The Power of Holy Communion

Enjoy this 7-day devotional series adapted from Joseph Prince’s new book, Eat Your Way to Life and Health.

Want a free downloadable copy to take with you? Click here to download now.

Day 1: The Simple Act of Eating Can Make All the Difference

Doctors may have told you there is no hope. You may have lived with a medical condition for so long, you’ve given up on ever being free of it. Perhaps something you’d overcome has come back with such a vengeance that you’re thinking, Maybe this time, it can’t be beaten.

Whatever sickness you’re confronted with today, please know that it is not from God. Disease and death were not part of His plan for man. They were released into the world when man sinned by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

But there is good news for you today: Just as disease and death came through the simple act of eating, God has ordained for another act of eating to restore the health and wholeness that man lost in the fall. It is the holy Communion—and it is easily accessible and available to you today.

Every time you partake of the Communion, you are proclaiming Jesus’ death at the cross that reversed the curse brought about in the garden of Eden. Every time you partake of the Communion, you experience the very power of Jesus’ redemptive work released into your body—especially healing and health!

DAY 2: God Wants You Completely Well

Maybe you’ve received a bad report from the doctors. Maybe they told you that your condition is chronic or incurable. With all due respect for doctors who have dedicated their lives to alleviating pain and suffering, they don’t have the final word in your life. God does. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last (see Rev. 22:13).

And His desire is for you to be completely well.

That might be easy to believe on good days when the pain subsides and you feel your strength returning. But what about days when the symptoms hit? What about days when you go back to the doctors and find that your condition hasn’t improved? On days like these, it’s easy to stop believing that God wants you well. It’s easy to start wondering, “Is this sickness from God? Is He trying to teach me something through this?”
My friend, nothing could be further from the truth. Your heavenly Father loves you deeply, and He wants you, His beloved child, to be healed, healthy, and whole.
How can you be sure?
Let’s look at Jesus in the gospels. He went about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). When great multitudes followed Him bringing their loved ones who were sick, He “healed them all” (Matt. 12:15, 15:30). No exceptions. Not once did He say to anyone, “Come here. You are too healthy. Receive some leprosy.” Not once did He say to a sick person, “My Father is chastising you. That’s why you are sick.” You see, God does not give sicknesses and diseases. He gives healing.
To help you catch a deep and fresh revelation of God’s heart to heal you, here’s a powerful short animation video that brings to life the touching story of Jesus healing the leper (based on Matthew 7-8):

Beloved, don’t ever let the lie come in that sickness is part of God’s will. May this truth burn in your heart now and always: “God wants me well!”
Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing with you how Jesus has fully purchased your healing at the cross and how you can receive your healing through the holy Communion.

DAY 3: Surely, Not Maybe

I’d like to share with you today about the certainty of your healing declared in God’s Word.

“Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, and our pains—he hath carried them.” —Isaiah 53:4 (YLT)

Isaiah 53 does not say, “Maybe our sicknesses he hath borne.” It says, “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne.” This scripture is indisputable proof of how completely and totally Jesus has purchased your healing at the cross!
Beloved, your health is so important to Jesus that He paid the terrible price for it. Isaiah 53 goes on to describe how He bore the punishment for our sins in His body because He knew that it would bring us peace and total well-being. He was scourged and striped—so that “by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). That is how completely, fully, and surely your healing has been secured.
This is what the holy Communion is all about. When we hold the bread and the cup in our hands, we are remembering what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross (see 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Please let me take some time to explain the significance and meaning of the holy Communion elements to you.

The bread: Jesus would have used Jewish Matzah bread when He first introduced the Communion to His disciples. The Matzah bread is burnt, pierced, and striped—reminding us that Jesus was burnt by the fire of God’s judgment, pierced for our transgressions, and striped by scourging so that we would be healed.
The cup: Jesus would have used wine on the night He first took the Communion with His disciples. To get wine, grapes have to be crushed—reminding us that Jesus was crushed and His blood was shed so that we could be forgiven of every sin in our lives. Because we are forgiven, there is no failure in our lives that can disqualify us from receiving healing from the Lord.

My friend, this is why the holy Communion has nothing to do with what you need to do, and everything to do with having a revelation of what Jesus has done for you.
In tomorrow’s devotional, I’ll lead you in partaking of the Communion.

DAY 4: Partake Continually

If you woke up with sickness or pain in your body today, the Lord has made a way for you to partake of the healing that He has purchased for you at the cross. He has prepared a meal by which you can literally eat your way to life and health. It is the holy Communion.

When you hold the bread and cup in your hand, you are holding the greatest expression of the Lord’s love for you.

Like you read in yesterday’s devotional, this love made Him subject His body to be beaten, bruised, and broken so that yours can be whole today.
Would you like to get some bread and juice ready so that we can partake of the Lord’s Supper together right now? I’ll lead you in partaking of it in this video:

Beloved, can I encourage you to partake of the Communion continually? Our Lord Jesus said, “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:25). Notice how He said “as often” and not “as rarely” or “as infrequently.” In our church, we partake of it every Sunday. The early church partook of it daily (see Acts 2:46). The Lord lets you decide what “often” means for you. If you want, you can even take it several times a day with your medication.
There are many people who have written to me to share how they received their healing breakthrough as they partook of the Communion regularly and with the revelation of the Lord’s love and finished work. I am believing with you that you will be next!

DAY 5: Little by Little

If you can still see or feel the symptoms of the condition you’re trusting God for healing for, I want to encourage you in this: You don’t need to have an instantaneous manifestation of healing or feel something tangibly happening in your body to know that God is healing you.

