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Link Hudson | PentecostalTheology.com
Healing Methodology
One of the reasons we see for healing and miracles in the Bible is to bear witness to the word.
It seems like a lot of the methodologies for healing in healing crusades are not done in such a way as to maximize the effect of healing as a sign and evidence.
Let’s consider the Benny Hinn style of crusade. Many of these elements show up in other Pentecostal and Charismatic healing crusades. I haven’t seen much of Benny Hinn in years, but in the early 1990s, he would tell people in the audience to pray for each other or lay hands on their own afflicated area. Then he would call people up to the front.
Might it not have a greater impact if someone with eyes that were obviously not functioning properly were called up and prayed for with a camera pointing at his eyes while he were healed? Wouldn’t it not be more convincing if someone’s cancer came off while the audience watched that if someone claimed a cancer had fallen off up in the balcony?
Plenty of Pentecostal evangelists encourage the audience to believe God and then call up those who report being healed. I am not saying this is wrong, just pointing out that in some ways it would be less impactful than laying hands on the sick before they were healed, which seems more in line with how Jesus and the apostles did it on numerous occasions.
I found Benny Hinn’s line of questioning to those who come up frustrating. To me, “What did you feel go through you?” is one of the most unimportant questions you could ask a middle-aged woman standing up there beside her wheelchair which she says she doesn’t need. How about “Could you stand at all without your wheelchair before you came here tonight?” That’s what I want to know. If he asks what they felt, and they were sitting under a vent in the arena, they could have felt the heat or A/C come on. That doesn’t mean much.
In the 1950’s and ’60’s, there were preachers who ministered healing who would lay hands on the sick. The ‘lay hands on the afflicted area’ goes way back and was used in large crusades. It’s good to have people pray in general for healing in a huge crusade where everything can’t be funneled through one person or a small group ministering healing in the front. But is good to keep in mind we don’t see Jesus doing that, and it is sad, IMO, that it is rare to see someone actually laying hands on the sick in public ministry.
Stan Wayne
You are describing a lack of gifting and a penchant for covering weakness.
But to demand that God heal in front of camera is off. Jesus would avoid the limelight.
Varnel Watson
I agree. Not really “Healing Methodology” as the OP title
Link Hudson
I think a lot of people are fine with your praying with them to be healed, even laying hands on them if you ask permission first. If you have faith to declare a healing and it happens, great.
What bothers me is when evangelists follow a routine that can make it look like someone is healed when he isn’t. You can put someone’s legs in an uncomfortable position, move them out of that position, and ask, ‘DId the pain go away?’ Or you could lead the audience to believe someone who hobbles out of a wheelchair couldn’t hobble before you ministerd to them.
Street Preacherz
Brother Hudson, thank you this is an important topic. Isn’t it better to teach healing in the Bible. To rely solely on gifting or the move of God’s Spirit seems incomplete. The Bible especially the new testament teaches us healing. Jesus paid an awful price for this new covenant. And healing. In Him we have better hope, better promises, better assurances.
I still quite 1 Peter 2:24. Jesus is my healer. “By his stripes I am healed” it’s more work. But the prayer of faith is Bible…
Sorry for the lack of depth here. Praying your good success in Jesus name.
Link Hudson
I want to clarify a bit. In some churches, if someone is sick, he can go up to the front during an altar call, and someone will lay hands on him. One of the complaints you hear about some of these massive crusades is that the preacher in front doesn’t lay hands on the sick. He just brings people up that claim they are healed. Skeptics will say the bring up people who claimed to have some internal ailment or pain that people in the audience can’t see.
Back in the early 1990’s when I went to a couple of Benny Hinn crusades, there were people praying for the sick hours before the crusade started. I even interviewed a little elderly lady (who looked about 90) who had walked down to the front of my section with an oxygen tank. Some ushers and others laid hands on her. She stood up, raised her hands, and disconnected the oxygen. She raised her hands up to praise God and our section clapped. So I went down an informally interviewed her. She had a ltter from her doctor saying he wouldn’t give her a heart transplant because of her emphazeema. I asked her if she wanted to walk up and down the steps. I escourted her up and down the steps and the section clapped. She said she normally would have been severely out of breath disconnected from the oxygen. But she could wlak up and down the steps.
So people were prayed for, just not one by one, much, as a part of the service.
