Healing Rooms are springing up
around the world to carry on the ministry of healing
evangelist John G. Lake.
Jesus gave His disciples a mandate to heal
the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.
Like many strong local churches, Healing Rooms ministries are
springing up all over the world to equip believers to do just that.
Originally pioneered by healing evangelist John G. Lake in the early
1900s, Healing Rooms are experiencing a renaissance of sorts as the
Apostolic Movement begins to makes its way into mainstream
Christianity with the “get equipped for the work of the ministry”
message. This equipping dimension is visible in Healing Rooms
ministries from coast to coast that seek to obey the Lord’s command
to freely give of the anointing that we have freely received.
The prevalent manifestation of the gift of healing flowing through
the hands of every day believers should come as no surprise. Cindy
Jacobs prophesied about it in 2001: “A new signs and wonders
movement is coming which is significantly greater than what was seen
in the days of the post-World War II healing evangelists. Part of
the fruit of this movement will be healing centers which will be
built around the world, devoted to praying for the sick and casting
out demons.”
That prophecy describes Healing Rooms to a tee, proving both the
validity of the prophetic Word and God’s desire to demonstrate signs
and wonders at the hands of believers everywhere. Today there are
more than 300 Healing Rooms in 15 nations staffed with volunteers
committed to re-digging the healing wells, training saints to lay
hands on the sick, and watching multiplied thousands experience
miraculous healings, from blind eyes opening to cancers falling off
and much more.
Re-digging a 20th Century well
Cal Pierce is the modern-day revivalist who brought Lake’s original
Healing Room in Spokane, Wash. back to life and set the stage for
the widespread establishment of the healing centers about which
Jacobs prophesied.
The resurrection of Lake’s Healing Room began on February 28, 1999.
That’s when Pierce started a 40-day fast. He was at Lake’s gravesite
praying when he heard the Holy Ghost say, “There is a time to pray,
and a time to move.” When the Lord directed him to the Scriptures in
the Book of Genesis where Isaac re-dug Abraham’s wells, pitched a
tent, and built an altar, there was no doubt in Pierce’s mind that
God wanted he and his wife, Michelle, to re-dig the generational
wells of healing in Spokane.
So Pierce moved – and then prayed some more. First he called in 125
intercessors from five states and soon began training up healing
ministry teams. On July 22, 1999 the Spokane Healing Rooms of John
G. Lake were re-opened in the same location they were in eight
decades ago. Pierce was in God’s timing and the concept took off
like wildfire across the nation and around the world.
“God is preparing for a Saint’s Movement to take the final harvest,
but He’s got to heal His Body before he can heal the city,” Pierce
says. “The Body of Christ has been in a mess, spiritually, mentally,
and physically. You can’t take something to the streets that hasn’t
first impacted and changed you.”
Equipping the saints
Healing Rooms in Spokane is a 15,000-square-foot facility where 170
people work on a weekly basis to serve the 1,000-plus visitors each
month. There are nine rooms reserved for the 140 team members from
50 local churches that have been equipped to lay hands on the sick
and cast out devils. Healing Rooms across the country hold regular
training sessions for believers. The ministries are financially
supported by visitor donations.
“There is a pent up demand in the pews for saints to be released
into their destiny,” Pierce says. “People catch the vision and see
[Healing Rooms] as a vehicle they can step into. We like to say that
these are ordinary people doing extraordinary work. God’s not
looking for stars, He’s looking for hunger.”
Healing Rooms training sessions include teachings on healing and the
atonement, road blocks to healing, how to come against false
teachings (read: “God made me sick to teach me something.”), the
power and presence of the Holy Spirit in and through the believer,
and a practical session on the protocols of ministering to the sick.
The fruit of healing prayers
Word of mouth brings the sick – believers and unbelievers alike – to
Healing Rooms searching for a cure. The facilities are set up like a
physician’s office, with a waiting room and a bookstore where folks
can renew their minds with materials about healing while they wait.
The sessions begin as a team of three ministers rely on the Holy
Spirit to identify and root out issues like doctrinal unbelief,
unforgiveness and bitterness, and build up the sick with Scriptures
on healing and the love of God.
Only after root issues have been dealt with – sometimes after many
visits – does the team pray healing or deliverance for the sick and
oppressed. Typical ailments include everything from terminal illness
and depression to diabetes and blindness. Pierce says during these
sessions the lost are saved, believers are baptized in the Holy
Spirit, the sick are healed, and the oppressed are delivered.
Pierce still recalls the woman who came in with constant seizures
and migraines after a car accident. She had a steal plate in her
skull. After prayer, the migraines and seizures stopped. She went
back to the doctor and had more tests. “The brain scan showed a
normal brain with no fracture to the skull,” Pierce says.
Dottie and Rich Kane have had similar results at Healing Rooms of
South Florida. The duo opened the facility in March 2002 and their
teams pray for about 75 people each week. The Kanes have seen
hundreds of salvations, healings, miracles, baptisms in the Holy
Spirit and deliverances this year alone.
“We’ve had several people that were blind receive their sight, the
deaf have received their hearing. Cancers have been cured. These are
documented healings,” says Dottie, who herself was healed of cancer.
“We are seeing ordinary people being used by God in an extraordinary
way. It thrills us to see the saints coming forth to do the work of
ministry.”
Do you feel led to start a Healing Rooms ministry in your city?
The International Association of Healing Rooms, headquartered in
Spokane, Wash., offers suggestions on how to start a healing room at
www.healingrooms.com.
Training materials, video tapes are also available, along with
information about Healing Rooms conferences across the country.
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