A Training Curriculum Based On The Five

Copyright © 2015 Howard Tien-Hoy Hsieh
All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to
reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen
by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction.
A TRAINING CURRICULUM BASED ON THE FIVE STEP HEALING
MODEL AT VINEYARD OF HARVEST CHURCH,
WALNUT, CALIFORNIA
__________________
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
__________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry
__________________
by
Howard Tien-Hoy Hsieh
May 2015
APPROVAL SHEET
WALNUT, CALIFORNIA
Read and Approved by:
__________________________________________
Brian J. Vickers (Faculty Supervisor)
__________________________________________
Timothy K. Beougher
Date ______________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Ministry Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Definitions, Limitations, and Delimitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Research Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Matthew 4:23-24, 10:1-8; and Luke 10:1-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
John 14:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Acts 6:8 and 8:4-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Ephesians 4:26-27 and 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
James 5:14-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The Kingdom of God and Healing Prayer Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Spiritual Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Dealing with Sinful Strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Affirming New Identity and Nature in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
iv
Chapter Page
Steps to Freedom from Sinful Strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Importance of Follow-Up and Discipleship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Scheduling of the Five Step Healing Model Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Detailed Synopsis of Each Class Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Results of the Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Summary of Results in the Questionnaire

for Prayer and the Bible Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

for Healing Prayer Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
T-Test Results and Boxplot Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5. EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Evaluation of Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Evaluation of Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Strengths of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Weaknesses of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Project Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Reflections on Practical Theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Appendix
1. FIVE STEP HEALING MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
2. PRAYER INTERCESSOR QUESTIONNAIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3. CURRICULUM EVALUATION RUBRIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4. HELPFUL PRAYERS, AFFIRMATIONS, AND SCRIPTURES . . . . . . . . . 98
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
v
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table Page
1. Voluntary and involuntary strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2. Affirmations of who we are in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3. An effective procedure for steps to freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4. What to pray off and pray on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5. Project schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6. Results for improving biblical knowledge of prayer in the Bible . . . . . . . . . 64
7. Results for the prayer and the Bible portion in the questionnaire . . . . . . . . . 65
8. T-test: Paired two sample for means for prayer and the Bible . . . .. . . . . . . . 66
9. T-test: Paired two sample for means for the healing prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
10. Stephen and Philip: Examples for the church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Figure
1. Boxplot of pre- and post-test scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
vi
PREFACE
My hope and prayer is that this project will enable people to grow in the
ministry of “praying in the Spirit at all times and occasions” (Eph 6:18) and in equipping
God’s people to continue Christ’s Kingdom ministry so that many people will be saved,
healed, and spiritually nurtured for the glory of God, the building up of his church, and
the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
I am indebted to the love, support, and prayers of many people God has placed
in my family, in my church, and in my ministry training. First, I want to praise and thank
our great triune God for his gift of salvation and his gracious call on my life to serve him
in full-time ministry, both in the pastoral ministry and in teaching in a Christian college
setting. God’s providence and provisions have led me to this stage for this research
project.
I want to dedicate this project to several people in my life whose love and
faithful support made this work possible. I want to thank my loving parents, Dennis and
Lucy Hsieh, for their faithful and generous support throughout my seminary training and
ministry. They have sacrificed a lot to raise me and to support me during my seminary
training and ministry. I want also to thank my grandparents for their love and support in
raising me. I appreciate all the generous support and prayers from the Hsieh family:
Aunt May and Uncle Ker-chow, Aunt Kim and Uncle Tom, Aunt Bernice and Uncle Ben,
and my brothers T. J. and J. T. (and their wives Angela and Judy), who have always been
very supportive and encouraging. I am grateful for my brother T. J., who encouraged me
to apply for the Doctor of Ministry program. I also want to thank my wife, Charlotte, for
her sacrifice, support, and encouragement. I thank my parents-in-law, Mr. Foo and his
whole family, for their continual love, support, and encouragement.
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I want to thank my dear friends at Vineyard Anaheim, who have influenced me
profoundly by introducing me to the healing prayer ministry and for all their helpful
training, coaching, and advice. I especially want to thank Paul Frala, Pastor Bob Fulton,
Brian and Ken Slezak, and all the healing prayer intercessors in the Monday Night
Healing prayer room. I learned so much about intercessory healing prayer from their
examples.
I also thank my fellow pastors at Vineyard of Harvest Church, Pastor Kwan,
Pastor Dennis Liu, and Pastor Baldwin Chan. It has been a joy and privilege to serve
with them in the pastoral ministry. Their prayers and support have been greatly
appreciated. I have also been blessed to serve alongside all the faithful brothers and
sisters in Vineyard of Harvest Church. I am very thankful for their trust and
encouragement to develop and implement the healing prayer ministry. I also thank Sister
Tracy Chan for her generous prayer and financial support for my D.Min. studies.
I am also grateful for my outreach friends, Helen Chang, Shirley Ho, Kindra
Leih, Dean Mellerstig, and Josh Kao for their friendship, prayers, and support. My prayer
intercessor supporters Eva Chai and Joann Yang have been very helpful in assisting me to
pray for people on many prayer sessions. Also, my former Biola students, April Bell and
Kindra Leih, have encouraged me and many people in their healing prayer ministry for
Biola students and in their faithful service in ministering to young people in their
respective churches.
Several seminary professors have helped me significantly in my theological
training: Dr. William Schweer taught me personal evangelism, Dr. Walt Russell taught
me biblical hermeneutics and hired me to teach as an adjunct professor at Biola
University, Dr. Clinton Arnold imparted his biblical insights about spiritual warfare in
Ephesians and Colossians, and Dr. Doug Vavrosky showed me how to pray successfully
for deliverance for people. I also appreciate Mrs. Avril Vavrosky for giving me practical
insights into a successful deliverance ministry. Dr. J. P. Moreland has taught me a lot in
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the area of Apologetics and his book, Kingdom Triangle, has made a deep impact upon
me. Dr. Jason Wilson was a tremendous help in assisting with the t-test tables and
boxplot graphs for the statistical analysis of the questionnaire results. Finally, I thank my
good friend Dr. Michelle Lee-Barnewall for her faithful support and encouragement both
in my teaching, ministry, and doctoral research.
I also want to express my deep appreciation for my editor Betsy Fredrick for
her expertise and hard work. Through her help, I was able to complete this D.Min project
according to the technical, editorial, and style requirements of SBTS.
Among the professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I want to
thank Dr. James Hamilton for his rich insights on biblical theology, and Dr. Tim
Beougher for his insights on historical theology and evangelism. I also want to thank Dr.
Michael Wilder and Dr. Miguel Echevarria for sharpening all of the D.Min. students in
their research and writing for of their D.Min. projects. Finally, I want to thank Dr. Brian
J. Vickers for serving as the supervisor for my project and for all of his helpful insights
and suggestions.
Finally, I am very grateful for the practical insights given by pastors John
Wimber, Dr. Neil Anderson, and Francis MacNutt, in their books on healing prayer and
freedom from sinful strongholds. Their books have been immensely helpful to me.
Howard T. Hsieh
Placentia, California
May 2015
ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to develop and teach a training curriculum
based on the Five Step Healing Model at Vineyard of Harvest Church in Walnut,
California.
Goals
The first goal of this project was to evaluate the knowledge of the Five Step
Healing Model for ten key adult members of Vineyard of Harvest Church. In the
beginning, these ten members were asked to fill out a questionnaire which tested their
knowledge about the biblical aspects of prayer and the steps of the Five Step Healing
Model. This goal was deemed successful when the questionnaire had been completed and
their knowledge of the Five Step Healing Model has been determined.
The second goal of this project was to develop a five-week training curriculum
on the Five Step Healing Model for ten adult members of Vineyard of Harvest Church.
The first week’s lesson explained the Five Step Healing Model as taught by Vineyard
founder John Wimber along with scriptural support from the New Testament. The first
week’s lesson examined how the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples prayed for people
based upon the Gospels and the book of Acts. The second week’s lesson explained in
detail the five steps of the Five Step Healing Model, followed by a demonstration on the
third week. The fourth and fifth week’s lessons explained what a sinful stronghold is
from Scripture and provided practical steps on how to use a set of prayers to break sinful
1
strongholds and provide freedom from demonic affliction. The sixth week’s lesson
allotted time for questions and answers for the students’ questions on the topics covered
in the Five Step Healing Model and any topics that were covered in the first five weeks.
The seventh week’s lesson served as practice of the Five Step Healing Model in a group
setting, and the students filled out the questionnaire that was passed out during the first
session of class.
This second goal was evaluated by the pastoral staff who used a rubric to
evaluate the curriculum in terms of its fidelity to Scripture, the soundness of its theology,
and its practical benefit. The goal was successful when 90 percent of the rubric was
marked at sufficient or above.
The third goal of this project was to increase the knowledge of the Five Step
Healing Model by teaching the developed curriculum. The training course was held on
seven consecutive Sundays, each session being seventy-five minutes in length. There was
an eighth session for the class members’ evaluation, during which time they were given
the questionnaire to fill out. The third goal was measured by this questionnaire, which
tests each student’s current knowledge of the Five Step Healing Model in class. The same
questionnaire was given at the end of the last class session to determine if knowledge and
skill usage has increased. This goal was successful when a the t-test demonstrated a
positive statistical difference between the pre- and post-questionnaires.
Ministry Context
The above goals for developing and teaching a training curriculum based on
the Five Step Healing Model was accomplished in September 2014, at the Vineyard of
Harvest Church in Walnut, California.
Before joining the pastoral staff at Vineyard of Harvest in November 2007, I
served in the Healing Prayer rooms at Vineyard Anaheim Church for five years, from
2
1999 to 2004, and was trained by key prayer leaders to practice the Five Step Healing
Model. The Five Step Healing Model is the biblical model of healing prayer that was
explained and taught by John Wimber, the founding father of the Vineyard Churches, in
his book, Power Healing. The prayer team witnessed numerous healings from God that
took place among the people we prayed for in the community. Moreover, in his previous
pastorate at the First Chinese Baptist Church at Fountain Valley, the author focused his
ministry on teaching the Word of God and building up the missions program at the
church as a key member of the missions committee.
Upon coming to Vineyard of Harvest, I observed that there were specific areas
of need among the congregation, especially at the level of key leadership. In both the
English and Chinese ministries, there was a great need for church members to be solidly
grounded in biblical teaching of core Christian doctrine and the Bible. Since a solid
grounding in the Word of God is foundational to Christian life and ministry, I
concentrated on this area first. Next, I concentrated on the “Spirit-Empowering” aspect of
the Vineyard values:

Vineyard of Harvest believes that the Holy Spirit has empowered believers in all the
spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament, and it endeavors to instruct church
members, through biblical teaching and practical demonstration, how to discover
their God-given gifts and use them to build up the Body of Christ, equip the saints
for ministry, and encourage believers to attain to spiritual maturity.
It became apparent that church members at Vineyard of Harvest needed to
know how to pray effectively for people using the Five Step Healing Model. I spent a lot
of time during the first few years at Vineyard of Harvest teaching the Word of God in the
Sunday school settings and weekly Bible classes. In time, I recruited a team of trained
intercessors who were able to set up the Healing Prayer Room, which ministered to both
church attendees and people from the community. God blessed the Healing Prayer Room
for two years with numerous salvations and people being healed from physical,
3
emotional, and spiritual problems. However, due to an insufficient number of volunteers,
the prayer team members experienced burnout. The healing prayer team did not have
sufficient support from the pastoral leadership as well. To make matters worse, the prayer
coordinator for the Chinese service was asked to step down from her position in 2010
because she was not doing her job effectively. As a result, the prayer team for the
Chinese worship service became non-functioning.
Hence, a great need existed to recruit and train more helpers to serve in the
prayer ministry, especially among the key leadership within both the English-speaking
and Chinese-speaking churches. The recruitment and training of prayer intercessors who
can pray effectively for people during ministry time at the end of the Sunday worship
services and to pray for people who request prayer for healing during the week was also
needed.
This inability to recruit more prayer intercessors could have been attributed to
several key reasons. First, the pastoral staff at Vineyard of Harvest was not involved in
training and equipping people in the Five Step Healing Model. The senior pastor’s wife
did a lot of the coordination and administration, but much of this effort was concentrated
on the Chinese-speaking members, not the English-speaking ones. In the English service,
key church leaders were not equipped by the pastoral staff to pray for people. Second, in
the English ministry, a number of key leaders adopted an “anti-supernaturalist” mentality
against healing prayer due to bad experiences they encountered with charismatic preachers
who utilized questionable practices in intercessory prayer in the past. Consequently, these
members became wary and suspicious of anything that would remind them of a
charismatic prayer ministry. A keen observer would find it odd that these people would
attend a Vineyard Church and yet object to the “Spirit-Empowering” core value of
Vineyard of Harvest.
4
It is my prayerful desire that this project enhanced and improved the prayer
ministry at Vineyard of Harvest by implementing an effective program for training key
church members and leaders to practice the Five Step Healing Model effectively. As
Vineyard of Harvest continues to establish an effective prayer ministry, it can live up to
its core value of being a Spirit-empowered church.
Rationale
As mentioned, the pastoral staff did an insufficient job of recruiting and
training church members to serve as effective prayer intercessors who are proficient in
using the Five Step Healing Model as taught by John Wimber. For years, there was
insufficient and ineffective training of church members who wished to participate in the
prayer ministry. Further, no uniform method of prayer used by the prayer intercessors
existed. The church members at Vineyard of Harvest come from different denominational
backgrounds and each of these denominations have their own methods for intercessory
prayer. Many of the prayer intercessors had been using the prayer methods they learned
from their previous church experiences. Some did not even have a prayer method.
The purpose of this project was to develop and teach the curriculum explaining
the Five Step Healing Model at Vineyard of Harvest Church in Walnut, California.
Several benefits resulted from teaching members to practice the Five Step Healing Model
at Vineyard of Harvest. First, by adopting a uniform and consistent method of prayer that
was already adopted by the Vineyard Association of Churches, there is uniformity,
consistency, and clarity in the prayer method and model that is used for ministry at
Vineyard of Harvest. Second, church members are taught about prayer using the method
used by Jesus and the apostles in the Scriptures, which is one of the reasons why John
Wimber wrote the book Power Healing on which the Five Step Healing Model is
based—to teach and train church leaders and members how to pray for people utilizing
5
the method used by the Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples in the early church. This aids
Vineyard of Harvest to live up to its core value of “Word-Convicting.” 1 Third, church
leaders and church members experience growth and effectiveness in their prayer lives as
a result of being equipped to be more effective prayer intercessors. Fourth, the enhanced
prayer ministry facilitates evangelism and life-transformation within Vineyard of
Harvest, thus fulfilling the core values of “Spirit-Empowering,” “Life-Transforming,”
and “Missions Mobilizing.”2
Definitions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Five Step Healing Prayer Model. Wimber’s Five Step Healing Model include,
“Step 1: The Interview, Step 2: The Diagnostic Decision, Step 3: The Prayer Selection,
Step 4: The Prayer Engagement, Step 5: Post-Prayer Directions.” 3
The kingdom of God. George Eldon Ladd defines the kingdom of God as
1
The “Word-Convicting” core value states that “Vineyard of Harvest will
instruct its members and visitors in the Word of God in a biblically-sound and practical
manner according to the evangelical tradition, which then can be applied by godly living
in obedience to the triune God.”
2
The “Spirit-Empowering” core value states that “Vineyard of Harvest believes
that the Holy Spirit has empowered believers in all the spiritual gifts listed in the New
Testament, and it endeavors to instruct church members, through biblical teaching and
practical demonstration, how to discover their God-given gifts and use them to build up
the Body of Christ, equip the saints for ministry, and encourage believers to attain to
spiritual maturity.” The “Life-transforming” core value states that “Vineyard of Harvest
believes that all Christians must grow spiritually and be transformed to be godly disciples
of the Lord Jesus Christ, reflecting a Christ-like image in their attitude, speech, character,
and lifestyle.” The “Missions-Mobilizing” core value states that “Vineyard of Harvest
believes in the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission and that it seeks to equip
its members to do power evangelism and cross-cultural missions in fulfillment of Christ’s
biblical mandate.”
3
John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Healing (San Francisco:
HarperCollins, 1987), 198-235. See appendix 1 for a detailed description of the Five Step
Healing Model.
6
“God’s reign, rule, or sovereignty.”4 An “already and not yet” aspect of the kingdom of
God is present. Jesus demonstrated the power and presence of the kingdom through his
proclamation of the gospel, which was accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders.
He taught his disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God, demonstrate the power of the
kingdom through miraculous signs and wonders, and to equip the saints in the church to
continue the kingdom work.5 The “not yet” aspect of the kingdom refers to the complete
establishment of God’s kingdom on earth in the Age to Come during and after the
millennial reign of Christ.6
Deliverance prayer. This is a specialized type of prayer that Christian prayer
intercessors use to command demonic spirits to come out of a person suffering from
demonic oppression. Wimber defines it as “setting a person free from a bondage, usually
from demonic influence.”7
Demonization. Wimber defines demonization as being “influenced, afflicted, or
tormented in some way by demonic power.” 8 The Greek word daimonizomai is used in
the New Testament to speak of people suffering from demonic influence. 9
4
George E. Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the
Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 19-20.
5
John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Evangelism (Ventura, CA: Regal,
2009), 82-88. See also Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1993), 229-52.
6
J. Laniel Burns, “Israel and the Church of a Progressive Dispensationalist,” in
Three Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism, ed. Herbert W. Bateman IV
(Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1999), 273. See also George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New
Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 67. In this paper, I adopt the
historic premillennial viewpoint.
7
Wimber and Springer, Power Healing, 238.
8
Ibid.
9
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 423.
7
Word of command. Wimber defines the word of command as a “powerful and
effective prayer in which the speaker commands, in a short sentence, an evil spirit or
disease to leave a person.”10
Word of knowledge. Wimber defines a word of knowledge as “a spiritual gift
through which God reveals facts about a situation for which a person had no previous
knowledge” (1 Cor 12:8).11 Within Vineyard Church doctrine, a word of knowledge
would be, as Wayne Grudem describes, “The ability to receive a special revelation from
the Holy Spirit and on that basis to speak words that give wisdom in a situation or give
specific knowledge of a situation in the life of someone present in a congregation.” 12
A significant limitation of the project is that the training class for
understanding and utilizing the Five Step Healing Prayer Model took place in seven
consecutive training sessions of seventy-five minutes in length.
This project had two delimitations. The first delimitation was that the project
took place within the context of one local church, namely, Vineyard of Harvest Church in
Walnut, California. The second delimitation was that the demographic data has been
narrowed to within a five-mile radius of the church’s campus.
Research Methodology
The research methodology for this project included a questionnaire and an
evaluation rubric.13 Three goals determined the effectiveness of this project. The first
10
Wimber and Springer, Power Healing, 240.
11
Ibid.
12
Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1080.
13
Adapted from Jerry G. Birdwell, “Training the Men of Providence Bible
Fellowship, West Chester, Ohio, to Be Spiritual Leaders in the Home” (D.Min. project,
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013). All of the research instruments used
in this project were performed in compliance with and approved by the Southern Baptist
8
goal assessed the understanding, practices of prayer, and the extent of the knowledge of
the Five Step Healing Model among the ten selected participants. Each person made a
signed commitment to attend all seven sessions of the Training Series on the Five Step
Healing Model. At the first training session, the questionnaire was given to eaech
participant in the training course. This questionnaire determined four things about each
participant: their biblical knowledge about prayer and the components of prayer (ACTS),
daily practice of prayer, knowledge of the five steps of the Healing Model, and a good
general procedure to follow to pray for healing. The first goal was deemed successful
when 100 percent of the participants completed the questionnaire and the questionnaire
had been analyzed, yielding a clearer picture of the current understanding and practices of
the participants about prayer.
The second goal was to develop a seven-week training curriculum that explained
the biblical basis of healing prayer and the practical steps of the Five Step Prayer Model
explained by John Wimber in his book Power Healing. Each session of this seven-week
course was seventy-five minutes long, and was held for seven consecutive Sundays. A
rubric was given to three members of the English-speaking pastoral staff at Vineyard of
Harvest to evaluate the course content of the seven-week training curriculum for its
faithfulness to Scripture and to the Vineyard doctrinal position, for clarity of presentation,
and its practical applicability to members in the church. The evaluation scale ranged from
“Insufficient” to “Exemplary.” This goal was deemed successful when 90 percent of the
evaluation indicators have been marked at sufficient or above, establishing that the
curriculum had been approved for use in Vineyard of Harvest Church.
The third goal of the project was to teach the curriculum for the seven-week
Theological Seminary’s Research Ethics Committee prior to use in the ministry project.
See Appendix 1, 2, and 3.
9
training series. After the sessions were completed, with 95 percent attendance by the
participants, the questionnaire was given again. This questionnaire assessed each
participant’s current understanding of the biblical basis for and the steps of the Five Step
Healing Model. A t-test for dependent samples was administered to determine if there
was a positive difference between the pre- and the post-series scores on the prayer
intercessor questionnaire. The goal was considered successful when the t-test for
dependent samples showed a significant positive difference between the pre- and post-
series scores for both the questionnaires.14
14
Neil J. Salkind, Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics, 3rd ed.
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008), 191.
10
CHAPTER 2
BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
The biblical basis for the Five Step Healing Model is found in the teachings
and example of the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples both in the Gospels and in the
book of Acts. In his notable books Power Evangelism and Power Healing, the founder of
Vineyard, John Wimber and co-author Kevin Springer, stated that one of the main foci of
Christ’s ministry on earth was to proclaim the message of the kingdom of God and
demonstrate the manifestation of the kingdom by healing the sick and casting out
demons.1 Christopher Morgan and Robert A Peterson point out that Jesus’ message,
from first to last, emphasized the kingdom of God.2
The Greek word for kingdom, basileia, denotes the “reign of God.” George E.
Ladd, who heavily influenced Wimber’s kingdom concept, defined the kingdom of God
as God’s kingship, rule, and authority. 3 Ladd explains, “The primary meaning of both
the Hebrew word malkuth in the Old Testament and of the Greek word basileia in the
New Testament is the rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king.” 4
The thesis for this chapter states that the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the
kingdom of God and equipped his disciples (both the Twelve and the Seventy) to display
1
John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Evangelism, rev. ed. (Ventura, CA:
Gospel Light, 2009), 27-29. See also John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Healing
(New York: HarperOne, 1987), 37; and Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson,
The Kingdom of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 20.
2
Morgan and Peterson, The Kingdom of God, 20.
3
George E. Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Scriptural Studies in the
Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 21.
4
Ibid., 19, emphasis original.
11
the manifestations of the arrival of God’s kingdom through healing and deliverance
ministry. This type of ministry was continued by the Spirit-empowered disciples in the
book of Acts, thus setting an example for the church.
In this chapter, key passages in the Gospels, the book of Acts, 2 Corinthians,
Ephesians, and James are examined to support the thesis. It is beyond the scope of this
chapter to cover all the aspects of the kingdom of God. This chapter focuses on the
relationship between the proclamation of the kingdom of God (by Jesus, the Twelve and
the Seventy), healings, and demonic deliverance. In the latter portion of this chapter it is
shown, from the epistle of James, that God commands believers to pray for one another
for healing.
The first set of passages examined is Matthew 4: 23-24, Matthew 10: 1-8, and
Luke 10: 1-23, which show that Christ taught and trained the Twelve and Seventy
disciples to heal the sick and free the demonically oppressed. The second passage
examined is John 14:12 which supports the thesis by showing that Christ told his
disciples that they would do the same type of works (and even greater works) that he did
in his earthly ministry. These works include healings and demonic deliverance. The
third set of passages in Acts (e.g., Acts 6:8 and Acts 8:4-8) show that the Spirit-
empowered disciples continued the healing and deliverance ministry of Christ.
Furthermore, an analysis of 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 and Ephesians 4: 26-27 shows that
believers need to utilize spiritual weapons to free people from strongholds. Finally,
James 5:14-16 is examined and shows that James not only exhorts believers in the church
to pray for one another for healing, but he commands believers to do so.
Matthew 4:23-24, 10:1-8; and Luke 10:1-23

