Years ago as a pastor, I had been involved in praying for people to be healed. I did this in my ministry as an evangelist, then I continued it for several years as a pastor. Later, I became part of a presbytery of elders. I developed a ministry team that was devoted to ministering to the sick. The lessons about healing prayer I have learned came out of my experiences, my successes and failures.

For me, healing is not strange. Nor is having a dream from God. Dreams are one way the Lord talks with us. Dreams are visual communications that happen when our logic filter in our mind is asleep. The Bible tells of many dreams among God's people, often in transition seasons. For example, when Jesus was about to be born, Joseph had significant dreams that warned him and Mary. God speaks to unsaved people in this same unique way.

Dreams and visions are visual devices God uses to impart information by the Holy Spirit. He reveals his will by means of a word picture. Of course, dreams must be interpreted and applied wisely. Over the years, I've taught a lot about hearing God's voice. We need to ask: What does a dream mean? Who is it for? What is God saying by this image or scene?

Dreams occur when our mind's rational filter is lowered. While sleeping, the realm of heaven can deposit information into our imagination. Some people are more sensitive to seeing spiritual dreams. The Lord uses dreams to speak to His prophets and to anyone seeking Him. Dreams are meant to warn us, inspire us, guide us, or encourage us… much like a spoken prophetic word, or a verse in the Bible that stands out.

In my dream, I saw a book cover with my name printed on it. At this point in my life, I'd only previously written one book and had not given any thought to writing another. The title of the book was, I Expect to Heal the Sick.

That's a presumptuous title, don't you think? At first blush, it seems prideful, boastful. It was certainly confident. The idea provokes a similar reaction as when Jesus forgave a crippled man of sin and the Pharisees took offense at him. “Only God can do that!” they said. Religious people always try to limit God. They make up restrictive rules as to why God won't or can't do something. They use man-made rules to explain why we can't obtain it or don't deserve it. This frustrates our goal of receiving God's promise by grace through faith. Religious dogma can prevent us from knowing our rights as God's children. Thank the Lord, the Holy Spirit will help us. He wants to show us how to receive promises from the Lord.

Today, the Pharisees still wear religious robes. They're managers of the status quo — not kingdom-minded leaders of faith. Pharisees are mouthpieces of limitation. They want to uphold law, not grace; to minister failure and futility; to remind us of our condemnation from past sins. They want to spread the shame around, to pull everyone down into the same pit of despair – the misery that legalism produces. There is no divine blessing in legalism; no joy or liberty, no reward for having faith.

Thank the Lord, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He hasn't changed. He still is our Savior, the One who heals us of all our diseases.