiving, power from on high. God imparts this power to us so that we can grow to be like Jesus in both character and ministry.

Jesus ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism. Luke records this event, and then continues with the words: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert.’”(Luke 4:1). Then in verse 14 he states that “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit”. Further on in verse 18 Luke records how Jesus took his mission statement from the prophet Isaiah when he quoted, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me.”

The Gospel of Luke contains some significant references to Jesus’ wonderful anointing. Luke 5:17 records how, ‘One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.’ The Holman’s Christian Standard translation has: ‘And the Lord’s power to heal was in Him.’ Luke 6:19 is even more specific where it records that ‘the whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all.’

Jesus possessed power to heal; he was full of a supernatural energy which issued from him and dramatically affected those to whom he ministered.

Luke Chapter 8 records the incident when the woman touched Jesus’ garment and received healing. Jesus sensed that someone had touched him and responded to his disciples’ protestations with the words “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” (vs. 46).

Jesus was truly anointed, but we know from Luke 24:49 that this same anointing is also the prerogative of all his disciples. The Lord instructed his first disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had received power from on high. This they did, and the book of Acts records how they went out in the power of the Spirit and ministered supernaturally in Jesus’ name. Peter is an example of this.

Powerful Peter

At the Gate Beautiful, a beggar asked Peter and John for money, and Peter responded to this request with the words, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6). He did not have money, but he did have something of greater worth that he could give freely to the man crippled from birth. This is a significant text, because it reveals something of how Peter understood the anointing. He didn’t say, “I don’t have money but I will pray for you’” Instead, he said “but what I have I give to you.” What did he have? He had anointing from on high, the power that the Holy Spirit had imparted to him! Peter understood that he possessed this power – “what I have”. He also understood that he had the ability to impart this power to others – “I give to you.”

Then Peter addressed the lame man and said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” He evoked the name of Jesus to indicate that he was acting under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he said, “walk!” He did not pray, he proclaimed. He was acting on what he had observed in the life of his master. Jesus prayed often, but he did not pray for the sick. Let me state that again; Jesus did not pray for the sick. He ministered healing. He laid hands on the sick and healed them. He pronounced them well and they became well.

As with Jesus, so with Peter, and so with …us – Prayer, Power, and Proclamation. To read more, CLICK HERE

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The Privilege of Prayer

Leave a Comment / Articles, Published Articles / Christopher Peppler

In an article I wrote for Joy! in August 2009 I asked why we, as Christians, are generally so passionless and powerless. I suggested that one of the reasons was that so many of us are confused concerning the nature of prayer, the stewardship of spiritual power, and the need to proclaim in word and ministry – Prayer, Power, and Proclamation.

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we have separated these three elements instead of integrating them into one – three yet one. Conversely, we tend to confuse these elements with each other.

A well known adage is, ‘there is power in prayer’. But there is no power in prayer. Prayer precedes power, but in itself, prayer is simply communion with God. Prayer is the communication component of our end of an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. God is certainly powerful, but how can the act of speaking to him have power in itself? Yet preachers often tell us that prayer ‘works’ (another expression which confounds me). Powerful results of prayer are simply evidence of God’s response.

We confuse the response with the request when we say that there is power in prayer. Even more seriously, we confuse the object with the method. God is the one to whom we pray (object), and prayer is the method of communicating with him. Yet prayer is foundational to both power and proclamation.

In prayer we express our dependence on God and our willingness to proclaim His will in word and deed. In prayer we ask Him to fill us with power from on high so that we are able to powerfully proclaim His word.

As children of God, we also ask Him, in prayer, to exercise His power to achieve what we perceive to be valid kingdom endeavors. It might appear on the surface that our prayers have released power, but it is actually God who chooses to manifest His power. An example of this is in Acts 4:29-30, where the disciples prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Verse 32 records that “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” The disciples prayed, and God responded with a mighty demonstration of his power.

However, the text also reveals that God went further than just demonstrating His power; He also filled the disciples with spiritual energy so that they could speak His word with boldness. This is the second level connection between prayer and power. God may respond to prayer with direct acts of power, but He may also respond by imparting power to us, His children, so that we can act in His name. This seems to be the Father’s preferred response to our prayer requests. Why? I think it is because He wants us to grow up to be responsible and mature members of his household; children who have learned both dependence on Him and responsible stewardship of His authority and power.

As always, let’s take our queue from Jesus. Matthew chapter seventeen records how Jesus went up a mountain to pray. Whilst He was praying, He had a dynamic spiritual encounter, heard the voice of the Father, and received an illuminating anointing.

Jesus then went down the mountain and cast out a demon from a suffering boy – Prayer, followed by the receipt of power, followed by proclamation.

Prayer precedes power, and power is essential to effective proclamation. To find out more, please download my latest book ‘P3’ concerning power from on high.

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P3

Pray it then Say it – The Potential of Proclamation

Jesus did not pray for any of the people to whom He ministered.

The Prerogative of Power

Jesus ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit

Powerful Peter

The Privilege of Prayer

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