Matthew 4: 23-24 summarizes Christ’s Galilean ministry:
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good
news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill
12
with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those
having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.5
The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and
demonstrated the power and presence of the kingdom through performing physical
healings and demonic deliverance. The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed that “God’s reign is
present” and thus announced that the Messianic “Age to Come” has arrived. The old age,
“this Age,” which extends from creation to the Day of the Lord, is “the age of human
existence in weakness and mortality, of evil, sin, and death.” 6 The Age to Come, which
is sometimes used interchangeably with the kingdom of God, manifests the realization of
all that the reign of God means. As Ladd explains, the Age to Come is the age of the
kingdom of God, in which God provides manifestations of the arrival of His kingdom:
physical healings, freedom from demonic oppression, and resurrection back to life. 7
Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart make the observation that according to Jewish
eschatological thought, the period called “this Age” is characterized by sin, sickness,
death, and the triumph of evil. With the arrival of God’s reign in the kingdom of God,
the “Age to Come” is ushered in, and the “Time of God’s Rule” is characterized by the
presence of the Spirit, righteousness, health, and peace. 8
The good news has to do with God’s breaking in “his saving reign in the
person of his Son the Messiah.” Christ’s miraculous signs attest to the presence and the
5
All Scripture quotations are taken from New International Version unless
otherwise noted.
6
George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1993), 45. See also George E. Ladd, “Historic Premillennialism,” in The
Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Robert G. Clouse (Downers Grove, IL: IVP,
1977), 17-40; cf. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1994), 1111-12, 1127-31.
7
Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 28-39.
8
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth,
rd
3 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 145-46.
13
advance of the kingdom.9 R. T. France concurs and states that in his preaching, Christ
publicly proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God. Through his miracles of healing,
Christ brings the power of the kingdom of heaven into operation. 10 In his influential
book Power Evangelism, John Wimber observes the two-fold pattern of Christ’s kingdom
ministry. First, Christ proclaims the message of the kingdom, and then he demonstrates
the power and presence of the kingdom. Wimber and Springer explain, “First He
preached repentance and the good news of the kingdom of God. Then He cast out
demons, healed the sick and raised the dead—which proved He was the presence of the
Kingdom, the Anointed One.”11
The word “gospel” in Greek is euangelion (“the message of good news”) and
according to C. C. Broyles, euangelion designates “Jesus’ message of the appearance of
God’s kingdom, a message entailing liberty for those held captive to any form of
affliction and demonstrated most dramatically in acts of healing.” 12 G. Goldsworthy
observes that in Mark 1:14-15 Jesus proclaims the gospel in terms of the fulfillment of
the times and the coming of the kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, the coming of
the kingdom of God and the salvation of God’s people are interconnected, and involves
both the saving act of God and judgment on all who oppose his kingdom and reject God’s
gracious offer of salvation. Regarding Christ’s miraculous works in relation to the
kingdom, Goldsworthy states,
9
D. A. Carson, Matthew Chapters 1-12, in vol. 1 of The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, J. D. Douglas, and Richard P. Polcyn (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 120-21.
10
R. T. France, Matthew, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, vol. 1
(Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1985), 110.
11
Wimber and Springer, Power Evangelism, 30-31.
12
C. C. Broyles, “Gospel (Good News),” in Dictionary of Jesus and the
Gospels, ed. Joel B. Green et al. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992), 282.
14
The deeds of Jesus reveal who he is and what he has come to achieve. His teachings
must be seen in the light of his overall strategy of establishing the kingdom and
saving his people. Thus, the miracles are signs of his saving power to release
people from sin, sickness, subjection to the evil power of demons and death. 13
According to Craig Blomberg, one of the most striking miracles that Christ
performs in demonstration of the presence and power of the kingdom is deliverance from
demonization.14 Demonization is singled out and distinguished from physical ailments
such as epilepsy.
Clinton Arnold, an authority on spiritual warfare, makes the important
observation that the Greek term daimonizomai, used in Matthew 4: 24, is often
mistranslated in English translations as “demon-possession.” The term simply means “to
have a demon,” and the unfortunate connotation of ownership is absent from the original
Greek word. Arnold presents the argument that unlike non-believers, a Christian cannot
be owned and controlled by a demon.15 This important observation is explained in more
detail later in chapter 3 dealing with freedom from demonization. In this chapter, the
term “demonization” is used rather than “demon-possession.”
Christ’s Training of the Twelve

and the Seventy Disciples
The thesis states that the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the gospel of the
kingdom and displayed the powerful manifestations of the arrival of the kingdom through
physical healings and deliverance from evil spirits. He also taught and trained his
disciples (both the Twelve and the Seventy) to do the same type of kingdom ministry.
Matthew 10:1, 5-8 states,
13
G. Goldsworthy, “Gospel,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T.
Desmond Alexander et al. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000), 522.
14
Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, New American Commentary, vol. 22
(Nashville: Broadman, 1992), 92.
15
Clinton Arnold, Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1997), 78-81.
15
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure
spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. . . . These twelve Jesus sent out with
the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the
Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message:
‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
It is significant to observe that the same kingdom authority Christ possessed as
the Messiah, he now imparts to the Twelve. They too proclaim the arrival of God’s
kingdom and demonstrate the manifestations of the kingdom through physical healings
and demonic deliverance. D. A. Carson explains that the twelve apostles are analogous
to the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve apostles represent the “eschatological
renewal of the people of God” (cf. Matt 19: 28). 16
Upon examining Luke 10: 1-23 and specifically Luke 10:9, the reader notices
the similarity in Christ’s commission to the seventy disciples with his commission to the
Twelve in Matthew 10: 1,5-8, even though both are sent to minister to different people
groups. Christ sent the Seventy into Gentile regions and instructed them to “heal the sick
who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (Luke 10:9).
The following verses in Luke 10:17-20 clearly show that the Seventy were given
authority by Christ to perform deliverance ministry as well as healings.
The symbolism of the number seventy (or seventy-two) is striking and
significant. 17 I. Howard Marshall explains that there were seventy elders of Israel,
seventy members of the Sanhedrin, and seventy nations in the world (cf. Gen 10). 18
Moreover, there were seventy-two elders who prepared the Septuagint, and also seventy-
two princes and seventy-two languages in the world. Among these possible interpretations,
Leon Morris and Mark Strauss both take the position that the number seventy/seventy-
16
Carson, Matthew Chapters 1-12, 236.
17
Even though certain manuscript readings state “seventy two,” I refer to the
disciples mentioned in Luke 10 as the “Seventy.”
18
I. Howard Marshall, Commentary on Luke, New International Greek
Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), 415.
16
two symbolizes the nations of the world. These disciples of Christ were commissioned
by Him to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and to take it to the whole world. 19 I agree
with Leon Morris’ assessment, because the central theme of the Gospel of Luke shows
“God’s great plan of salvation has come to fulfillment in the life, death, resurrection of
Jesus the Messiah, and continues to unfold as the Spirit-filled church takes the message
of salvation from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.”20 The symbolism of the seventy
disciples has practical meaning for the church, because the mission of the Seventy points
to the gospel spreading to the Gentiles, whereas the mission of the Twelve was focused
upon preaching the gospel to Israel.21 The Lord Jesus Christ commissioned the Seventy
to heal the sick and at the same time declare the arrival of God’s kingdom. 22 It is notable
that during the ministry of the seventy disciples, the kingdom rapidly advances: demons
are subject to Christ’s name and Satan falls from heaven (Luke 10:17-18). 23 The mission
of the Seventy prefigures what the Spirit-empowered church would accomplish in
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to the Gentiles24 and demonstrating the power and
presence through healings and deliverance in the book of Acts.
John 14:12
John 14:12 is striking in that Jesus states, “Very truly I tell you, whoever
19
Leon Morris, Luke, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, vol. 3 (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 198. Mark Strauss, Luke, Zondervan Illustrated Bible
Backgrounds Commentary, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 319, 410-11.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid.
22
Darrell Bock, Luke, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1996), 292.
23
Andreas J. Köstenberger and Peter T. O’Brien, Salvation to the Ends of the
Earth (Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity, 2001), 121.
24
Walter L. Liefeld and David W. Pao, Luke, in vol. 10 of The Expositor’s
Bible Commentary, ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2007), 191. See also Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions, 105.
17
believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things
than these, because I am going to the Father.” By “greater works,” Jesus is referring both
to the qualitative and quantitative proclamation of the gospel coupled with the performance
of miraculous healings and deliverance, which results in the conversion of many people
who heard the gospel message. The book of Acts supports this interpretation. First, the
book of Acts demonstrates the qualitative sense of “greater” through the New Covenant
empowerment of the disciples to carry out effective proclamation of the gospel along
with miraculous works. Second, Acts describes the geographical sense of “greater” in
that the Spirit-filled disciples in the book of Acts took the gospel of the kingdom from
Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Jesus spoke these words in John 14 to the eleven apostles after he predicted his
betrayal and Peter’s denial at the close of the Last Supper. John 14 opens with his words
of comfort and assurance to his disciples that if he departs to go to meet the Father, he
would prepare a place for them. As D. A. Carson explains, the eleven disciples were
troubled for various reasons. Christ had just predicted that Peter would deny Christ three
times and thus fail in his faith. Next, Christ tells the disciples he is departing to the
Father’s house to prepare a place for them. 25 The disciples feel distraught and
abandoned. Thomas responds by asking, “How can we know the way if we don’t know
where you are going?” Jesus answers Thomas’ question by stating, “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), and
that if they knew him, they would also know the Father. Philip then asks Jesus, “Lord,
show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” After telling Philip, “Anyone who
has seen me has seen the Father,” Jesus states the following in John 14:11-12,
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least
believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever
25
Carson, The Gospel According to John, 487.
18
believes in me will do the works that I have been doing, and they will do even
greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
Philip’s request displays a lack of trust in and ignorance about the Person of Jesus and
this undoubtedly disappointed the Lord.26
In response to Thomas’ question, “How can we know the way?” Jesus replies
with his assertion, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me” (John 14:6). Andreas Köstenberger connects Jesus’ claims to be the
way, the truth, and the life with the prologue in John 1:1-14. Christ, the incarnate Word
and God’s one and only Son, was with God the Father during creation, and He is God.
The Logos brings eternal life and enlightenment to those who would receive Him, He
reflects the glory of the Father, and He possesses grace and truth. 27 The word “life” (zoe)
denotes the self-existing life which the Father possesses (cf. John 1:3; 5:26) 28 and the life
in the future (i.e. the age to come), which can be realized in the present by those who
believe in Christ.29
One of the most important key words of the Gospel of John is “to believe”
(pisteuo). The verb pisteuo means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and more
specifically, “to have faith” in God or Christ.30 John wrote his Gospel so that readers
may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing they may
have life in his name (John 20:31). As mentioned previously, the believer can share in
the life which God possesses and realize the benefits of the life in the future which God
imparts to believers.
26
Ibid., 493.
27
Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 429.
28
29
D. H. Johnson, “Life,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 469.
30
William D. Mounce, ed., Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old
and New Testament Words (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), s.v. “pisteuo.”
19
It was this very belief and trust in Christ that was sorely lacking in the eleven
disciples. Philip, to the dismay of Jesus, shows his glaring lack of trust in Christ by
making the request, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us” (John
14:8). What Philip was asking was to see God, just like the Israelites did in Genesis
24:9-11, and similar to Gideon’s encounter with the angel of the Lord (Judg 6:18). 31
In his reply, Jesus brings out very significant proofs that he is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life—the Incarnate Son, along with notable assurances to his disciples:
1. I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14:10a)
2. Jesus’ words come from the Father’s authority (John 14:10b)
3. The indwelling Father does His works through Jesus His Son (John 14:11)
4. Those who believe in Christ will also do the works that the Son has been doing (John
14:12)
5. He will ask the Father to send another of the same kind of Counselor that he was to
his disciples, namely, the Holy Spirit (John 14: 16-17, 26-31)
6. The Son will answer his believers’ prayers so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son (John 14: 13-14)
7. The disciples will experience the love of the Father and the peace which the Son
provides (John 14: 21,27)
The Greater Works of Jesus

What constitutes the “greater works” that Christ assures that those who believe
in Him will do? The word for “works” is ergon, which in the Gospel of John denotes the
works of Jesus. The word for “greater” is meizona. As will be seen, Bible commentators
have various explanations for what Jesus meant by “greater works.” The Gospel of John
uses the word ergon to describe the miraculous works of Jesus. This can be seen in
passages such as John 5:36, 7:21, 10:25, 10:32, 10:33, 10:37-38, and arguably 14:10-12
as well. In one passage, John 6:29, Jesus does say, “The work (ergon) of God is this: to
31
Gerald L. Borchert, John 12-21, New American Commentary, vol. 25B
(Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2002), 112-13.
20
believe in the one he has sent.” However, in the context of John 6, Jesus had just
miraculously fed the 5,000 and then walked on water (John 6:1-24). Moreover, the
Gospel of John also focuses on the seven signs which Christ performs, for the purpose of
leading readers to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Six of the seven signs
performed by Jesus involve miraculous works: changing water into wine, healing the
nobleman’s son, healing the lame man, feeding the multitude, healing the blind man, and
the raising of Lazarus.32 Only the temple cleansing of Christ did not involve miraculous
works.
Curiously, for John 14:12, Leon Morris does not believe “greater works” refers
to miraculous works but to conversions.33 Morris’ view seems strange and inconsistent,
because in a latter section where he explains John’s treatment of “miracles,” Morris states
that John used the words semeion (“signs”) and ergon (“works”) to refer to the miracles
of Jesus.34 William D. Mounce explains the use of the word ergon:

While the gospel writers used ergon to describe Jesus’ miraculous works (Matt 11:2;
Lk. 24:19), John accords them theological significance (John 5:36; 7:3, 21; 15:24).
The works validate Jesus’ claims about himself and point to the Father who sent
him. His works are intended to draw faith responses from those who witness them
(John 14:11).35
Early interpreters believed the “greater works” refer to the missionary
successes of the early church. Köstenberger believes the term “greater” primarily
possesses a qualitative dimension in that it is based upon Jesus’ completed work on the
cross and it belongs to a more advanced stage in God’s economy of salvation. 36 George
32
Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds
Commentary, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 22.
33
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1995), 573-74.
34
Ibid., 607-13.
35
Mounce, Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary, s.v. “work.”
36
Köstenberger, John, 432-33.
21
Beasley-Murray believes that these “greater works” constitute “the actualization of the
realities to which the works of Jesus point, the bestowal of the blessings and powers of
the kingdom of God upon men and women which the death and resurrection of Jesus are
to let loose on the world.”37 Robert H. Mounce believes the “greater works” refer to the
“mighty miracles of regeneration that will take place as a result of the disciples’
proclamation of the gospel.”38
Gerald Borchert gives a more specific explanation, and he believes that these
“greater works” occur after Christ’s death and resurrection, whereby the exalted Christ
works through his disciples to evangelize and to do works of healing. 39 Though Borchert
does not specifically state this, but the Holy Spirit empowers the believers in the book of
Acts to continue the works of Christ. D. A. Carson makes a similar comment, “‘Jesus’
works may include more than his miracles; they never exclude them.” 40 Michael Green
believes the evangelism of the Spirit-filled disciples in the book of Acts included the bold
proclamation of the gospel about Jesus and the miraculous works of the disciples.41
Putting everything together, it seems reasonable that the “greater works” refer to two
things. First, in a qualitative sense, “greater works” refer to the New Covenant work of
the Holy Spirit in empowering the believers in the church to continue the proclamation of
the gospel of the kingdom and to manifest the arrival of God’s kingdom through
miraculous healings and deliverance ministry. Second, “greater works” denotes the
37
George R. Beasley-Murray, John, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 36, 2nd
ed. (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 255.
38
Robert H. Mounce, John, in vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary,
ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2007), 563.
39
Borchert, John 12-21, 115-16.
40
41
Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1970, 2003), 158-59.
22
geographical expansion of the disciples’ proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom
coupled with miraculous works as a demonstration of the manifestation of the kingdom’s
arrival. As Acts 1:8 outlines, the Spirit-filled disciples would continue Christ’s kingdom
ministry starting from Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, all the way to the ends of the
earth. The Spirit-filled disciples would carry out Christ’s kingdom ministry in a “greater”
way both qualitatively and quantitatively.
A key passage, John 10:36-38, can help the reader to understand Jesus’ words
more clearly in John 14:11-12. Addressing the Jews who were unwilling to believe that
he was the Messiah and who accused him of blasphemy for claiming to be one with the
Father, Jesus replied,

