Healing prayer ministry
Jesus, our healer
Jesus was known for many things in the first century. He was considered a social prophet and a rabbi. He was known as a teacher of wisdom and the leader of a new movement. And he was known far and wide as a healer. As one New Testament scholar has pointed out, “More healing stories are told about Jesus than about any other figure in the Jewish tradition” (Borg, The Heart of Christianity). Jesus also sent his disciples out to heal others, and he promised that they would do greater things than he had done. The ministries of healing prayer and anointing have been part of the Christian experience from the very beginning.
Healing prayer at St. Stephen's Church
As a part of our Sunday evening service, we offer the ministries of healing prayer or anointing in the side chapels, during the administration of Communion. After you have received Communion, we invite you to approach either a healing prayer minister or an anointer, if you wish. If you would like to rest for a moment in silent prayer with a minister who will lay hands on your shoulders, we invite you to approach one of the vested healing prayer ministers who will be standing next to a chair at the head of either side chapel. Alternatively, you may choose to present yourself for a briefer anointing offered by a vested anointer who will be standing at the outside wall of each chapel.
If you wish to sit for a moment with a healing prayer minister, it is often helpful if you tell the person your name and the concern for which you are asking prayer. The healing prayer minister will lay hands on you and join with you in silently opening ourselves to God and offering our prayer concern to the healing One who is with us always. This is not a ministry of magical incantations. Instead, it is simply about fellow pilgrims opening ourselves more completely to the healing love of God. Much as a group of friends once brought a paralytic to Jesus so that Jesus might heal him, so we sometimes benefit from the loving care of others who bring us more fully into the presence of God.
If you would like to receive anointing with healing oil, simply approach the anointer with open hands. In keeping with ancient tradition, he or she will anoint your forehead and hands, as an act of healing and consecrating your life anew to God. This sacramental act is briefer than the time of healing prayer, but there are over 400 instances of such anointing with fragrant oil in the Bible. When we present ourselves in this way, we are joining in a longstanding, sacred act of union with the Divine.
Healing prayer and anointing will continue after the service ends, so we welcome any who wish to remain in prayer to do so. When you leave, therefore, we invite you to leave silently, in order to maintain an atmosphere that is conducive to prayer. Whether or not you choose to present yourself for healing prayer or anointing on any given night, you can contribute to the climate of healing by offering your personal prayers. Pray for yourself, of course, and please pray that all who worship here may know the healing love of God in their lives.
Explore a call to serve
Those who pray with people in this way have received training and ongoing support for this ministry. If you would like to speak with someone about the possibility of becoming a healing prayer minister, please be in touch with one of the contacts below.
Contacts
Gayle Royals // 804.708.0444 // email