The Essential Guide to Healing by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark

The subtitle really explains the point of the book: Equipping All Christians to Pray for the Sick.  Bill Johnson and Randy Clark write about healing because they have experienced the power of God, have prayed for people and seen miraculous results, and are eager to train others to pray too.  I have heard them both speak in person, and have read some of their other books, so I had a pretty good idea of what the book would be like. I was pleased to see that they each contributed different chapters, rather than co-writing the whole thing. This allowed them to speak in their own voice, with their own flavor, and was more interesting and more effective than if they had had to compromise on every paragraph.

The first section of the book tells their own life stories, including their family backgrounds and the personal journey to get to a point where they regularly see God do miracles of healing.

The second section of the book lays a theological foundation, giving Biblical support for a Christian lifestyle of praying for the sick and expecting to see people healed.  Randy explains the sociological, theological and church factors that lead so many people to be ‘unbelieving believers.’  By this he means people who are believers in Jesus, but unbelieving regarding healing.  Bill asks “Why do we have more faith for someone’s conversion than we do for his or her healing?” (p121) I’ve heard Bill ask this rhetorical question before, and it always makes me think twice.  We don’t really question the reality or result of salvation.  If you ask God for salvation, he saves you.  Yet we do question the reality and result of healing. Bill explains that we have a cultural heritage that biases our interpretation of the Bible.

The third section of the book gets practical, and tells what they have learned about actually praying for the sick.  Randy gives instructions about the 5 step prayer model (first popularized by John Wimber).  Bill speaks about creating a faith culture and the power of testimony. 

All in all, I found the book to be an amazing combination of theology, anecdotes, and practical advice.

[Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Chosen Books as part of their Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ]