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It is a sacred honor when people ask us to pray for their healing and look to us for help in their time of need and suffering. During my cancer diagnosis, surgery and recovery, I received great comfort to know many were using the gift of prayer to seek help from God on my behalf. On my most difficult night in the hospital I simply prayed, "Lord, I just receive the prayers of your people." A sweet and restful peace came over me. As I began to drift off to sleep I had a vision.--not a common occurrence for me. It was a crowd of faceless people that, somehow I knew were those praying for me. Often I have thought it would be helpful if we could see our prayers. The invisible nature of prayer, this invention of God., and the mystery of the answers to our prayers, challenges our faith to wonder if they are heard by God and how will he respond to our requests. This time, I saw something! I felt a presence and had a sense that the prayers were real and active in the spiritual world. This wonderful experience was a first for me. When I returned home from the hospital I received a get-well card, personally drawn by a middle school girl in my church. Without knowing my vision, what she drew on that card was what I saw. Immediately I responded, "I've seen this before. This confirms that is was people praying that I saw that miserable night in the hospital." This experience of seeing what I believe from the Holy Scriptures motivates me, and I hope it encourages you, to continue to pray for healing for the sick, injured, brokenhearted, addicted, emotionally or mentally ill. Even when we don't see results we know we must continue to lift requests to a God who hears and cares about our needs. Start by seeking God's presence. Doctors operate, set bones, prescribe medicines. But, it was God that knit our bodies together in our mother's womb, breathed life into us and makes the body function and respond to the doctor's skilled work. Therefore, we should seek God's presence, since he is the one who will do the healing. Whether it is a simple invitation or an extended time of thought and intercession, we begin by seeking the Healer. Expand the idea of what healing is. Naturally, there is a desire for an immediate removal of the sickness with all pain and suffering. We rejoice when that happens. We recognize too, that healing can take time, and is not less miraculous when there is a great recovery after months of rest and therapy. In the booklet Prayer Notes (Abbey Press), Susan Saint Sing writes of a friend dying of bone cancer. "He is not showing any signs of the physical healing for which we are all praying but his spirit radiates peace and life. Although he is experiencing the human anguish of great loss and transformation, he still has found joy. He is not finding physical healing, yet this is the greatest healing I have ever witnessed--a heart filled with joy as it draws ever closer to death in anticipation of being united with God." Keep praying and look for the miracle that is there. Ask the person what they want us to pray for. Sometimes we are with them at their hospital bed, in pre-op before surgery or in person, at home or at church. In these cases we should ask them to express their need. When we pray for what they said, they are blessed by the prayer and feel cared for, knowing we listened and heard what they said. But often the request comes in an email or is written on a response card at church, a Caring Bridge account or a Facebook Group. We can pause as soon as we read it, save it in a prayer journal or add it to a list to remind us in our personal prayer time. The discipline to pray for healing enriches our spiritual life and our relationship with God. Follow up. "I'll keep you in my prayers," is a common thing to say when a person is expressing their desire and need for healing. Have you heard that one but wondered if they were actually going to remember and pray for you? Did you question what their prayers that they referred to are actually like and if they will remember you? Maybe they said that because it was the only thing they knew to say. But, when someone follows up, days, weeks, even months later, I know I have been on their mind and they probably did keep me in their prayers and that they in fact do have a prayer life. As people who care for people, especially in a formal role of Stephen Minister, Care Pastor, Eucharistic Minister or member of a Prayer Team, praying for healing is the most basic and foundational privilege and responsibility that we have. We must commit to growing in our praying skills and methods so that we master our prayer life. When you pray for the healing, what you do matters beyond measure and beyond this world that we see. What you do matters! Your life matters, Chaplain Dan Rev. Daniel R. Hettinger 303.905.0478