This page

 1.  Introduction
 2.  Biblical context / Instructions
 3.  Healing Service
 4.  Further Ministry after the service, in the Chapel  

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 5.  For what can we pray for Healing?
 6.  How do we pray for Healing?
 7.  Does prayer make a difference?

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 8.  Are prayers for healing always answered?
 9.  Two final points…
10.  Why not join us? 

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11.  Submit prayer requests  

1. Introduction 

For many years, St. Cuthbert's church has been a centre of Christian healing through the Ministry of prayer. The purpose of a healing Ministry is, as Francis MacNutt puts it in his book entitled "Healing":  

"We are not ministering salves to sores; we are ministering love to suffering people. It is Jesus Christ living within us, who has perfected our humanity, who is ministering to suffering people…. This means that all methods are ours. We build hospitals, we train doctors and we train nurses - all in God's image. Yet, we believe in the supernatural. So we pray, and the natural and the supernatural come together. It is not either / or; it is both / and." 

Therefore, this is the focus of our Sunday evening Healing Service - the Ministry of love, through prayer and action, to suffering people, who come asking for God's help. 

Many people come regularly or irregularly asking for prayer, others may be visiting Edinburgh for a short period of time and "happening" to see that we have a Healing Service, come in to join us. (In God's plan however, we believe that there is no such thing as a coincidence, and that anyone attending the service, has been brought there by God, for a reason!)  

Does the mention of a Healing Service bring to your mind the "American model" (which is the only one to which most of us have had any exposure,) with a larger-than-life TV evangelist? A huge service of thousands of people, with a lot of noise, bustle and razzmatazz, perhaps? If so, then let us assure you right away, that nothing could be further away from that than the Healing Service we hold at St. Cuthbert's. Our service is a quiet reflective service. It is a place of loving and prayerful concern for others, where the dignity and privacy of everyone is respected and maintained. It is a place for the healing of the body, mind, soul and spirit. It is a quiet oasis at the beginning of the week. It is a place to have your inner resources renewed and strengthened for the week ahead.  

2. Biblical context / Instructions 

We believe that we have a strong Biblical basis for this Ministry of healing. Primarily, we have of course, the example of Jesus himself who believed that this was an important part of His Ministry as we can see from the many gospel accounts of His healing Ministry. No-one who asked him for healing was ever refused. In many cases, Jesus Himself approached people to heal them, they did not always have to approach Him. In His commission to the 12 and later the 70, disciples, he instructed them to preach the gospel and to heal the sick.  

"Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."
    Luke 9: 1- 2 (NKJV)

"After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them out two by two, …heal the sick there, and say to them The kingdom of God has come near."
    Luke 10: 1, 9 (NKJV)

After His ascension, not only the 12 or the 70 disciples are recorded as healing people, but we can also see it was an accepted and even expected Ministry of the early church. Jesus' commission is still relevant to us today - which means that we are still under instruction to preach the gospel and to heal the sick. With such clear instructions from Our Lord himself, the question is not "why should any Christian community have a Healing Ministry?" Rather, the question should be "why would any Christian community not have a Healing Ministry?" 

The only pattern we have of a Healing Service, comes from the Epistle of St James, who wrote: 

"Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."
    James 5: 13 - 15 (NKJV)

This is the biblical basis for praying for and anointing with oil which forms part of our Healing Service. 

3. Healing Service

During the service, we pray for people known to us. We also pray for some that may be unknown to us, who have left a request for prayer in our book of intercessions. It does not matter whether any or all of us know the person personally - all are known to God and held in the palm of his hand. We simply lift these people to God in prayer, asking him to bless them, to intervene in their suffering or illness, and we leave the rest to God. Also during the service, is a time where anyone can come forward for prayer or blessing, whether for themselves, or for someone known to them. The minister prays with and for them, and blesses them, while anointing them with olive oil. This pattern follows the outline laid out in the Epistle of St James. (See section 2 - Biblical context / Instructions)  

When we mention people in our intercessions, we do not name their problems. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it maintains confidentiality, and respects the privacy of the person involved. Many people would not want their problems to be "aired in public" - even during a Healing Service. Secondly, it ensures that we are focussing on the person and raising them, rather than their problem, to God.  

In her book "The Healing Light", Agnes Sanford found she had difficulty praying for healing for people when she was not in their presence. She records a conversation she had with a lady Minister on this subject: 

"I can help them when I'm with them, but my prayers from a distance don't seem to result in healing at all."
"Oh my dear, you're seeing them sick", cried the beautiful old minister.
"What do you mean?", I asked puzzled. "I'm not seeing them at all, I'm just thinking of them. And, of course, they're sick, or I wouldn't be praying for them."
"Yes you are seeing them," she replied patiently. "When you think of someone you always see the person in your mind. If you really believe he's going to be well, you see him well.". "…When you pray for someone, you must learn to see him well.  

4. Further Ministry after the service, in the Chapel 

After the Healing Service, there is time for a cup of coffee and fellowship with other members of the congregation. After which, anyone wishing for prayer, and anyone wishing to assist in this Ministry of prayer, will retire to one of the chapels in the church. Here, additional prayer for individuals is made for anyone requesting it. Two or three people will gather around the person requesting prayer lifting that person and any specific prayer, or general, requests to God, also asking Him to bless them and intervene on their behalf.  

Anyone wanting a quiet, or confidential, chat with a member of the healing Ministry team can be accommodated in another area of the church. They will be accompanied by a couple of people from the Healing Ministry team. They will listen to the person, talk with them and raise their specific, or general, prayer requests to God, asking Him to bless them and to intervene on their behalf. 

This is a special time, as those asking for prayer, can also be involved in praying for others. In this way a true Christian Community develops as each person helps to lift the burdens of others, while also receiving assistance with their own burdens. Everyone is welcomed by and into this community, whether they visit once, occasionally, or more regularly.