Book Review: The Essential Guide to Healing

Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
~Excerpt from the Lord's Prayer

Healing seems to be the one thing for which everyone has prayed whether to benefit other people and themselves. As Christians, we believe God heals. He can heal, but the question that lingers is will He heal? The authors of The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping All Christians to Pray for the Sick--may God bless them--have changed my perspective on this part of the prayer Jesus taught to his disciples. He prayed God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. I have always thought that was kind of saying that God's will is not done on earth as it is in heaven but we wish it were. I did not think about the scope of this simple yet awe-striking concept, until I read this book and now I will never perceive those words the same as I did before. We shall see God's will being done on earth (just as it is in heaven) when we live as if we are in the kingdom--as Jesus did--and believers are living in the kingdom, but Christianity has become a religion of "unbelieving believers" who do not recognize this.

Jesus said the Kingdom was at hand (here right now)...and He healed people here on earth because it is God's will. These are a few excerpts from the book:

"Healing was a major part of Jesus' ministry. There is no cancer in heaven. Neither is there any blindness or deafness or any other malady in that realm. Freedom from disease is God's will on earth. Period. God has not commanded us to pray for healing in order to frustrate us."

"Remember, healing is not just something God does. It is who He is. His name is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. (Exodus 15:26)"

"While it can truthfully be said that Jesus did not heal everyone alive in His day, it must also be noted that He healed everyone who came to Him. No exceptions. The measure of faith people expressed varied..."

The book tells a bit about the history of the church and about how it has come about that Christians today succumb to liberalism, not believing in anything supernatural ever happen whether as recorded in the Bible or today, and cessationism, believing that the gifts of healing and other works of miracles no longer exist in the sense of someone having these gifts or that such gifts were given to the apostles only. This book address these concerns as well as other misconceptions that most "unbelieving believers" have.

I cannot fully express how thankful I am to to have had the opportunity to read and review this book. I wish to thank Bill Johnson and Randy Clark for co-authoring this book, each giving his unique perspective within individually written chapters. It truly has been one that spoke to my soul and spirit. I was not raised in a charismatic church, yet having been sensitive to other people's pains for years now (in answer to a spiritual fast seeking to surrender to and receive guidance from the Lord), being given knowledge about things I could not possibly have guessed, and having prayed for healing with some healed, I am now more confident in these words of knowledge and healing prayers just knowing that others, like the authors, experience exactly the same things. This is not a book just for those who believe in healing, but it is a book I highly recommend for people who desire to be in a healing ministry, sensing guidance and the workings of the Holy Spirit. If I could, I would give this book to every member of my church...and every church!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Publishers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

~ Thank you, my Lord, for placing this books into my hands and into my heart. Thank you for providing the answers I sought and I thank you in advance for those answers You have given that I have not yet recognized. ~