Personally combating the coronavirus

Several Christian pastors are calling for united prayers to stop the coming coronavirus pandemic. That seems like a good thing to do, although my sense is that to be effective the American churches need to be more united than they are now. However I would personally join in any such prayer.

But let me share how I have resisted and minimized viral infections of all sorts. In the last five years or so I have had perhaps four colds, and they usually last only a few days, rather than the five to seven days that is normal recovery time. Colds, of course, are most commonly viruses of different forms, and some strains of colds are mutations of the current corona viruses.

Before I explain my method for short-circuiting the length and extent of cold and flue type illness (virus and bacterial) let me say that as a healing minister I have always encouraged healing prayer in conjunction with good medical practices. Most of my collogues in the healing ministry would agree with this. An early variety of Pentecostalism from the 1900s claimed that if you wanted God’s healing via prayer you must avoid medications, as that would weaken one’s faith.[1] Nonsense. Medicine and doctor’s wisdom are part of God’s provision for healing. All of which is to say follow what is now advised by the medical profession to avoid the new coronavirus, such as washing hands frequently and avoiding shaking hands – at least for a season.

When I celebrate Holy Communion in the immediate future, I plan doing so with the tiny communion cups common in Evangelical churches, as against the chalice common in my Anglican church and other liturgical churches. I will also use oyster crackers that are often used for soup for the communion bread. This will cut down possible person to person contamination. (I personally believe that consecrated wine and bread never spread disease, but that would be a stretch for many people, and they might refuse to receive Communion.)

Now for the main part, how to avoid and lessen any form of viral or bacterial illness. There are three keys here. The first is a double action of strengthening the immune system and at the same time cursing the bacteria or virus to death.

The immune system is immensely complex and not localized in one area of the body, so one can’t lay hands on it directly to pray for its strengthening. An exception to this is if the supplicant is deficient in “T” cells which are produced in the leg bones, then I my lay hands on the lower legs. In all cases I use my authority in Christ to proclaim its strengthening. In most cases I ask the person to look me in the eye as I say (using different words, as prayer is not magical) “In Jesus’ name I command your immune system, in all its parts, to be strengthened and conform to the pattern of Jesus’ immune system. Amen.”

The second part of this key is to curse the pathogen. For instance, if the person has the flue, when I finish proclaiming a strengthened immune system, I command the T cells by direct address to be especially empowered to surround and eliminate the flue virus. This of course can be used against the coronavirus. I will also directly address the virus (or bacteria) and curse it. No squeamishness here, Jesus cursed to death a fig tree to demonstrate to his disciples that this can be done. (Matt 21:18) Note also how he rebuked the fever in Peter’s mother-in-law, i.e. a direct address. (Luke 4:39).

The third and last thing I do is to make sure the body’s normal energies (and God’s energies) are flowing unobstructed via a correctly aligned skeletal system. This is a chiropractic understanding that was combined as an effective healing prayer technique by the Pentecostal couple, Charles and Francis Hunter back in the 1980s, and made famous by their books and “Healing Explosion” tours.[2] This is done by diagnosing if one arm is shorter than the other, and commanding the shorter arm to “come out” to equal length. What this does in reality is realign the backbone so that a person’s normal vital energies can flow unimpeded, as well as God’s healing energies, as you lay hands on the person for healing. This is difficult to explain in writing, but can easily be seen in multiple YouTube videos by the Hunters.[3]

OK, these are the prayer tools I have used top practically eliminate clods and the flue in my life. Of course I get the flue shot every year, but I occasionally catch a cold if I allow my immune system to be depressed, usually by depression. I have learned to quickly repent, for depression is really the sin of lack of faith in God’s goodness in our difficult circumstances, and then do the steps I have just described. If I am alone, I look into the mirror and do the commands I outlined above.

[1] Actually, this erroneous doctrine came from the “Faith-Cure” movement of the 1880s, which on the one hand was the pioneer healing prayer movement of Christendom (battling cessationism), but some of its adherents advocted the “faith or medicine” error. Both there valid discoveries on healing and this error was passed on to Pentecostalism in the 1900s. On this see my work, Quenching the Spirit (Lake Mary: 1996). Chapters 9 and 10.

[2] Their major, and classic, work on this is How To Heal the Sick (Kingswood: Hunter Ministries, 1981). I have explained this ministry breakthrough in detail in my blog posting “The Hunter’s Revolution in Healing Prayer,” which was removed by Blogger along with my other blog postings, but recovered and graciously hosted by Troy day at: http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/the-happy-hunters-revolution-in-healing-prayer/

[3] Their healing teaching here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLziXKAmk7VmAmdP42_V-v346-7EI9xdkS