Prayer Therapy For
Cancer Patients

The hand-in-hand incorporation of faith healing and the medical treatments prescribed by your doctor

By Jim Croft

If you are reading this article, it is likely that you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer. Understandably, you are shaken. Please be encouraged that there are many positive factors working on your behalf. Today’s medical professionals are equipped with the latest innovations of medical science to enhance the potential for your recovery. In addition, many concur that it’s advantageous to incorporate prayers of faith into your quest for health.

To assist you on your road to recovery Gold Coast Christian Church of Boca Raton has a Cancer Recovery Group (CRG) that meets weekly. Its purpose is to offer Bible-based encouragement and prayer from a Christian perspective. It is open to all, regardless of religious backgrounds; we don’t want anyone to go through cancer traumas alone. The meetings feature such things as Scripture-based affirmations that instill hope and nullify negative thought patterns and emotions; testimonies about how faith enhances the healing process; and at the conclusion of each meeting personal prayer therapy is offered to those who desire it. This pamphlet will acquaint you with some of the Christian Bible’s principles of healing that are the basis for CRG’s philosophy of ministry. It will also give you suggestions about how to incorporate those truths along the various stages of your therapy. Unless otherwise noted, all the texts cited are from the New American Standard Bible.

Broadminded Encouragement Hope’s Evidence

It will be helpful for you to cultivate a broadminded position: Just as it is legitimate for physicians to practice medicine in efforts to help you, it is equally legitimate for you to practice faith to help yourself. There is mounting evidence that prayer therapy is beneficial for those who’ve received a diagnosis of cancer. Resources like the Internet abound with testimonials and studies that reinforce the value of faith in God and prayers of faith to accelerate healing. IE The Hallelujah Acres website http://www.hacres.com/home/home.asp is one of the better sites. The hand-in-hand incorporation of modern medicine and faith healing is commonly called prayer therapy.

Good Gifts

The wonderful medical advances that have been made in recent years are not singularly the products of human genius. God is merciful and every good and perfect gift comes from Him. (Ja. 1:17) With or without the researchers’ cognitive awareness, they had help from Heaven. God deftly guided them down the paths that led to the medical breakthroughs and technologies accredited to them. Such are aspects of His loving hands of grace extended into the human equation.

A signal of the Lord’s love for you is that He privileged you to reside in a nation where abundant health resources are readily available. With that in mind, it would be good to ponder His willingness to minister to you through more direct modes. It is His delight to be included in your therapy.

The Reasonableness of Divine Healing

The Bible presents us with a loving heavenly Father who is interested in every aspect of our lives. He is concerned about our physical welfare because our bodies were created to glorify Him and to reflect His loving character. The mystery of His grace prevents Him from abandoning us even when our afflictions might be partially due to less-than-healthy lifestyles. When we call upon Him, He is faithful to answer us and the ideal is that He will heal us from all of our sicknesses. Psalm 103:2-3 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: [3] Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.

If you desire to position yourself to receive God’s assistance, it will behoove you to become thoroughly persuaded that it is reasonable to expect it. After all, you were made in His image and were created to reflect His glory. He certainly did not design you to retain sickness. To the contrary, He programmed your body in such a manner that it automatically attempts to heal itself whenever sickness strikes. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to anticipate that He will add boosts of supernatural energy when you ask Him to speed up the healing process that your body is already attempting to facilitate.

Reality Is Not Finality

The diagnosis is your harsh reality. However, you are not obligated to accept it as though it is your finality. Biblical faith speaks that God values you. His reality is that you can serve Him more effectively and longer in health than you can in illness. In addition, those who are exploring the prospects of cultivating a relationship with the Lord will be much more inclined to do so when His followers exemplify health rather than ill-health. When you look good, God looks good.

It could be said that the Lord has vested interests in your healing. God enjoys praise and positive reports about His faithfulness. Such are far more apt to occur through your healing from cancer than through your sufferings from it. The Lord has magnanimously broad shoulders. He will not mind sharing your expressions of gratitude with the medical team whom He inspired to prescribe treatments that contributed to your recovery.

