Healing and Deliverance

In John 10:10 Jesus says regarding the behaviors of Satan and Himself, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." This verse makes things very simple for me when praying for people. If a situation or condition is stealing, killing, or destroying a person I treat it as if it is the rotten fruit of Satan's Kingdom. Stealing, killing, and destroying are the evidences that the enemy of God (and therefore God's people) has been at work. 


In 1 John 3:8 the apostle says, "The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work." What is the work of the devil? Stealing, killing, and destroying. The purpose of Jesus coming to mankind was to destroy the works of the destroyer.


These two verses create a simple framework for me to operate from as a participant in God's Kingdom. If someone is in front of me that is sick or suffering from a disease I never have to wonder if it is God's will to heal them. I pray for Satan's work to be destroyed in their life and for their life to be abundant with Jesus. I never wonder if God gave someone sickness or brought calamity into their life since I do not believe God is the author of those things. It is nonsensical to me to think that God sent Jesus to destroy (1 John 3:8) what He himself initiated. 


This trimester I am teaching a class on healing and deliverance in RMS. Yesterday we studied the ministry and methodology of John Alexander Dowie. In our next class we will be surveying the ministries of Aimee Semple McPherson, Smith Wigglesworth, and Kathryn Kuhlman.