Scotty Searan
I have been to many healing crusades including Benny Hinn. Personally I am skeptical of Benny Hinn’s tactics. But I remember as a child seeing people healed in healing crusades. One evangelist in particular was A. A. Allen. I saw miracles happen in his services. One of them happened to a very close friend of our family. And they remained healed till their death. My father who was an evangelist prayed for many people in his revivals and had healings and miracles instantly. But my father never went to another church or publicized about the events because he did not want to TOUCH THE GLORY. We would very seldom talk about it as a family. My father always would say, he didn’t know whose prayer was answer, but somebody touched God in the congregation. But it has been a long time since I have seen an miracle or instantaneous healing. I feel a lot of ministers have TOUCHED THE GLORY and that is why we do see them. They have basically hurt the ministry.
Varnel Watson
Not sure where this text is copied from but its clearly not Pentecostal. Wondering if it was copy/pasted from a John MacArthur forum
Ira Huth
Brother Link Hudson Street Preacherz touched on a very, very important issue in his comment. When he said to rely solely on gifting or the move of God’s Spirit.
Your thinking, thoughts,statements ect.. in this post is coming from your own opinion, your own human fleshly mortal reasoning. And not coming from the Holy Spirit. We all need to learn how to totally operate, totally think ,speak in the Fruit and Power of the Holy Spirit. Pastors, Minister’s Laity all of us in the Body of Christ. I’m 64 and around 4 years ago through some struggles of my own. I started realizing and learning the difference in how to confidentially WITH A PURE CONTRITE HEART walk in the Spirit and not my human understanding. My Brother even the words you use like “let’s consider the Benny Hinn style of crusade.” It is not a style it’s the Holy Spirit. Or the term Methodology or methodologies which means a set of systems, rules or principles. Certainly the Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with Methodology. Benny Hinn or any other Evangelist, Pastor or Minister is only a human being, only a man like you and I and is not perfect. But the yielding, the hunger the desire to walk in a higher realm of the Spirit because you want to love and please and serve our Lord and to be in his will. This makes the difference.
Link Hudson
I added a bit about how healing was done in some of the post-war healing revivals for some context on where I am coming from.
Street Preacherz
Mr. Ira Huth. We know there are many struggles and many frauds. I think you are smart to back off “controversy”. My simple effort was to let God’s people know He still answers specific Biblically founded prayer. For healing in Jesus name. Jesus is still in the miracle business. Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and frankly it’s scary to speak of these things in this context, are a wonderful demonstration of God’s love and mercy. The prayer of faith will draw the Holy Spirit. But the anointing, God’s presence and power and ability and gifts is His ministry. Obviously the gifts particularly healing work through prayer. To say they are seperate is like saying air is seperate from water. We know both have oxygen. Rely on prayer, faith in God, firmly grounded on God’s promises and character. It is His will to give you the kingdom. And again healing is the children’s bread. Our daily bread the older you get lol…
For my brethren struggling to be healed just keep on believing. I think many would say I rather die believing God is a good God and a healer and if I don’t get healed I believe His word and I’m going to praise him anyway. He is that good. But keep praying and digging in the scriptures and asking and seeking and knocking. The prayer of faith honors God. His word and the moving of His Spirit…
Tim Renneberg
At the risk of sounding cynical, I would prefer “healing evangelists” going to visit the sick in the hospitals instead of having the “sick” come to a crusade… there would be little money in that approach though
Varnel Watson
Sorry but this still doesnot sound like pentecostal theology…
David Lewayne Porter
I agree whole heartedly with the first two paragraphs.
I agree to a large degree about the Benny Hinn crusades.
We need to be directed by The Holy Spirit in each situation.
Is our motivation to glorify God as we are moved by compassion for those in need.
It has been stated that most people in wheelchairs are not there simply because they can’t walk.
What does getting them out of the chair actually show?..
Varnel Watson
I think the poster has watched too much TV. No “methodology” is discussed in the OP except laying hands. Pls note Benny Hinn most often dont even lay hands so the example is strow-man irrelevant. There is so much in Pentecostalism about healing methodology beside laying of hands or Benny Hinn and its hard to decide where to start. How about snake handling for faith and healing? http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/wade-phillips-reported-snake-handling-by-hensley-as-prominent-in-the-church-of-god/
Varnel Watson
thank you William DeArteaga