Christian Fellowship of Healing

Scotland

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Prayer is our job

Every Tuesday or Wednesday between 9.45am and 12.30pm and again from 2pm until 4.30pm teams of people meet in chapel for Bible reflection and prayer. There is a team leader and deputy and usually a few other "regulars". Other people join us when they are able for all or part of the time and prayer is continued by others the rest of the week.

The real basis of the work we do is the prayer which goes on in chapel throughout the day. This needs to be done day by day whether we feel like it or not ... like a job! Those of us who have shared in this have developed a new respect for monks and nuns who give their lives to it. This is no escape into a dream world, but a real coming to grips with the depths of human suffering. It is very much "work".

Ministry is given to individuals by the Chaplain and other members of the "ministry team".

Please pray with me

If you would like to be prayed for in the group, mention this to the team leader, or respond when an invitation is given for people to come forward. The team leader will often ask one or two members of the group to pray for you too. You may give them a brief indication of why you are asking for prayer, but this is not essential if you would rather not speak. If you want to have the opportunity to be listened to for a longer time, this may be possible immediately, or you may arrange to return at another time for an individual appointment, with the Chaplain in the first instance. The people praying with you in the group may use Bible texts, pictures, symbols, prayers or poems or may be quite silent. They may ask your permission to put a hand on your shoulder or take your hand.

If you have experience of offering healing prayer elsewhere please look to the team leader for guidance before getting involved in prayer for other individuals. If you get pictures or texts we ask you to share these quietly with the leader or deputy before speaking them out in the group.

Please be assured that many people just like to be part of the Bible reflection without requesting or being involved in individual prayer.

All the people in chapel use Prayer Cards and Short Term Prayer Slips to intercede for others. You will be invited if you wish to join in these usually silent prayers.

Requests for prayers with others

Requests for prayers for other people are dealt with in two ways:

1. Short term prayers

   If the request is a focussed or short term situation, eg an operation, an appointment, an exam, a funeral, etc, the first name of the person, along with a brief description of the trouble, is put on a Short Term Prayer Slip by the receptionist and brought into chapel. These names are prayed for morning and afternoon for one week. If more prayer is needed, as for example after a major surgery, then a Prayer Card will be completed also.

2. Prayer Cards

   If prayer is required over a longer period of time, the receptionist makes out a card on which the person's first name appears with the graces which they, or the requester, have asked for, eg Love, Wisdom, Peace, etc. These graces are to assist the focus of prayer towards the healing qualities God brings. This card has a number which refers to the entry in the register, kept confidentially in the reception office, and a coloured sticker to indicate the week in which the prayer was requested. These people are held in prayer daily for eight weeks. If the requester wishes prayer in chapel to continue then the receptionist will make out a card for another eight weeks.

Continuing Prayer List

When people are no longer being prayed for individually in chapel their names are entered in the Continuing Prayer List which is kept in chapel at all times so that prayer continues each day. Some names may be sent to our intercessors at home for a further period.

Intercessors

We have a number of Intercessors who pray at home. These may be people who want to remain active members of the Fellowship but are unable for various reasons to come in person.

If you are interested to hear more about this side of the work please leave your name and address so that the receptionist can put the Prayer Secretary in touch with you.

Supporting Prayer

The team in chapel prays for those people who are giving or receiving ministry in other rooms in the house.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving always forms part of the prayers after the tea break and we sometimes include reports that we have received from people who have been prayed for in the past. We always respect confidentiality and we do not use identifiable names.

We hope this information is helpful for your visits here. Please do ask team leaders and receptionists for more information. If you have or are developing a healing ministry in your own church or group please feel free to use and adapt our model if it is useful.

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