We live in a technological world, and the technical mindset has impacted us more than we realize. There are even psychological and spiritual techniques. The technical mindset has also invaded ministry, including healing and transforming prayer. The consequences are huge but rarely appreciated or clearly understood.
Tracy (not her real name) was a former New Age speaker who for 30 years endured spiritual oppression and times of trauma. From her riveting testimony, she shared about how healing prayer, when done in the Presence of Christ and with His Spirit, finally brought healing, deliverance and wholeness into her life.
Healing and transforming prayer, rightly understood, focuses on the restoration of the whole person. Therefore, biological, psychological and spiritual reductionism with its unfortunate consequences must be avoided in such prayer ministry.
How do we go deeper in prayer? Certainly by learning from Jesus as recorded in Matthew 6:5-14. This message offers a Biblical exposition of the Lord’s Prayer – familiar to many but its depth and significance more than often realized.
Leadership is vital for any organization, especially churches. When church leaders exhibit questionable behavior or decisions, followers begin to wonder. Leaders should minister out of their love for Jesus with their identity and purpose securely rooted in being a child of God. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Insecurity in ministry can lead to many forms of dysfunction in any church. The story of Saul and Samuel (1 Sam. 8-15) reveals many of these insecurities with direct application to principles of leadership.