Why do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not
believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do
not believe me, believe the works, that you may know that the Father is in me, and I
in the Father. (John 10:36-38).
John 10:36-38 bears much similarity to John 14:11-12, which reads,
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least
believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever
believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater
works than these, because I am going to the Father.
There are some notable similarities. First of all, Jesus is confronting the Jews
in John 10:36-38 of their unbelief and refusal to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God. In John 14, Jesus confronts Philip (and the disciples) of their unbelief and even
tells Philip that he fails to understand who Jesus is after being with him for so long.
Second, Jesus appeals to the non-believing Jews in John 10 to believe in Him on account
of the miraculous works (erga). In John 14, Jesus appeals to Philip and the disciples to
believe on evidence of the works (erga) themselves. In a sense, the unbelief of the
disciples in John 14 is similar to that of unbelieving Jews in John 10. Third, Jesus tells
the Jews in John 10 that his miraculous works will prove that the Father dwells in him
and he in the Father. In John 14, Jesus tells the disciples that his miraculous works are
evidence that the Father is in him, and he is in the Father. In these statements about him
23
being in the Father, and the Father indwelling in him, Christ implied ontological unity
and emphasized functional unity with the Father.42
Moreover, in John 14:25-26, Jesus alludes to the coming of the Holy Spirit,
who will be the same kind of Counselor that Jesus was to his disciples. The Holy Spirit
would be another of the same kind (allos) of advocate that Jesus was to his disciples.
This same Holy Spirit would serve as their advocate and empower the disciples for
effective ministry after Christ’s exaltation into heaven (cf. Acts 2:33).
Through the coming of the Holy Spirit the disciples will do even “greater”
works. In Acts 1: 1-2, Luke implies that “all that Jesus began to do and teach” will be
continued through the disciples through the New Covenant outpouring of the Holy
Spirit.43 As the reader sees in the following section, Stephen and Philip were empowered
by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel powerfully and perform miraculous signs and
wonders, which involved physical healing and demonic deliverance. In his insightful
book, Reading Acts, Talbert also notes that the Spirit-empowered disciples in the book of
Acts did the same works that Christ did in the Gospels.44
Acts 6:8 and 8:4-8

Acts 6:8 and 8:4-8 are important Scriptural passages that show that the Spirit-
empowered disciples continued Jesus’ kingdom ministry of healings and demonic
deliverance. These passages are analyzed to support the thesis because they describe the
ministry of Stephen and Philip, two of the seven assistants appointed by the early church
(cf. Acts 6: 1-6), who were not among the twelve apostles. Thus, as Acts 6:8 and Acts
42
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Encountering John (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999).
43
Borchert, John 12-21, 116. See also I. Howard Marshall, Acts, Tyndale New
Testament Commentaries, vol. 5 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1980), 60; and
Grudem, Systematic Theology, 770-73.
44
Charles H. Talbert, Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological Commentary,
rev. ed. (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2005), xxiv-xxv.
24
8:4-8 clearly describe, the working of miraculous signs and wonders were not limited to
the Twelve but Spirit-empowered believers like Stephen and Philip also performed the
same type of miraculous works alongside their gospel proclamation. As the reader
examines Stephen’s life and ministry, it is helpful to observe how the description of the
seven assistants fit within the outline of the book of Acts. Eckhard Schnabel provides a
helpful brief outline of Acts 3:1-8:3 as it fits with the section in Acts 1:15-8:3:
II. The Beginnings of the New People of God (1:15-8:3)
B. The Life, Witness, Trials, and Growth of the Community of Believers in
Jerusalem (3:1 – 8:3)
13. Renewed persecution of the apostles (5:17-42)
14. The appointment of the seven assistants (6:1-7)
15. The ministry, trial, and death of Stephen (6:8-8:3)45
Stephen
Stephen’s life mirrored that of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a servant who
helped to oversee the church’s administration of taking care of the widows. As the
church began to grow numerically, there was a problem of insufficient help to oversee the
distribution of food to widows, especially the Greek-speaking widows. The Aramaic-
speaking widows received sufficient help, but the Greek-speaking widows did not. The
seven “assistants” (which included Stephen and Philip) assisted in the daily distribution
of food so that the Greek-speaking widows would be provided for, and unity would be
restored.46 The twelve apostles called the community together and asked the church to
appoint “seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” to oversee
the administration of the daily distribution of food to the widows (Acts 6:3 NKJV). The
seven assistants were selected and they faithfully carried out their duties, thus
contributing to the unity and further growth of the Jerusalem church.
45
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 326.
46
Ibid., 326-31.
25
As Stephen faithfully carried out his ministry as one of the seven assistants, the
Lord expanded his ministry. Stephen spoke powerfully and performed great signs and
wonders among the people. In his speeches Stephen told the people that God’s work
would go beyond Moses, the Law, and the Temple. This aroused the ire and opposition
by the Jewish people, the elders, and teachers of the Law. Later, they stoned Stephen and
Stephen died as the first Christian martyr. Stephen’s final words mirrors Christ’s words
on the cross, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Stephen is the only
believer who sees the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). The Son
of Man stands to welcome Stephen into heaven and stands as the exalted Judge. 47
Luke describes Stephen and the rest of the Seven as “men of good reputation,
full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3 NKJV). Stephen was also a man “full of
faith” (Acts 6:5) and full of God’s grace and power” (Acts 6:8). In due time, the Holy
Spirit gave him supernatural wisdom to speak and the ability to perform great “signs” and
“wonders” (Acts 6:8). The supernatural wisdom that the Holy Spirit gave Stephen
enabled him to speak and refute his accusers. Stephen’s powerful oratory fulfilled
Christ’s words in Luke 21:15, “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your
adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”
Another result of Stephen being filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s power
was the manifestation of miraculous signs and wonders which he performed among the
people.48 Stephen was empowered by the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant era to do the
works of Jesus.
Philip
After the martyrdom of Stephen, Philip, also among the Seven, goes to Samaria
47
John B. Polhill, Acts, New American Commentary, vol. 26 (Nashville:
Broadman, 1992), 207-8.
48
Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1998), 244.
26
to plant the church there. As Philip proclaims the message of Jesus as the Messiah in
Samaria, God also confirms his message with signs and wonders. Luke states,
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the
crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to
what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were
paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:5-8)
Under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit-filled
disciples become powerful and dynamic witnesses of Christ and plant the Christian
Church in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, as Acts 1:8 outlines.
The Spirit empowered the disciples to proclaim the gospel effectively and perform
miraculous signs and wonders which confirmed the gospel message. Michael Green
states,
It was not the miracles that brought people to faith; there were plenty of miracles in
the ancient world! But it was these acts of power allied to the preaching of Jesus
which had such an impact. Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and
signs among the people, but it was the force of his proclamation of Jesus as Messiah
which they could not resist.49
Michael Green’s point is echoed by Wimber and Springer in Power Evangelism:
A close inspection of the book of Acts reveals that the disciples went out and spread
the good news in the same fashion as Christ: by combining proclamation and
demonstration of the kingdom of God. The apostles not only taught what they heard
but also did what Jesus did. . . . Notice, too, that power evangelism went beyond the
first generation of disciples. There were the apostles themselves. Then a second
generation, Stephen, Philip and Ananias—none of them apostles—proclaimed and
demonstrated the kingdom (see Acts 7; 8:26-40; 9:10-19).50
Ephesians 4:26-27 and 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

These two passages are significant in showing that people suffer from sinful
strongholds and believers are given spiritual weapons that can break these strongholds
and set people free. However, the passage in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, rightly interpreted in
its context, indicates that the strongholds are arguments and obstacles that obstruct the
knowledge of God (i.e. the gospel).
49
Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, 158-59.
50
Wimber and Springer, Power Evangelism, 87.
27
Ephesians 4:26-27
The epistle of Ephesians, most likely a circular letter written to the churches in
the vicinity of Ephesus, stresses the church as the Body of Christ. A simple and broad
outline of the epistle looks like “Greeting (1: 1-2) . . . 1. The Spiritual Privileges of the
Church (1:3-3:21) . . . 2. The Spiritual Responsibilities of the Church (4:1 – 6:20) . . . 3.
Conclusion: The Coming of Tychicus, a Final Greeting and Benediction (6:21-24).” 51
Ephesians 4:26-27 falls within the context of Eph. 4:25-5:2, which deals with
how believers can live as human beings newly created in God’s image. 52 Ephesians 4:26-
27 reads, “In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
and not give the devil a foothold.”
Anger is one of the many sinful traits that Paul exhorts the Ephesian believers
to put off. Paul told the Ephesian believers to put off falsehood (v. 25), to stop stealing
from others (v. 28), to refrain from unwholesome speech (v. 29), and to get rid of the
negative traits of bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, slander, and every form of malice
(vv. 31-32). Paul exhorts the believers to put on the traits of kindness, compassion,
forgiveness, and to use edifying speech instead. These new traits are appropriate for
believers who are recreated in God’s image. The Ephesian believers must appropriate
this spiritual truth of being created in God’s image and appropriate it in their dealings
with one another in human relationships. The phrase in verse 27 (topon to diabolo)
means “a place to the devil,” while the expression (didonai topon tini) was a common
Greek idiom that refers to giving someone or something an opportunity. 53 Depending on
the context, topos may mean a designated area (cf. Luke 6:17; 11:24), an inhabited place
51
Robert H. Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, 5th ed. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012), 461-64.
52
Frank Thielman, Ephesians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2012), 309-24.
53
Ibid., 314.
28
such as a city (Acts 16:3-4), a non-physical designation (2 Pet 1:19), and a metaphorical
sense such as giving an opportunity (Eph 4:27; Heb 8:7; Heb 12:17). 54 In Luke 2:7,
Mary and Joseph laid baby Jesus in a manger because there was no room (topos) for them
in the inn. In Luke 11:24-26 Jesus uses topos to refer to the inhabiting space of an evil
spirit.55 The passage states,

When an impure spirit comes of a person, it goes through arid places (topos)
seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, “I will return to the house (oikos) I
left.” When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes
and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.
And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.
One of the closest parallels to the usage of topos in Ephesians 4:26 in a
metaphorical sense can be found in Romans 12:19: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends,
but leave room for God’s wrath.”56 Regarding Romans 12:19, Thomas Schreiner explains
that believers are to place the fate of enemies firmly into God’s hands, that he will repay
any injustice at the last day.57 Douglas Moo mentions that believers are to “give place to
(God’s) wrath” rather than taking justice in their own hands. 58 Thus, believers are to give
God the opportunity in the future to display His wrath through punishing evildoers.
Clinton E. Arnold is one of the foremost authorities on the topic of
principalities and powers in the book of Ephesians. In his extensive chapter on sinful
strongholds, Arnold explains that Christians cannot be owned and controlled by demons
but they can give an opportunity or room for demons to afflict them through indulging in
54
Mounce, Complete Expository Dictionary, s.v. “topos.”
55
Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions, 88.
56
Peter O’ Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament
Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 340-41.
57
Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 673.
58
Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, New International Commentary on
the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 786.
29
sinful practices or adopting sinful traits. 59 Arnold explains that the most natural way to
interpret the use of topos in Ephesians 4:27 is the idea of inhabitable space, and that Paul
calls the Ephesians believers to vigilance and moral purity so that they do not relinquish a
base of operations to evil spirits.60
Second Corinthians 10:4-6

In his second epistle to the Corinthian believers, Paul writes about his apostolic
ministry and takes this occasion to express relief and joy at the favorable response of the
majority of the Corinthian Christians (chaps. 1-7), to stress the collection he wants to
gather from the Corinthian church to help the believers in Jerusalem (chaps. 8-9), and to
defend his apostolic ministry to the minority who oppose him (chaps. 10-13). 61
In chapters 10-13, Paul defends his apostolic ministry to the recalcitrant minority
who oppose him,62 and in 10:3-6 he speaks about the weapons of warfare that he uses:
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons
we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine
power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that
sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of
disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
Paul uses this militaristic analogy to convince the minority of Corinthian
believers who oppose him that he is not timid, but bold. Though in the flesh, Paul may
be subject to bodily weakness and experience thorns in the flesh, he wages spiritual warfare
using God’s powerful, divine weapons at his disposal. Paul utilizes the descriptions of the
59
Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions, 88-101.
60
Ibid., 88-89. See also Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Zondervan Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 302-3. Chap. 3 of
this project is devoted to more explanation on the nature of sinful strongholds and how to
get rid of them.
61
Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, 424-25.
62
Ibid., 425.
30
three stages in ancient siege warfare: destroying defensive fortifications, taking captives,
and punishing resistance when the city is brought into submission.63 Paul does not specify
the spiritual weapons he has at his disposal, but from references in his other
correspondence to the Corinthians, he utilizes the truth of the gospel (e.g., the word of the
cross) and the knowledge of God. Other weapons mentioned in the New Testament
include prayer, divine wisdom, and holy conduct.64
As Colin Kruse observes, the word ochuroma (“stronghold”) appears only
once in the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 10:4. The term “stronghold” is analogous to
the “arguments” and “pretensions” that sets itself up against the knowledge of God as
mentioned in verse 5.65 However, one can reasonably conclude that the spiritual weapons
believers use to demolish these strongholds are not limited to proclaiming the truth of the
gospel, but can also include prayer. In Acts 8, the apostle Peter exposes the wrong motives
of Simon not only through the bold proclamation of the truth but also through prayer (cf.
Acts 8:20-25).
James 5:14-16
In James, one of the key emphases is putting one’s faith in action.66 The
section in James 5:13-18 deals with James’ exhortations and instructions on prayer for
serious illnesses. This closing section in the epistle unpacks James’ theme of dealing
63
David E. Garland, 2 Corinthians, New American Commentary, vol. 29
(Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1999), 434-35.
64
Ibid., 435.
65
Colin Kruse, 2 Corinthians, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, vol. 8
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 174-75.
66
Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, Exegetical Commentary
on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 35. See also Douglas Moo, The
Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2005), 36-43. Compare with Kurt A. Richardson, James, New American Commentary,
vol. 36 (Nashville: Broadman, 1997), 42-44.
31
with trials and temptations.67 Earlier in the epistle, James told his readers to seek God’s
wisdom by praying in faith (1:6-8). He also explained that believers must check their
motives if they do not receive what they have prayed for (4:2-3) and to submit to God’s
will (4:15). As a fitting bookend on prayer, James exhorts his readers to pray in faith
(5:15). What is significant are James’ words of command in verse 16, “Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of
a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
The verbs “confess” and “pray” are both in the present imperative tense. What
is notable is that these words are a command to believers on what to do to help those who
are sick. Believers are exhorted to call the elders of the church to pray over the sick, use
anointing oil in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to pray for healing in faith (Jas
5:15). The anointing by the elders with oil symbolizes that the person is being set apart
for God’s special attention and care, and God’s presence. 68 The use of oil may have both
a practical and religious purpose. Practically, oil is used as medicine, while religiously,
oil may carry sacramental or symbolic significance.69
Then James exhorts believers to confess their sins to one another and pray for
one another for healing. Thus, the church leadership are to pray for the sick and then
believers are to pray for one another as well. As an aid to healing, believers are exhorted
to confess their sins to one another, and to pray for one another. In verse 15, James
assures the reader, “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the
Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”
Kurt Richardson notes that “the faithful prayer of gathered believers, united by
67
Blomberg and Kamel, James, 237.
68
Ibid., 242-43.
69
Douglas J. Moo, James, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 177-78.
32
the plea of the sick member and the authority of the elders, has real effectiveness.” 70 It is
notable that the word translated “make . . . well” is the Greek word sozo, which means
“salvation.” In the Synoptic Gospels sozo is used for spiritual salvation or physical
healing.71 The expression, “your faith has made you well” is present in the Gospels (Matt
9:21-22; Mark 5:23-28; Luke 8:36; Acts 4:9; 14:9).72 The phrase, “the Lord will raise
him up” could be alluding to Christ’s healing of the paralytic (Mark 2: 1-12; Mark 3:3;
5:41; 10:49; Luke 7:14; 8:54).73
The prayer intercessors must pray boldly, submitting to the sovereignty of
God, yet believing that God is a God of power and love and that he listens to the fervent
prayers of his people.74 It is significant to note that James does not place any restrictions
on how long his command to pray for one another for healing applies nor does he restrict
God’s healing activity to any time period.75
Conclusion
This chapter has endeavored to support the thesis that Jesus’ kingdom ministry
of healing prayer and deliverance was passed onto the twelve apostles, the seventy
disciples, and to the Spirit-empowered believers in the book of Acts. The passage in
James 5: 14-16 shows that believers in the New Covenant era are to continue to pray for
one another for healing. Healing prayer and deliverance ministry are to be continued by
the Christian church today.
70
Richardson, James, 233.
71
Ibid., 234.
72
George H. Guthrie, James, in vol. 13 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary,
ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2006), 271.
73
Ibid.
74
Blomberg and Kamell, James, 244.
75
Ibid., 244-45.
33
CHAPTER 3
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES
This chapter addresses important theoretical and practical issues directly
related to the implementation of an effective healing prayer ministry. In order for an
effective healing prayer ministry to take place, the pastoral leadership must teach church
members about the kingdom of God, spiritual warfare, and an effective method to combat
sinful strongholds.
The Kingdom of God and Healing Prayer Ministry

