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Who Needs It?
You may be familiar with the practice of healing prayer from other churches that you’ve attended. Or you may be wondering, “Why?” or “Who needs it?” Well, I don’t know about you, but I know that I don’t always take everything I should to God in prayer. Sometimes it is because my prayer life is lax. Sometimes it is because I don’t know how to ask. Sometimes I desperately want to pray with someone regarding a particular concern. One of my favorite Scriptures is from the 18th Chapter of Matthew, where Jesus said: “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
If you have never had the opportunity to have someone pray for you during worship, surrounded by fellow Christians holding you up in prayer, then you might not be aware of just how awesome . . . and healing . . . it can be.
Case in point: Once when my husband and I were attending a conference at Kanuga, the Episcopal Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC, I was really struggling with my chronic depression. The drive south was difficult at best. Our week began as anything but joyful. At the evening worship services, we had the chance to go to one of the prayer teams positioned around the outer wall of the auditorium. I couldn’t resist the offer of healing prayer, although new to me, so I approached one of the teams.
There were two people who asked me what my prayer need was and one person who stood behind me. I told them that I was so depressed that I didn’t like myself and I was not able to love my husband. As the tears began to flow, I told them I felt completely worthless. The two people in front of me prayed for God’s comfort and healing for me. I believe it was the woman behind me, who prayed that I know that God loved me so much that even if I were the only person on earth He would have still sent His Son to redeem me.
The Holy Spirit was at work because it was exactly what I needed to hear and to know. I was not “rested in the Spirit;” instead, I became all but giddy! I had never realized that, although God’s love is for all of us, it is also very personal and individualized. Regardless of how awful I was feeling and how badly I was behaving, He loved me enough to have sacrificed His Son! My tears turned to tears of joy. I have never felt so loved!
I still battle depression and I often feel I am a disappointment to many, but I will never forget the peace that came to me that day in knowing just how much our God loves ME!
Kay
Please Prayerfully Consider Your Call to Prayer
There's plenty to contemplate and reflect upon during the season of Lent, While you are taking perhaps a bit more time than usual to think about all that God has given you, consider whether a new prayer ministry at St. Paul's might be a way for you to "give back."
After Easter, we will have the opportunity to attend a series of probably four sessions with folks from St. Paul's in Bellevue. These sessions will be lead by Fr. Gene Smercina and focused on prayer. He will help those of us who are interested to know more about the Biblical teachings on prayer and to understand how we might integrate "healing prayer" into our regular Sunday worship service.
The logistics (time, place, etc.) have not yet been determined. However, now is the time to begin to determine, through prayer, if God is calling you to serve as one of the people who would be available to regularly pray with others. When the training is announced, even if you aren't sure this is going to be part of your ministry, consider attending the sessions. Having celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, Fr. Gene is bound to enlighten us and enrich our prayer lives!
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