The Humble Healing Ministry of Charles Spurgeon

The Healing Power of Charles Spurgeon

Did you know that Charles Spurgeon had a rather popular and frequent healing ministry? That’s right, the prince of preachers himself could have had his own slot on TBN! Well, Spurgeon would not be slapping folk with coats, and he certainly would not be condoning the prosperity Gospel, or the constant prophetic shenanigans during election years. But with his track record for healing, TBN producers would have at least offered him a prime time air slot.

The Mystery Behind Spurgeon’s Healing Ministry

In a 1892 publication titled ‘The Life of Charles Spurgeon,’ the author records: ‘Yet, no man probably, in England or in America, in this century, has ever healed so many people as did Mr. Spurgeon, although he was not himself a physician and never wrote prescriptions. He felt that there was an unexplainable mystery about the whole matter. Yet, he asserted that there was some power connected with prayer which ought to be used when persons were in pain and could be relieved by it.’ The author, Russell H. Conwell, continued, ‘Thousands did believe that his prayer would heal them. He prayed with them, they recovered. Such an experience to the ordinary mind would be convincing beyond any possible doubt that Mr. Spurgeon’s prayers had behind them a divinely healing power,’ and ‘There are now living and worshiping in the Metropolitan Tabernacle hundreds of people who ascribe the extension of their life to the effect of Mr. Spurgeon’s personal prayers. They have been sick with disease and near unto death, he has appeared, kneeled by their beds, and prayed for their recovery. Immediately the tide of health returned, the fevered pulse became calm, the temperature was reduced, and all the activities of nature resumed their normal functions within a short and unexpected period.’

Witnessing Miracles Through Prayer

This biography is packed full of detailed stories of supernatural miracles. Fevered men, partially paralyzed, men with gout, children with fatal diseases, and men with mental illness who were likely demonized, all found supernatural relief through the ministry of Jesus administered through the prayers of Charles Spurgeon! Yeah, I think TBN would offer him a prime time spot! And he might even have taken it.

Spurgeon’s Ecumenical Approach

Spurgeon seemed comfortable rubbing elbows with Christians he disagreed with. He was comfortable calling Hudson Taylor, and George Müller ‘brothers.’ Spurgeon often caught flak for his willingness to work with those theologically divergent from his mainline church. In fact, some accused him of being a Quaker for his fanaticism. In the ‘Personality of the Holy Ghost’ sermon, Spurgeon recounts, ‘Some people call this fanaticism, and they say, “You are a Quaker, why not follow George Fox?” Well, we would not mind that much—we would follow anyone who followed the Holy Ghost. Even he, with all his eccentricities, I doubt not, was, in many cases, actually inspired by the Holy Spirit, and whenever I find a man in whom there rests the Spirit of God, the Spirit within me leaps to hear the Spirit within him, and he feels that we are one. The Spirit of God in one Christian soul recognizes the Spirit in another.’

The Humble Heart of Spurgeon’s Healing Ministry

My favorite thing about Charles’ healing ministry is that he didn’t understand how it worked exactly. In fact, a prominent American newspaper asked him the direct question, whether he believed all persons could be healed by the use of sincere prayer by persons who believed in Christ and whose lives were righteous. He announced that his experience in the matter had been quite extended, but that he needed to look very much further before he would be able to answer such a question without reservation. This guy saw more people healed through prayer than any other person recorded in the 17th century, yet his mind had not been ‘made up’ on how to think about this divine gift. In fact, Spurgeon was not even sure if he had the gift of healing. On Page 186 of ‘The Life of Charles Spurgeon,’ Russell H. Conwell writes, ‘Mr. Spurgeon, like the Master whom he so faithfully served, went about teaching and healing the sick. He never took any credit to himself for the healing power which he exercised; and hundreds of persons were physically benefited by his visits, of whom he never afterward directly heard. He regarded himself, as every pastor should, as the mere agent of Divine power, and spoke of himself, in two instances, as unworthy of possessing the gift of healing.’

The Essence of Faith in Spurgeon’s Healing Ministry

Now, that might sound baffling to you, but it sounds liberating to me. I don’t have to know how the gift works, I clearly don’t even have to believe that I possess the gift, I merely have to trust that God hears my prayers, and that he is able to liberate the oppressed, heal the sick, give back sight to the blind, and restore hearing to the deaf. I don’t have to muster psychological certainty of the outcome of my prayer, nor do I have to have ‘faith’ in my ‘faith.’ I only need to trust that my Jesus is moved to compassion for his people!