In order to implement an effective healing prayer ministry, the pastoral staff
must teach church members about the kingdom of God. In particular, the pastor who
begins the healing prayer ministry should instruct church members that healing prayer
ministry can be an effective means by which people can experience the blessings and
results of God’s kingdom. In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus Christ established the kingdom,
proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God, and demonstrated the power and presence
of the kingdom through miraculous signs and wonders; the results of Christ’s kingdom
ministry were people being saved, healed, delivered, and set free from sinful strongholds.
A thorough teaching about the kingdom of God is a necessary foundation for a
theologically sound healing prayer ministry.
As described in the previous chapter, the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the
reign of God and equipped the Twelve and the Seventy disciples to continue His kingdom
ministry. The manifestations of the kingdom’s arrival were people being saved, healed
from various sicknesses and diseases, people being set free from demonic affliction, and
the dead being raised.
34
The foundational biblical concept embraced by the Vineyard Church is the
kingdom of God. After he became a Christian in the 1970s, John Wimber, the founder of
Vineyard Anaheim Church, was discipled in a traditional, Bible-based, and cessationist
church. He and his wife Carol led evangelistic Bible studies at home, and led many
people to the Lord when they were affiliated with the Friends church. In the early stages
of his Christian faith, Wimber subscribed to the cessationist viewpoint as a
dispensationalist. His views began to change when he studied church growth at Fuller
Theological Seminary in the 1980s. In his studies of church growth, Wimber recognized
that in many cases, the goal of Western evangelicals was to help people make an
intellectual decision to follow Christ. However, Wimber saw that the Great Commission
passage in Matthew 28: 19-20 calls for the making of full disciples: Christians who not
only believe the gospel but are also trained to live out the demands of the gospel. 1
Moreover, through his learning under Peter Wagner, his exposure to writings by Donald
Gee and Morton Kelsey, along with frequent encounters with many pastors and
missionaries serving in the Third World, Wimber heard reports of healings and
deliverance taking place regularly in South America, which resulted in large evangelistic
harvests and church growth. This led Wimber to re-study the Gospels, and he discovered
that Jesus always combined the proclamation of the kingdom of God with its
demonstration of the effects of God’s reign (e.g. the casting out of demons, healing the
sick, raising the dead, etc.). This study of Jesus’ kingdom ministry impacted Wimber
greatly, and he found that the key to effective evangelism, as demonstrated by the Lord
Jesus Christ, was to combine the proclamation of the kingdom with the demonstration of
the kingdom.
Furthermore, Christ commissioned His disciples to bring people fully under
His reign into the kingdom of God, where people will experience a new reality—a reality
1
John Wimber, Power Evangelism (New York: HarperCollins, 1986, 2009), 17.
35
in which the “supernatural” is quite natural, and converted persons will experience both a
“personal” change and a change in citizenship in leaving the kingdom of Satan and
entering the kingdom of God.2
The disciples in the book of Acts understood Christ’s kingdom commission
clearly, and they continued Christ’s kingdom ministry and equipping future generations
of disciples to do the same. The first disciples were the apostles, the second generation
were disciples such as Stephen, Philip, and Ananias. The third generation of disciples
included people like Silas and Timothy who accompanied the apostle Paul in his
missionary journeys.3
In light of the example of Christ and the disciples in the book of Acts, the
church must train and teach its members to implement Christ’s kingdom commission in a
practical way to help individuals be set free from bondage to sin, experience healing, and
be liberated from demonic strongholds. 4 Consequently, these people can experience
God’s love and kingdom victory and be equipped to live a holy and godly life in
conformity to the lordship of Christ. J. P. Moreland provides the important insight that
the main concern of disciples of Christ is not to seek “signs and wonders” but “to bring
fame and respect to God by learning to live in and on behalf of his kingdom and to
become like Jesus.” 5 Moreland mentions three legs of the “Kingdom Triangle” that must
be emphasized by the church today, namely, to recover the Christian mindset according
to the biblical worldview, to renovate the heart in spiritual formation, and to restore the
2
Ibid., 86.
3
Ibid., 87.
4
In this chapter, the terms “sinful strongholds” and “demonic strongholds” are
use interchangeably. Refer to the following section, “Dealing with Sinful Strongholds,”
for further explanation.
5
J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 182.
36
power of the Holy Spirit in kingdom ministry. 6 Moreland’s change in perspective is
surprising, given that he grew up in a cessationist environment, attended a cessationist
seminary, and started and pastored “open but cautious” churches for thirty-five years. J.
P. Moreland, being a professor in Christian philosophy and apologetics for many
decades, does not appear to be a person who is easily swayed by emotionalism and
sensational stories of healings and deliverance. His change in perspective in embracing
openly the kingdom perspective taught by the Vineyard church came about first of all,
through reading with an open mind and hungry heart. He read Sam Storm’s
Convergence: Spiritual Journeys of a Charismatic Calvinist, Jack Deere’s Surprised by
the Power of the Spirit, and Francis MacNutt’s Healing. He also read books on spiritual
warfare and healing by authors such as Charles Kraft (Defeating Dark Angels) and
Francis MacNutt (Healing). In addition to a gradual change in biblical perspective and
worldview, Moreland came to embrace the reality of physical healings taking place today
as a result of persons receiving healing prayer by godly Christian prayer intercessors.
During the time he wrote the book Kingdom Triangle, Moreland experienced God’s
healing for a serious case of laryngitis. This healing from laryngitis occurred on Sunday,
February 20, 2005. Moreland remembered this date vividly, because during the previous
week, he was told by his physician that he had to cancel all of his teaching and speaking
engagements, which was of no minor inconvenience for a professor at Talbot School of
Theology. On this particular Sunday after worship service, two of the leaders in the
Vineyard church told him that he could not leave without them praying for him, and
sharing God’s love. As they were praying, Moreland experienced instantaneous and
irreversible healing. According to Moreland, his laryngitis was completely healed within
a matter of minutes after receiving healing prayer! What Moreland knew about God’s
kingdom cognitively, he now experienced firsthand. He experienced the manifestation of
6
Ibid., 187.
37
God’s kingdom through healing, and the experience of God’s love. This incident had a
tremendous impact upon him, and it influenced him to write the book Kingdom Triangle.7
Moreover, as Moreland began to learn more about healing prayer and
deliverance ministry through the ministry of the Vineyard church, he witnessed firsthand
people being healed and delivered from demonic affliction by means of healing prayer. 8
All these accounts of God’s healing and deliverance were genuine factual events, not
made-up stories.
Similarly, Jack Deere chronicles his change in perspective from a strictly
cessationist viewpoint regarding “signs and wonders” (which he held for over twenty
years as a Professor of Old Testament in Dallas Theological Seminary) to fully
embracing the kingdom teaching and perspective of the Vineyard Church. 9
I recount these testimonials from credible, biblically-based teachers such as
Moreland and Deere to demonstrate that Vineyard’s theology of the kingdom, influenced
by the writings of George E. Ladd and formulated by John Wimber, are soundly based
upon Scriptural teaching on the kingdom of God in the New Testament. I can readily
relate to Moreland and Deere’s change in perspective because for many years, for I
adhered to the cessationist viewpoint of John F. MacArthur and viewed stories of God’s
miraculous healings and deliverance with considerable suspicion. What caused the
change in perspective was a firsthand encounter of God’s supernatural healing upon a
student in a theology class I taught in spring semester of 1994 at Biola University. One
female student in my theology class was healed physically of a misaligned hip at birth
which caused one of the legs to be shorter than the other. Two guest speakers at
Vineyard came to speak on spiritual gifts during one class session, and after class they
7
Ibid., 165-66.
8
Ibid., 180-90.
9
Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1993).
38
taught the students how to use the Five Step Healing Model to pray for one another.
Over fifteen students stayed behind to receive prayer and to help administer prayer for
two hours. Among those students was the female student who experienced supernatural
healing for the misalignment of her hip. She responded to the healing by praising and
thanking God. I grew up believing in the cessationist view that “supernatural healings”
do not exist today because the church possesses the full canon of Scripture and the
Twelve apostles passed away; any supernatural healings must be the result of counterfeit,
evil spirits. However, Jesus told his disciples that they can discern true prophets from
false prophets by examining the fruit of their prophecy. Jesus says, “Every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matt 7:16-17 NKJV). When I observed
that the female student responded with joyfully praising and thanking God, I asked
myself, “How can this be the product from evil spirits?”
Thus, I feel that it is vitally important to point out that healing prayer ministry
should not be associated with the controversy involving “charismatic versus non-
charismatic” perspectives, but the emphasis should be placed upon the important issue of
the kingdom of God. How did the Lord Jesus Christ teach and proclaim the kingdom of
God and how did He train the Twelve and the Seventy-Two to proclaim and demonstrate
the Kingdom of God? How did the disciples in the book of Acts continue Christ’s
kingdom ministry through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? Christ consistently
taught His disciples the concept of the kingdom of God as God’s reign breaking through
and setting people free from sin, bondage to physical and spiritual sicknesses, demonic
affliction, and death. The Lord Jesus Christ not only taught His disciples about the
dynamic reign of God, but He demonstrated the power and the presence of God’s reign as
well. Healing prayer ministry is an effective and practical outworking of Christ’s
mandate for the church to proclaim the kingdom and demonstrate the power of the
kingdom in bringing salvation, healing, and deliverance to people, bringing them to
wholeness and to living in conformity to the image of Christ.
39
Spiritual Warfare
The next topic in which the church must instruct its members in order to
implement effective healing prayer ministry is the reality of spiritual warfare. Every
believer needs to understand he or she is fighting a war against the flesh, the world, and
Satan. Furthermore, every believer must be equipped for spiritual warfare both in
appropriating spiritual armor defensively and in utilizing God-given weapons to fight evil
spiritual forces and to set people free from demonic strongholds. Addressing this topic is
important because in certain evangelical circles, believers are taught that waging spiritual
warfare amounts to prayer and appropriating biblical truths to daily life; there is no need
for believers to pray against Satan and evil spirits because believers do not have the
authority to rebuke demons.10 Nothing can be further from the truth, both from a biblical
standpoint and real-life experience. I was heavily influenced in 1992 by this viewpoint
taught by John MacArthur and Thomas Ice after reading their books. Outwardly, what
MacArthur and Ice teach seems biblically sound and spiritual, but in actual ministry
experience their arguments prove contrary to reality, both in the Western world, Asia, and
the third world.11 In reality, even Bible-believing Christians can open themselves to
demonic affliction the through harboring sinful strongholds either voluntarily or
involuntarily.12
10
See John F. MacArthur, How to Meet the Enemy: Arming Yourself for
Spiritual Warfare (Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor, 1992). See also Thomas Ice and
Robert Dean, A Holy Rebellion: Strategy for Spiritual Warfare (Eugene, OR: Harvest
House, 1991).
11
See James Rutz, Megashift (Colorado Springs: Empowerment, 2005), 1-38. I
respect the majority of John MacArthur’s exposition of Scripture but I disagree with his
viewpoint regarding the cessation of signs and wonders after the completion of the canon
of Scripture and the departure of the twelve apostles. Wimber records the continuation of
signs and wonders in church history from the patristic era (AD 100-600) to the present
day in Power Evangelism, 210-40.
12
Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, OR: Harvest, 2000), 111-
98. Cf. Clinton Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1997), 73-141; Karl I. Payne, Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization, and
Deliverance (Washington, DC: WND, 2011).
40
Karl Payne recounts a real-life situation where a Bible-believing pastor’s wife
needed deliverance ministry to be set free from demonic affliction due to harboring sinful
strongholds from her past. This woman was afraid to share her problems for fear of
being condemned and branded as unspiritual by fellow believers within her social circle
and ministry setting. She was at her wits end, and she not only contemplated leaving the
church but also divorce and suicide. Inner voices plagued her daily. No one was able to
help her within her church, including her husband, who served as the senior pastor of the
church. As Payne, fellow pastors, and a missionary sought to help her by quoting
Scripture and praying for her, a demonic voice uttering profanities and curses against
God came through her mouth. Payne and his fellow pastors found themselves at a
complete loss to deal effectively with this situation. They struggled throughout the
encounter to find a solution to help this woman; their theological training did not prepare
them for such an encounter against evil spirits. 13 Similar situations have happened in my
ministry setting. Six months ago a woman attending the Sunday worship service suddenly
started screaming and yelling during singspiration, and the pastors and church leaders did
not know how to effectively deal with the situation. They tried to pray for the woman,
but to no avail. The woman would start convulsing and speaking strange utterances
induced by evil spirits. I was asked by church leaders to help, and I, together with
experienced prayer intercessors, were able to help this woman find freedom in Christ
after four prayer sessions.
In my ten years of seminary training, I discovered there were very few classes
that provided a theological foundation and practical training for seminarians to deal with
spiritual warfare. I had to find this information out of necessity because I had to deal
with several serious cases of demonization at church. Through the help of books such as
The Bondage Breaker and the support of experienced missionary friends and prayer
13
Payne, Spiritual Warfare, 15-20.
41
intercessors at Vineyard Anaheim Church, I was able to successfully handle several
difficult cases of demonic affliction this past year. I could not seek the advice or help of
the senior pastors in the three churches I served at previously because in each case they
had neither the experience of dealing with such cases, nor the willingness to get involved.
Karl Payne’s assessment of his lack of seminary training to effectively deal
with serious cases of spiritual warfare provides a fitting warning and constructive
feedback to both Christian seminaries and churches:

My formal introduction to the subject of spiritual warfare began several years out of
necessity rather than personal choice. I attended two fine schools for my formal
Bible training. Both of these Evangelical institutions have solid reputations for
teaching, consistent Bible study methods, and I’m grateful for the privilege of
attending each school. Neither, however, at that time even remotely pretended or
attempted to prepare students to recognize, distinguish, or contend with the realities
of spiritual warfare. . . . More often than not, they simply ignored the subject of
spiritual warfare rather than explore or confront it. Discussions I’ve had since with
alumni of other evangelical Bible schools and seminaries have consistently
confirmed that my experience was the norm rather than the exception. 14
As the church faces more severe cases of demonization in these last days
before Christ’s return, it is ever more vital that Christian leaders, seminary students,
missionaries, and pastors be sufficiently equipped to wage spiritual warfare and to help
demonized people experience freedom in Christ. To illustrate, a soldier going out to
battle needs to know what weapons he is using, how to use them, and how to effectively
engage the enemy to achieve military victory. The soldier needs to be grounded in sound
tactics and methods of fighting the enemy to achieve victory. If the combat training
facility fails to provide such basic training, that facility is negligent in providing the
necessary skills for soldiers to engage the enemy victoriously in battle. Similarly, if the
Christian church fails to equip its members on how to wage spiritual warfare effectively,
it is negligent in its God-given task of equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph
4:12).
Since churches will likely encounter more and more cases of demonic affliction,
14
Ibid., 14-15.
42
it is ever more vital that the church leadership be trained to wage spiritual warfare and to
achieve victory in Christ.
Dealing with Sinful Strongholds

One of the most practical methods of helping people to be set free from
demonic affliction is to teach and equip them to get rid of sinful strongholds. Clint
Arnold, Neil Anderson, and Karl Payne have written excellent, practical books to help
Christians understand what a sinful stronghold is, and know how to get rid of these
strongholds.15
Based upon Scriptures such as Ephesians 4:26-27 and 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, a
sinful stronghold is an opportunity or room that the believer provides for the devil and the
demonic forces to afflict that person through persistent and willful sins, false beliefs, and
indulgence in the works of the flesh described in Galatians 5:19-21 and Ephesians 4: 25-
31.
Clinton Arnold makes the important clarification that a Christian cannot be
owned and controlled by a demon; however, through opening up a room or inhabited
space for demons through willful and habitual sinful behavior, the sinning believer may
find himself or herself in bondage to sinful strongholds. 16 Arnold’s book 3 Crucial
Questions about Spiritual Warfare provides sound biblical background for the topic of
Christians and demonization. Having done extensive research on spiritual warfare in the
book of Ephesians, Arnold provides valuable insights on passages such as Ephesians
4:25-27 and 6: 10-20, which are directly related to spiritual strongholds and the Christian
equipment for spiritual warfare.
15
Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions; Anderson, The Bondage Breaker; Payne,
Spiritual Warfare.
16
43
Ownership
The first important clarification that Arnold provides concerns the issue of
ownership. A Christian is owned by the Lord Jesus Christ, on the basis of Christ’s blood
shed on the cross. Paul made it clear that God has purchased the church with His own
blood (Acts 20:28).
Using Matthew 12:29 as a reference, Christ has plundered “the strong man”
(e.g. Satan), tied up the strong man, and has plundered his possessions. Thus, humans
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are no longer Satan’s property but they belong to the
Lord Jesus Christ and are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit is
God the Father’s mark of ownership and He is “the pledge of our inheritance” (NASB).
The NKJV expresses the thought nicely in Ephesians 1:13-14:

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Giving Turf to the Devil and the Demons

The second clarification that Arnold provides concerns the word topos, which
is translated as “place” (NKJV), “opportunity” (NASB), or “foothold” (NIV) in
Ephesians 4:27. This is the word for “foothold” or “stronghold” as it relates to habitual
sins that provide room for demons to operate in a person’s life. Arnold explains that in
Ephesians 4: 27, the most natural way to interpret topos is that of “inhabitable space.”17
A related Scripture that uses topos to refer to an inhabitable space is that of Luke 11:24
(NKJV), where Jesus talks about an evil spirit seeking a place to reside:
When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest;
and finding none, he says, “I will return to my house from which I came,” And
when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him
seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and
the last state of that man is worse than the first. 18
17
Ibid., 88-89.
18
Emphasis added.
44
In Luke 2:7, when Joseph and Mary are in Bethlehem and Mary is just about to
give birth, the passage says, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped
Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the
inn.”19 In Luke 2:7, the word topos is translated as “room.” Thus, the NKJV translates
topos in Ephesians 4:27 accurately, “nor give place to the devil.” Other translations, such
as the NASB and the NIV translate topos in Ephesians 4:27 as “opportunity.” Both
translations are accurate. Through habitual sinful practices, the believer gives demonic
forces both a place and an opportunity for affliction. The question arises, how does a
genuine believer “give place” or “opportunity” to the devil and the demonic forces to
afflict that person? One of the chief ways is to habitually sin and gratify the “works of
the flesh” described in Galatians 5: 19-21. In Ephesians 4:25-26, Paul mentions that
lying and falsehood, along with sinful harboring of anger can give place or room for the
devil to work. Two notable scriptural examples of believers who gave room for the devil
to work are the couple Ananias and Sapphira, and the apostle Peter. Acts 5:1-12
describes the blatant dishonesty and falsehood of Ananias and Sapphira, who claimed to
sell a piece of property to donate to the early church but kept back some of the price for
themselves. The apostle Peter, given prescient knowledge by the Holy Spirit of what
they did, rebuked them and said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the
Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? . . . You have not
lied to men, but to God” (Acts 5:3-4 NKJV). 20 Later, Peter rebuked Sapphira in a similar
way. God disciplined these two believers by putting them to death.
The apostle Peter himself received Christ’s rebuke earlier when he reprimanded
Christ for telling the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the
hands of the Jewish elders and chief priests, be killed, and on the third day be raised back
19
Emphasis added.
20
Emphasis added.
45
to life. When Peter rebuked Jesus and told him, “Never, Lord! This will never happen to
you!” Jesus replied, “Get behind me Satan!” (Matt 16: 21-23 NKJV). Satan somehow
influenced Peter’s mind and mouth to speak the words of Satan to Christ, similar to
Satan’s temptations to Christ in the desert (cf. Matt 4: 1-11).
The reader can surmise that any habitual sinful deeds of the “works of the
flesh” mentioned in Galatians 5: 19-21 can leave room for the devil and the demons to
work in one’s life, because these “works of the flesh” are very similar to the deeds of
darkness mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 4:17-31. Furthermore, the apostle Paul makes
the allusion in Romans 6: 12 that believers may allow “sin to reign in their mortal
bodies” when they obey their fleshly lusts.21 Hence, Paul exhorts the Roman believers to
“present the members of their bodies to God as instruments of righteousness rather than
presenting their bodies to sin as members of unrighteousness” (Rom 6: 13-14 NKJV).
Another notable way for believers to give “room” and “opportunity” for the
demonic realm to afflict them is through idol worship, either voluntarily or involuntarily
through the sin of idolatry from ancestors. The apostle Paul makes a clear connection
between idolatry and demonic influence in 1 Corinthians 10:19-23 (NKJV):

What am I saying then? That an idol is anything or what is offered to idols is
anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to
demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of
the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.
Paul clearly states that the Gentiles sacrifice to demons through their idol
worship, and he clearly warns the Corinthian believers that through participating in
sacrificing to idols they are partaking of the table of demons.
It is important to differentiate the word topos (“place, opportunity”) in
Ephesians 4:27 from the word ochuroma (“fortresses”) in 2 Corinthians 10:4. Certain
spiritual warfare books do not make the distinction and assume the word “strongholds”
21
46
are referring to the same thing.22
Ochuroma is analogous to false reasonings, arguments, and pretensions that set
itself up against the true knowledge of God and the gospel. 23 In 2 Corinthians 10:5b, the
phrase “taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ” emphasizes “the total
destruction of the fortresses of human and Satanic wisdom and the rescuing of those
inside from the damning lies that had enslaved them.”24
Categories of Strongholds
There are two categories of strongholds: voluntary and involuntary. 25
Voluntary strongholds are those sinful thoughts and deeds that the person does
consciously and willingly. Involuntary strongholds are the sinful deeds that are done
through other people, or through past ancestors passing down sinful bondages or sinful
traits to future generations.
22
The NKJV translates ochuroma as “strongholds” whereas the NASB
translates it as “fortresses.”
23
Colin Kruse, 2 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Inter-Varsity, 1987), 174-75.
24
John F. MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible: New King James Version,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 1779.
25
See table 1.
47
Table 1. Voluntary and involuntary strongholds
Voluntary Involuntary Comments
Sins of idolatry Idol worship passed down 1 Corinthians 10:20-21
to generations Any worship and sacrifices
Worship of false gods to idols are equated to
Buddah, Asian gods Baptism of the person and worship and sacrifices to
Hindu gods, Islam dedication to false gods demons
Ancestor worship
Satan worship Name given to the person The first priority is to
Occult practices in honor of a false god for break all vows and
Tarot cards healing or blessing allegiances to false gods
Fortune-telling and to break curses as a
Witchcraft, sorcery Fortune or prediction of result of being dedicated to
Satan worship future given to the person a god or being baptized in
Attending Black Mass by a fortune-teller or a temple
Dedication to an evil spirit shaman
“Deeds of the flesh” “Deeds of the flesh”
Galatians 5: 19-21 (NASB) Galatians 5: 19-21 (NASB) Any sinful trait or practices
Anger, unforgiveness that are passed down from
Evil practices Sinful traits (listed on the the older generation to the
Hatred, bitterness left) that are passed down younger generation are
Lust, immorality, generationally to younger sinful strongholds that
perversion generations need to be broken
Pornography
Drunkenness These are examples of the
Drug abuse “iniquities that are passed
Carousing down to the 3rd and 4th
Violent behavior, physical generation” mentioned in
abuse Exodus 20:5
Enmities, strife, jealousy

disputes, dissensions,
factions, gossip, rebellion
Affirming New Identity and Nature in Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ told His Jewish listeners in John 8: 31-32 (NKJV), “If
you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you will know the truth, and the
truth shall set you free.” One of the most important steps to freedom is appropriating the
truths of God’s Word regarding who believers are in Christ.
The apostle Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NASB),

