Part 4: John Wimber and Chuck Kraft

Spiritual strongholds must be defeated before our evangelism and social action will see any results…The issue of strongholds is an important one and we must address it if we are to have any success in our ministries to at-risk youth. (Burch 2005: 114)

John Wimber was a man well acquainted with the power ministry of God before departing to be with Him in 1997. Wimber wrote and taught extensively on the guiding principles he’d learned in his praxis of God’s healing ministry. One principle I’d like to highlight from Wimber's book Power Healing is this: “God wants to heal the whole person, not just specific conditions” (Wimber 1987: 171). This simple principle has profound implications for the street child in Naples, who has likely suffered emotional abuse, physical abuse, and even sexual exploitation. (In 2001, for example, UNICEF reported in an online press release that 80 percent of Albanian street children were sexually exploited in Greece or Italy.) Wimber writes:

“Emotional and psychological hurts, including bad memories, are caused both by our sin and by our being sinned against. The healing of these past hurts restores the inward (unseen and unseeable) part of men and women, as opposed to purely physical, visible, or outward healing…I define inner healing as a process in which the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness of sins and emotional renewal to people suffering from damaged minds, wills, and emotions. It is a way of bringing the power of the gospel to a specific area of need” (Wimber 1987: 80).

Wimber defines the two greatest ingredients of inner healing as first forgiveness, and second as seeing our past experiences through God’s perspective, through what he terms “conversion therapy” (Wimber 1987: 92). This therapy is not unlike Chuck Kraft’s approach to inner healing.

Fuller professor, Dr. Chuck Kraft has ministered to demonized Christians for over six years. His knowledge and experience of inner healing is extraordinarily extensive, as are his books on the subject. In his book Defeating Dark Angels, he advises that those who desire to minister inner healing to a person must spend time listening to the Holy Spirit on their behalf. Likewise, he exhorts us to work on a small team of people, with a mixture of spiritual gifts including words of knowledge, prophecy, and especially, discernment of the spirits. This team must have extensive prayer support from outside sources, particularly in preparation for a time of ministry.

During a ministry time of inner healing, Kraft advises that we then invite Jesus to appear to the person within the situation or the past event needing healing. Before doing so, however, Kraft notes that it’s vitally important to explain to them the following:

(1) We can’t explain why God allowed it to happen, but,
(2) We do know Satan intended it to completely destroy them.
(3) But since they were not totally destroyed,
(4) This means someone more powerful was there with them, protecting them. (Kraft 1992: 150).

(John Wimber photo from "Doin' the Stuff.")