The laying on of hands

There are many examples in the Bible of the practice of laying on of hands. "But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn" (Genesis 48:14 NLT). "When you present the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them" (Numbers 8:10 NLT). “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do. So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses" (Numbers 27:18-23 NLT). "Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses" (Deuteronomy 34:9 NLT). "And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them" (Mark 6:5 NLT). "As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one" (Luke 4:40 NLT). "Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God" (Luke 13:13 NLT)! "These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed" (Mark 16:17-18 NLT). "But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders" (Acts 14:3 NLT). "The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade" (Acts 5:12 NLT). "So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 9:17 NLT). "God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles" (Acts 19:11 NLT). "As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him" (Acts 28:8 NLT).

The laying on of hands was to continue after Jesus returned to Heaven. It is an act in which a believer places their hands on the body of another person with a definite spiritual purpose, accompanied by prayer or prophecy. The Bible specifies that only believers are qualified to lay hands on people for spiritual purposes. "These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed" (Mark 16:17-18 NLT). "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power" (Acts 8:18 NLT). This was a false effort by Simon to try to buy Holy Spirit power. He essentially tried to bribe God. So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:17 NLT). Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you (1 Timothy 4:14 NLT).

There does not have to be a feeling of power experienced when the laying on of hands is done for the practice to be effective. The laying on of hands can be used to commission Christian workers, but the Bible does not teach that just anyone is able to lay their hands on others for spiritual purposes. The laying on of hands is also not the only way that a person can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit even though spiritual gifts can be imparted through the laying on of hands. And even though infants should not be baptized because they don't understand its purpose or significance, they can have hands laid on them for the purposes of dedication and to be committed to God's protection, guidance, and blessing. Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them (Mark 10:16 NLT).