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the
weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the
destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing
48
raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking captive every thought
captive to the obedience of Christ.
The “fortresses” (ochuroma) mentioned in verse 4 refer to the “false
reasonings and arrogant argumentation that keep people from a true knowledge of
God.”26 One of the most important steps to freedom is to reject the false reasonings and
lies of the enemy about our identity and to affirm and appropriate God’s truths about our
identity in Christ as stated in His inerrant Word. Satan is described by Christ as the
“father of lies” (John 8:44), and Satan uses lies and deception to lead people to rebel
against God, to worship idols and consequently be enslaved by sinful practices (Gen 3:1-
6; Rom 1:18-31). In Romans 1: 21-23, 28 (HCSB), the apostle Paul vividly describes
how a deceived and darkened mind leads to sinful and immoral behavior,
For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude.
Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds became darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal
God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. . . .
And because they did not think it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, God
delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong.
The Lord Jesus Christ sets the example for believers to reject Satan’s lies and
to replace them with the truths of Scripture (cf. Matt 4: 1-11). Christ countered Satan’s
first temptation to transform stones into bread by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV): “It
is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.’”
Christ rejected Satan’s second temptation to jump off the temple and in a
showy display of His Messianic power by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: “It is written
again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.” The second temptation is unique in
that Satan twists the Scripture in Psalm 91:11-12 in an effort to lead Christ to disobey
God. Furthermore, Christ rejected Satan’s third temptation to worship Satan and receive
all the earthly kingdoms and their glory by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13: “For it is written,
26
David Woodall, 2 Corinthians, The Moody Bible Commentary (Chicago:
Moody, 2014), 1820.
49
‘You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall you serve.’”
During the forty days Christ spent in the desert, He meditated on Deuteronomy
6-8. In His triumph over the devil in the wilderness, Christ, the only Son of God, would
triumph in His obedience to God in contrast to Israel, God’s Son, who rebelled against
God and failed.27
The passages in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4: 1-13 provide the ultimate
example for believers in how to victoriously conquer over Satan’s temptations through
rightful use and appropriation of Scripture. Utilizing the example set by their Lord Jesus
Christ, believers can reject Satan’s lies by rightfully appropriating Scriptural truths.
Neil Anderson exhorts the believer to renounce the lies from the enemy, such
as “I am rejected, unloved, dirty, or shameful. I am guilty, unprotected, alone, or
abandoned. I am worthless, inadequate, helpless, or hopeless.” 28 Anderson points out
that the believer must affirm the truths about who he is in Christ, which are found in table
2.29 In the same table, I add further affirmations that have proven to be very affirming
and helpful to church members, prayees, and students
27
R. T. France, Matthew, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1985), 102.
28
Anderson, The Bondage Breaker, 248-49.
29
Ibid.
50
Table 2. Affirmations of who we are in Christ
Neil Anderson Howard Hsieh
I am God’s child (John 1:12) I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:5) (Pss 139: 13-14)
I have been justified (Rom 5:1) I am precious and worthy to God (Isa 43:4a)
I am united with the Lord and I am I am worth the blood of Christ (Eph 1:7)
one spirit with Him (1 Cor 6:17) I am a prince/ princess and co-heir with Christ
I have been bought with a price: I (Rom 8: 16-17)
belong to God (1 Cor 6: 19-20) I am a royal priest / priestess who will reign
I am a member of Christ’s body (1 with Christ (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 1:5-6)
Cor 12:27) I belong to God the Father; He has placed the
I am a saint, a holy one (Eph 1:1) stamp of ownership on me through the Holy
Spirit (Eph 1: 13-14)
I have been adopted as God’s child
(Eph 1:5) God is always there for me; He will never leave
me nor forsake me (Isa 43:10; Deut 31:6,8)
I have direct access to God through
the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18) God will always love me no matter what (Isa
54:10; Rom 8:38-39)
I have been redeemed and forgiven of
all my sins (Col 1:14) I have been given unique gifts to use for God’s
glory and for helping others (1 Pet 4: 10-11; 1
I am complete in Christ (Col 2:10) Cor 12: 7-11)
Steps to Freedom from Sinful Strongholds

I adapted the steps to freedom from Anderson’s influential and helpful book
The Bondage Breaker and utilized the illustration of how to get rid of rats from Charles
Kraft in his book Defeating Dark Angels.30 Kraft likens demons as rats who feed upon
garbage in a very dirty place.31 Expanding on this illustration, I point out that the way to
get rid of rats consists of three steps: (1) get rid of all the garbage, (2) wash the whole
place clean, and (3) Put in the cat / bring in the exterminators. The advantage of using
this illustration is that it is simple, easy to understand, and easy to memorize.
I simplified the numerous steps given by Neil Anderson and combined it with
30
Ibid., 197-256; Charles Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal,
1992), 78.
31
Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels, 78.
51
Charles Kraft’s “rats” analogy to present the following steps to finding freedom from
sinful strongholds.32
Table 3. An effective procedure for steps to freedom

Illustration Procedure
First step Lead the person to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord
Get rid of the Lead the person to confess and renounce sins specifically one by
garbage one.
Pray through steps (a) to (d) “in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, through the power of His blood” by
a) Confess involvement in ________ and renounce the sin
b) Take back any ground given to Satan through the sin of
___________
c) Cut off any ties to the sin or to any religion / religious teacher
d) Remove any curses attached to the sin
Wash the trash bin Lead the person to ask God to forgive him/her and bring
cleansing through the blood of Christ
Put in the “cat” Lead the person to pray to God to be filled with the Holy Spirit
and replace each sinful trait with the trait of the new nature in
Christ. Then lead the person to dedicate himself to worship and
serve the Lord Jesus Christ
After completing the steps in table 3, pray off the sinful traits and pray on the traits of the
new nature, as shown in Table 4.
32
A simple but memorable illustration is much easier for people to remember
and understand than a whole list of complicated, detailed steps.
52
Table 4. What to pray off and pray on
Pray Off Pray On
Allegiance to false gods: Pledge allegiance to the true GOD
Confess, renounce, and cut off ties Pray to the LORD and pledge allegiance to Him
to each false god. Take back any to worship and serve Him as the only true God;
ground given to Satan through the trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
worship of these false gods (name
each god individually)
Impurity, immorality, ungodliness Holiness, righteousness, purity
Bitterness, anger, hatred Forgive those who wronged you
Fear Ask God to fill you with His love, peace, unity,
and reconciliation
God’s faith, hope, and love (which casts out all
Confusion fear)
Depression, despair Clarity of mind, God’s enlightenment,

illumination, and wisdom
Spirit of praise (cf. Isa. 61:3 NIV)
Joy, hope, faith in God
Table 4 provides an easy to follow chart that summarizes what to pray off and
pray on, just as the apostle Paul gives the illustration of getting rid of sinful traits (like
putting off filthy clothes), being washed clean, and putting on the traits of the new self
(like putting on new and clean clothes) (Eph 4:25-32; Col 3:8-15).
I also wrote out a set of prayers and pronouncements that makes it easy for the
person seeking freedom to pray and read (both during the ministry session and at home).33
Importance of Follow-Up and Discipleship

Follow-up and discipleship are absolutely essential after a person receives
deliverance from demonic affliction. Otherwise, this person may fall back to the sinful
patterns of behavior and thinking, and be trapped again by sinful strongholds.
This past year, in my church, two sisters “May” and “Rebecca” went through
33
See appendix 4.
53
healing prayer sessions for deliverance, and both experienced freedom from demonic
strongholds. In each of these cases, I was involved in the prayer sessions. After the
prayer sessions were complete, I coordinated with the pastor’s wife and made sure that
both sisters were followed up by fellowship leaders, they attended Sunday worship
faithfully, and they enrolled in discipleship programs weekly where they meditated upon
God’s Word and established accountability with other believers.
I informed these two sisters that I would be available to pray for them
whenever it was needed, and I touched base with them and the fellowship leaders on
occasion to see how they were doing. Meanwhile, these two sisters were growing
spiritually through faithful attendance and involvement in worship, fellowship, and
discipleship. It was great to witness the power and presence of the Holy Spirit at work in
both of these women’s lives and to see them become responsible members of the church
and disciples of Christ.
54
CHAPTER 4
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
This project consists of developing a seven-week curriculum on the Five Step
Healing Model and teaching the curriculum to ten adults who are willing to commit to the
whole seven-week course and take a pre- and post-questionnaire that examines what they
learned about prayer and the Bible, and healing prayer.
The project was designed to meet three goals. The first goal of this project
sought to evaluate the knowledge of the Five Step Healing Model for ten key adult
members of Vineyard of Harvest Church. At the first class session, these ten members
were asked to fill out a questionnaire which tested their knowledge about the biblical
aspects of prayer and the steps of the Five Step Healing Model. This goal was deemed
successful when the participants completed the questionnaire their knowledge of the Five
Step Healing Model and prayer was determined. The second goal of this project consisted
of developing a seven-week training curriculum on the Five Step Healing Model for ten
adult members of Vineyard of Harvest Church. The seven-week curriculum consisted of
the following topics: Weeks 1-3, The biblical basis for the Five Step Healing Model;
weeks 4 and 5, What is a sinful stronghold and how to break it; week 6, Demonstration of
how to break sinful strongholds and how to administer the Five Step Healing Model;
week 7, Teaching on prayer in the Bible, demonstration of the Five Step Healing Model,
and administration of the questionnaire to the students in the course.
The curriculum was evaluated by the pastoral team utilizing a rubric (see
appendix 3) and the goal is successfully met when 90 percent of the rubric was marked at
sufficient and above in terms of fidelity to Scripture, soundness of theology, and practical
usefulness.
55
The third goal of the project sought to increase the students’ knowledge of the
Five Step Prayer Model through the seven-week training course, which was measured
through the use of a questionnaire (see appendix 2). To determine if knowledge and skill
usage of the Five Step Prayer Model had increased, students were given the questionnaire
during the first session of class, and the same questionnaire was administered in the final
session of class. This goal was successfully met when a t-test demonstrated a positive
statistical difference between the pre- and post-questionnaires.
Scheduling of the Five Step Healing Model Class

The Five Step Healing Model class was taught during a seven-week period
starting on August 17, 2014, and ending on September 28, 2014. Table 5 shows what
transpired on each of these sessions:
Table 5. Project schedule
Session Date of Session Topics Taught
One August 17 Introduction about Power Evangelism and John

Wimber, administration of questionnaire on the Five
Step Healing Model
Two August 24 Biblical and Theological Basis for the Five Step
Healing Model
Three August 31 Explanation of the Five Step Healing Model
Four September 7 What is a Sinful Stronghold?
Five September 14 How to Break Sinful Strongholds
Six September 28 Prayer in the Bible (OT and NT) / questionnaire

given
Seven October 5 Make-up session: Prayer in the Bible / questionnaire

given
56
Detailed Synopsis of Each Class Session
Session 1: Introduction/Power
Evangelism and Power Healing
In session 1, I introduced class members to the seven-week course and gave an
introduction to the teaching of John Wimber and Kevin Springer in their books Power
Evangelism and Power Healing.1 The prayer questionnaire was given to the seventeen
students who were present.
Session 2: Biblical Basis for the

Five Step Healing Model
An abbreviated form of “The Biblical and Theological Foundations” of this
D.Min. project was presented (see chap. 2). I taught on the meaning of the kingdom of
God from George E. Ladd’s teaching, along with the meaning of the term basileia “the
reign of God.” Furthermore, I explained how Christ proclaimed “the gospel of the
kingdom” and demonstrated the power and presence of the kingdom through signs and
wonders (cf. Mark 1:15; Matt 4: 23-25). Next, I exposited the passages in Matthew 9: 1-
2 and Luke 10: 1, 19-20, showing that Christ equipped the 12 and the 70 disciples to
fulfill the same kingdom ministry that He did. I also explained the significance of the 12
and the 70 disciples.
Next, I briefly exposited John 14: 12, pointing to Christ’s disciples doing the
same and even “greater” works than Christ did. I briefly explained “greater works” (John
14:12) in light of how the apostle John uses the word erga in his gospel. I then explained
Act 1:8 and Acts 2, which shows that the 11, the 120, and all the church saints would
receive the New Covenant empowerment of the Spirit, which would enable them to
continue Christ’s kingdom ministry of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and
demonstrating the power and presence of the kingdom through signs and wonders. The
disciples followed Jesus’ example: first the 12 apostles and the 72 disciples pioneered the
1
John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Evangelism, rev. ed. (Ventura, CA:
Gospel Light, 2009); idem, Power Healing, rev. ed. (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1987).
57
way, then Stephen and Philip, and later disciples such as Barnabas, Paul, and the
missionary companions. I pointed out to the class that Stephen and Philip were great
examples of Spirit-empowered disciples who reflected the character of Christ and
continued Christ’s kingdom ministry. Finally, I mentioned that the Spirit-empowered
church, symbolized by the two witnesses in Revelation 11, would proclaim the gospel of
the kingdom powerfully and perform great signs and wonders like that of Moses and
Elijah.2 I also exhorted the members of the class to fulfill their calling as members of the
Spirit-empowered church and as God’s royal priesthood to continue Christ’s kingdom
ministry of proclaiming the gospel and demonstrating the power and presence of the
kingdom. I ended the biblical basis session by explaining James 5:14-16, which exhorts
Christians to confess their sins to one another and to pray for one another for healing.
The same biblical passage also commands elders of the church to pray for the sick and to
anoint the sick with oil. The members in the class responded well to the session and were
encouraged by the real-life testimonies that I shared about how God healed numerous
students at Biola University in the past ten years during the after-class prayer times in the
theology class I taught.
Session 3: Explanation and

Demonstration of the Five
Step Model
Using a handout I began explaining the Five Step Healing Model (see
appendix 1). Paul Frala, from Vineyard Anaheim Church, assisted in the demonstration
of the Five Step Healing Model since he has had over twenty years of experience
utilizing the Five Step Healing Model to pray for people.
After explaining the Five Step Healing Model, we asked for a volunteer who
2
James M. Hamilton, Jr., Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008). See also G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, New
International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999);
and Vern S. Poythress, The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation
(Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2000).
58
needed prayer, and Sister Q volunteered to share her prayer request and be prayed for.
During the session, we experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit as we got to the
“Diagnostic Decision” step of the Five Step Prayer Model. Sister Q shared with the class
that she was feeling depressed and needed prayer. As we began to pray for her and listen
to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, both Paul and I felt led to ask Sister Q some key
questions which got to the root of her problem. Sister Q responded by crying and we
asked the female members of the class join us to help comfort and pray for her. Paul and
I prayed specifically for God to meet some of her emotional needs and we closed the
prayer session with words of encouragement to Sister Q.
The prayer demonstration of the Five Step Healing Model was powerful
because it showed the members of the class how the Holy Spirit guides prayer
intercessors when they skillfully utilize the Five Step Healing Model. The members of
the class responded very well to the prayer demonstration and they had a lot of questions
to ask Paul and I. We spent thirty minutes to pray for the class members who had
specific prayer requests.
Sessions 4 and 5: Explanation of Sinful

Strongholds and How to Break Them
In session 4, I explained what a sinful stronghold was, and exposited the
Ephesians 4: 26-27, explaining what the term topos means.3 I also distinguished the term
topos in Ephesians 4:27 from the word ochuroma found in 2 Corinthians 10:4.4
I also presented Old Testament examples such as King Saul being tormented
by evil spirits as a result of habitual sin (1 Sam 16:14), and how David’s playing of
worship music drove away the evil spirits (1 Sam 16:23). I utilized Clinton Arnold’s
3
Please refer to the detailed explanation under the heading “Ephesians 4:26-27
and 2 Corinthians 10:4-6” in chap. 3.
4
Please refer to the detailed explanation in the heading “Second Corinthians
10:4-6” in chap. 3.
59
example of the Old Testament imagery of the Temple in Jerusalem to support the notion
of demonization of Christians. The Temple in Jerusalem was indwelt by the Holy Spirit,
but later, the Temple was corrupted when pagan worship of idols was introduced. Later,
King Josiah had to remove the false idols and cleanse the Temple before it could again be
used to worship Yahweh.5
I also mentioned examples in the New Testament such as Peter, Ananias and
Sapphira, and Paul’s exhortations to the Christians in Rome not to allow sin to reign in
their mortal bodies (Rom 6:12). In other passages Paul also alluded to the possibility for
people to be led captive by the devil to do his will (2 Tim 2:25-26).6
After explaining the pertinent Scripture passages related to sinful strongholds, I
talked about the steps to freedom from sinful strongholds, 7 utilizing a special handout
created for the class (see appendix 4). I also created a special inventory which listed all
the specific items to pray off and I demonstrated how to pray off each stronghold by
utilizing specific prayers (see appendix 4).
Session 5 was devoted to a practical demonstration of how to break the sinful
strongholds. I went through the list of prayers (see appendix 4) and led the class
members to do a cleansing prayer to break strongholds. After demonstrating how to pray
off strongholds, I told numerous anecdotes on how I was led to pray for persons suffering
from demonic strongholds, not by choice but by necessity. It was through these real-life
encounters in spiritual warfare that I recognized the importance and significance of being
equipped to wage spiritual warfare utilizing Scripture and prayers. I explained what I
learned through several key encounters with demonized persons this past year and shared
5
Clinton E. Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1997), 82.
6
Ibid., 94.
7
Please refer to the section headings “Dealing with Sinful Strongholds,”
“Ownership,” “Giving Turf to the Devil and the Demons,” and “Categories of
Strongholds” in chap. 3.
60
with class members what the Holy Spirit taught me through these encounters. Among the
key lessons was creating a priority list of which strongholds to break first. For example, I
realized that the toughest strongholds to deal with first are those that deal with worship of
and allegiance to false gods. The strongest demonic forces are embedded in idol worship.
The apostle Paul states,

Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not
to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s Table
and the table of demons. (1 Cor 10:20-21 NKJV)
These strongholds must be identified and broken first. Next are the strongholds passed
down through the ancestral line of the family, or generational sins that are passed down
the family line. Third, there are emotional strongholds one encounters through each
developmental stage in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, such as depression, self-
hatred, suicidal tendencies, etc. Finally, the voluntary sinful strongholds need to be
broken off, that is, the volitional sinful acts that each person commits. 8 I recounted one
of the deliverance cases earlier in 2014 when I prayed for a lady who suffered severely
from demonic strongholds. Guided by the Holy Spirit during the deliverance ministry
sessions, I followed the sequence described, which proved to be an effective method for
setting the woman free from demonic oppression.
For half of the class members, this was the first time they heard about sinful
strongholds and how to break them. It was eye-opening to them.
Session 6: Prayer in the Bible and

