Mike Reyes’ healing meeting

We had a great meeting with Mike Reyes on the 30th August. About 40 plus people turned up to hear Mike share about his journey into healing. His journey started like how many of us are starting – by devouring resources on healing. For him, he read books by John G. Lake and Kenneth Hagin. For a lot of us, we’ve been into materials by Curry Blake, Andrew Wommack and Bill Johnson. I haven’t really read much of Hagin because I’m not a huge fan of his (I think Hagin has good stuff on faith, but a lot of the Word of Faith people I think lack in the area of the New Covenant), but I picked up Hagin’s Healing Anointing since Mike mentioned it.

He spoke about the importance of understanding grace in the healing ministry. That’s one thing I love about him – he’s hugely grace-based and understands the New Covenant well. I asked him personally if there’s a place for asking for “more” (e.g. more power and perhaps more anointing, etc.) in the New Covenant, since we already have everything in Christ. His response was that we should ask to “see” more. I think what he was trying to get at is that we already have everything we need in Christ. Therefore, we’re not trying to “get more”, but our prayers ought to be asking God that we “see” more – perhaps more healing, etc. – in our ministry.

Because of Curry and Andrew, I’ve looked at healing mostly from a faith/authority point of view and from New Covenant lenses. Mike’s pretty much in agreement with them on ministering healing from faith/authority. However, Mike also talked about the healing anointing/gift of healing (he thinks both are similar) and differentiated the authority we have to heal from the healing anointing/gift of healing. He said we could raise the dead based on the authority we have – even without the healing anointing/gift of healing. But then, to Mike, there’s also the healing anointing/gift of healing. I’m still thinking about the place of the healing anointing/gift of healing in relation to ministering healing in the New Covenant. Mike agrees almost fully with Hagin’s book on the healing anointing. I’m starting to look into this area of anointing.

Another thing I love about Mike is that he’s not dogmatic and recognizes he’s still learning and doesn’t know some things still. One thing he’s still pondering is whether there’s such a thing as “corporate anointing”. He does believe in faith being raised in a corporate setting, but isn’t sure there is such a thing as a corporate anointing. This is something I’ve been thinking about recently (as I listened to Roger Sapp on creating the right spiritual chemistry for healing) and I’ve been moving to the position Mike is leaning towards now.

Mike mentioned how the people he mentored moved in words of knowledge before he did and he only received it later. He felt God was trying to say to him that the reason is because He wanted to him to know that he should heal whether or not he had words of knowledge. I like that! Very much like Curry and Andrew. That is, there’s no need for words of knowledge before one steps out to pray for healing. If there is, that’s great. If not, we have the Word of God which tells us to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

Speaking of mentors and mentees, Mike mentioned how he’s happy to see those he mentors outshine him. I think that’s a refreshing way of looking at things – to see people that learn from you go beyond you in terms of moving in God’s power. Wouldn’t that be wonderful if we all had this attitude – we don’t just disciple people but yearn to see them become even greater than us! A leader’s and discipler’s job is successful when those he leads empowers his disciples such that they move beyond him.  There is no place for an “I’m God’s specially anointed one and you guys have to follow me” kind of attitude. Nor is there a place for ego or control here – it’s about God’s kingdom, not about ourselves.

Mike also moves in the prophetic and words of knowledge. Before Mike started praying, he told us that God told him someone had a condition that sounded like Petella. He had no clue what condition that was but heard it from God and remembered it coz it rhymed with Nutella! There was a guy (an American) who actually had that condition and Mike prayed for him. I was told later on by my friend who brought the American that the American actually asked God to tell Mike to call up his condition! I think that’s cool – Mike definitely heard from God and I want to hear God that way! Here, Mike’s praying for Mr. Petella guy:

Mike shared how he got healed of his short-sightedness after taking off his specs and believing by faith that he’s already healed even though the manifestation didn’t occur there and then – he took it by faith (Mark 11:24). After a few months of struggling without his specs (not being able to see the bus numbers, etc.), the healing manifestation came. Here he credits where the Word of Faith teachings have helped. For other areas of his own healing, if the manifestation didn’t occur, he would still take it and consider himself healed by faith – and act as though he’s been healed already. However, for people he’s praying for, he wants to see a manifestation of healing and not just tell them that they are healed by faith!

He talked a bit about inner healing during the Q&A time and his view seems to be quite atypical of the normal charismatic view – which is actually something else I appreciate of him. I’ve reflected a lot upon inner healing and while there are lots of results from your normal inner healing ministry, I don’t find a lot of the “methods” used based on Scriptures. Just as a lot of teaching on physical healing includes a lot of traditional sacred cow beliefs that aren’t found in Scripture, it seems the same for teachings on inner healing which tend to be hugely complicated and very unlike how Jesus ministered. While Mike didn’t elaborate on his views on inner healing, he did say that he believes in it but that we have to be very careful to make sure the practices are in the Bible.

Inner healing is one area that still confuses me a lot. I’ve got a lot of thoughts about it (nothing conclusive). Maybe I’ll write more about it one day. But basically, I feel the traditional inner healing ministries (e.g. Ellel, Elijah House) use very complex methodology that seem to be based on both secular psychology and an Old Covenant mentality.

Mike also talked about ministering healing out of a restful (not works) position. There’s a form or aggressiveness that comes out of rest. I think there’s a real tension there. Curry is strong on authority/aggressiveness and the war-mindset, while Roger Sapp’s ministry is very much focused on rest and the finished work of Christ. Focusing too much on aggressiveness can make one fall into works if one is not careful – “This healing has not manifested because I’ve not been aggressive enough against the devil/sickness!”. On the other hand, perhaps one can focus so much on grace and not understand the violent and aggressive nature of the war.