Two Aspects of Faith

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6)

Anyone who wants to please God must approach Him with two kinds of faith. The first is to believe that He is or that He does exist as the Scriptures proclaim. This form would include matters such as the virgin birth; the Divinity of Jesus; the fact of His atoning death and resurrection; and the reality of the revelation that God is our loving Heavenly Father.

The second aspect of faith is activated faith. It is the primary form used in apprehending physical healing through prayer therapy. Your faith will be activated through your choosing to believe that God will reward you as you diligently seek Him. This type of faith could be defined as: The active, exhilarating confidence that both God and His Word are reliable. It carries the conviction that God will reward those who seek Him by granting them physical health as well as spiritual blessings.

Spiritual blessings by no means exhaust the extent of the biblical blessings of God. For example; in 3 John 2 the Apostle John describes how he prayed for his constituents: Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

It was his intense prayerful desire that the people under his care enjoy physical health to the same measure at which they were progressing spiritually within their souls. It is inconceivable to think that the Apostle John would pray for things that were not God’s will. He personally traveled with Jesus for three-and-a-half-years and served Him faithfully well into his nineties. His life was dedicated to seeing the will of God brought forth in people’s lives. 

Clearing The Decks

There are several counterproductive things that can hinder healing if retained in your thinking. Among such are notions that God is at fault for your condition; of self-blame; and of unforgiveness against others.

• God Blame – The notion that God puts sickness on people is totally inconsistent with the New Testament. Testament means covenant. The New Testament is about the New Covenant that went into effect by the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus spent His earthly years ministering health and healing to those who were afflicted with every form of sickness. (Acts 10:38) As the sinless Son of God, He didn’t do anything that was not within God’s will. After His ascension, He commissioned His disciples to duplicate His ministry. (Mk. 16:17-18, Jn 20:21) The Book of Acts is resplendent with examples of how they did so by healing the sick throughout the ancient world.

• That same commission extends to present-day clergymen who truly want to emulate their Founder’s example. When their parishioners fall ill, they are to be instructed to call their pastors to pray for them to be healed. - James 5:14-16 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; [15] and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. [16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

• The previously cited passage indicates some important things about the will of God in relation to healing. The Apostle James believed that it was God’s will for the sick to be restored to health. He admonished Christians to respond to illness by calling their spiritual leaders to pray for them to be healed. This nullifies the notion that God inflicts people with maladies. If not, all involved with any healing procedure would be resisting God’s will. That includes spiritual leaders who pray for healing; Christians who solicit healing prayers from clergymen; healthcare professionals that use medicine and technology to restore health; and any Christian who employs any of the aforementioned in pursuit of restoration.

• Science has proven that the human body is programmed to resist sickness whenever it strikes. It is God who designed your body to do so. If your sickness were God’s will, it would be illogical for Him to design your body in a manner that would predispose it to routinely rebel against His will. Healing is God’s will. You have nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain by invoking His hand-in-hand participation with the medical team that is laboring on your behalf.

• Two more texts that nullify assertions that God targets people for catastrophic ills. - Psalm 31:8 And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.

• Your enemy is cancer and the Lord has not handed you over to suffer in its grip. His place for you is in the comforting path of health.

• Isaiah 54:15 "If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me. Whoever assails you will fall because of you.”

• God disavows responsibility for cancer’s fierce assault on your body. From the Lord’s perspective, it is doomed to failure as your activated faith puts it to flight.

• Self-Blame - There is evidence that there are correlations between various forms of cancer and individual lifestyles. Smoking, improper diet, overexposure to the sun, and inordinate stress can be contributing factors to the onset of the disease. In situations where these things are pertinent to the lives of cancer patients, it is not unusual for them to secretly blame themselves for the malady. If you fall into that category, there is good news for you. God does not abandon us in the midst of our troubles even when we knowingly engaged in activities that were less than ideal health wise.

