"Methods of Healing" by Nancy Dufresne

God so longs for His children to receive the healing Jesus purchased for them that He has provided seven different methods healing can be received. We make the mistake of limiting God to only one method of healing. 

     The Spirit will guide us into which method is best at the time for ourselves and for others. Always look to His leading. The Spirit will lead us based on our measure of faith or the measure of faith of another. What can they believe for? Then hook on there.

     Because people are at all different levels and stages of spiritual development, everyone can hook onto one of these methods of healing.

Method #1 — Use the Name of Jesus

     Demand in that Name of Jesus that the disease and sickness leave. This method can be used for others or for yourself. This method doesn’t involve the laying on of hands. 

     We see this method used in Acts 3:4-8 when Peter and John ministered to the lame man at the Gate Beautiful. “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”

     In Acts 3:16, Peter declared to the people present, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”

     Philippians 2:9-11 tells us, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

     Every sickness and disease must bow to that Name. When we understand all the power and authority that Name holds, we will exercise it BOLDLY, expecting things to change. They didn’t lay hands on the man. They didn’t pray for him. They demanded in that Name that he rise up and walk. They didn’t even mention the devil. They just knew that Name was above every sickness and disease, and they put a demand on the power in that Name.

Method #2 — Pray for healing to the Father in the Name of Jesus 

     John 16:23 & 24 reads, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

     The disciples couldn’t pray in the Name of Jesus while Jesus was still with them on the earth. Jesus had to spoil principalities and powers. Jesus had to enter into Heaven with His own blood.

     Jesus was changing the divine order. In the Old Testament, they used to go to the priest; now they were to come to the Father in the Name of Jesus.

Method #3 — Prayer of agreement

     Matthew 18:19 — “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” 

     We don’t need to run around trying to get everyone to agree with us in prayer — more agreement doesn’t bring greater results. It’s the faith of just two that gets the answer.

     Both must be in faith. One can’t be just hoping it works. Then one can’t be changing their mind on what they’re believing for. Once you agree, faith doesn’t come out of that agreement with the passing of time. The two stay in faith over that until it manifests, no matter how long it takes.

Method #4 — Anointing with oil

     James 5:14-16 reads, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed….”

     It’s not the oil that heals. It’s the prayer of faith that saves the sick, but when the oil is applied, that’s a point of contact when the one being prayed for is to release their faith.

     Verse 15 says, “...IF he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” This shows that sin can open the door to sickness. If we sin, we get on the devil’s territory, and when we are on his territory, then he has a right to attack us. So if we sin, we need to confess it and repent as quickly as we can so that we get off his territory and stay out of sickness. If the sickness is caused by sin, then that will need to be repented of so healing can come. God will not only forgive the sin, but He will heal the sickness.

Method #5 — Receive healing through the laying on of hands 

     Mark 16:18 — “...they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Every believer should use this in praying for others. When hands are laid on you, that’s the point of contact when you are to release your faith. When hands are laid on you in faith, healing ALWAYS begins. Believe that! Keep believing that till the manifestation is complete. The one who lays hands on you must release faith, but the one being prayed for must also release faith.

Method #6 — Receive healing through a gift of the Spirit

     First Corinthians 12:8-10 lists the nine manifestations of the Spirit. We don’t control the operation of these gifts. These are initiated by the Spirit of God. Man cannot turn these on and off.

     These seem to operate mostly for spiritual babies or for those who have not been taught about faith and healing. Once we are older spiritually, God expects more of us — He expects us to use our faith.

Method #7 — Know that healing belongs to you

     Matthew 8:17 — “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” 

     This is the best method. This is when the believer sees his rights in Christ and takes his place in Christ, refusing to be sick.

     Thank God for all of these methods. They are demonstrations of God’s love and mercy toward humanity. Through any one of these, those who are sick can receive healing.

"Praising & Worshipping God Brings Victory" by Nancy Dufresne

Did you know that there is something God is seeking? Jesus told us what that is. “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father SEEKETH such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23 & 24).

God is seeking those who know how to worship Him. Why is He seeking those who know how to worship Him? Worship is an act of faith. Where God finds faith, He can manifest Himself there. God longs to bless people, so He seeks to find someone with faith enough to worship Him so that He can manifest His blessings there.

What we worship Him for is what He can manifest. For those who worship Him as Savior, they receive salvation. For those who worship Him as Healer and Provider, then He can heal and provide for them.

God spoke something to Norvel Hayes years ago. He said, “My children basically love Me, but they live in poverty and sickness and defeat. They don't live in Heaven’s blessings because they don’t worship Me enough.”

Look at that last phrase, “...they don’t worship Me ENOUGH.” He didn’t say that His children don’t worship Him, but He said they don’t worship Him ENOUGH. This is saying that we must give sufficient time to worshipping God. Well, how long is long enough?

I remember something Dad Hagin used to tell us. “Praise brings the anointing, and it’s the anointing that destroys the yoke.” How long do we need to worship God? Till the anointing comes, for then the anointing will destroy any yoke, obstacle, hindrance, and opposition in our lives.

How long does it take for the anointing to come? I don’t know. Just worship until the anointing comes.

Several years ago, I was dealing with an important business transaction. I was facing much opposition and many bleak reports. On a particular day when this transaction was coming to a head, I knew I needed a miracle. I got up early and went on my back porch and began worshipping God. I then got in the spirit and started speaking in psalms. As I spoke in psalms, God gave me words that declared that I would have victory in that situation. Since I believed what He was showing me about it, I had a sense to dance. So, I just got up on my back porch and started dancing as I rejoiced. As I did that, the word of the Lord came to me, and He said, “In the rejoicing, power flows!” I knew that as I rejoiced, His power was flowing into that situation. Later that day, the transaction was completely resolved in our favor! It was a miracle!

Praising and worshipping go hand-in-hand with each other. I praised and worshipped God long enough for the anointing to come, and when the anointing came, that anointing flowed into my need and brought victory.

We didn’t experience victory because we had a need, but we experienced victory because rejoicing and worshipping God brought the anointing, and God did the work!

In my book titled Answer It!, I give three divine steps to victory:

1) Answer the test specifically with the Word. When we are faced with a mountain, a need in our lives, Mark 11:23 tells us we are to speak to that mountain and command it to be removed. That’s the first step we must take.

2) Tell the devil to take his hands off that situation. When Jesus was faced with the devil in the wilderness of temptation, toward the end of that season, Jesus told Satan, “Get thee behind Me!” He was telling the devil to leave.

3) Worship God. Worshipping God holds our attention off the mountain and puts it on God, the mountain-Mover! Worshipping God brings the anointing, and while we’re praising and worshipping God, the power of God is annihilating the need.

It only takes a moment to speak to the mountain, and it only takes a moment to tell the devil to leave, but the bulk of our time after that is to be spent worshipping God. While we worship, God is working. Praising and worshipping God wins battles.

(Now, there’s something that must be stated in connection with this, and that is the importance of obedience. For our faith to work, we must be obedient to what God is telling us to do. It only takes a moment for us to correct ourselves toward any needed obedience. When we do, then our faith will work.)

Is there something opposing you? There’s nothing you can’t praise your way out of! We are to give ourselves to the spiritual habit of praising God all throughout the day; it is to be our lifestyle. As Psalm 34:1 instructs us, “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth.”

"Fellowship With God" by Nancy Dufresne

Our fellowship with God is the wheels to His plan for our lives. Without our fellowship with Him in place, it’s like trying to drag a wagon with no wheels. Put the wheels back on, and the wagon will move ahead easily. Our fellowship with God is directly connected to our spiritual progress and our progress in His plan for our lives. As we give fellowship with God its proper place in our lives, we make steady spiritual progress.

Many Christians struggle to know the will of God for their lives, or they struggle with doing what they know they ought to be doing. But as we take time to fellowship with God through His Word and prayer each day and walk in the Spirit, what we need to know becomes clear to us, and we are also strengthened to do that which we know we ought to do.

Through fellowship with Him, we move into a place in the Spirit, and it’s from that place that we are to conduct living. We are to worship, feed on the Word, confess the Word, make our requests in prayer, minister from, and live from that place in the Spirit — living mindful of His Presence.

Living in the Spirit makes everything easy. That’s one reason the devil fights to hold us in the natural and mental arena, because then we end up trying to accomplish living in the power of the flesh instead of in the power of the Spirit. There’s nothing more tiring or disappointing than living in the flesh, for then life won’t be accomplished as God intended. In the flesh we are left to our own willpower and self to accomplish His plan, and then we always fall short. 

When faced with any kind of a difficulty, test, obstacle, or opposition — whether it’s physical issues, financial problems, marital difficulties, business matters, etc. — we are to first make certain that our fellowship with God (through time in the Word and prayer) is a priority in our lives, for that’s where all help and answers flow from.

The greatest joy in the Christian life is fellowship with God and Jesus. Psalm 43:4 reads, “Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy....”

We must make room for and give place to Him in our day. Revelation 3:20-22 tells us, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and WILL SUP WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” 

Jesus said He stands at the door and knocks — He was outside man’s heart. But when we were born again, He came in; so He’s in the heart of the believer, but we still have to give room and time in our day for the One who is in us. Verse 20 says that when He comes in, He will sup with us and us with Him. The Word “sup” means to have spiritual communion.

Verse 21 speaks of the outcome of those who sup with Him — those who partake of spiritual communion with Him — they will overcome. Our fellowship with Him is directly connected to the outcome of situations we face in life — whether we overcome or not.

As one minister stated, “It’s dangerous to neglect our fellowship with God.” Why would that be true? Because overcoming obstacles is connected to our fellowship with God.

Not having our fellowship with God in place robs from us. Not only does God long for fellowship with His children, but we are the ones who need it. 

What a divine privilege is offered to us! Let’s make certain the wheels of fellowship with God are in place and well oiled so we can advance into all that God has for us.