Many Christians will let almost anyone pray for them. When someone asks, "Can I lay hands on you and pray for you?" the answer usually comes without hesitation: "Of course." Yet the Bible gives a warning about carelessness in this area. Paul wrote to Timothy: "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in people's sins. Keep yourself pure" (1 Timothy 5:22).
The reason for such a warning is that prayer is communication with God, and it also involves spiritual transference and influence. This is not a call to fear, and it does not mean believers should treat everyone with suspicion. Not every person who prays for someone is dangerous. The point is that Scripture gives a caution, and discernment is the right response to it.
What Is the Laying On of Hands?
Hebrews 6:1-2 lists the elementary principles of Christ, the foundation that includes repentance from dead works, faith toward God, and the doctrine of baptisms. Among these foundational teachings stands the laying on of hands, alongside the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. The laying on of hands is therefore a biblical, foundational doctrine.
Throughout Scripture, hands were laid on people for several purposes:
- Blessing
- Healing
- Commissioning
- Ordination
- Impartation of ministry responsibilities
In Numbers 27, Moses laid hands on Joshua and publicly commissioned him. Jesus healed the sick by laying hands on them. Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift within him, and the gift had come through the laying on of hands. This shows that the practice serves as a vehicle through which impartation, commissioning, or blessing can be released.
The Old Testament also records priests laying hands on an animal to symbolically release sins onto it. One animal was killed, and the other was released. None of this means a person can transfer sin or righteousness onto someone else simply by laying hands on them. The laying on of hands is nothing magical, and its power comes from God. It does involve spiritual influence, which is why the Bible does not treat it casually. Receiving prayer as a pleasant gesture, with no thought given to who is offering it, carries real danger.
Five categories of people call for particular care.
1. People Living in Open Rebellion Against God
Proverbs 15:8 says that the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The word is stronger than "displeased." Anything a wicked person offers provokes God to anger. A blessing or impartation from such a person is the last thing a believer needs, because God stands against them. Their prayer and their blessing are not worth seeking.
This category does not describe imperfect people. It describes people who knowingly reject God's commandments. Character matters, and so does submission to God. Spiritual influence and prayer should not be sought from those who refuse God's authority.
Korah illustrates this. He was no witch doctor and no pagan. He was a leader among God's people who challenged God's appointed leadership. He gathered followers around himself and carried real spiritual influence, yet he was rebellious, and the earth swallowed him and his followers. Not everyone with ministry, influence, or anointing is submitted to God. A position, role, or title in the church does not prove intimacy with God or integrity. A blessing should never be sought from someone who openly resists the God they claim to represent, especially one who resists the appointed authority over them, whether in the church or in the organization where they serve.
2. People Who Use Spirituality to Control Others
The Bible tells followers of Jesus to beware of false prophets. That instruction was given to believers, which indicates that not every prayer prayed over a person is pure. Some use "God told me" to manipulate, dominate, and control naive, innocent, or desperate people. Others use prayer as a means of gaining influence, creating dependence on themselves in place of Christ. Constant control, constant pressure, and a steady stream of special revelations directed at one person are signs that call for great care.
Simon the sorcerer is a case in point. He saw the apostle Peter laying hands on people and the Holy Spirit being given through it, which again shows that God imparts gifts through the laying on of hands. Simon had recently converted and had formerly practiced witchcraft and sorcery. He offered money to buy the ability to lay hands on people and impart spiritual things. Peter rebuked him and told him his heart was not right before God. Simon wanted spiritual power with no spiritual transformation in his own life.
People like Simon exist in churches today. They use spiritual gifts to gain influence, status, and control. The way to discern them is that true spiritual leaders always point to Jesus, while manipulators point to themselves. Sometimes the manipulation grows out of bitterness from the past, and sometimes out of dominating, intimidating habits picked up through witchcraft. Such people need to submit and repent.