Practice of the Five Step
Healing Model
I provided some background information in the Old Testament and the New
Testament regarding prayer and prayers in the Bible. This information increased the
8
I am indebted to Neil T. Anderson and his discussion of how to break sinful
strongholds in his book The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2000), 199-
252.
61
class members’ knowledge of significant prayers and prayer warriors in the Bible, and
also to help them answer questions in the questionnaire. First, I taught the members the
acrostic of ACTS, which is used by Vineyard of Harvest and many other evangelical
churches. Next, I taught about Daniel and Nehemiah respectively; how the LORD
answered their fervent prayers and did miraculous deeds in answer to prayer. In the case
of Daniel, God delivered him from the plot of his adversaries to have him killed by
convincing King Darius to issue a decree forbidding prayer to any foreign god other than
him. God saved Daniel from the mouths of the lions through angelic deliverance, and
instead Daniel’s adversaries were thrown to the lions where they met their deaths. I
recounted the passage in Daniel 10, where Daniel prays for twenty-one days regarding a
visionary message that was given to him. During the course of the twenty-one days of
prayer, heavenly warfare erupted in heaven. Gabriel was sent to relay the interpretation
of the vision to Daniel but he was obstructed by the demonic prince of Persia (Dan
10:13). Finally, at the end of the twenty-one days, Michael the prince was sent to help
Gabriel and to pry him loose from the demonic princes of Persia. Consequently, Gabriel
told Daniel that he must join Michael the archangel to fight against the demonic princes
of Persia and of Greece (Dan 10:20-21).
The class members were very interested in these passages which describe the
unseen battles that occur when God’s people pray.
I also talked about Nehemiah’s prayers to God as he prepared the people to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the book of Nehemiah. God answered Nehemiah’s
prayers in his request to King Artaxerxes for permission to go back to Judah to rebuild
the gates of Jerusalem. Furthermore, God enabled Nehemiah and his men to successfully
rebuild the walls in the midst of opposition from Sanballat and Tobiah’s forces, and to
complete the work.
Furthermore, the class members were instructed about important books such as
the Psalms which are a collection of prayers and praises of God’s people in the Old
62
Testament. I explained notable prayers in the New Testament, such as the Lord’s Prayer
(Matt 6:9-13), the high priestly prayer of Christ in Gethsemane (John 17), and the prayers
of the redeemed saints in the book of Revelation (Rev 7: 9-11 and Rev. 11: 15-18). 9
After teaching about these prayers in the Old Testament and New Testament, I
briefly reviewed the Five Step Healing Model and the steps on how to break sinful
strongholds. The class concluded with the class members taking the prayer
questionnaire, using their Bibles to help them.
Results of the Questionnaire

The Prayer Questionnaire contains four parts:
Part 1: Questions 1-5 asked about whether the student is a believer, how
regularly they pray, and what they use to help them pray.
Part 2: Questions 6-13 dealt with prayer and the Bible, and tested the students’
basic knowledge about prayer in the Old Testament and New Testament. I designed
these questions to ascertain the basic knowledge of each student regarding prayer in the
Bible.
Part 3: Questions 14-24 dealt with the students’ knowledge of healing prayer
as taught by the Vineyard Church (e.g., the Five Step Healing Model), and biblical
knowledge about power evangelism/healing by Christ and His disciples in the Gospels
and the Book of Acts. Part 3 closed with questions about what a sinful stronghold is, and
how to break sinful strongholds (as taught by the Five Step Healing Prayer Course).
I selected ten students in the course who faithfully attended all seven sessions
and practiced the Five Step Healing Model.
9
In Rev 11: 15-18, I adhere to the interpretation that the 24 elders represent the
entire people of God (the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles). See Jeremy R. Howard,
ed. Holman Study Bible. NKJV. (Nashville: Holman, 2013), 2165; and Hamilton,
Revelation, 144-45.
63
for Prayer and the Bible Questions
The following table shows the improvement of the scores of the students in the
Five Step Healing Model class in the Prayer and the Bible section of the questionnaire
(questions 6 to 13). The average positive percentage of improvement was 40 percent.
Table 6. Results for improving biblical knowledge of prayer in the Bible

Student August 2014 Sept 2014 % Improvement
Questionnaire Post-training
Score Questionnaire
Score
LC 8/16 12/16 25
1225
WC 8/16 12/16 25
9851
EW 12/16 14/16 12.5
5825
LK 12/16 16/16 25
7144
JK 0/16 12/16 75
8844
TA 10/16 16/16 37.5
5183
GeL 12/16 16/16 25
2944
GloL 14/16 16/16 12.5
7777
MH 0/16 12/16 75
9887
GaL 2/16 16/16 87.5
2289
Half of the students attending the Five Step Healing Model training regularly
attended fellowship and church. It was surprising that these people had insufficient
knowledge of prayer and the Bible. These people could not correctly cite the Scripture
passage of the Lord’s Prayer and a number of them did not know that the collection of
prayers used by God’s people in the Old Testament was the book of Psalms. My
intention for the Five Step Training course was to help the students acquire a basic
64
knowledge of prayer and the Bible, in addition to understanding the scriptural basis and
practice of healing prayer.

for Healing Prayer Questions
The following table shows the positive improvement in answering the
questions correctly in the questionnaire that deal with the Biblical basis and practice of
the Five Step Healing Model (questions 14-22).
Table 7. Results for the prayer and the Bible portion in the questionnaire
Student August 2014 Sept 2014 % improvement
Questionnaire Post-training
Score Questionnaire
Score
LC 4/22 18/22 63.8
1225
WC 2/22 11/22 41
9851
EW 4/22 16/22 54.5
5825
LK 2/22 20/22 82
7144
JK 4/22 16/22 54.7
8844
TA 10/22 20/22 45.5
5183
GeL 4/22 10/22 27.2
2944
GloL 10/22 22/22 54.5
7777
MH 2/22 18/22 81.8
9887
GaL 6/22 16/22 45.5
2289
Through the questionnaire, I was very pleased to find out that the Five Step
Healing Class helped the students in a very significant way to increase their knowledge of
the biblical basis for healing prayer, the Five Step Healing Prayer Model, and the
65
practical procedure of removing sinful strongholds. For the questions on healing prayer,
the students in the class showed an average positive improvement of 55 percent.
The pastoral staff members reviewing the curriculum also gave high marks on
the curriculum for each week. Each of the pastoral staff and key leaders gave a “5” on
each category.
The T-Test Results and Boxplot Graph

Jason Wilson from the Statistics Department at Biola University assisted in
putting all the results into a t-test “paired sample for means” and in explaining the
results.10
Table 8. T-test: Paired two sample for means for prayer and the Bible
Prayer and Bible Prayer and Bible
Post-Training Pre-Training
Mean 14.2 7.8
Variance 3.955556 28
Observations 10 10
Pearson Correlation 0.55367
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 9
t Stat 4.495612
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.00075
t Critical one-tail 1.833113
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.001498
t Critical two-tail 2.262157
10
Jason Wilson is the Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at
Biola University, La Mirada CA 90639. See appendix 5 for the t-test results and box plot
graph.
66
Table 9. T-test: Paired two sample for means for the healing prayer
Healing Prayer Healing Prayer
Post-training Pre-Training
Mean 16.7 4.8
Variance 14.6778 9.06667
Observations 10 10
Pearson Correlation 0.5047
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 9
t Stat 10.8182
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.00000093
t Critical one-tail 1.83311
P(T<=t) two-tail 1.9E-06
t Critical two-tail 2.26216
For the comparison between the pre- and post-questionnaire results for the
Bible and prayer portion of the questionnaire, the p-value was 0.00075. This means that
there was a 0.75 percent that the difference in scores between the pre and post-test (14.2-
7.8 = 6.4) would occur, if the training had not effect (i.e. difference = 0). Since this result
is below any reasonable level of significance (and the usual benchmark is 5 percent), the
0.75 percent result constitutes strong evidence that the training would raise the mean
Bible score within the population.
The results for the pre- and post-test for the healing prayer portion were stronger.
The p-value for the healing prayer portion of the questionnaire was 0.00000093. This
means that there is a .000093 percent that the difference in scores between the pre- and
post-test (16.7 – 4.8 = 11.9) would occur, if the training had no effect (i.e. the difference
= 0). Since the 0.00093 percent result is below any reasonable level of significance (and
the usual benchmark is 5 percent), this result constitutes strong evidence that the training
would raise the mean healing prayer score in the population.

The boxplot graph shows the entire range of scores for each of the Bible pre-
and post-tests and the healing prayer pre- and post-tests. Within a single box-plot quadrant,
the dark line at 9 is the median, with 50 percent of the data below 9 and 50 percent of the
data above 9. In the Bible post results quadrant, the dark line at 15 is the median, with 50
67
percent of the data below 15 and 50 percent of the data above 15. Thus, the vast majority
of the Bible post data is above the Bible-pre line. In the healing-pre graph, the dark line
at 4 is the median, with 50 percent of the data below 4 and 50 percent of the data above
4. In stark contrast, the dark line in the healing post graph is the median of 16, with 50
percent of the data below 16 and 50 percent of the data above16. All of the healing post
scores are at or above the largest healing-pre scores, indicating a dramatic increase in
scores after the training.
Figure 1. Boxplot of pre- and post-test scores
In summary, both the t-test and the boxplot graphs show that healing prayer
training made a significant difference in helping the ten students to understand both the
biblical teaching of prayer and the biblical and practical aspects of the Five Step Healing
Model.
68
CHAPTER 5
EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT
The purpose of this project was to develop and teach a training curriculum
based on the Five Step Healing Model at Vineyard of Harvest Church in Walnut,
California. This chapter serves to evaluate the project. The first section contains an
evaluation of the project’s purpose. The second section serves to evaluate the three goals
of the project. The third section describes the strengths and weaknesses of the project.
The fourth and fifth sections explain the strengths and weaknesses of the project. The
sixth section provides project modifications. The seventh section describes theological
reflections and considerations for the project. The eighth section addresses personal
reflections. The final section states the project’s conclusion.
Evaluation of Purpose
The project of developing and teaching a training curriculum based on the Five
Step Healing Model at Vineyard of Harvest Church was fulfilled, with significant
positive results. Several components contributed to the success of this project. The first
component consists of the faithful prayers from the pastoral staff at VOH and my family
members, especially that of my fellow pastors Dennis Liu and Baldwin Chan, Pastor and
Mrs. Kwan, and my family members who supported the project through their faithful
prayers, encouragement, and financial support. The second component that contributed
to the success of the project was the practical mentorship of my friends within the
Vineyard Churches, especially Anaheim Vineyard Church and Vineyard of Harvest. I
learned about the Five Step Healing Model through Vineyard leaders such as Brian and
Kenny Slezak, Paul Frala, and the faithful team members in the Monday Night Healing
69
Prayer Ministry at Vineyard Christian Fellowship at Anaheim, California. Brian, Kenny,
and Paul were very supportive of this project and they assisted in faithful prayers and
providing constructive advice in practicing the Five Step Healing Model for difficult
cases involving deliverance. The pastoral staff at Vineyard of Harvest was also very
supportive in their prayers and in providing the ministry opportunities for me to practice
the Five Step Healing Model at church for difficult cases (e.g. spiritual warfare and
deliverance). The experience gained in these cases assisted tremendously in the
formulation of the curriculum for this dissertation project, especially in the chapters
dealing with sinful strongholds. In short, the curriculum for the Five Step Healing Model
resulted, not only from biblical/theological research, but also through actual practice in
ministry settings that involved real-life situations with people needing help from the
church. To put it another way, it is the combination of orthodoxy and orthopraxis.
The third component that contributed to the fulfillment of the project’s goals
are ground-breaking books on spiritual warfare and healing prayer written by John
Wimber, Wayne Grudem, Clinton Arnold, and Neil Anderson. John Wimber, the
founder of Anaheim Vineyard, led the way through providing a biblical and practical
treatment of healing prayer in his books Power Evangelism and Power Healing. Wayne
Grudem also provided a sound theological foundation in his notable work, Systematic
Theology. Clinton Arnold and Neil Anderson provided biblically-based works on
spiritual warfare that deal specifically with understanding sinful strongholds and how to
remove them. Moreover, Charles Kraft provided the helpful illustration of getting rid of
rats that helped me to explain a simpler way of getting rid of sinful strongholds. 1
Evaluation of Goals
In the previous chapter, I described and explained how each of the three goals
1
Charles Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992), 78.
70
were met and the significant results that came from the seven-week training; results in
both in the increased knowledge by the participants of prayer and the Bible and the
increase in knowledge and practice of the Five Step Healing Model. 2 All three of the
goals were met, namely the evaluation of the knowledge of the Five Step Prayer Model
for the ten students, the development of the five-week training curriculum, and the
demonstration of the increased knowledge of the Five Step Healing Model through the
teaching of the developed curriculum.
Strengths of the Project

One of the strengths of the project was the three clear and attainable goals.
The first goal sought to determine the knowledge of the ten students through the
questionnaire regarding the Five Step Healing Model. The second goal comprised of
developing the five-week training curriculum, and the third goal included an evaluation
of whether there was increased knowledge of the Five Step Model both cognitively and
practically through the administering of the prayer questionnaire, and comparing the pre-
and post-questionnaire results.
Having three clearly stated and attainable goals made things simple to
implement. The process was very straightforward and for the most part, there were no
major “hitches” in both the development of the curriculum and the teaching of the
curriculum.
Weaknesses of the Project

One weakness consisted of the inadequate screening of students for the project
through not clearly explaining the details of the questionnaire. Months before the
2
See chap. 4 under the headings “Summary of Results in the Questionnaire for
Prayer and the Bible Questions,” and “Summary of Results in the Questionnaire for
Healing Prayer Questions” for the detailed summary of the results of the training and the
T-test graphs which show the significant increase for the participants in biblical and
practical knowledge in prayer and the Bible, and the Five Step Healing Model.
71
commencement of the project, I announced I was looking for 10 committed students
willing to participate through the whole seven weeks and who were willing to fill out a
pre- and post-questionnaire. In the first class session over 17 people attended. They
came to the first session and listened attentively. However, when it came time to pass out
the questionnaire at least 5 attendees were unwilling to fill it out, for unknown reasons at
the time. Since much of the success of this project depended upon reliable people filling
out both the pre-training and post-training questionnaire, this caused a problem. I should
have explained in more detail what the questionnaire was, why it was important, and
what the questionnaire measured. I surmised that one of the possible reasons that some
of these people may have been hesitant to take the questionnaire was that their fear of a
lack of biblical knowledge about prayer and healing would be exposed. Another fear
may have been filling out a detailed questionnaire, which would expose not only their
lack of biblical knowledge but their lack of proficiency to write in English.
Related to this first weakness is the second weakness of having only 10 reliable
people to take the questionnaire both pre-training and post-training. I chose 10 people
because that was an attainable goal for recruiting people from Vineyard of Harvest to
participate in the project. I have held similar classes on healing prayer in the past but
only a relatively few number of people attended through all the sessions in a five-week
Sunday morning class. It would have been preferable to recruit at least 15 to 20 people to
join the project.
Another weakness was not being sufficiently prepared for new people who
wanted to attend the course after hearing about the course from their friends. During the
second session, at least 4 new people attended, who were not present in the first session.
These additional participants resulted in the need to review and teach extensively the
contents of the Biblical Basis for the Five Step Healing Model during the second session,
since 40 percent of the students were new. Preparation should have been made for the
probability of new students attending the course. Meanwhile, some of the attendees for
72
the first session later dropped out during the third training session. There should have
been preparations made for this type of occurrence taking place. Fortunately, when it
came to the third training session, it became more apparent who the core group of
students would be to carry out the requirements for taking the training course.
Another issue that could have been improved was granting more opportunities
for each of the core students to practice the Five Step Healing Model. I was fortunate to
have the help of my good friend Paul, who taught me the Five Step Healing Model and
who has practiced it for over twenty years. He helped to lead a group of 5 or 6 students
while I led the other group to demonstrate the Five Step Healing Model. In the future,
when we repeat this training course, recruitment will be made ahead of time to enlist
more experienced prayer intercessors from Vineyard Anaheim Church who would be
able to help supervise another group of 5 people so that there would be ample opportunity
for students to practice and observe how the Five Step Healing Model was administered.
In spite of these weaknesses, the project was completed smoothly and the
selected 10 core students who completed the course filled out the both pre- and post-
questionnaires without any problems. Much of the success of the project can be
attributed to the answered prayers of both the pastoral staff and prayer intercessors who
faithfully prayed for the project for six months.
Project Modifications
If this project were to be repeated in terms of teaching the Five Step Healing
Model, several key modifications would be made. First of all, promotion of the course
would be made at least three months ahead of time, and a more detailed explanation
would be provided for each training session to describe the desired results of the training
series. Furthermore, there will be explanations of what the questionnaires will
accomplish and evaluate, and descriptions of the type of positive results people can
expect to receive after receiving the seven-week training, both in biblical knowledge and
practical skills in the Five Step Healing Model.

73
Second, the duration of each training session should be lengthened to two
hours instead of one and a half hours. The extra thirty minutes would be helpful during
sessions 3 and 4 of the training course and would allow more time for demonstrating and
practicing the Five Step Healing Model in a small group setting. Recruitment should be
made of at least two more trained intercessors who can help to supervise the small
groups. Third, in the sessions dealing with sinful strongholds, more detailed information
from actual case studies could be provided on how the Five Step Healing Model
produced significant results from people who received prayer using the Five Step Model.
Looking back at weeks 5 and 6, some of the greatest learning took place
among the participants when they actually witnessed people being transformed positively
through the practice of the Five Step Prayer Model. During weeks 5 and 6, when the
class divided into small groups to pray for each other using the Five Step Healing Model,
significant ministry took place. The participants opened up about their past hurts and
family situations, and they were able to minister to one another and be ministered to by
intercessory prayer. My assistant, Paul, who supervised another small group during the
practical demonstration of the Healing Prayer Model, informed me that significant
ministry took place, and several key participants experienced genuine healing and
comfort.
Furthermore, it would be vitally important to add ministry projects for the
participants to join after the training course was completed, so they could actually put
into practice what they learned. I was able to involve half of the participants in the Five
Step Model course in various ministry projects that utilized what they learned about
healing prayer and intercession.
For example, sister M, who took the training course, participated in a cleansing
prayer session where we prayed for cleansing for her parent’s house, 3 which had been a
3
The practical steps for praying for cleansing for a house or apartment were
covered in week 5 in the training course.
74
center for idol worship for years. After cleansing the house of any idols, books, and
materials used for idol-worship, I led sister M to thoroughly pray over each of the rooms
in the house, breaking all the curses and strongholds from idol worship. After praying
through each room, I led sister M to dedicate herself and her whole family to believe and
worship the Lord Jesus Christ. We also dedicated the house to honor and serve the Lord
Jesus Christ and asked the Holy Spirit to fill the house with His presence.
After we finished the house cleansing and dedication prayers, sister M verbally
described the positive effects of the cleansing prayer. Much of the spiritual darkness and
oppression went away, and she felt the presence and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit in a
much deeper way. Sister M also experienced spiritual, emotional, and physical cleansing
as a result of the prayer session, and she learned firsthand how to pray for cleansing.
Another positive result of the Five Step Model course was the successful
recruitment of three of the students to participate in the monthly nursing home outreach.
Each month the outreach team went to a nursing home in the city of Industry to hold an
evangelistic worship service, where the team would lead singing, proclaim the gospel,
and then pray for the seniors after the service. After the Five Step Healing Model
training, the three participants began to serve regularly in the nursing home outreach.
They were able to lead residents to Christ and pray more effectively for seniors in the
area of healing. In two of the nursing home outreaches which occurred after the Five
Step Healing Model training were completed, these three participants witnessed firsthand
the LORD bringing at least fourteen seniors and residents to Christ. They were glad to be
part of the outreach team and through the Five Step Model course, they were trained to
know how to pray effectively for seniors. They also learned how to lead the residents to
pray the sinner’s prayer to trust in Christ.
Finally, several of the participants in the Five Step Healing Model training
signed up to be a part of the prayer team for the Healing Prayer Room that Vineyard of
Harvest will set up. One participant who attended the training informed me that the
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LORD impressed upon her heart to learn more about praying for people for healing and
deliverance, and that as a result of the training, she was able to pray for people and
receive answers to prayer. She and her husband also experienced deep emotional healing
from the LORD.
These testimonials and the results from the Five Step Healing Model training
showed that significant results occurred as a result of these ten people completing the
Five Step Healing Model course.
Reflections on Practical Theology

