by Mark Cutshall

Jesus healed. I believed that for years. Believed the Gospel accounts of the blind man, the paralytic, all of the biblical accounts. Yet ever since I began to take Jesus seriously and follow him back in high school, I tended to view His healing miracles like newspaper clippings--factual evidence of His power, true stories that yellowed over time, great feats to admire and archive.

Then, I heard about a healing prayer group starting at Bethany. Eighteen years ago I experienced something very real and admittedly very surprising. In the safe company of a married couple who listened to my story, and through the laying on of their hands, through the Holy Spirit, the Lord touched a deep emotional wound I’d lived with for years.

Soon after, I joined Bethany’s healing prayer group. In the weeks and months that followed, I learned a few things that I suspect are true today in Bethany’s healing prayer ministry:

• You don’t need to be super spiritual.

I learned I didn’t need to have mastered prayer. Far from it. I just needed to be willing to pray for others, and with others, to spend some time in Scripture and be open to the Spirit’s leading.

• It’s not about how much you know (or don’t know) it’s about being available.

The sense of hospitality, encouragement from those in the group was tremendous. While I looked up to others, they never once looked down on me.

• Healing prayer is a lot about listening to God.

This was a new and quiet mystery. Through silence I drew close to God and what He wanted to do in me and through me.

• You’re not alone.
  “Wherever two or more are gathered, I am with them.”
  These words became real as we prayed in teams of two for a person, a practical reminder that ultimately, healing prayer wasn’t up to me; it was and is all about the Spirit at work in His people.

• It’s okay to wait.

Sometimes, we’d pray for someone and I sensed we were right on the verge of a breakthrough, and then nothing would happen. Note to self: Prayer is filled with waiting.

• I’m not up to this.

There were times I didn’t feeling like going to the team meetings. Too tired. Too rainy out. But I went anyway. I thought, “What if there’s someone coming tonight who needs prayer?”

• Keep praying.

I’ll never forget the time a prayer partner and I prayed for a woman who had a serious back ailment. We asked the Lord to heal her condition. Over the course of several weeks, her pain went away. It taught me one thing that’s as true as new sight to a blind man: Jesus still heals.