Prayer Ministry

Laying on of hands, with prayer, for wholeness and healing

(for use at Family Worship and Morning Worship Services)

God’s purpose for us all is a life of wholeness, as expressed in the life and teaching of Jesus. The ministry of healing is an integral part of our Christian witness.

After this service, there will be an opportunity to receive the laying on of hands with prayer, for healing. Each of us is needy and all are welcome to receive the laying on of hands with prayer, either for themselves or for others. A desire for God’s healing may be in response to brokenness in all aspects of our lives, physical, mental or spiritual

If you wish to receive this ministry, please go to the side altar after the service has ended. You will be welcomed by members of our ministry team, who will pray quietly with you. You need not state what your particular needs are, if you do not wish - they are already known to God. The intention is to place you and your situation in God’s healing hands and seek His wholeness and peace for you. However, you are also free to present any specific needs, which will be treated in complete confidence. Unless you indicate otherwise, the ministers will also gently place their hands on your head or shoulders, as they pray with and for you.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Laying on of hands, with prayer, for healing

(for use at 9.30am and 11am Holy Communion Services)

God’s purpose for us all is a life of wholeness, as expressed in the life and teaching of Jesus. The ministry of healing is an integral part of our Christian witness.

During the sharing of the bread and wine in this communion service, there will be an opportunity to receive the laying on of hands with prayer, for healing. Each of us is needy and all are welcome to receive the laying on of hands with prayer, either for themselves or for others. A desire for God’s healing may be in response to brokenness in all aspects of our lives, physical, mental or spiritual

If you wish to receive this ministry, please go to the side altar at any time during the distribution of the bread and wine. Either stand or kneel at the side altar rail, where 2 members of our ministry team will gently place their hands on your head or shoulders and pray in silence for you. You will not be invited to state what your particular needs are – they are already known to God. The intention is to place you and your situation in God’s healing hands and seek His wholeness and peace for you, ending with this prayer:

May the Spirit of the living God, present with us now,
Fill you, body, mind and spirit,
And bring wholeness and healing to you and those that you love,
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Should you wish the prayer ministry team to pray with you further, please come to the side altar after the service. At this time, in quieter surroundings, personal intercessions may be offered to God, on your behalf.

Mental Health

Did you know that:

1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.
Chances are that someone you know is going through some kind of mental distress such as depression, anxiety, eating disorder, schizophrenia and dementia.
51% of people with mental health problems experience discrimination from those that they know.
40% of the general public associate mental illness with violence, due to unfavourable media coverage.
47% of people with mental health problems experience discrimination at work.

What should our Christian response be?

To be informed and recognise the need for professional support, from medical, counselling and social services specialists.
To become involved and raise awareness.
To follow the example of Jesus. He removed the stigma and alleviated the distress by going to be with people where they were and then praying, touching, listening, being open and handing their needs to His heavenly Father.

Members of the prayer ministry team are available for listening and praying alongside you.

Praying in faith – God in the ordinary

The following testimony was provided by someone here at St John’s who found the healing grace of God through a simple child’s prayer.

“During our summer holiday in France, my daughter (age 9 years) had a terrible flare up of eczema. Too much swimming in a chlorinated pool had triggered off an eczema problem. A patch of skin at the back of her knee about 6" x 3" was very red and painful. She doesn’t normally suffer with this, so we were not prepared with any medication, and the chemists were miles away.

When I tucked her into bed that night, she was obviously in distress, and she asked me to pray for her. I'm not used to doing this sort of thing for the family, I felt a bit stupid, and not really qualified to do it. But, as she had asked me, I felt I should try. So I just held her up to God, and said a quick prayer for healing, not really convinced that it would make a difference.

In the morning Emily got up, and we couldn't believe our eyes, the eczema patch had completely gone, and had been replaced by pink, shiny new skin. What a miracle! She had no further problems for the rest of the holiday.

I think this just goes to show us, that our God is so good. He can receive our prayers even in doubt and lack of faith, and still use them to bring about healing. We don't need complicated prayers; we just need a child’s faith, a mustard seed of faith. The most important thing is to pray - to give God the opportunity to come into our lives and answer those prayers.”

Some marks of a ‘healing church’

The following list has been suggested by the Acorn Christian Foundation, a Christian healing ministry at Whitehill Chase, as ways in which we can discern a ‘healing church’. How do you think we measure up?

