Although the best and the most natural way for a person to receive healing is by his own faith, there are times when another person can take authority over the situation, at least a few times, or temporarily, and in some relationships, consistently, on behalf of someone who lacks faith or knowledge, or who is unconscious, or who is in covenant with him. For example, a parent can exercise authority over a child’s condition by faith in the name of Jesus. A parent can receive healing for the child and demand sickness to leave the child. Also, I can exercise authority over my wife’s body, because we are one flesh by covenant, and her body does not only belong to her, and vice versa (1 Corinthians 7:4). There are too many scenarios and variables to discuss in detail. Note that I am speaking of healing by faith in the word of God, not the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, which belongs to a separate category.
In one example I heard, two pastors were traveling together to a ministerial convention. One of them had diabetes and had to measure his sugar levels regularly, to determine whether he needed medication. The other preacher was strong in healing and wanted the occasion to teach him something about this, so he said, “As long as you are with me, you will never register high sugar levels.” This preacher said this only once, and he never prayed about it. Jesus said we can have what we say by faith (Mark 11:14, 23). They were together for a number of days, and the man ate all kinds of food but never needed insulin. He said he had never gone so long without needing it. Several days after they parted, the man started to register high sugar levels again. He eventually learned and received healing for himself.
If a person is unconscious or possessed with demons, I can probably command him in the name of Jesus to come to his right mind temporarily, so that I can talk to him. But he will return to his usual condition if he rejects what I say or if he wishes to stay sick or possessed. Do not assume that everyone wants what Jesus has for him (John 5:6). Many people do not want to be delivered, because their condition gives them their identity, or they are proud of their sickness, or they think that they are heroic for suffering it, or that it is a gift from God, or something like this. If he is a cessationist, he might think that healing is not supposed to happen, or he might even prefer to remain sick than to be proven wrong.
If a person wishes to keep a sickness or a demon, he can keep it. In a case like this, we should usually not pray for him right away, but it would be better to spend a significant amount of time speaking to the person first and talk him out of the deception by the word of God. Otherwise, it would be better to leave him in the current condition. As long as he thinks like this, even if you are able to force the sickness or demon to leave, and this is indeed possible, it might return in a stronger form and he would become worse than before (Matthew 12:45).
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