James 5:13 Is any one among you suffering?
Any of the church suffering from evil causes? Let him/her pray. When we first became involved in healing we prayed a lot for people who had opened their lives to evil. So, when they got sick that often asked us to pray and mad the evil disappear.
At first it was fun to do battle for the Lord with evil. But, we saw little long-term benefits so we asked God to show us why. His guidance was clear: "Read James 5:13 and follow it." We discussed what that meant and concluded that it meant we must encourage the Seeker to pray for himself/herself rather than us pray for them.
We did it and the results dramatically improved. It is not my battle bur your battle.
Is anyone cheerful? let him sing praises!
Again, the Seeker is responsible to deal with his/her own issues first. Cheerfulness with praises brings more joy! It is a reinforcing cycle of joy and blessing. The very first rule of Soul Care is listening to the people. Allow them to share their joys and sorrows. Hear the heart for that has more power to heal than anything else.
There is a lot of controversy over the gifts of the Spirit. Seminars, conferences, articles, books, accusations, disagreements, ETC! Pistols at twenty paces anyone?
The greatest need is FRUIT of the Spirit.All we need is love! The greatest is love. Then the gifts and then the word. It all flows together in a hurricane of blessings.
Read Breaking Free and Healing Release of the Holy Spirit for more hints on healthy ministry.
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