A practice that has become so common in church, especially in the Pentecostal and Charismatic realm, would have to be the laying on of hands. Hebrews 6:2 declares it a doctrine. There is a right way as well as a wrong way to go about laying hands on and praying for people. Let me explain some basic knowledge:

Many times do we read in the Old Testament concerning the high priest or someone in the office of a priest laying hands on an animal sacrifice, praying the sins of Israel into the sacrifice, and then killing the animal (Exodus 29:10, 15, 19; Leviticus 4:15; 8:14, 18, 22; 16:21). It signified through physical contact a transferring so that the sins of the people would be sacrificed at an altar of repentance so that the nation could be forgiven by God.

While the priests laid their hands on the sacrifice in accordance to the Levitical law, in the New Covenant, the royal priesthood through Jesus Christ is given the authority to lay their hands on the sick and see them recover, which is a part of the Great Commission (Mark 16:18). Jesus did this quite frequently in His ministry, which is evidenced by Jairus when he requested Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter so that she may be healed and live (Mark 5:23). The anointing that Christians should carry should be one that brings healing to those who are sick in body as there is a transferring of health through the laying on of hands in prayer. *There is a transferring of spirits, which demonstrates that we must be constantly prayed up and willing to face and overcome different spirits that come against us. If we are not, those spirits can torment our lives, regardless of the source, whether it is fear, anxiety, depression, oppression, etc. Their purposes are to simply steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Two good examples to use are the story of David and Saul, and the story of the sons of Sceva. In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, when the evil spirit came and tormented Saul AFTER the spirit of the Lord left him, he wanted his servants to find a musician who was skillful and anointed by God to play music and the spirit would leave him, and when they got David, he played on his harp, resulting in that evil spirit leaving. In this moment, Saul was desperate for a refreshing and a transferring of spirits, and when David played, the anointing that was upon him superceded the evil spirit tormenting Saul. Also, it helped that Saul was not seeking to withhold this spirit, but he wanted deliverance, which is why this anointed music made a difference for David.

On the other hand, in Acts 19:13-20, you have the sons of Sceva, who was the chief of priests at the time, who tried to cast out demons out of a person. They tried to cast them out in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached. It worked for Paul, but it did not work for them. You can have a formula, but that does not make the devil recognize and tremble in fear. If you have no relationship with God, what difference does that make? It is like trying to arrest somebody when you yourself do not have the police uniform or badge. You must utilize the authority that you have in God that comes from intimacy with Him. One of the evil spirits responded, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who you are?” They fled from that place beaten, wounded and naked because there was a transferring of spirits. Satan overpowered them! If you are not prayed up where you need to be good, instead of you transferring something good, something bad will be transferred to you. If you walk with God, you will carry His presence, and that presence will overcome with healing, freedom and total deliverance. On the other hand, if you are not where you need to be, those evil spirits will transfer upon you, tormenting your mind and body with fear, depression and sickness. It pays to walk with God and bear the anointing that will put demons to flight.

You must protect yourself by standing on guard against the traps of the enemy and not positioning yourself to face something that you are not spiritually strong enough to overtake by yourself in the season that you are in, such as a principality. Also, if you are battling depression or doubt spiritually, do not lay hands on someone and pray for deliverance in another person’s life because that depression or doubt can be transferrable. Instead of making things better, it will only make them worse. Therefore, before every laying hands on someone, take inventory of your life to make sure you are in a place where you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and He has empowered you to break the chains off of someone else. Free people only free people!

However, we must be careful to follow the advice that Paul gives concerning not laying hands on an individual suddenly (1 Timothy 5:22). Too many people try to discern through their natural eyesight or ears of gossip instead of hearing by the Spirit. They see or hear of someone’s need and automatically think that they need to go and pray for them when they need to be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit only because God is truly the One who brings the healing and miracle. Sadly, people go and lay hands on others who God really does not tell them to as a result of being moved more emotionally rather than spiritually. Because it seems like everyone else lays their hands on someone to pray for them does not mean you have to. Do not be overtaken by charismatic peer pressure! This is dangerous in so many ways. It can cause confusion concerning one’s faith in God and fear of not really understanding what is going on. It can lead to a lawsuit if you go and pray for someone who does not have good intentions. It can cause jealousy if someone goes to an individual of the opposite sex who is married, which should never happen. First of all, a person should ask permission if it is alright to pray for them. Secondly, when crossing gender lines, a Christian should either bring their spouse or someone else in the ministry to pray for them, or they should ask the spouse or another relative of one whom they are praying for to join in prayer with them. This is not only to eliminate jealousy, but also to avoid any form of negligence to the purpose of the ministry or the character of the believer. Do not lay hands suddenly on any person, but make sure you are led by the Holy Spirit in all things! *As for youth, only pray for youth unless there is a family connection. If you feel like God is showing or speaking something to you, or you feel like praying for someone, come to Jessica or me first. By doing this, you are preparing yourself to be sensitive to the voice of God and will begin to learn not only the importance of being sensitive to authority, but also have a greater understanding of whether it is just a good idea or a God-breathed Word! These are not rules to try to regulate the Holy Spirit, but this is a doctrine of laying on of hands so that we make sure that we do everything in decency and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40) because God is not the author of confusion but rather of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). We may offend people, but we never want to offend the presence of the true living God!

 

Finally, in the New Testament, people who were in a position of authority in the kingdom of God imparted gifts of the Spirit through the laying on of hands, which was demonstrated with Timothy (1 Timothy 4:14). While success cannot be imparted through the laying on of hands, the gifts of the Spirit can be! The anointing is tangible and transferrable! It is the reason why Romans 1:11 says, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” Paul wanted to see those of the church in Rome so that he could lay his hands on them and impart spiritual gifts into them in order to establish them in the faith and reflect the love and power of Christ to those who are lost. The purpose of the signs, wonders, and miracles is to point the lost to Jesus Christ and for them to be saved! In Acts 8:18-25, Simon the sorcerer wanted to purchase the gifts of the Holy Spirit with money, which is absolutely impossible! It proved that he did not want the gifts in order to help others, but rather to make himself greater! The gifts cannot be imparted through money and greed, but rather through the laying on of hands in prayer and simply be being in the tangible presence of God. However, simply by having someone of spiritual authority lay hands on you does not automatically mean that the same gifts in which they operated would come upon you. In order for a gift of the Spirit to be imparted, one must have paid the price in order to obtain that supernatural anointing. Otherwise, it is a lazy, self-centered Christianity that will ultimately lead to the demise of not only that believer’s life, but also those who are watching and upholding that individual in the faith. The reason is because pride rises up, which will kill destinies and purposes in God. It is important to be and remain humble, and the only way to accomplish this is by paying the price and giving God the glory that He so overwhelmingly deserves!