First, whenever I am asked to pray over someone who needs a physical healing, I have to make sure everything is right in my life:
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:13-16 NKJV)
Second, faith is the main ingredient:
And because of their unbelief, He (Jesus) couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. (Mark 6:5, 6 NLT)
Third, once faith is in place, our God is a God of the impossible:
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:20 NLT)
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NLT)
Fourth, Recognize that God always heals the spirit and soul of a person when they cry out to Him:
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:3, 4 NKJV)
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10, 13 NKJV)
Fifth, Even though God always heals a sincere sinner from sin, God does not always heal the physical body when a person cries out to Him. God knows what is best for each one of us depending on circumstances:
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (I John 5:14, 15 NKJV)
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (2 Corinthians 12:8, 9 NLT)
Sixth, discernment is sometimes needed to get to the bottom of a physical problem:
Are Evil Spirits the Cause?- Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. (Mark 1:34 NKJV)
Is Sin Involved?- Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (John 5:14 KJV)
Is It Just a Case of the Fallen World We Live In?- And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. (John 9:2, 3 KJV)
Seventh, sometimes added ingredients are necessary:
Fasting- And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it (evil spirits) out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:28, 29 NKJV)
Persistence- “The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” (Luke 18:4, 5 NLT)
The Gift of Healing (God may choose a corporate environment so that the power of God may be manifested to as many as posible to witness)- But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (I Corinthians 12:7-9, 11 NKJV)
When I begin to pray over someone who needs a physical healing, I like to anoint their forehead with oil and leave my fingertips there very lightlly to start off with. This is in line with the following Scriptures:
And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. (Exodus 29:7 NKJV)
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. (Psalms 23:5 NKJV)
…anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14 NKJV)
“These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” (Mark 16:17-18 NLT)
Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:17 NLT)
Then I call upon the name of The Lord Jesus Christ according to:
“In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18 NKJV)
At this point I trust in the Holy Spirit to give me discernment on how to proceed, relying upon the seven Scripture backed points I have listed above. This is by no means a formula. It is only a very rough guideline. No two physical healings recorded in the Bible are exactly alike. Once I have done what I have been led to do, it is all up to the LORD to whom be all the glory. We are nothing but instruments in the LORD’s hands!
…according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:11b, 12 NKJV)
Annointing 