Pentecostal Churches speak out on faith healing
Pentecostal Churches in Malawi have shed more light on spiritual healing, emphasizing that an individual’s permanent healing depends on their faith and personal relationship with God.
Faith healing is a highly controversial subject, and some evangelist preachers have been accused of making unscrupulous claims that do not stand up to scrutiny.
In an interview , Pastor for Zambezi Evangelical Church, Gift Mphongolo said churches exist to continue with the work that Jesus Christ initiated.
He cited that spiritual healing as one of the fundamental aspects of the church that Jesus Christ bestowed upon his disciples before ascending to heaven.
“Before Jesus departed from the earth, he assured us that he has left us with the Holy Spirit which will be our companion and will provide us with what we desire when we call on his name” Mphongolo pointed out.
He added that healing is subjective depending on an individual’s willingness and faith in prayer, quoting Luke 8: 43-48 which gives a proper narration on the woman who suffered from severe bleeding and was healed as a result of touching Jesus’ garment.
“It took this woman a lot of courage, faith and zeal to triumph over the crowd that had crowded in on Jesus; she had so much faith that the mere touching of Jesus’ garment will heal her condition of 12 years,” the Pastor observed.
“Most Christians don’t have such faith to an extent that they perceive permanent healing as something that was only present during Jesus’ time here on earth,” Mphongolo noted.
Asked whether an individual should stop taking medication once healed, he emphasized that it is only medical personnel who have the mandate to give such advice to a sick person and not pastors.
“Healing is not a wholesale item not all who are prayed for actually get healed, one can either get healed or not depending on their faith. As men of God let us not extend our mandate to restricting an individual to stop taking drugs, instead we should allow medical personnel to do that,” Mphongolo stated
Founder of Christ Ministries, Pastor John Kamanga described healing as part of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, quoting Isaiah 53 verses 3-5 which narrates about Jesus’ persecution leading to his crucifixion.
“Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and by his resurrection we were healed and made whole,” he said, adding that everyone who believes in Christ is entitled to healing but maintenance of the healing remains is a struggle to many a people.
“When someone is healed and they revert to sin, the disease which they were suffering from or other ailments tend to resurface. This does not mean that the person was not healed in the first place, but rather their backsliding from God makes them prone to the work of the devil,” Kamanga emphasized.
He advised the clergy to desist from the tendency of stopping the faithful from taking drugs under the pretext that they have been prayed for.
The Pastor added that, “We have no right, whatsoever, to stop people from taking medicine. Let medical personnel do that after conducting several tests.”
On preacher in Mzuzu John Gondwe said the evidence that faith healing works was “overwhelming”.
He said: “Prayer is intergral to the whole process of healing.”
Faith healing did not substitute for traditional medicine, he said, but might complement it.
“The church has always sought to work hand in hand with those in the medical profession.”
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The title of the article is misleading. Zambezi Evangelical is not a Pentecostal church. Should have done a proper background check before publishing your article. Zambezi as clearly stated is an evangelical church. Please interview Pentecostal churches such as Malawi Assemblies of God, Living Waters, Calvary Family and others to provide a balanced treatment of the subject.