Rev Dennis & Rita Bennett; Healing of Body, Mind & Spirit

Dennis and Rita Bennett pioneered in the area of healing the whole person. All of their 11 books, read by over a million people, involved the healing ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. As consummate story-tellers the Bennetts wove numerous healing stories throughout each book. 

In his first best-seller Nine O’Clock in the Morning, Dennis recounted how on two occasions, broken wrists were healed by prayer, and in both cases, X-rays were taken by doctors before and after, leaving no doubt about the healings. A young woman Karen was so badly hemorrhaging from ulcerative colitis that the doctor was about to remove her colon. Dennis asked her, “Ever think about praying to be healed?” Her answer was diffident. “Do you mind if I pray for you?” She didn’t, so he prayed. On his third visit, this time she asked Dennis, “Would you pray for me again?” They prayed and the hemorrhaging stopped. After five months of postponing the surgery, the doctor said, “Karen, I didn’t expect it, but this thing has gone into complete remission.  We’ll postpone the surgery indefinitely!”

Another person named Rupe had been hospitalized with severe pain, which a doctor misdiagnosed as kidney stones. His appendix ruptured, causing peritonitis to rage through his abdomen. The infection had virtually destroyed his diaphragm, the big muscular wall that separated the abdominal cavity from the chest cavity and serves as the main breathing muscle. One lung was partially collapsed, and Rupe’s heart was displaced so that it was on the wrong side of his chest. “My diaphragm is like a limp rag, the doctors told me,” Rupe said. “It’s not only paralyzed, but it’s full of holes! In fact.” He went on, “they are intrigued that I am able to breath at all. It seems I have learned to use my rib muscles for breathing, but they tell me I’ll be on a respirator soon and probably won’t live too long.”

“Would you come to our prayer meeting tonight?” Dennis asked.

Almost fiercely, Rupe blurted, “Can you heal my diaphragm?” “No, I can’t,” I responded, “but God can!”

And so, Dennis placed his hand on his shoulder and prayed, “Dear Lord, we sure could use a miracle right about now!” A week later while travelling on a ferry, a terrific pain suddenly hit Rupe’s diaphragm. He felt it tighten up, and he’s been breathing normally ever since!

The Bennetts taught that healing is a power gift, along with miracles and faith. Such power gifts are the continuation of Jesus’ compassionate ministry in need. The Bennetts saw the gifts of healing as the most widely accepted of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. Ninety percent of Jesus’ recorded ministry on earth was healing the sick. His first instruction to his disciples was ‘Heal the sick!’ (Matthew 10:8)

The Bennetts also emphasized that after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that the early Christians faithfully carried on this healing ministry: “Wherever the Holy Spirit moves, there is healing.” This healing practice did not cease in the early Church. 

We were privileged to hear Rita Bennett in 2010 at the fiftieth anniversary of the spiritual renewal which began in 1960 at St Luke’s Seattle. The Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 Yearbook records that when in 1960, Father Dennis Bennett announced to his congregation, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at Van Nuys, California that he had experienced a new outpouring of God’s Spirit, the recent movement can be said to have begun.

In 1966, Dennis and Rita were married. In 1968 they founded Christian Renewal Association Inc. (CRA) to minster worldwide and across denominations in evangelization, healing and church renewal. After Dennis unexpectedly died, Rita earned her Master of Arts degree in Applied Behavioural Science, with an emphasis in Family and Marriage Therapy, from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington. All this helped strengthen her focus on healing the whole person.

The Bennetts wanted people to be aware of the great variety of ways that Jesus and the disciples prayed for the sick:

Sometimes (Jesus) laid hands on them, at times on their eyes or ears; sometimes he breathed on them; sometimes He made no outward gesture but just spoke the word and they were healed.  Often, He commanded them to do something as an act of faith. Once, he put mud on a blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash it off! Another time he simply said to some lepers: ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests’ (the health department), and as they turned to go, they were healed! 

No contradiction was seen by the Bennetts between medicine and healing prayer, saying “we do not encourage people to discontinue such medications until they have ‘gone and showed themselves to the priests’ – the doctors, and their cure has been verified.”

Because the Bennetts were convinced from God’s Word that it was God’s will to heal the sick, they did not end their healing prayers with ‘if it be thy will.’  They saw ‘if it be thy will’ prayers as ‘faith-destroying. They also acknowledged the mystery of healing, and the reality that the final healing would sometimes involve people being promoted to glory. 

Healing prayer for the Bennetts did not need to be long-winded: “When we have the faith to say it, a word of command can be effective: ‘Be healed, in Jesus’ name!’”

The gift of the word of knowledge was modelled by the Bennetts as a great faith builder: “At times, the Lord will show to one Christian that another has a certain physical need. As it is shared, it will give the sick person tremendous assurance and faith to reach out and receive his healing.” They also saw the gift of faith as very important in the healing ministry: “There are times when the gift of faith is so strong that you will know, before you pray, that the person is to be healed.” 

Rather than only emphasizing physical healing, the Bennetts also focused on soul healing, what is sometimes called inner healing, or healing of memories: “Many times when the inner person is touched by God in salvation, there is a chain reaction in which God’s wholeness touches the soul and body with health.” Forgiveness of sins was seen as foundational for lasting, holistic health: “In praying for the sick, we must be aware that unrepented sin, a deep-held resentment, or a seriously wrong attitude, can prevent healing.” 

Having attended three of the Bennett’s Renewal Missions. we were impressed by how many people were deeply freed from guilt, shame, fear and self-hatred. Several who had previously went through abortions were able to experience Jesus’s peace and forgiveness. 

Rita saw soul healing as comprehensively rooted in both the Bible and the sacraments: “Every good experience that we have had with Jesus is inner healing: reading the Word of God, Holy Communion, baptism. All these experiences with Jesus are healing our souls.” 

Dennis and Rita were healing technicians, very practical in getting others launched.  It was not all about them, as they would be moving on to the next parish mission. They knew that passively watching a lecture did not activate the healing ministry in others. They taught that the best way to learn about healing is to begin to pray for the sick:

Ask God to use you in this way, then step out in faith.  Some know when they are to pray for the sick by an inner witness, others may feel a warmth in their hands; still others may have an overwhelming compassion. 

The Bennetts wanted God to be given the glory when healings happened, pointing people to a personal relationship with Christ. Have you ever prayed for another person to be healed? Have you given God the glory when healing happened? Have you ever led someone to Christ who has experienced the healing power of Jesus. Our prayer is that like with Dennis and Rita Bennett, such healing of the whole person will become more normal in each of our lives.