Looking at more from the "look at me" Charismania...

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The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God." - Numbers 15:37-41 (ESV)

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I have heard the name of Marlin Hickey in passing and saw her mentioned on Charisma News in the past. Today however she had a piece up declaring that prayer shawls allow one to enter into the presence of God. I was taken back to my days in the Charismatic church I was saved in and for a time, the super-spirituals all would show up for church, sit in the first two rows of their section and all were equipped with Jewish prayer shawls. Hickey always struck me as on the periphery but her own bio reveals that her daily television show potentially reaches over two billion households! Her ministry has been fleecing the flock for over 45 years! So, buckle up and let us reason once more as we discuss a topic that is usually ignored, performative Christianity.

So, what is performative Christianity? It is the state of the modern apostate charismatic church. The false expression of the gifts runs rampant and are all designed to "look at me." Random shouting out of baby babble, false prophetic clairvoyance, multiple flaggers and any number of other distractions are designed to draw attention away from God and onto ourselves. Another popular trend is the Jewish prayer shawl. The root of these garments is found in the key verses today and it reveals ironically that these were designed to remind Jewish people to keep the 613 Mosaic laws. As it turned out, none could keep these laws and breaking one meant you broke all of them, which is why God sent His only Son to die for us. I of course say ironic because we are not yoked to the law, as our Jewish friends were. We are still to honor the law but thankfully we are under grace. I fear that most Christians wear these in church out of pride and a desire to appear more pious than their peers, and not to solemnly remember to obey the 613 Mosaic laws, the majority of which were undone on the cross (except the moral laws). So, let's see what Hickey has to say about it.

"Do you know what a prayer shawl is? It is supernatural mantle that will help you enter into God's presence and receive the miraculous." - Marilyn Hickey

Well, no need to ease into the heresy. May as well jump in headfirst! A prayer shawl of course is not a supernatural mantle, at all. It does not transport anyone into the presence of God. Hickey appears to be setting up a grift here. So, what is the core teaching here? That God does the supernatural miracles only for those who wear prayer shawls? It is just a shame that people are so gullible when they have the bible at their side to debunk such nonsense. We see the set up though. Hickey is going to try and sell prayer shawls and in order to make cold hard cash, but she needs to turn them into something special, or filled with all sorts of hidden meaning and deep import. Except they are not. They are very special to Jews, who have used them to remember the law, or mitzvahs, for centuries.

"Traditional prayer shawls are white, blue and gold. There are reasons for those choices. Blue has to do with divinity, and the color blue is always included in the tassel. When the woman with an issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus' garment, His prayer shawl, she touched the blue portion, which was the provision of what God had for her, and she instantly received her miracle. The gold represents the supernatural life, and the white represents the righteousness of God." - Marilyn Hickey

Ugh. I guess when you rely on the ignorance of your followers you can just make stuff up, but this is butchering the word of God. Nowhere does the text say that the woman touched the blue portion of his prayer shawl. The fringe portion of the prayer shawl was traditionally black or possibly blue. Marilyn Hickey does not know what color Jesus' prayer shawl was. While Matthew's retelling of this story does say the hem of His garment, others just say that the woman thought if she could touch His garment in general. This is the problem with forcing ourselves into the texts, we miss the point. The point of this story is not that the blue fringes of prayer shawls contain some supernatural power that continues today. It is a lesson about faith and true faith, does not need a prayer shawl. Notice that Hickey's assertion here is that the fringe of the prayer shawl contained God's provision for her but Jesus said to her that her faith had made her whole. Was it faith in the prayer shawl? Of course not! It was faith that Jesus could heal her! Gold represents supernatural life? Odd because traditional prayer shawls worn by Jews were white with black or blue stripes but no gold.