The difference from the first category is worth noting. The first person is marked by rebellion. The second wants others to depend on them instead of on the Lord. The fivefold ministry exists to equip the saints for the work of ministry. It does not exist so that the saints will spend their lives propping up and honoring an important pastor. A leader's role is to empower the saints to do great things for God. When someone inserts themselves into another person's life, seeks to impart things, and works to create codependency instead of releasing that person into a more intimate knowledge of God, caution is warranted.
3. People Filled With Bitterness
Hebrews 12:15 warns against letting any root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble. Bitterness contaminates every area of a person's life, and unforgiveness damages spiritual health. It often surfaces as constant gossip and constant criticism, because whatever fills the heart eventually comes out through the words.
Sometimes this is hard to see, and sometimes it is obvious. The person complains constantly, returns again and again to the past and to what someone did to them, and shows plainly that they have not been healed. Yet this same person offers to bless and pray. The concern goes beyond the act of laying on hands. When a bitter person exerts spiritual influence, the one receiving it is drawn toward them and gradually picks up the same spirit. Their tendencies and views begin to take root, and soon the person is drawn into their pity party and their bitterness club.
Satan convinced one-third of the angels to join him against God. Somehow he influenced them with his own bitterness and pride, which spilled over onto others. People take on the vibe of those around them, so the choice of tribe matters. Whatever someone carries inside will spill over onto those close to them, and the residue sticks.
King Saul is the example of a bitter leader. Everyone around him suffered, and David had to remove himself from Saul's presence. Saul carried bitterness, jealousy, obsession, and suspicion. He was still technically king, yet he was so corrupted, so embittered, and so offended that he was demon-possessed. David distanced himself and refused to remain in close proximity, though he continued to honor Saul. Staying near people like that is dangerous.
Spiritual ministry should not be sought from people whose lives are dominated by offense. Offended people always have a reason and always have a cause, and following them leads to ruin. If Satan cannot derail someone through sin, he will use offense. Often offense is picked up from offended people. Nothing may have been done to the person at all. Being around people who read meaning into things that should never have been read into, who exaggerate and inflate hurt feelings, leads to seeing life through their lens. The result is a person trapped in offense, leaving churches, and eventually leaving their calling, because they are busy living a life of offense.
4. People Who Love Attention More Than They Love God
Jesus spoke about this kind of person in Matthew 6:5, describing those who love to pray standing in the synagogues so that others will see them. These people do not care about serving God or serving others. They love to be seen and need to be needed. For them, prayer is a performance and ministry is self-promotion. Pride and spiritual authority cannot coexist for long. Sometimes the ministering and the imparting are about the attention the minister receives and the importance they feel.
Jesus was entirely different. He washed the disciples' feet, served others, and humbled Himself.
Absalom stands as the example of the opposite. He was charismatic, gifted, talented, and related to the king. He used his position to feed his ego, and people fell under his spell. He stole the hearts of the people, and he loved popularity. His whole life was built around bitterness, influence, and himself. Those who received his influence followed him, and he was building himself rather than building them. They were serving him, when a leader should be serving God and the people.
The consequences reach everyone near such a leader. The decisions the leader makes affect those under their influence, and so do the discipline and judgment that God brings on that leader. Such a person walks like someone carrying a nuclear weapon, and everyone within the radius is affected. Absalom's followers were led into fighting against David, and many of them died. Spiritual influence that is full of pride, ambition, and self-promotion leads to a fall, and the fall affects those who followed.
The safest hands are humble hands. Humility is a rare trait, yet it is necessary and important. Power comes from God, but humility is what pleases God and what causes Him to release His favor.
5. People Whose Fruit Is Unknown
Matthew 7:20 says, "By their fruits you will know them." Believers cannot be naive, and they should not be paranoid either. The right questions are these: What is this person's fruit? What is their reputation? What kind of life do they live? Are they accountable?
Bias deserves a word here. People are sometimes afraid of others simply because they do not know them. Taking time to get to know a person is warranted and necessary. A lack of familiarity is no reason to label someone false immediately, and a gut feeling is not the main ingredient of discernment. Discernment rests on fruit, and fruit inspection is very important.
