In this step, we introduce ourselves to the person and ask the question, “how can I pray for you?” or “Where does it hurt?”

Please note this is not a medical interview or a counseling session, but rather an opportunity to listen as we assess the person’s situation and need.

This step ensures that the person feels valued, and gives us an op- portunity to listen to God and the individual before any prayer be- gins. It also enables us to hear how the person perceives his or her condition before jumping to any conclusions. We take our time, are quiet, and listen. Our dependency is on God to make something happen, not on ourselves. He wants to do something beautiful and creative in this person and loves to use us in the process. Wimber would say, “It’s more important to know what kind of person has a bug rather than what kind of bug has a person.” In other words, God may want to touch something in the person’s life other than the illness or topic of the prayer request! Be open to the Spirit’s guidance. If you have no clue what to pray after the interview, then be honest; don’t fake it or put on a spiritual persona. Maintain your integrity, and if necessary, just pray for God to bless the person.

According to Wimber, we are listening to the person on two levels at this point. On a natural (empirical) level, we are hearing the request. On a supernatural level, we are listening simultaneously for God to speak to us about the person and/or the situation. Based on what we are seeing and hearing, as well as on past patterns we may recognize from praying for similar types of people or conditions, we can begin to assess how God might be leading us to pray. However, we must not be dependent on our past experiences, but rather on God.

Reasons someone may need prayer Disease • sin • emotional hurts • relationship problems • demonic influence

Now we can begin to identify the underlying issue we sense God is inviting us to pray for. We are asking, “Why does this person have this condition (or point of need)?”

Sometimes, you may discern it is a combination of a few of these causes above. This is why we must depend on the Spirit – we don’t want to be praying about one area for a person when the real issue is coming from something else. Our goal is to see the person experience the depths of God’s love and to find freedom and healing in his or her heart, mind, and body. It is important to note here that in the Vineyard we see every person as a precious human being made in the image of God, who has chosen to be vulnerable in this moment of asking for prayer. We never treat people like a project or with indifference; we dignify people in the process of them seeking God for help. In ministry moments, the highest call of God on us is the second commandment – to love this person that He loves. Often people may not know the exact root of the problem. What they are asking for prayer about may not be the main issue God wants to address.

Ask the Holy Spirit to confirm if the person’s analysis of the situation is accurate, or if there is something else He wants to reveal. People are complex, and the issues affecting their conditions can be just as complex. A marriage may be in pain because of childhood hurt. Bodies can be afflicted by psychosomatic illness, which is no less real in its impact than a disease. Holding resentment or bitterness toward another (living or dead) can cause distress that impacts a person emotionally and physically. The interview concludes when we have determined what we believe to be the cause of the condition we are praying for.

At this stage we are now asking, “What kind of prayer is needed to help this person?” and “Lord, (what) do you want to heal right now?” We can assume that God wants to touch this person. However, He may not intend to heal the person in the way he or she desires. We want to agree with God in our prayers, rather than expect God to agree with us on what we want to see happen. Having said this, we confidently pray for healing with 1 John 5:14-15 in mind: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask— we know that we have what we asked of Him.”

Words received from God: Sometimes God wants to speak something through us to the person. We may sense we are to pray prayers of command (“cancer, be gone in Jesus’ name”), words of pronouncement (“I sense the Lord has healed you”), prayers of rebuke (“in Jesus’ name, I rebuke the enemy- ”[Mark 9:25]), or prayers of agreement (agree- ing with another person on your shared desire to see God’s will accomplished [Matt. 18:19-20] in this person’s life).

Prayers directed toward God: We are asking God how we should intercede for a sick person or a person requesting prayer. We are in a listening posture. Some choose to pray in tongues (1 Cor. 14:4) to make their hearts attentive and sensitive to God as they wait for insight from the Holy Spirit. Prayers of intercession, in which we ask God to touch a person and the condition, may be the way the Spirit is inviting us to pray.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
” 1 John 5:24-15

This step consists of us moving into prayer, laying our hands on the person, and asking further interview questions as necessary. Having decided how we will pray, we move forward, trusting we are sensing what the Father is doing in this person’s life. As was noted in the previous step, we lay hands on the person if given permission. If there is a physical spot on the person’s body that needs healing, we ask if we can lay hands on that part of the body (Luke 4:40). (When asking if we can lay hands on the person, we are always respectful. Helping him or her to feel safe aids the process.)

Prayer Etiquette: Ask if the person is comfortable with the laying on of hands. If the person is a member of the opposite sex, have someone of their own gender lay hands on them, or involve the spouse or friend. In some cases, it may seem best to extend one’s hands toward the person, rather than touch. Begin with a prayer that has become vital in our Vineyard story: “Come, Holy Spirit. “This prayer is a simple invitation for the Spirit to do the work that only God can do. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring healing to the person. Pray in the Spirit (pray in tongues as able.) Consider the command of faith (Acts 3:6). Consider the pronouncement of faith (John 4:50). Consider the rebuke (breaking the power) of demonic influences; binding them (containing), or expelling them (getting rid of).

Response to the Holy Spirit: People may respond to the presence of the Spirit in various ways. They may remain quiet and still as we pray. They may experience warmth or tingling in an area of the body as the prayer continues. As prayer is a power encounter between the overwhelming love of God and the enemy of our souls, there may be other manifestations such as trembling, shaking, weeping, laughing, or even falling over. When people experience the peace and joy of God, breaking into their dire situation, there may be physical expressions that accompany the experience.

“What should this person do to remain healed?” or “What should this person do if he or she was not healed?”

For healing of the heart, mind, and body to be sustained, even after a moment of divine intervention, environments of commit- ted Christian discipleship, accountability, and spiritual formation are necessary for ongoing growth. If words or scriptures were received that were meaningful, encourage the person to write them down or record them so they can be referred to later. God’s intent in generously giving signs, wonders, miracles of healing, words of encouragement, words of knowledge, prophetic insights, and other gifts of love in times of prayer is that we would be drawn to love Him more, serving Him through a life of complete devotion. Anything we can do to encourage someone to live out the greatest commandment, to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30) is appropriate.

If the prayer is focused on physical healing the results of healing prayer can be many. Offering some simple ‘next step’ direction may be helpful. If the person was healed or had a significant breakthrough in some area, encourage him or her to continue to walk closely with God, maintaining a rich life of worship, Bible reading, church connection, and avoidance of sin. You can also encourage the person to get the healing confirmed by a medical professional. If a person was not healed or did not have a significant breakthrough in their area of need, reassure them that God loves them and encourage them to seek more prayer.