|
|
Knowing Jesus Christ
and Making Him Known
-
An opportunity for each person to be anointed with oil. The writer of James advises the use of oil in healing (James 5:14-16). And the writer of Mark indicates the disciples anointed the sick with oil (Mark 6:13).
-
Laying on of hands. This is done in special services, such as when we ordain and install deacons and elders. It is a special way of praying for another person; Jesus and the disciples used this method almost instinctively.
-
The opportunity is given for personal prayer. The scripture enjoins us to “pray for one another.” Laymen as well as pastors do just that in healing services.
-
The opportunity for personal assurance of forgiveness. A pastor pronouncing a blanket absolution to a congregation is sufficient for most people, but there are always some people who need more personal assurance of forgiveness.
-
The opportunity to nurture a person’s hope. People who attend healing services are either looking for hope or hoping to impart it, for hope is central to healing.
Is there any one of you who is sick? He should call the church elders, who will pray for him and pour oil on him in the name of the Lord. This prayer, made in faith, will save the sick man: the Lord will restore him to health, and the sins he has committed will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. - James 5:14-16
A healing service is a service held for the sole purpose of ministering to, and praying with and for, individual persons who desire healing in body, mind, and spirit for themselves or others.
People sometimes wonder about the need for such separate services. Often people feel that every personal need is met in the normal Sunday morning worship service. There scripture is read, the Word is preached, confession is made, absolution is pronounced, prayer is offered, and the sacraments are administered.
Yet for some individuals, the sick especially, a more personal approach is sometimes needed. There are certain times in their lives when they feel the need for a special service where people can come together with singleness of purpose and express their concern for healing.
On a Sunday morning the people attending church bring a variety of expectations. They come to hear the sermon, to enjoy the choir, to partake of the sacrament, to praise God – or just because it’s Sunday and that’s the thing they always do on Sunday. It would be naïve to say that a congregation assembled for worship on any given Sunday morning is single-mindedly pursuing a common goal. The singular focus of the healing service allows the worshippers a greater community of mind and purpose.
What is accomplished more readily at a healing service than at a regular worship service? Unique opportunities are offered in a healing service…
The opportunity for personal confession. When a person comes to the altar and feels the need to confess their sin before receiving prayer they can do this in a few short sentences.
Often people will ask, “Isn’t there the danger of giving false hope?” meaning, “What if the person prayed for dies or is not healed according to his personal desire?”
Ultimate healing takes place only at the resurrection, when the new person arises to live with Christ face to face. Most Christians understand and accept this. We are not shattered if the person prayed for dies. Christians do not weep as others who have no hope. Precisely because we are Christians, though, what we want is for each of us to die healthy – a person made whole in body, mind, and spirit by the healing Christ.
These are some of the distinctive opportunities afforded by the healing service. A service of this kind emphasizes the peculiarly personal – and eternal – concern of the healing Christ for the members of his body, the church.
* These pages are totally adapted from “Healing, a Spiritual Adventure” by Mary E. Peterman (a book from the LCPC library!)