"Marilyn Hickey often puts on her prayer shawl when she prays the promises of God, often reciting 2 Corinthians 2:14: But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. "In the Old Testament, prayer shawls are called mantles, and they are mantles for the miraculous. In 2 Kings 1, Elijah was probably wearing his prayer shawl when he called fire down from heaven. Elijah didn't stop with that miracle. He continued to believe God for miracles, and you should too. Eventually, Elijah passed on his mantle to Elisha. There's a correlation in the New Testament to Elijah passing his mantle to Elisha when Jesus says He will send His Spirit"that "mantle" fell on the day of Pentecost, and from that time, on the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit has been among us." - Marilyn Hickey

Ok, it is a little creepy when someone starts referring to themselves in the third person but that aside, the prayer shawl was not used to remind the Jewish people about God's promises but rather His law! Once again, the text does not state that Elijah was wearing his prayer shawl but the larger point if he was - who cares? How is that supernaturally relevant? Are you saying God would not have performed the miracle if Elijah's shawl was in the laundry that day? So now the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity, is akin to a garment? This is just despicable. We do not wear the Holy Spirit and if anything, He is a seal against us being judged by the law, which is the very thing these garments were made to remind the Jewish people about!

"A prayer shawl is a mantle of victory. If God is for you, who can be against you? You can ask anything in Jesus' name because you have the mantle of the Holy Spirit. God has miracles with your name on them, and He will bless those who love Him to a thousand generations. He has ordained us for a miraculous life. Having your own prayer shawl will remind you that you're never too old or too young to have a miracle from God. Supernatural healing, miracles and victory can be yours." - Marilyn Hickey

Really. A prayer shawl is a mantle of victory? Says who? Marilyn Hickey? Beloved, a prayer shawl is a garment. It has a rich historical and spiritual history for the Jewish people, not the church. The very thing that God told the Jewish people to create it for is the same that Jesus delivered us from. God may very well have miracles with your name on them, but they will have absolutely nothing to do with wearing a prayer shawl any more than Mormons wearing their magical underpants. The miraculous life we enjoy is the eternal life we are given by being delivered from the very law these prayer shawls were designed to remember. The grift pitch is so dirty here. Supernatural healing, miracles and victory can be yours - if the price is right! Exactly what is that price you may ask? Well, if we hop on over to Marilyn Hickey's ministry page, we discover two ways you can buy a prayer shawl from her.

For your gift of $100 dollars or more we will send you a DVD of this encouraging Jewish prayer teaching and the prayer shawl Marilyn spoke about. Made in Israel, this beautiful shawl is a supernatural mantle you can use while in study or prayer that will help you enter in to His presence and receive the miraculous. We will also send you the alabaster anointing oil bottle and frankincense anointing oil. This set is similar to the alabaster jar and oil used by the woman mentioned in Mark 14 who anointed the feet of Jesus. Receive this amazing, life-changing offer today!

Supernatural healing, miracles and victory can be yours.

For your gift of $1000 dollars or more we will send you the DVD of the encouraging Jewish prayer teaching and the prayer shawl. Made in Israel, this beautiful shawl is a supernatural mantle you can use while in study or prayer that will help you enter in to His presence and receive the miraculous. We will also send you the alabaster anointing oil bottle and frankincense anointing oil. This set is similar to the alabaster jar and oil used by the woman mentioned in Mark 14 who anointed the feet of Jesus. And to complete this great offer, we will send you the silver-plated shofar. Custom crafted in Israel, this shofar is over 26 inches long and includes a clear stand for display. This beautiful piece will remind you to make the sound of a miracle and claim your victory.

Now the full scope of the grift comes into focus. The exact language used in the article was lifted from the store's language on her ministry webpage. If you are of limited means she will sell you supernatural healing, miracles and victory for only a hundred bucks. If you are a little flusher with cash, you can pay $1000 and get a silver-plated shofar as well. This may seem harmless but think about the fragile state of many of us in desperate need for a miracle, victory or healing. A parent praying for their terminally sick child orders this piece of cloth from Marilyn Hickey who has promised them healing, victory and miracles and what will happen? Well God can heal the person of course but it will have nothing to do with the $1000 prayer shawl. Realize this scam is no different than "anointed prayer cloths." Or vials of water from the Jordan River. These are scams designed to steal your money by promising you things God never said or promised to do. If you are sick the bible says to pray and seek the elders of the church. God always can do miracles. Do not fall for grifters such as Marilyn Hickey though. Mark and avoid.

Reverend Anthony Wade - November 8, 2023

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.