This section on theological reflections deals with what I learned in terms of
practical theology as a result of completing this project. Building upon the biblical and
theological foundations in chapter 2, several key concepts were reinforced as a result of
completing this project, on which I want to elaborate.
Christ’s Continuing Kingdom Ministry

One of the key insights that I taught during Weeks 1 and 2 is that Christ
continues His kingdom ministry through the 70 disciples and the Church in the book of
Acts. As explained in chapter 2, Christ taught the kingdom of God and demonstrated the
power and presence of the kingdom through signs and wonders. One ministry insight I
shared repeatedly during Weeks 1 and 2 was that Stephen and Philip continued the
kingdom ministry of Christ which He taught the 12 apostles and 70 disciples, and they
serve as an example for the church today. The 70 disciples are the New Testament
counterpart to the “70” nations in Genesis 10, with the key exception that the 70 disciples
were faithful to God by obeying the Lord Jesus Christ whereas the “70” nations in
Genesis 10 were later judged by God through the confusion of languages in the Tower of
Babel in Genesis 11. Moreover, both Israel and the nations sinned against God in the Old
Testament and were judged by God. The New Testament disciples in the book of Acts
experienced the spiritual reversal of the Tower of Babel at Pentecost, when they were
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baptized in the Holy Spirit. The end result is the Spirit’s empowerment for the NT
disciples to proclaim the gospel powerfully and effectively in one common language, and
as a result of the Pentecost event, God established the church through these believers and
converts. God establishes the church as the New Israel and the new Temple indwelt by
the Holy Spirit. Within the early church, Stephen and Philip became exemplary disciples
who reflected the character of Christ and continued the kingdom ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ, thus setting an example for church believers throughout the church age.
During weeks 1 and 2, I that Stephen and Philip were two notable examples in
the book of Acts that church believers should follow today in seeking to be like Christ
and also preach the message and continue the kingdom ministry of Christ. 4
Table 10. Stephen and Philip: Examples for the church

Stephen’s Example Philip’s Example
Stephen was a Spirit-filled disciple who Philip was a Spirit-filled disciple who
continued the message and works of planted the church in Samaria. He was
Christ. Stephen ministered to the widows one of the 7 “deacons” chosen by the
and those in need. He spoke powerfully apostles (Acts 6: 1-6)
and performed signs and wonders. He
was one of the 7 “deacons” (Acts 6: 1-6). He continued what Christ Jesus started in
Samaria (John 4)
He was full of the Holy Spirit and
performed signs and wonders (Acts 6:8) He proclaimed the gospel and performed
great signs and wonders (Acts 8: 4-13)
He was powerful in speech and told the
Jews God’s work will go beyond Moses
and the Temple (Act 6:10; chapters 6-7) He led the Ethiopian eunuch to the Lord
and baptized him (Acts 8:26-40)
He was tried before the Sanhedrin and
killed by the Jews He was the father to 4 prophetess
daughters (Acts 21:8-9)
He asked God to forgive his enemies
(Acts 7:59)
Christ stood at the right hand of God to

welcome Stephen into God’s presence
(Acts 7: 55-56)
4
Ajith Fernando, Acts, The New Application Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1998). See also John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 1990.
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The second theological insight deals with Christ’s example of proclaiming the
message of the kingdom and demonstrating the power and presence of the kingdom for
His disciples (e.g. the 12 and the 70). As mentioned, the disciples in the book of Acts
also proclaimed the message of the gospel and demonstrated the power of the gospel
through miraculous signs and wonders.
In the Biblical Basis of the Five Step Healing Model lessons in weeks 1 and 2,
I impressed upon the class that Christ’s method of teaching the kingdom of God and
demonstrating it practically by healing the sick and freeing the demon-possessed. As
stated in chapter 2, the passage in James 5:14-16 states that the church is commanded to
pray for the sick. First and foremost, the church today is to teach accurately the truths of
the Word of God. Second, the church follows Christ’s example of love and continues His
kingdom ministry through praying for the sick and healing those who are demonically
oppressed. One of the most significant benefits of utilizing the Five Step Healing Model
is that Christians get to see and engage in practical ministry firsthand. One of the most
eye-opening experiences that the participants in the Five Step Healing Model training
course had was to witness the significant effects of practicing the Five Step Healing
Model. The students heard the biblical concepts taught and then they were able to see
how it was implemented in actual ministry. That was exactly what Jesus Christ did in
His training of the 12 and the 70 disciples, which was continued by the church in the
book of Acts. To put it another way, the Word was “taught” and “caught.” I learned the
Five Step Model through watching how experienced prayer intercessors within Vineyard
Anaheim Church prayed for people, and then I followed their example, with helpful
coaching from those intercessors.
Healing prayer is similar to evangelism in that one needs to be taught the
biblical concepts first, then to practice the concepts in actual ministry settings. The
teachers coach students in the practical implementation of specifics of healing prayer, guide
them in what to watch for, and demonstrate how to deal with specific situations that arise.
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Furthermore, by watching the pastors teach and practice the Five Step Healing
Model, the church members also learn by following the example of the pastors. Leading
by example is so important in pastoral ministry. I am privileged that in my ministry
setting and responsibilities, I am able to regularly lead teams each month to do
evangelism and administer healing prayer. It is vital that pastors lead by example as well
as by word.
Finally, believers must always depend upon the Holy Spirit who is their
Counselor, and have adequate prayer support from the body of Christ, in order to have
effective prayer ministry. The Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples, “And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Counselor to help you and to be with you forever—
the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17a). The word “another” that Christ uses in John 14:16
is the word allos which means “another of the same kind.”5 The Holy Spirit would serve
as the same kind of Counselor that Christ was to His disciples. One of the ministries that
the Holy Spirit would empower the disciples to do is the “works” of Christ, as Jesus
described in John 14:12. As stated before, the word erga (“works”) is often used in the
Gospel of John to refer to Christ’s miraculous works. 6
One of the most important types of support that is essential to the effective
utilization of the Five Step Healing Model in church ministry is prayer support by the
pastoral staff and key church leaders. One of the first things that I do when I am called
upon to pray for people for healing or deliverance is to enlist the prayer support of my
fellow pastors and trusted church leaders. It is important to tell the pastoral prayer team
specific prayer requests and ask them to pray for God’s wisdom, empowerment,
protection, and effectiveness. I make it a regular practice of informing my team of prayer
intercessors of specific requests and timeframes so that the intercessors can provide
5
Robert H. Mounce, John, in vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed.
Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 565.
6
See chap. 2 in section under the heading “John 14:12.”
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sufficient prayer covering when the ministry takes place. There have been numerous
testimonies of answered prayers because of this prayer support.
Conclusion
This project has been the result of the culmination of ten years of experience in
practicing the Five Step Healing Model both at Vineyard Anaheim, Vineyard of Harvest,
and praying for students after class at Biola University.
This project has helped me greatly to complete more detailed analysis in the
Biblical and Theological Foundations for the Five Step Healing Model. Although writers
such as John Wimber, Kevin Springer, Neil Anderson, Wayne Grudem, and Jack Deere
have written on the topics of power evangelism, deliverance, and healing prayer, there
has not been a very extensive biblical and theological treatment upon the subject of the
biblical basis for the Five Step Healing Model.
One of my desires in completing this project is to provide a sound biblical and
theological basis for the Five Step Healing Model so that readers from other church
denominations can see that this method is backed by Scripture that is correctly interpreted
in its context. I am indebted to the writings of Jack Deere and Clinton E. Arnold for
writing books which provide a solid biblical foundation for the ministry of signs and
wonders and deliverance ministry, respectively. I wanted to provide a biblical foundation
specifically for the Five Step Healing Model and to show that it was implemented in a
church ministry setting with effective results. Another desire stemming from this project
is to open a dialogue with churches from other evangelical denominations to help them
see that the Five Step Healing Model is an effective method for training people to pray
for others with physical, emotional, and spiritual ailments. It will help believers from
Christian denominations to rely upon the Holy Spirit to continue the kingdom ministry of
Christ and the do the works of Christ (John 14:12) and to effectively pray for one another
in the Spirit (Jas 5:14-16).
I want to give all the glory and honor to our great Triune God for helping me to
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write and complete this project. I especially want to thank my parents, my wife, and all
the family and supportive friends who supported me so generously by their prayers and
encouragement. I am also grateful to my church family at Vineyard of Harvest for
providing me a ministry setting to complete this project and for the prayer intercessors at
Vineyard Anaheim Church for teaching and mentoring me in the Five Step Healing
Model. I also thank all the professors at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary,
Talbot School of Theology, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for training me
in biblical exegesis, theology, and practical ministry.
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APPENDIX 1
FIVE STEP HEALING MODEL
Each step is based on Jesus’ method (and His disciples’ method) of praying for the sick.
They are all scriptural, but not necessarily chronological. 1
INTERVIEW
DIAGNOSTIC DECISION
PRAYER SELECTION
PRAYER ENGAGEMENT
POST-PRAYER DIRECTIONS
What is the condition? What is the cause? How should I pray for it? When should I stop
praying? What should the person do to stay healed?
This 5 Step Prayer model is just a guide for prayer; we must always rely upon the Holy
Spirit for His leading and direction.
I. INTERVIEW
A. What do you want me to pray for? (Where does it hurt?)

1. Start off by introducing yourself... “Hi, my name is _____. How can I pray for you?”
The most important objective is to put the prayee at ease and to diffuse as much
anxiety as possible.
2. Begin by spending time getting to know the person you are praying for; it is
important to establish trust and rapport at the outset. Gather only enough information
to pray effectively and intelligently, not so much it discourages you; this is not a
medical interview.
3. Large amounts of information are not needed and can end up being a confusing
distraction to the prayer. You want to listen to the person to discern “What is the real
issue?” or “What is the most important prayer concern right now?”
Scriptural example: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind
man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” (Mark 10:51) 2
1
Five Step Model taken from the Vineyard Anaheim Training Track. I have
simplified the explanations of the 5 Step Prayer Model for the VOH Training Track.
2
All Scriptures are taken from the New International Version, unless otherwise
noted.
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B. Listen in the natural and in the Spirit.
1. Ask what the Holy Spirit directs and what seems appropriate. The following are some
examples:
“Where does it hurt?” or “What is the problem?”
“How long has it been hurting?”
“Has a doctor diagnosed it?”
“What do you think the root of the problem is?”
2. Ideally, diagnosis during the interview happens on the natural and the supernatural
planes simultaneously.
3. On the supernatural plane, listen to God and silently ask for His direction and
wisdom. Sort according to the gifts of the Spirit such as words of knowledge and/or
wisdom, distinguishing of spirits, etc. (John 5:19; 1 Cor 12:8-11)
4. On the natural plane, listen to the person and sort what is being said by your present
and past experience—what you see, know, and have learned from experience.
a. Does the scripture support what the person asking for/what you’re feeling led
to pray for?
Sometimes immediate needs may need to be prayed for first so the prayee will not be
distracted when praying about the main issue.
II. DIAGNOSTIC DECISION
A. Identifying and clarifying the root of the person’s problem - Ask yourself; “Why
does this person have this condition?”
1. It is important to find out, if possible, the root cause for why the prayee has this
condition so we can deal with the deeper issue and not just the symptom. Usually,
people are not aware of the root problem. They only know they are in physical or
emotional pain. That is why hearing the Holy Spirit is so necessary.
2. All sickness, (physical, emotional, or spiritual) comes from the natural and/or the
supernatural realm.
a. Natural-realm sickness can include:
*Contracted disease.
*Accident/injury.
*Family problems (financial, relationship, etc.).
*Emotional problems (psychosomatic illness, mental illness, unresolved needs
to forgive, judgments, other forms of self protection, wrong identity, etc.)
*Social (isolation, need for social skills, not connected in community, etc.).
*Unresolved memories (repressed or remembered)
b. Supernatural-realm sickness can include:
Demonization (attack, oppression or affliction).
Separation from God (unconfused sin, spiritual sloth, wrong beliefs about God,
etc.)
Curses (white magic, black magic, occult curses, a doctor’s diagnosis, a
parent’s or teacher’s pronouncement, a pastor’s opinions, etc.).
Generational sin.
3. Listen to God carefully at this point; frequently what the prayee wants prayer for is
not what God wants to deal with—the issue is not always the issue!
Symptoms in one area of our life can be caused by another problem: physical, spiritual,
emotional, and social. For example: arthritis may be linked to bitterness. Inability to
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sustain healthy relationship might be related to emotional trauma. Failure to be healed of
serious disease might result from unbelief resulting from doctor’s words of
pronouncement.
Ask the Lord for words of knowledge and spiritual insight.
Scriptural examples: (italics mine)

a) Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4: 16-19)
“He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’ ‘I have no husband,’
she replied. Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no
husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have
is not your husband. What you have said is quite true.’ “ ‘Sir,’ the woman
said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet.’”
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke a word of knowledge to the Samaritan woman,
and He saw what her real issues were.
b) Paul and the lame man at Lystra (Acts 14: 8-10)

“In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth
and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked
directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on
your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.”
The Holy Spirit gave the apostle Paul the discernment to see that the lame
man had faith to be healed, and so Paul spoke a prayer of command that the
man be healed.
c) Paul and the slave girl in Philippi (Acts 16:16-18)
“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female
slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great
deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the
rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are
telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally
Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit,” In the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that
moment the spirit left her.”
In the “Diagnostic Decision” step, you, as the intercessor, are discerning from the
Holy Spirit what the real issues and needs of the prayee are, so you can be used by
God to get to the root of the problem through prayer.
III. PRAYER SELECTION
A. Select an appropriate prayer:
Ask yourself: “What kind of prayer will help this person?”? What is it that God wants
to do at this moment? Ask God how to proceed, how to pray according to His will on
the prayee’s behalf.
1. Prayer selection will depend upon the need determined in Step 2.

One or more of the three sickness types (physical, emotional, or spiritual) should
be addressed.
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2a. Prayer for physical healing would include:
Speaking peace, healing, and/or balance to the affected part of the body.
Commanding the sickness to leave in the name of Jesus.
Speaking to a body part to function properly
b. Prayer for emotional healing would include:
Healing of memories.
Speaking peace over the mind.
Speaking prophetically what the Spirit is saying to the person
Helping a person renounce self-hatred
c. Prayer for spiritual healing would include:
Salvation.
Spiritual empowerment.
Affirmation of gifting
Confession of sin with pronouncing forgiveness
Demonic deliverance.
3. Specific ways of praying would include
Prayers to God
a) Speaking in tongues: it is helpful to speak in tongues to receive God’s guidance
and to hear from the Lord. God often directs us when we pray in the Spirit
especially when we do not have a particular leading in prayer.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With
this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Eph
6:18)
b) Intercession and Petition: this is where you pray for the prayee’s prayer requests:
“Heavenly Father, I pray for _________ that you would do ___________ .” You
can claim God’s Scriptural promises as you pray.
Remind the person you’re praying for that it is important for us to pray in faith
(Mark 9:24).
Prayer Spoken in Authority as mentioned in God’s Word
A. Deliverance prayer: you speak directly to the demonic spirit and command it to
come out, you command it to stop its activity, or you tell the spirit to be quiet.
The apostle Paul used this type of command in Lystra when he spoke to the
demonized slave girl and said to the evil spirit, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I
command you to come out of her!” (Acts 16:18)
B. Command in Physical Healing

You can state, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command this
_____________ (sickness) be healed!”
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command all the bones and ligaments to be
straightened and healed!”
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command all the parts of this eye to be
completely healed and this eye to see!”
C Prayers in Agreement with what God is Doing

Examples:
i) Bless what the Holy Spirit is already doing and ask for a deeper work
ii) Confirming what God is doing
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(If you or the prayee sense a tingling sensation or physical changes happening,
you can speak out what you sense God is doing)
D. Prayers that facilitate a process of healing
A Prayer of Forgiveness
Often in order for healing to take place, the prayee needs to forgive another person,
“forgive” God, or to let go of their bitterness and anger towards another individual.
The prayer intercessor can lead the prayee to say a prayer of forgiveness:
“LORD God, I let go of all my bitterness and anger toward this person. In obedience to
Your Word, I forgive this person. Please forgive my sins of bitterness and hatred toward
this person and fill me with Your peace and love. Bring healing to me physically,
emotionally, and mentally. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
A Prayer of Surrender
“Dear LORD, I surrender this situation or concern over to You. Please take care of this
situation.”
“Dear LORD God, I surrender this problem over to you, and ask for Your help and
restoration.”
A Prayer Facilitating Grief – Helping a person let go and feel the loss of a person, place,
or thing that they are holding to irrationally, where hope to have it back is making their
heart sick.
IV PRAYER ENGAGEMENT
A. Laying on of Hands
If it’s possible, you can lay hands on the person you’re praying for. The book of Acts
describes believers laying their hands on the sick to pray for them (e.g. Acts 6:6: Acts
8:17; Acts 19:6; Acts 28:8). Make sure to always ask permission before you lay your
hands on the person you’re praying for. People who have suffered from physical or
sexual abuse are very sensitive about people touching them. Make sure your hands are
situated in appropriate places.
B. Keep Your Eyes Open
Let the prayee know that you will pray with your eyes open. Keeping your eyes open
allows you to see what the Holy Spirit is doing when you’re praying. Sometimes people
may exhibit physical sensations, they might cry, or they might start shaking when you
pray for them. By keeping your eyes open, you can observe what God is doing when
you’re praying.
You can stop in the middle of prayer and check up on how the person is doing. You can
ask, “How are you feeling?” “Are you sensing anything?” By asking these questions,
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you can check and see how things are going. Asking questions during the middle of the
prayer session will not stop what the Holy Spirit is doing.
C. Watch for the Presence of the Holy Spirit on the Person
The person you’re praying for may start to tremble, cry, or be visibly moved by the Holy
Spirit. Sometimes they may fall over. By keeping your eyes open, you can see what’s
going on. Usually, gentle trembling indicates the person is being moved by the Holy
Spirit. Violent shaking, however, may indicate demonic activity.
Scriptural support: Genesis 42:28; Exodus 19:16; Ezra 9:4; Psalms 2:11; Isaiah 65:6;
Jeremiah 5:22; Daniel 10:10-11; Matthew 28:4; Mark 5:33; Luke 8:47; Acts 7:3; Acts
16:29; 1 Corinthians 2:3; 2 Corinthians 7:15; Philippians 2:12.
D. Knowing When to End
1. When you sense it’s over

2. When the prayee stops trembling or shaking
3. When you have no more leading in prayer
4. When the prayee says it’s over. Usually, the person will open his/her eyes, and say,
“Thank you” or “I’m feeling so much better.”
V. Post-Prayer Directions
1. Advise in any direction that has to deal with discipleship needed.

2. Encourage the prayee to read Scripture promises and to stay in the Scriptures
3. Remind the prayee the importance of joining a godly Christian fellowship or cell
group
4. You can provide a Good Scripture Promises handout to the prayee to let him or her
reflect and pray on pertinent Scripture promises.
One of the most important goals for the Five Step Healing Model is that the person you
pray for go away from the prayer session feeling loved.
Good Memory verse: Eph 6: 18 (NIV)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this
in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
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APPENDIX 2
PRAYER INTERCESSOR QUESTIONNAIRE
Agreement to Participate
The research in which you are about to participate is designed to identify the current
understanding and practices of intercessory prayer amongst the members of Vineyard of
Harvest. This research is being conducted by Howard T. Hsieh for the purpose of
collecting data for a ministry project. In this research, you will answer questions before
the project and you will answer the same questions at the conclusion of the project. Any
information you provide will be held strictly confidential, and at no time will your name
be reported or identified with your responses. Participation is strictly voluntary and you
are free to withdraw at any time. By completion of this questionnaire, you are giving
informed consent for the use of your responses in this project.
Personal Code Identification Number: _________________________
Part 1
Directions: Answer the following multiple-choice questions by placing a check next to
the appropriate answer. For the Bible questions, you may use your Bible to answer.
1. Do you consider yourself a Christian who has professed faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ as your Savior and Lord?
________ Yes
________ No
2. Do you regularly pray each day? If so, please estimate how often you pray on a
daily basis.
______0 (none)
______1-2 times
______3-5 times
______more than 5 times
3. What do you use to help you pray each day?