The overall principle is this: not everybody deserves access to a believer's spiritual life. Believers should not be afraid of people, of prayer, or of others laying hands on them, because they trust God. Yet not every spiritual voice should carry influence, not every hand should be laid on a person, and not every spiritual person is spiritually healthy. The Bible teaches believers to test the fruit, exercise discernment, and walk in wisdom.
What to Do After Receiving a Bad Impartation
Many people today, especially online, renounce impartations from various ministers, particularly when a minister faces turmoil, exposure, or attack. The Bible does teach that believers can receive unhealthy influence from people. It says that bad company corrupts good morals, that false teachers deceive people, and that bitter roots can spread. It does not explicitly teach that a Christian is permanently damaged because someone prayed for them or laid hands on them.
Suppose someone prayed over a believer and exerted influence on them, and later the truth came out that this person was not who they claimed to be. They may have fallen from grace or from faith, and the evidence may be real, beyond people taking shots at them. Scripture points to a response in five parts.
Do Not Panic
The One who is in believers is greater than the one who is in the world. Confidence rests in Christ and in the Holy Spirit who lives within, and it never rested in the person who laid on hands. A believer did not receive from that person. They received from God through that person. Samuel is an example. He spent his childhood in the house of Eli, which was very corrupt, and yet he was not contaminated by it. He received instruction from Eli, but his ability to hear God far exceeded Eli's.
Renounce Anything That Is Not From God
If a believer received false teaching, manipulation, wrong beliefs, or unhealthy influence through someone's prayer, it can be brought to God in a prayer such as: "Lord, I reject and I renounce anything that did not come from You. I only receive that which is from Your Holy Spirit and from Your Word." This is normal and healthy. Acts 19 records that when people came to Christ, they renounced their former practices, so renunciation is biblical.
Some people simply decide never to be connected to the person again, recognizing that God met them in that season even though the person was flawed, and they move on. Others develop soul ties to a minister and feel that part of their life is broken because this person fell or turned out to be different than expected. In that case, the things received that were not from God need to be rejected and renounced.
Submit Everything to Scripture
First Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Test everything; hold fast what is good." Paul gives believers the freedom to test and to try things, with the instruction to hold on to what is good. Not every spiritual experience is from God, not every feeling is from God, and not every prophecy is from God. The Bible is the filter. What aligns with Scripture is kept, and what does not is rejected.
Ask the Holy Spirit to Fill You
Ephesians 5:18 calls believers to be continually filled with the Spirit. The answer to unhealthy influence is a greater filling of God's presence, and obsession with the unhealthy influence only feeds it.
Receive Prayer From Trusted Leaders
Some people overcorrect after receiving a bad influence by refusing any influence at all. Healthy leaders exist, and these are people who bear good fruit. They are not rebellious, bitter, or proud. They may be present in a believer's life already, perhaps not famous, known, or visible, but they carry authority. Prayer and ministry should be sought from these people. James 5:14 speaks of calling for the elders of the church to pray, and James 5:16 speaks of confessing sins to one another. There is no need to look for a big personality. The better search is for a person who is big in God and who has legitimate fruit.
Having been burned by leaders is no reason to go to the extreme of allowing no one to pray. Leaders have no magical powers, but God uses healthy spiritual leadership to strengthen believers.
Galatia offers a pattern. Paul had ministered to the believers there, and false teachers came afterward and influenced them. Paul did not tell them they had received a permanent spiritual curse. He called them back to the truth and asked, "Who has bewitched you?" (Galatians 3:1).
Focus on Jesus
When prayer from someone leaves a believer troubled, the answer is to avoid becoming obsessed with that person and to become focused on Jesus. That means renouncing anything that is not of God, submitting to Scripture, asking the Holy Spirit for fullness, and remembering that Christ is greater than any influence that has touched a believer's life.
A prayer for this season: Lord, give discernment to live without fear. Give wisdom to live without pride. Give spiritual sensitivity without being overly suspicious. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment