The Scriptural Mandate for Healing Prayer
As taught in the Pentecostal / Charismatic tradition
The practical application of James 5:14-16 in the life of the local church.
Within the Pentecostal tradition, the question is not merely whether God can heal, but whether He has mandated the Church to act as His agency for healing in the present age. This subtopic—the Scriptural Mandate for Healing Prayer—answers the fundamental Pentecostal inquiry: "Does the Great Commission include a command to minister to the physical body as well as the soul?" For the Pentecostal believer, the answer is a resounding and functional "Yes." Divine healing is not viewed as an occasional, sovereign luxury of a distant God, but as a central provision of the Gospel, rooted in the Atonement and commanded by the Risen Christ.
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the primary New Testament commands that establish healing prayer as a normative practice within the local congregation.
- **Distinguish** between the "prayer of faith" as a scriptural mandate and the "prayer of resignation" often found in non-Pentecostal traditions.
- **Explain** the role of church leadership (elders) and symbols (oil) in the administration of the mandate according to the James 5 model.
- **Articulate** the relationship between the Great Commission and the promise of "signs following" in Mark 16.
- **Trace** the historical development of the Pentecostal doctrine of healing through the writings of P.C. Nelson and the teaching of Jack Hayford.
- **Defend** the continuation of healing ministry against the cessationist argument that apostolic signs were only for the inaugural age of the Church.
- **Apply** the principles of authoritative prayer (the "In the Name of Jesus" model) to contemporary ministry contexts.
- **Compare** the Pentecostal "Atonement-based" healing theology with other tradition-specific views of suffering and physical infirmity.
Scripture
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