I want to talk today about feeling something tangible when hands are laid on you in the name of Jesus for healing.  The main point I want to get across is that you do not need to feel anything as long as you are believing Mark 16:18, which says that believers shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

Sometimes you’ll feel something and sometimes you won’t. Sometimes the minister will feel something and you won’t, and sometimes you’ll feel something and the minister won’t.  Sometimes neither of you will feel anything!  The most important issue is, do you believe that Jesus was telling the truth when He said that we could lay hands on the sick in His name and they would recover? If so, you can receive your healing and keep it, regardless of what you felt when hands were laid on you in the name of Jesus, and you can minister healing to others, regardless of what you feel when you lay hands on a sick person in the name of Jesus.

Some people are used more than others in the so-called “gifts of healings” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. God uses me and Rosie this way.  However, the manifestations of the Spirit occur as He wills, not as we will.  If it were up to me, I’d feel something really powerful every time I lay hands on a sick person, but the truth is, I don’t. Sometimes there’s just a special anointing present to minister to the sick, and the person I’m praying for can feel power go into him just like he could feel electricity. It’s easier for someone to receive when that happens; it’s as if God is meeting the person halfway, so to speak.  Other times, I don’t feel anything, and I have to just go ahead and lay hands by faith, as any believer has the right to do.  Thank God, it still works, though it isn’t as spectacular.

The main thing is, if you are having hands laid on you, do not assume that you didn’t get anything if you don’t feel any power going through your body. It doesn’t mean you missed God. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to recover. You have God’s word on the matter that hands could be laid on you in the name of Jesus and you would recover, and that should be enough to settle the issue right there without any additional feelings to confirm it. Just keep thanking God that He watches over His Word to perform it.  If you’re laying hands on a sick person, do not assume that the person didn’t get anything if you don’t feel a blast of power surge through your body. It doesn’t mean that God isn’t responding to your act of faith. You have God’s word on the matter that you can lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, and that should be good enough for you without feeling anything in your body.

I’ve seen some dramatic manifestations of the power of God when I’ve laid hands on some people, but seen no immediate manifestation when praying for others, but people have gotten healed of all kinds of conditions either way. My friend David and I were in Trinidad doing a crusade and David laid hands on a man who had a blind eye, a busted back and a hurt leg. David didn’t feel anything, the man didn’t feel anything, and no one else in the room that I know of, myself included, felt anything. There were no noticeable results that night in his body. But he came back the next day with his blind eye seeing, his busted back completely normal and his hurt leg just as good as the other one.  Good thing no one gave up on his healing based on feelings!

Another thing – falling over is not required for you to get healed.  Sometimes there’s a special manifestation of power that knocks you flat, sometimes there’s a lesser degree of the same thing that might make you wobbly, and sometimes there’s no such manifestation. Falling over or shaking is not a guarantee that you will be healed, but believing Jesus’ promise is!  If there is a tangible manifestation of power like that, enjoy it, don’t try to resist it because you’re worried what “others” might think, and don’t be in a hurry to get off the floor! If there isn’t, continue to thank God that because hands were laid on you in the name of Jesus, you shall recover!  You can always believe and act on God’s Word!