________The Lord’s Prayer
________Psalm 23
________Common Book of Prayers
________Scriptural Promises
________Living Life Devotional
________I make up my own prayers
________Other
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4. Do you regularly pray with your family members?
________ Yes
________ Sometimes
________ No
5. How often do you prayer for others each week?

_______ 1-3 times
_______ 4-5 times
_______ Every day
Part II Questions about Prayer and Healing Prayer

Please write your answers. For multiple-choice questions, please select the best
answer(s).
6. What does ACTS stand for?

______ I know what it stands for. It stands for ____________________________
______ I don’t know what ACTS stands for.
7. What book and chapter in the Bible is the Lord’s Prayer?
8. Who in the Old Testament prayed 3 times a day to God and was persecuted for
praying to God?
_______ Abraham
_______ Daniel
_______ Joseph
________ Nehemiah
________ I don’t know
9. Who in the Old Testament was a cupbearer to the king and prayed for the
opportunity to build the gates of Jerusalem?
________ Abraham
________ Daniel
________ Joseph
________ Nehemiah
10. Who in the Old Testament was given a vision about the end times in answer to
prayer?
_________ Abraham
_________ Daniel
_________ Joseph
________ Nehemiah
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11. Which book in the New Testament contains the Lord Jesus Christ’s lengthy prayer
to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane for a whole chapter?
__________ Matthew
__________ Mark
__________ Luke
__________ John
__________ Romans
__________ Revelation
12. Which book in the Old Testament contains a collection of prayers and praises to
God that the Israelites used for worship?
__________ Genesis
__________ Exodus
__________ Psalms
__________ Song of Solomon
__________ Isaiah
13. Which book in the New Testament contains the praises and songs that the saints will
sing when they meet God face-to-face?
__________ Matthew
__________ Book of Acts
__________ Romans
__________ Book of Revelation
Part III
14. Have you ever heard of the Five Step Healing Prayer Model?
_________ Yes
_________ No
15. Please list the 5 steps of the Five Step Healing Prayer Model
16. How often have you used the Five Step Healing Prayer Model to pray for people?
______ Never
______ Once or twice
______ More than three times
17. Which of the following is a good definition of the “Kingdom of God” as described
in the Gospels?
______ The reign of God
______ Salvation
______ Freedom from Sin
______ Victory
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18. Which of the following miracles did Jesus perform as he proclaimed the gospel of
the Kingdom according to Matthew 4: 23-24?
_______ Physical healing of various diseases and sicknesses
_______ Deliverance from demonic oppression
_______ Causing paralytics to walk
19. Which of the disciples did Jesus train to preach and teach the gospel of the Kingdom
and to perform miraculous signs and wonders? Please check all that apply.
________ The 12 apostles
________ The 72 disciples
20. Which disciples in the book of Acts specifically performed acts of healing and
deliverance?
_________ Peter
_________ John
_________ Philip, the evangelist
_________ Stephen
_________ Paul
21. Using your Bibles, please find the passage in John where Jesus tells us these words:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,
and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father?”
Please use your Bibles and write down the Scripture verse.
Scripture verse: ________________________
22. What is the definition of a “stronghold” according to the New Testament? Choose
the best answer.
______ a fortress where the enemy resides
______ a place or opportunity given to the enemy because of persistent sin
______ a bad habit
23. Which of the following passages tells us that we have divine power to break down
strongholds? Select the best passage.
__________ Eph 4:27
__________ 2 Cor 10:4-5
__________ John 14:12
For Question 24, please write in the right answers.
24. What are the three steps Pastor Hsieh mentioned that prayer intercessors must
follow in order to break sinful strongholds? (Illustration: rats in the garage)
Step 1: __________________________________________________
Step 2: __________________________________________________
Step 3: __________________________________________________
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Part IV
Directions: Answer the following questions. (1) Place a check by the multiple-choice
questions. (2) Some questions ask you to give your opinion using the following scale: SD
= strongly disagree, D = disagree, DS = disagree somewhat, AS = agree somewhat, A =
agree, SA = strongly agree. Please circle the appropriate answer.
1. I have had experience in praying for people for healing.

SD D DS AS A SA
2. When someone asks me for prayer, I know a good procedure to follow to pray for
that person.
SD D DS AS A SA
3. I have been taught a good general procedure to follow to pray for a person for
healing.
SD D DS AS A SA
4. I have been taught a good general procedure to follow to pray for a person to be set
free from demonic oppression.
SD D DS AS A SA
5. I have more confidence now to be able to pray for people for healing.
SD D DS AS A SA
92
APPENDIX 3
CURRICULUM EVALUATION RUBRIC
Directions: Please check each criteria question by checking the appropriate box from
1=insufficient to 4=exemplary
Healing Prayer Curriculum Evaluation Rubric

Week 1 Lesson
The Kingdom Ministry of Christ
1= insufficient 2=requires attention 3= sufficient 4=exemplary
Criteria 1 2 3 4 Comments
1. Is the lesson consistent with sound
biblical teaching?
2. Does the lesson present a clear
thesis?
3. Is the thesis well supported by
arguments?
4. Does the lesson explain step-by-
step procedures for the student to
follow?
5. Does this lesson present practical
applications for the student to
follow?
6. Does the lesson present a clearly
articulated goal or objective for the
student to follow?
7. Does the lesson do a thorough job
of explaining the topic?
8. Is this lesson sufficiently clear to
understand?
93

Week 2 Lesson
The Five Step Healing Prayer Model
biblical teaching?
thesis?
arguments?
follow?
follow?
student to follow?
understand?
94

Week 3 Lesson
How to Deal with Sinful Strongholds
1. Is the lesson consistent with
sound biblical teaching?
thesis?
arguments?
step procedures for the student
to follow?
5. Does this lesson present
practical applications for the
student to follow?
articulated goal or objective for
the student to follow?
7. Does the lesson do a thorough
job of explaining the topic?
understand?
95

Week 4 Lesson
How to Pray for a Person Who is Demonized
biblical teaching?
thesis?
arguments?
follow?
follow?
student to follow?
understand?
96
Directions: Please check each criteria question by checking the appropriate box
from1=insufficient to 4=exemplary

Week 5 Lesson
Questions about the Five Step Prayer Model and Healing Prayer
biblical teaching?
2. Does the lesson present a clear thesis?

arguments?
4. Does the lesson explain step-by-step
procedures for the student to follow?
applications for the student to follow?
student to follow?
7. Does the lesson do a thorough job of
explaining the topic?
understand?
97
APPENDIX 4
HELPFUL PRAYERS, AFFIRMATIONS,

AND SCRIPTURES
Helpful Prayers
Prayer to Trust in Christ
Dear Lord Jesus,
I admit that I’m a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and You rose from the dead. I
trust in You as my Savior and Lord. I commit my life to following You the rest of my
life. Please forgive my sins and give me eternal life. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Renouncing False Gods
Dear Lord Jesus,
I renounce all vows made to ___________________________ and I renounce these false

gods of ___________________ in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power
of His blood. I cut off all soul ties and generational ties to ______________ in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, wash me clean with Your blood and forgive my
sins. I take back any ground given to ______________ in Your name. I break all the
curses connected with worship of __________________ in the name of Jesus Christ,
through the power of His blood. Please purify me and cleanse me. Fill me with the Holy
Spirit. I cut off all soul ties to my teachers of _____________ in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the power of His blood.
Prayer to Repent and Renounce Sins
Dear Lord Jesus,
I confess and renounce my sins of __________________ in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I repent of my sins _______________. Please forgive me and wash me clean
with Your blood. I take back any ground I’ve given to Satan through the sins of
__________________ and I cut off any generational ties to these sins of _____________
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power of His blood. I pray this in
Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer to Cut off Generational Ties and Curses
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I cut off any generational ties to
__________________ in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power of His
98
blood. I claim the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to wash me clean from these sins of
_____________. I break all soul ties to _________________ in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the power of His blood. I break all curses connected with
_________________ in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power of Christ’s
blood.
Pray Off Pray On
Allegiance to false gods – confess, Pray to the LORD that you worship Him
renounce, and cut off ties to false gods. as the only true God and you trust in Jesus
Take back any ground given to Satan Christ as your Savior and Lord
through worship of these false gods (name
them individually)
Holiness and purity
Impurity, immorality, ungodliness
Forgive those who wronged you, and ask
Bitterness, anger, hatred God to fill you with His love, peace,
unity, and spirit of reconciliation
God to fill you with His love – perfect

love casts out all fear; fill you with faith,
Fear hope, and love
Clarity of mind, God’s wisdom,

enlightenment, and illumination
Confusion
Spirit of praise, joy, hope, faith in God
Depression, despair
Good Scriptures to Read: (taken from the NIV 2011)
Christ’s victory over the devil:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his
death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the
devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
(Heb 2: 14-15)
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8b)
“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”
(Rev 12: 11a)
“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the
beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.”
99
“In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword—his fierce, great and powerful
sword—Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the
monster of the sea.” (Isa 27:1)
Praise for Christ Jesus:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and
strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Rev 12:12)
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and
power, for ever and ever!” (Rev 12: 13)
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you
created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Rev 4: 11)
“That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and
authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present
age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed
him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who
fills everything in every way.” (Eph 1: 19b-23)
The Victory of Believers over Satan
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm
you.” (Luke 10: 18-19)
9
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
(Psalm 91: 12-16)
100
Praises to God:
1
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8
The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10
All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
11
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises

and faithful in all he does.
14
The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
101
20
The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21
My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
(Psalm 145)
Dealing with Fear
I sought the LORD and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. (Ps 34:4)
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them (Ps
34:8)
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the
stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? (Ps 27: 1-2)
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Rom 5:5)
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Rom 8: 31)
Sources for this Handout:
Anderson, Neil. The Bondage Breaker. Eugene, OR: Harvest, 2006.
Arnold, Clint. 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.
Bubeck, Mark. The Adversary. Chicago: Moody, 1975.
MacNutt, Francis. Deliverance from Evil Spirits. Grand Rapids: Chosen, 1995.
Payne, Karl I. Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization, and Deliverance.

Washington DC: WND, 2011.
Wimber, John. Power Healing. New York: HarperCollins, 1987.
102
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Testament, vol. 10. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
________. Powers of Darkness: Principalities and Powers in Paul’s Letters. Downers

Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992.
________. 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.
Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. New International Commentary on
the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
Barrett, C. K. A Commentary to the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Harpers New

Testament Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendricksen, 1973.
Beasley-Murray, George. John. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 36. 2nd ed. Nashville:
Nelson, 1999.
Belleville, Linda. 2 Corinthians. The IVP New Testament Commentary. Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity, 1996.
Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. New American Commentary, vol. 22. Broadman, B & H,
1992.
Blomberg, Craig L., and Mariam J. Kamell. James. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary
on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.
Bock, Darrell. Luke. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1996.
________. Luke 9:51-24:53. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, vol.
2. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996.
Borchert, Gerald L. John, 12-21. New American Commentary, vol. 25B. Nashville:
Broadman and Holman, 2002.
Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts. New International Commentary on the New
Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
Bubeck, Mark. The Adversary. Chicago: Moody, 1975.
103
Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
________. Matthew. In vol. 1 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Edited by Frank

Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas, 1-599. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.
Dickason, C. Fred. Angels Elect and Evil. Revised ed. Chicago: Moody, 1995.
________. Demon Possession and the Christian. Westchester, IL: Crossway, 1987.
Dearing, Norma. The Healing Touch: A Guide to Healing Prayer for Yourself and Those
You Love. Grand Rapids: Chosen, 2002.
Deere, Jack. Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Fee, Gordon, and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth. 3rd ed. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Fernando, Ajith. Acts. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1998.
France, R. T. The Gospel of Matthew. New International Commentary on the New

________. Matthew. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL:

InterVarsity, 1985.
Garland, David E. 2 Corinthians. New American Commentary, vol. 29. Nashville:

B & H, 1999.
Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. New International Commentary on the New
Green, Joel, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the
Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992.
Green, Michael. Evangelism in the Early Church. Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2003.
________. Exposing the Prince of Darkness. Ann Arbor, MI: Servant, 1991.
________. The Message of Matthew. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 2000.
Grudem, Wayne. Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1996.
________. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Gundry, Robert H. A Survey of the New Testament. 5th ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2012.
Guthrie, George H. James. In vol. 13 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Edited by

Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, 199-273. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2006.
104
Hamilton, James M. God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment. Wheaton, IL:
Crossway, 2010.
Hoehner, Harold. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.
Howard, Jeremy R., ed. The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible. Nashville:
B & H, 2013.
Ice, Thomas, and Robert Dean. A Holy Rebellion: Strategy for Spiritual Warfare.
Eugene, OR: Harvest, 1991.
Johnson, Bill. When Heaven Invades Earth. Expanded ed. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny
Image, 2013.
Johnson, Bill, and Randy Clark. The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping All
Christians to Pray for the Sick. Bloomington, MN: Chosen, 2011.
Kostenberger, Andreas J. Encountering John. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.
________. John. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2004.
Kostenberger, Andreas J., and Peter T. O’Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth.
Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity, 2001.
Kraft, Charles. Defeating Dark Angels. Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992.
Kruse, Colin. 2 Corinthians. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, vol. 8. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.
Ladd, George E. Crucial Questions about the Kingdom of God. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1968.
________. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God. Grand
________. A Theology of the New Testament. Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1992.
Liefeld, Walter L., and David W. Pao. Luke. In vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary. Edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, 21-355. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
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World. Nashville: Word, 1998.
Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 42. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1990.
MacArthur, John F. How to Meet the Enemy: Arming Yourself for Spiritual Warfare.
Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor, 1992.
________. The MacArthur Study Bible: New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1997.
105
MacNutt, Francis. Deliverance from Evil Spirits: A Practical Manual. Grand Rapids:
Chosen, 2009.
________. Healing. Rev. ed. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria, 1999.
Marshall, I. Howard. Acts. Tyndale New Testament Commentary. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 1980.
________. Commentary on Luke. New International Greek Testament Commentary.

Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
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Michaels, J. Ramsey. The Gospel of John. The New International Commentary on the
New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010.
Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. New International Commentary on the New
________. James. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

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________. The Letter of James. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2000.
Moreland, J. P. The Kingdom Triangle. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
Morgan, Christopher, and Robert A. Peterson, eds. The Kingdom of God. Wheaton, IL:
Crossway, 2012.
Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
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________. Luke. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL:

InterVarsity, 1988.
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Payne, Karl I. Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance.

Washington, DC: WorldNetDaily, 2011.
106
Petersen, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand
Polhill, John. Acts. New American Commentary, vol. 26. Nashville: B & H, 1992.
________. Paul and His Letters. Nashville: B & H, 1999.
Richardson, Kurt Anders. James. New American Commentary, vol. 36. Nashville:
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Articles
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Projects
Birdwell, Jerry G. “Training the Men of Providence Bible Fellowship, West Chester,
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Theological Seminary, 2013.
108
ABSTRACT

WALNUT, CALIFORNIA
Howard Tien-Hoy Hsieh, D.Min.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Brian J. Vickers
The purpose of this project is to develop and teach a training curriculum based
on the Five Step Healing Model at Vineyard of Harvest Church in Walnut, California.
Chapter 1 presents the purpose, goals, context, rationale, definitions,
limitations, and research methodology of the project.
Chapter 2 provides the biblical and theological foundations for Healing Prayer
Ministry by examining selected New Testament passages which show (1) Christ taught
and trained the twelve and the seventy disciples to heal the sick and free the demonically
oppressed. (2) Christ told his disciples that they would do the same type of works (and
even greater) than he did in his earthly ministry. (3) In the book of Acts, the Spirit-
empowered disciples continued the healing and deliverance ministry of Christ. (4) In the
epistles of 2 Corinthians 10 and Ephesians 4, Paul states that deliverance ministry is
needed for people who suffer from sinful strongholds. (5) In the epistle of James, church
believers are commanded to pray for one another for healing
Chapter 3 discusses the theoretical and practical issues related to healing
prayer ministry. For effective healing prayer ministry to take place, believers must
understand the concept of the kingdom of God, and prayer intercessors must understand
spiritual warfare, be equipped to do deliverance ministry, and know how to set people
free from sinful strongholds.
Chapter 4 explains the elements of the ministry research project. This chapter
systematically describes what the project entailed and how it was conducted, including a
project questionnaire, the curriculum used for the Five Step Healing Model, handouts
which explain how to get rid of sinful strongholds and utilize Scripture in healing prayer
ministry.
Chapter 5 provides an evaluation and reflection of the project’s purpose, goals,
and modifications to strengthen the project for future use. This project can benefit any
size church, in any demographic setting, which seeks to implement a healing prayer
ministry.
VITA
EDUCATIONAL
B.A., University of California, Davis, 1986
M.Div., Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990
Th.M., Talbot School of Theology, 1995
MINISTERIAL
Minister of Youth, Davis Chinese Christian Church, Davis, California, 1990-
1992
English Pastor, Rowland Heights Community Christian Church, Rowland
Heights, California, 1994-1996
Assistant Pastor, First Chinese Baptist Church, Fountain Valley, Fountain
Valley, California, 1998-2006
Assistant Pastor, Vineyard of Harvest Church, Walnut, California, 2007-
ACADEMIC
Adjunct Faculty, Biblical Studies, Biola University, La Mirada, California,
1994-

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Copyright © 2015 Howard Tien-Hoy Hsieh

MODEL AT VINEYARD OF HARVEST CHURCH,

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

of the Requirements for the Degree

Howard Tien-Hoy Hsieh

A TRAINING CURRICULUM BASED ON THE FIVE STEP HEALING

MODEL AT VINEYARD OF HARVEST CHURCH,

Howard Tien-Hoy Hsieh

Read and Approved by:

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Definitions, Limitations, and Delimitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Matthew 4:23-24, 10:1-8; and Luke 10:1-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Acts 6:8 and 8:4-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Ephesians 4:26-27 and 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

The Kingdom of God and Healing Prayer Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Dealing with Sinful Strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Affirming New Identity and Nature in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Steps to Freedom from Sinful Strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Importance of Follow-Up and Discipleship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Scheduling of the Five Step Healing Model Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Detailed Synopsis of Each Class Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Results of the Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Summary of Results in the Questionnaire

Summary of Results in the Questionnaire

T-Test Results and Boxplot Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

5. EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Strengths of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Weaknesses of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Reflections on Practical Theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

1. FIVE STEP HEALING MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

2. PRAYER INTERCESSOR QUESTIONNAIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

3. CURRICULUM EVALUATION RUBRIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

4. HELPFUL PRAYERS, AFFIRMATIONS, AND SCRIPTURES . . . . . . . . . 98

1. Voluntary and involuntary strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

2. Affirmations of who we are in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

3. An effective procedure for steps to freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

4. What to pray off and pray on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

6. Results for improving biblical knowledge of prayer in the Bible . . . . . . . . . 64

10. Stephen and Philip: Examples for the church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

1. Boxplot of pre- and post-test scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

whole family, for their continual love, support, and encouragement.

I also thank my fellow pastors at Vineyard of Harvest Church, Pastor Kwan,

Several seminary professors have helped me significantly in my theological

me biblical hermeneutics and hired me to teach as an adjunct professor at Biola

in my teaching, ministry, and doctoral research.

according to the technical, editorial, and style requirements of SBTS.

Among the professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I want to

marked at sufficient or above.

positive statistical difference between the pre- and post-questionnaires.

Harvest Church in Walnut, California.

Before joining the pastoral staff at Vineyard of Harvest in November 2007, I

church as a key member of the missions committee.

grounding in the Word of God is foundational to Christian life and ministry, I

concentrated on this area first. Next, I concentrated on the “Spirit-Empowering” aspect of

the Vineyard values: