Intercessory prayer ministry
The very foundation of our being is prayer. From the beginning a network of prayer has sustained the Christian Fellowship of Healing. It is what links all the different parts of our ministry.
The different strands of our intercessory prayer ministry are as follows:
Daily intercession in chapel
Prayer requests received by phone or letter are transferred to prayer cards. Our small groups take responsibility to intercede daily using these prayer cards. Other people come in to ask us to pray with them and each group offers them individual ministry.
Most of our intercession is on behalf of those who phone or write asking for prayer. Our method of dealing with these prayer requests are as follows:
Short term prayers
If the request is a focussed or short term situation, e.g.
- 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 the situation needs prayer for a longer time, as for example after a major surgery, then a Prayer Card will be completed also.
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, e.g. 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
Prayer in chapel
Sometimes people come in and say something like "Please pray with me".
In our small groups if you would like to be prayed for 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.
Intercessors who pray in their own home
Intercessors pray for
- The daily work of the Christian Fellowship of Healing.
- Our small groups.
- Individuals by first-name only.
We have members all over the country. Some of these wish to remain active members of the Fellowship but are unable for various reasons to come in person.
Our Intercessors are members who have committed themselves to be faithful in daily prayer at home for those whose names are given them. This backing prayer is crucial to our work, forming the foundation of all that we do here.
Intercessors are sent prayer cards every three months along with our newsletter. The responsibility for how long to pray is theirs. Occasionally we receive a progress report from the person being prayed for and this will be passed on. Unless we hear further we assume that the news is good and that God has their good ultimately at heart.
As we pray ...
As we pray our faith is strengthened and we trust that because of our prayers God is at work within these His children, to heal them of all that would harm them.
We have only the barest details of clients, because when we pray we concentrate not on what is wrong, but upon the living Lord Jesus who loves them and knows all about them. We need never strive to pray for them, but simply to hold them up into the healing light of Christ. He does all the work. Your prayer time could be spent in a completely relaxed state of thanksgiving.
If our Intercessors receive any Scriptures or pictures or word of knowledge about those for whom they pray, they are asked to contact our Prayer Secretary, Kirsty Urquhart.