We Are The Waiters

Healing the infirm in the mighty Name of Jesus in Bangladesh

Grace and I have been healing the infirm and casting out demons, in the mighty name of Jesus, for the last eight years. We have witnessed thousands of miracles. 

Some believers misunderstood us when we say that we are "healing the sick". They say only Jesus can do the healing miracles and not us. They are absolutely correct. We can do nothing.... absolutely nothing without Christ. 

We are not the "Chef" who cooks the gourmet food. We are only the "waiters" who serve the customers. We do not take credit for the great food that satisfies the customers even though we may say that we "serve and feed" the customers.

The only problem with some believers is that they refuse to be "waiters". They want the "Chef" to do the serving too. They want Him to carry the dishes to the customers at the table.
When Jesus had given authority and power to His disciples to cast out demons and heal the sick, He did not go with them. (Luke 9:1-2. 10:1, 9). He instructed them to serve His miracles to the people in need. 

If we understood this concept, we should see countless people healed and delivered. Remember, we are not the "Chef" but the "waiters". We only serve the miracles that Jesus is doing! 

Albert Kang

Praying “over” the sick is not the same as praying “for” the sick

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.

James 5:14-5

There is a crucial word in verse 14 which has for the most part escaped the attention of the Church. In that verse we are not told to pray “for”, but rather to pray “over” the sick believer. The preposition “over” which follows the verb “pray” in this verse is ἐπί which is pronounced “epi.”

“Pray over him” in the Greek is “Προσευξασθωσαν ἐπί αυτον”.

According to Strong’s Greek Lexicon, the preposition ἐπί involves superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.); of direction when the object of the preposition is in the accusative case. Then the meaning will be “over, upon, towards,” etc. In James 5:14 the object of the preposition ἐπί is “αυτον” which is indeed in the accusative case. Thus we have the translation “pray over.”

The word ἐπί is almost always found to describe the relative physical position between two objects. It can be translated also as “on” or “upon”, as in the phrase to “lay hands on or uponthe sick.” This is the phrase which also appears in the passage from Mark 16:18: “…they will place their hands on (or over) sick people, and they will get well.”

What is praying over the sick?

Is it possible therefore that praying over the sick as James meant was exactly what Jesus taught, which was laying hands over the sick? It is not only possible, it is probable. Why should James teach something entirely new and not consistent with what Jesus taught?

As Luke 9 teaches us, Jesus also gave a measure of authority over disease and demons to his disciples. They were to use or exercise this authority in the same way that he did. And so when we examine the ministry of Peter and Paul in Acts, we often see a similar pattern. They also spoke with authority over the infirm in Jesus’ name when giving commands for them to be healed or set free. They also laid hands over the infirm on some occasions or made physical contact with them in some way.

When we understand what Jesus taught his disciples, we will understand what James taught about ministering to the sick in his epistle.

James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.

And what is “faith”?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Are the sick actually healed when we pray “over” the sick as verse 15 asserts?

Yes, we have seen countless infirm believers healed in Jesus’ name when disciples pray over them as Jesus taught and commanded his disciples in the gospels. When disciples simply pray for them according to tradition, few people are miraculously healed.

We emphasize that we are categorically not teaching that the Church should stop praying for the sick as is done traditionally today. But we hope to encourage believers to learn also to pray “over” the sick as Jesus and the early disciples did.

Rev William Lau

How We First Learned To Heal The Infirm In Jesus' Name!

Picture: The Elijah Challenge that changed my ministry - Left circle: Rev William and Lucille Lau; Right circle: Rev Albert and Grace Kang

It was our dentist, Dr. Thiagan Sinnadurai, a dedicated servant of God who challenged Grace and me to attend a healing seminar organised by his house church. I was not keen to attend because I knew that I did not have the gift of healing. For over 20 years of my ministry, I did not see many successful healing miracles after my prayers. In fact, a few people died after I prayed.

On that hot day of 8th December 2005, Grace drove me to the healing seminar. I was not in the most amiable mood. I had work to do and my nerve was also not accommodating. The pain caused by the disease, Ankylosing Spontylitis, had often caused chronic pain in my part and also down both my legs.

When we could not find a parking space, I was elated. Now, I could miss the seminar and give a great excuse to Dr. Thiagan. However, God had other plan and He opened up a nice parking space for us. Still mumbling under my breath, I decided not to take my walking stick with me. With Grace helping me, I walked slowly to the training location at Bangsar.

That day was to become a defining moment of my life and ministry. Pastor William Lau, an American-Chinese, with a gentle Christ-like spirit, was systematic in his teaching. In his Elijah Challenge teaching, there were no strange doctrines or scary testimonies of being caught to heaven. This founder of the Elijah Challenge was not there to impress us with his theology but simply allowing the scriptural verses to speak for themselves. 

Verse upon verse, precept upon precept, line upon line, my eyes were opened. Suddenly everything made sense. Why didn’t they teach me this in the Bible seminary? Even after earning a Master in Divinity, this truth in the Bible had completely eluded me.

Why wasn’t I told that there is a difference between the gift of healing and the authority to heal? Why didn’t the professors teach us how to use the kingly authority to do spiritual warfare and heal the sick in the context of preaching the Gospel?

The most fascinating part was when Pastor Lau said that he would demonstrate this God-given power and authority by healing some of the participants in the name of Jesus. He did exactly that. A few participants were healed of the back pain, leg pain and other infirmities.

Then he invited some of us to try. I remember feeling the pain in my own back and facing an Indian pastor who claimed to have three numb toes. With a fellow participant, I laid my hand on the toes and commanded the feeling to return in the name of Jesus. To my great surprise, the pastor claimed that feeling had returned to his toes and he quickly testified to the other participants. That was my first experience in having immediate healing result after ministering.

Grace and I were to attend the same seminar another three more times and subsequently took an advance training with Pastor Lau. Since then, our ministry has been completely transformed. It is filled with power and miracles which is line with what the Bible says about the kingdom of God as not being a matter of talk but of power (1 Corinthians 4:20).

Grace and I had personally healed many in the name of Jesus with the God-given authority and power. In the last eight years, we have trained Christians from both the mainline and Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in seminars and training sessions. We have the joy of seeing our trainees healing the infirm in the name of Jesus and literally thousands are being miraculously healed.

Rev Albert Kang

Coordinator

Elijah Challenge Asia