Prayer Cloths: Another Biblical Method to Heal the Sick

You can’t put God in a box when it comes to healing the sick.  As we have previously learned, the disciples in the Bible used various methods to administer the healing power of God.  Jesus Himself rarely used the same healing method twice.  There are numerous ways to release healing virtue to those who are sick and suffering from infirmity.  Why did Jesus give us so many examples of different healing methods?  I don’t know, perhaps He didn’t want us trusting more in the method than in the Healer Himself.

One of the Bible methods used to heal the sick was through prayer cloths.  Acts 19:11-12 says,

“Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.”

Wow, what a supernatural phenomenon!  In today’s teaching we will examine the role of “handkerchiefs and aprons” in healing the sick.

What is a Biblical Prayer Cloth?

It’s no secret the apostle Paul’s life overflowed with signs, wonders, and miracles.  The New Testament is filled with testimonies of supernatural occurrences that happened everywhere he went.  In fact, special kinds of miracles were a trademark of the ministry of Paul.  And most certainly, using Paul’s clothing to transfer the healing anointing was amongst the most unusual.

It was so unusual that Acts 19:12 is the only record of “prayer cloths” being used in the book of Acts.  But what exactly is a prayer cloth?  A true biblical prayer cloth was an article of clothing worn by Paul, in this case his handkerchief and apron, that was infused with divine power because of the amazing anointing that was upon him.  These clothing articles were taken from Paul’s body and laid upon sick people — those that were so ill they couldn’t make the journey to where Paul was ministering.  The garments were cut into small pieces and taken to people with diseases who lived throughout Ephesus.  Those with very serious illnesses or those suffering from demon-possession were the recipients of these special prayer cloths.  The Bible says that when these garments of clothing were brought to the sick, the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.  What an incredible manifestation of the power of God!

Of course, the Bible doesn’t use the exact term “prayer cloth.”  It simply speaks of these two articles of clothing, handkerchiefs and aprons.  But because they were pieces of clothing, Christians who practice biblical healing refer to them as prayer cloths.

Modern Day Prayer Cloths

I’ve noticed that modern day prayer cloths are not even articles of clothing.  Oftentimes they are small pieces of fabric that no one has ever worn.  They’re made especially for the purpose of distributing them to the sick.  The prayer cloths are usually touched and prayed over by an anointed man or woman of God, those who believe in biblical healing and have a strong healing anointing.  Sometimes church prayer teams or intercessory prayer groups pray over these prayer cloths, then hand them out to members of the congregation to take to friends or family members who are sick.

The idea is that there has been a transference of the healing power of God unto the prayer cloth by the person who touched it, and in turn, that healing power is transferred to the sick person who receives the prayer cloth.  It’s really no different than laying hands on the sick, or anointing sick people with oil.  The results can be just as dramatic and miraculous.  Prayer cloths are just another point of contact between a believer and a sick person.

Prayer cloths are a great tool to use when you are praying for someone’s healing but cannot physically be there with the person to lay hands on them.  You can give them to someone else to deliver for you, or you can even mail the prayer cloths.  Scripture says in Mark 16:18 that, “…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  But there are times when distance keeps us from being able to physically touch someone.  That’s a good time to implement a prayer cloth.  Send it to the sick person, then call them and pray with them over the phone as they lay the prayer cloth on the infirmed part of their body.  As we have seen in Acts 19:12, prayer cloths can carry the same healing anointing as your faith-filled hands!

“…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover”

—Mark 16:18

A Word of Caution About Prayer Cloths

As with many spiritual things, unfortunately, there are those who attempt to use biblical principles for selfish gain.  The exploitation of biblical healing is no exception.  I have seen prayer cloths being sold on Christian TV and other outlets for outrageous sums of money.  That’s a shame.  You don’t need a big-name faith-healer to sell you a prayer cloth.  If you, or someone in your church, strongly believes in the ministry of healing, you can use your own prayer cloths and achieve the same (or better) results.  It can be an item of your own clothing, or you can purchase a pack of prayer cloths in a Christian book store or online for far less money than some tele-evangelists require.

It’s important to remember, a prayer cloth (in and of itself) has no special powers!  It’s only the prayer of faith that was prayed over the cloth, or a transference of the anointing from your person into the cloth, that makes it a supernatural point of contact for sick people.  YOU, as a born-again, spirit-filled believer, have the same ability to transfer your faith to a sick person as the most well-known ministers of healing.  They just get more publicity for what they do, that’s all.

I highly encourage you to step out in your faith and engage more and more in the ministry of healing.  The only difference between you and Benny Hinn, is that he has a devoted fan base.  Start praying for the sick right where you are — in your church, in your family, in your neighborhood, in the marketplace.  Faith moves the hand of God, not status or stardom.  He is no respecter of persons.  He’s waiting for you to step out and do your part so He can work with you confirming His word with signs following.

In the same way that the apostle Paul probably never even dreamt that God would use his clothes to transmit the healing anointing, could it be that God has amazing things planned for you that are beyond your wildest imagination?

QUESTION:  Have you ever used prayer cloths as a point of contact to transmit the anointing?  Or perhaps you know someone who has been healed as a result of having a prayer cloth laid upon them.  Feel free to comment in the reply box below!

© Glenda Motsavage and Sozo Ministries International, 2018