Aeneas And Dorcas- Principles Of Prayer For Healing Series

Aeneas and Dorcas- Principles of prayer for healing Acts 9:32-42 WBC 7 July 2002

What can we learn from this passage about healing?

- what does God have to say to US … ME

- bearing in mind I’m not Peter!

Well, I think we can glean some Principles of prayer for healing

The first is:

1) We imitate what we have seen

There’s something fascinating about this healing (Aeneas) and miracle (Dorcas/Tabitha)

- > = there’s a familiarity about them

These two miracles are SO similar to two that Peter had seen the Master, Jesus, do

- even down to the similarity of the words used. And I don’t believe it’s coincidence… nor coincidence that they’re recorded in this way

- Can you think of the other miracles?

There’s the healing at the pool of Bethesda

- worst case scenario. 38 years. Crippled

- Jesus says to him ‘ do you want to get well’ ‘Get up, pick up your mat and walk’

 similar here. 8 years crippled.

- “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and tidy up your mat”

- = same words, same scenario.

- Maybe even the same invocation to ‘then take responsibility for your life’ as the words here are almost ‘get up and take care of yourself!’ (cf ‘do you want to get well’)

- Ie Jesus heals us- and it’s a prompting, opportunity, command, even, for us to ‘get up, get on and get with it’ rather than going back to our pit!

Do you see the similarity?

And then there’s the healing of Dorcas/Tabitha

- what does this remind you of?

- > Jairus’ daughter. Mk 5, Lk 8 Spectacularly similar!

- Already dead. Called to go.

- Everybody mourning and wailing. Demonstrating their grief and how wrong it was that she was taken

- What a shock! If anybody shouldn’t be taken it’s little children and saints like her!

- = word to us all that we’ll ALL go. And could do anytime

- = how I feel about Tony, Perry

- Probably Tabitha was such a saint she was ready to die, but friends weren’t prepared to let her go

- All got sent out of the room

- Spoke words to her. In Mk 5 it says this: “Jesus took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"- in Aramaic”

- In the Acts version it says Peter said “Tabitha, get up”

- It’s VERY fair to assume Peter was speaking Aramaic, too (as Tabitha is the Aramaic name)

- So, basically, apart from ONE letter he said EXACTLY the same words as Jesus

- “Talitha koum”, “Tabitha Koum”

My word! What can we learn from these similarities

- yes, it’s the ‘continuing acts of Jesus…. By the HS… through the Apostles!”

- yes- it’s JESUS’ name and authority that’s being used. It’s like he’s actually THERE! “Jesus Christ heals you!” “Tabitha Koum”

- (that’s because he IS there!)

- yes- talk about imitating the master! Following Jesus! Down to the fine details! (and so should we)

But there’s one other VERY important thing to learn from this passage.

- you have faith for… can do (I’d say)… really can only do (or can BEST do)… what you’ve seen Jesus doing already.

- Think about it! I’m very serious about this.

- If you’ve seen Jesus do it already, before… you can ‘go for it, again’

- That explains WHY there are spates of things. Like- “leg lengthening” (or posture re-balancing. It’s v important)

- Let me be honest, here. I DO think that some of this is actually exaggerated. Not real. But that doesn’t mean it ALL is.

- In fact: friend Trevor converted seeing it happen

- Girl in youth group. I measured legs and chatted with parents

- Ken- 7 out of 8 with different lengths healed

And if you’ve seen it happen once you have faith for it again. Guts for it.

- that’s just the way it is.

So- there needs to be an encouragement and a reality check in this

Encouragements:

a) this is why these things happen in hot spots. In bunches, and it just grows and escalates. You see more, you have faith for more, more happens

b) If God starts doing small things among us it can GROW, and lead to greater things. We want that!

Reality check:

c) It’s very hard to see, go for, expect these BIG things when you haven’t seen them happen before. Seriously, really it is.

- even Peter (great man of God) was sticking to his boundaries, here- and it was almost ‘monkey see monkey do’. I’m not sure HE was ready, able for every healing situation

- so: we need to be humble, real, and realise this HERE. And not do ourselves in over this. Seriously!