Our Purpose

The role of  the Outreach/Healing Prayer Ministry

To act as both intercessor and representative, offering loving support and comfort to those in need while keeping them connected to the Church Family.  As there are varying levels and degrees of need, our ministry serves with healing prayers, sending cards offering compassion, delivery of a blessed prayer shawl, laying on of hands, and anointing with oil.

What are healing prayers?

We have been blessed with a powerful gift from God.  That gift is Prayer.  Prayer translates to “love energies” sent out to those for whom we pray.   In the Bible, we are told that Jesus invested his disciples with authority and sent them forth to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons” (Matthew 10:8).   The Healing Prayer Ministry at St. Philip Neri Ecumenical Church prays with members of our Church family whenever there is a request.  Most often, this takes place after our service on Sunday.

What is laying on of hands?    We believe in the power of touch, as well as in the power of prayer.   For instance, God’s Presence and Grace is experienced when laying hands on a person to pray for their healing.   

What is a Prayer Shawl?   A prayer shawl is a soft and luxurious hand-woven garment held in the hands of those intercessors who anoint this textile with blessings and healing energy.

When those in need of healing prayer cannot be physically present to us, we often use the prayer shawls as an outward sign of faith in God’s healing power.  We ask for God’s guidance to help us know how to pray more specifically and effectively for the love-one’s individual healing.  We ask the Holy Spirit to carry our presence and prayers to the recipient, in hopes that the prayer shawl helps to comfort and serve as a physical reminder that the person is not alone in prayer, while we continue to pray for their healing.

Community Prayer

In the time of Jesus, healing prayer was commonly done by all, which is confirmed in the Gospel of Mark 16:18 where it says, “This is the sign of the believers, they lay hands on the sick and they recover.”

In this world, if someone is willing to stop everything and listen to us, it is a privilege.  God does this for us when we pray to Him.  Our prayers do not stop until they reach the throne of God.  Prayer is the channel of God’s power, and that power is all around and acting; but, when we pray, it channels that power to healing, or instruction, or whatever it is we are praying over. This much is clear – actions in heaven begin when someone on earth prays.  When we pray, we should pray in the Name of Jesus because the name of Jesus has all the power and authority on earth, above the earth, and below the earth.  When we call on the name of Jesus and pray in His Name, the person or persons we pray for do not have to be present.  God’s love and healing are not limited by space or time, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, God continues to use human hands to serve, heal and comfort his people.

Donations
St. Philip Neri Ecumenical Church generally funds the Outreach Ministry, but donations are greatly appreciated.