• This is borne out in two passages from the Bible. - Psalm 91:15-16 "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. [16] "With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation."

• God honors those who turn to Him during troubles/sickness, even when such might be partially due to our own negligence. The inferences are that God will deliver you and show you His salvation. The Hebrew word for salvation can legitimately be translated as health and healing. The end result is that you can receive His ultimate intention for you, a long and satisfying life.

• The other passage that can vanquish self-blame is equally encouraging. - 1 John 3:20-22 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. [21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. [22] And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

• God is greater than the condemnation that might dwell in your heart, fueling your self-blame. Your heart’s confidence toward God can be energized. It happens when you choose to believe that His willingness to forgive you and to overlook your sense of unworthiness is greater than the powers of condemnation. That decision is activated faith that is pleasing to the Lord. His response to your leap of faith is to supply whatever you request. That includes vibrant health.

• Unforgiveness against others - Unforgiveness is a luxury that no one can afford. It is among the most destructive hindrances to receiving God’s help when afflictions strike. Forgiveness for those who have wronged us is a basic tenet of Christianity. The Lord’s Prayer contains a line that reveals the reason for the necessity of forgiveness. I will insert renderings from various translations to convey the implications. Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts/trespasses/sins, As we forgive our debtors/those who have trespassed/sinned against us.

• Your debtors are those with whom you have interpersonal relationships who have chosen to withhold the dignities owed to you. It’s the dysfunctional parent who abused you; the spouse who was unfaithful; and the adult child who has no appreciation for the sacrifices that you made for them. Business partners who were guilty of cheating you out of your livelihood also fall into the debtor category. God requires that you respond to them in like manner that He has to you. Just as He has forgiven you for your trespasses against Him, He wants you to forgive them for their trespasses against you. That means that you tear-up their IOUs that are embedded in your memories and emotions. It takes vital energy that could otherwise be utilized in healing your body to process habitual images of conflicts with your debtors. Tearing-up the IOUs through forgiveness from your heart will release those energies for productive work. In addition, it helps insure that God will be in your corner. (Mk. 11:25-26)

• Forgiving those who have wronged you does not indicate that you condone their behavior. It means that their offenses are no longer an obsessive factor in your thoughts of them. Should the person in question continue with hurtful antics, you are not required to continually be their doormat. Whenever possible it is advisable to limit your exposure to them. If that is impractical, gently scold them for any future offenses and then let them know that they have your forgiveness. (Lk. 17:3-4) Most emotional bullies don’t have the stamina to withstand consistent encounters of rebuke that are coupled with God-like offers of forgiveness.

Painting Pretty Pictures

Many people in Western societies tend to be highly visual. As they speak, their words are often painting visualizations in sync with the topic within their minds. Willfully employing this tendency can be immensely beneficial in your healing from cancer. You can decorate the interior walls of your mental art gallery with pretty pictures of the way life will be when you are fully restored. It is also helpful to adorn your inner gallery with the things that you want to happen during your various medical and spiritual treatments. The positive thought pictures are to be held within your heart and mind until they become realities in your experience. After your restoration, the especially meaningful ones can be left in your inner gallery as prompters for you to give continual praise to the Lord.

Like all artists, you will need to prepare. Paintbrushes, a paint pallet with a variety of colors, and a supply of canvas are the needed items. For prayer therapy, the preparations are what you do before you pray. Your paintbrushes are the words of your audible and silent prayers. The colors on your paint pallet are comprised of many things. Healing verses from the Bible, the benevolent character of God, your authority as one who has faith in God and every type of medication and technology employed for your healing can all be considered as colors. The canvas is your imagination.

• Preparation – It is what you spontaneously do throughout each day in preparation for prayer/painting sessions. It is based upon principles found in Mark 11:23-24. These verses reveal some pivotal things that are vital to activating faith. You have authority as a believer in Jesus as your Lord. He has all power and authority and your legacy, as His disciple is that you have inherited the same. You can have the things that you speak and see by faith. Here is the principle: The more you speak and see yourself being healed before you pray; the more likely it is that you will believe that its true when you pray. The passage in Mark speaks of mountains being moved as they are commanded to do so. Cancer and its symptoms are the mountains in your life. Spontaneously command such to be removed throughout each day and envision them doing so.

• Mark 11:23-24 "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. [24] "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

• Praying For Yourself – Dip the paintbrushes of your prayers into Bible verses that speak of healing. Stroke depictions of what those verses infer for you on the canvas of your imagination. Here are some examples of verses/colors and accompanying brush strokes/prayers.

• Exodus 15:26 – I am the Lord, who heals you. In this passage the Hebrew word used for heal is the contemporary Hebrew word for a medical physician. The verse can legitimately be rendered I am the Lord, your doctor. That is a delightful thing to create on the canvas of your mind. Paint the Lord smiling upon you as He administers His healing touch during a house call to your home..

• Exodus 23:25 – I will take sickness away from you. Visualize and pray a scene wherein the Lord is taking away cancer from a specific part of your body. Paint an accompanying picture that presents that part cancer free.

• Proverbs 4:20-22 My words are life to all who find them and health to all their flesh. Paint/speak that a verse you have found is your delight. Depict yourself rejoicing over it like the grandest of treasures. Envision every portion of your anatomy ruthlessly discarding cancerous tissue as you rejoice in the Word of the Lord.

• Psalms 107:20 He sent His word and healed them. The supply of healing verses in God’s Word is practically inexhaustible. As you search them out envision the search as an agent of healing. Depict/verbalize a prayer that each word you read is sending bolts of God’s healing power into your immune system and into every affected organ.

• Others Praying For You – Their words are colors on your pallet. As they pray, dip your paintbrush/prayers of agreement into their prayers. Paint the things of which they speak coming to pass on the canvas of your imagination.

• Doctor’s Office – Ask exactly what they anticipate each particular treatment/medication will do for you. Listen carefully and takes notes if needed. If it is radiation therapy, envision the rays as streams of heavenly fire burning cancer from the target area. With prescribed medications, paint visualizations of it doing what it is supposed to do between each dosage.

• When Fear Strikes – Anxious moments are inevitable. Should fear come knocking, ignore its raps. Take an inner stroll through your inner art gallery. Linger in front of each of your works of art. Praise God for the accomplishment of whatever is depicted in each painting. The odds are that before your stroll is complete, the fear will give-up and retreat in failure.

Good Hands

Medical science working hand-in-hand with faith in the Lord has great potential. Your opting for prayer therapy puts you into better hands than Allstate’s. This pamphlet has merely presented a thumbnail sketch of what prayer therapy entails. Gold Coast Christian Church of Boca Raton’s Bible based Cancer Recovery Group offers encouragement and prayer from a Christian perspective. It is open to all, regardless of religious backgrounds. The group meets weekly and has teams of competent people to minister to you and to offer encouragement. The recovery group and any personal prayer therapy sessions are offered on a free-will offering basis. We have no set fees for such services. I serve as the pastor and we have an abundance of healing related articles and books available. Healing prayer is offered for seekers at all of our services. For service hours and Cancer Recovery Groups times and locations call 1-561-218-5630. Or go to this website and click the Cancer Recovery link:

http://www.jimcroftministries.com

Valley of Decision

I will close with a text that revolutionized my life and can do the same for yours. It remarkably reveals that God has delegated the responsibility to choose the type of life that we desire to us. This is His invitation to you: - Deut. 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life (health) and death, the blessing (healing) and the curse (sicknesses). So choose life in order that you may live.”

It is my prayer that you will choose life and blessing, healing and health. Your decision to activate your faith by engaging in prayer therapy could be the first step in validating your decision.