While God does heal instantly, He also heals incrementally.

In fact, most of the people who have written to me to share their healing testimonies were healed gradually by the Lord as they partook of the holy Communion.
Beloved, each time you partake of the holy Communion, you are getting better and better, stronger and stronger. God says in His Word, “Little by little I will drive [your enemies] out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.” (Exod. 23:30). Little by little, that sickness, that disease, that condition, is being driven out from your life. Little by little, you are receiving your healing.
Whatever you’re battling in your body today, don’t be discouraged. The symptoms might still be there even though you have partaken of the Communion, but keep partaking in faith. Your healing is already taking place. Don’t give up!

DAY 6: No Exclusions

Even as you partake of the Communion in faith and wait on the Lord for your healing to manifest, there can be moments when discouraging thoughts creep in. Thoughts like, “My condition is so rare it’s almost unheard of. Maybe it’s not covered in the Bible.” Thoughts like, “It’s a new strain of disease I’m battling. Maybe what Jesus accomplished at the cross more than 2000 years ago doesn’t cover it. Maybe that’s why the holy Communion isn’t working for me.”
If you’ve ever had doubts like these—that your condition might somehow be excluded from God’s healing power—I have good news to share with you:

It doesn’t matter how rare, obscure, or even new to medical science your condition is. There are no exclusions whatsoever in the finished work of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus left nothing out when He bore our diseases at the cross. We can be sure of this because the curse He bore in our place includes “every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law” (Deut. 28:61, Gal. 3:13). This means that every physical condition—even the ones that aren’t mentioned in the Bible or didn’t exist back in Jesus’ time—is covered! Whatever you’re going through, whatever the name of the sickness you’re fighting, Jesus had it on His mind when He went to the cross for you.
My friend, can I take some time to share with you a healing testimony that I believe will greatly encourage you? This is a testimony we received from a sister who was healed of a rare and incurable autoimmune disorder:

“In September 2013, I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by muscular weakness). It started with weak eyelids and I couldn’t open my eyes fully. This made me look as if I was drunk or worse still, doped up on drugs. I was told that in the advanced stages, I could lose my ability to walk and eventually, not be able to swallow.
An eye specialist and two neurosurgeons confirmed the diagnosis. There is no known cure and I was told that they could only help delay its progression and manage the symptoms with medication for life. I cried and found it hard to trust God for healing.
However, my husband and I continued to listen to Pastor Prince’s sermons in church and while commuting to work every day.
My husband would sit me down every night to pray for healing, and we would partake of the holy Communion together. In spite of my fears, I found great comfort each time we partook the holy Communion.
Some days I had no words to pray and he would encourage me to repeat after him, giving thanks to God for the priceless and powerful sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary. We claimed God’s promises in Psalm 23 that we would have no lack, and that we would lead healthy and fruitful lives.
In October 2013, I was taken off all my medication two days before my appointment with the neurosurgeon. To our surprise, the neurosurgeon noticed that my droopy eyelids were not as severe. He next asked me to stand so he could check my muscle strength. Then looking perplexed, he asked if I had indeed stopped taking the medication. When I said yes, he commented that without medication for more than 24 hours, it was impossible that my eyelids were not drooping. So he canceled the further tests that were to be conducted and confirmed that there were no symptoms of myasthenia gravis.
I was overjoyed and declared that I was healed by Christ Jesus! That was the last time I needed to see a doctor for myasthenia gravis. All glory be to God! My husband and I truly wish to thank Pastor Prince and the pastors at New Creation Church for opening our eyes and ears to the wonderful gospel of grace.”
— Corrine, Singapore

I hope this testimony has encouraged and strengthened you.
In fact, a powerful way for you to stay faith-filled as you partake of the Communion and wait for God’s healing to manifest in your body is to read inspiring testimonies like this. As you read them, notice how personally God comforts, encourages, heals, and restores people going through different health challenges through the holy Communion. You can read many more of these verified real-life stories here: https://blog.josephprince.com/category/holy-communion/
What God did for them, He can also do for you.

DAY 7: Revelation Brings Results

While I have encouraged you to partake of the bread and the cup regularly, please know this:

The holy Communion is not about rules, routine, and regimentation. It is all about relationship, revelation, and receiving the redemptive work of Christ.

If the Communion was about following a strict set of rules in order to see results, then it would be like any other diet plan that relies on your effort, discipline, and willpower. But the Communion has nothing to do with what you need to do, and everything to do with having a revelation of what Jesus has done for you!
When Jesus first introduced the Communion to His disciples, He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor. 11:24). The Hebrew word for “remembrance” encompasses much more than sentimental recalling. It also conveys the idea of reenactment, of going through an event again. This means that when you partake of the bread and the cup, the Lord wants you to reenact all that He went through for you so that it becomes fresh in your mind—not just a historical event that happened 2000 years ago.
How do you do that? As you partake of the Communion, see Jesus before you, as though you are right there at Calvary. As you break the bread in your hands, see His body being broken for your wholeness. As you drink of the cup, see His blood being shed for your complete forgiveness. Meditate on this amazing truth: It was for you that the King of kings suffered!
Beloved, the more you partake of the bread and the cup with the sense of His love for you and the revelation of His redemptive work, the more you will receive the benefits of the holy Communion—especially divine life and health.

Excerpted with permission from Eat Your Way to Like and Health by Joseph Prince, copyright Joseph Prince.