A place where Jesus Christ is proclaimed

We become what we talk about

A fellowship of loving and caring people

Time for others
Thoughtfulness & humility

A core of people who pray and worship

The mainspring of all ministry
The vision; discerning God’s will for his church
Obedient to God’s call

A fellowship people want to join

An attractiveness
A graciousness
The importance of welcome

A people expectant of the Holy Spirit’s surprises

Conversion
Healing
Leadership
Gifts of the Spirit

A force for the Kingdom

Bringing healing & reconciliation to the community and healing professions
Yet willing to suffer for God’s sake

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

Why a healing ministry?

Why do it?

We do it because Jesus did it and He told us to do it, also. There are many accounts of Jesus healing both individuals and crowds in the Gospels – he never turned anyone away. One third of the content of the Gospels is concerned with healing. Look at the following texts from the New Testament, for example:

Luke 9:1-2 Jesus sends out the 12 disciples with his power and authority to cure diseases, preach the Kingdom of God and heal the sick
Luke 10 72 others appointed and sent out (in pairs) to preach the Kingdom and heal in Jesus’ name. They returned ‘with joy’.
John 4:1-26 Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman at the well. Healing as reconciliation and salvation.
Acts 3:1-10 The early church continued the practice after Jesus’ ascension. Here Peter and John heal the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”.
Acts 5:12-16 The apostles ministered to the crowds who came, “bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed”.
James 5:14-15 A glimpse of early church practice.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

A prayer of approach to Jesus, for healing

Lord Jesus
In those days of wonder after Easter,
You called Mary and Peter by their names,
And they recognised you;
And we too draw near to hear our names
Spoken in love
And to know you again

You broke bread with your followers
On the road to Emmaus,
And in the blessing, they recognised you;
And we too come to share your blessing
And your broken life,
And to know you again.

You spoke peace to your disciples,
Showed them the marks on your hands,
Sent them out to bear witness to your risen life;
And we too come seeking peace,
Seeking to bear witness
And to be sent out renewed.

Come among us now,
That we may recognise you
In each other
And together know your healing and hope.

Amen

Taken from Praying for the Dawn, edited by Burgess & Galloway, Wild Goose Publications, The Iona Community, Glasgow.

ISBN 1-901557-26-X

A Help for Prayer

Sit or kneel quietly for a moment. Try to free your thoughts of all that has made you hurry or worry. You are in God’s presence; He loves you, He cares for you, He is here with you now, He will go with you when you are finished. Speak to him slowly and thoughtfully and give yourself time to remember everything you wish God to know.

Give thanks

Lord I thank you…
for being here with me
for the opportunity to pray
for all your blessings to me
for those I love ……
for those who love me……
for the kind people I know ……
for the beauty of the world……
for your love towards me……
for the Cross of Christ……
for the power of your Holy Spirit

Help me to show I am grateful in my life as well as my prayers. Amen.

Repentance

Lord I am sorry……

for being unkind to……

for acting foolishly……
for being selfish……
for bad thoughts……
for not forgiving……
for not asking forgiveness……
for forgetting you……
and taking you for granted……

Thank you for your promise to forgive me if I am truly sorry. Please help me not to repeat my sins and to live more closely to the way that Jesus taught. Amen.

Lord I am troubled

Lord I am anxious about……

myself……
a loved one……
a situation……

Lord, help me to accept that worry does not help. Help me to do all that I can to help solve these problems and then to leave the rest to you. Help me to remember that nothing can separate us from your love. Give me the peace that the world cannot give in Jesus Christ my Lord………….Amen.

Bless them dear Father no matter what their needs may be and help me to be a good neighbour to them all, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

For others

Lord I pray for

my family……

my friends……

my neighbours……

my colleagues……

for the people I like……

for the people I dislike……

for those who are ill……

for those who mourn……

for those in trouble……

for those affected by war, famine or any other disaster……Amen.

Lord, thank you for being with me and listening to my prayers. May I fully accept that you will forgive my sins, give me a light to guide me in every aspect of my life, strength to complete my tasks and peace from my worries. Help me to accept your love and all that Jesus did for me on the cross. May His love be with me and all those that I love, now and always…..Amen.

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