Healing on the streets

A member of the King's Fellowship writes about a initiative to bring God's compassion to the streets of Inverness by praying for those who are in need. On Saturday mornings the team takes up station at the heart of the pedestrian thoroughfare.

It all started with a visit to Coleraine in Northern Ireland. From various sources, we had heard that God was doing wonderful things on the streets there. So four of us from King's Fellowship set off one weekend last September to see what was happening.

What we saw and heard made a huge impact on us. A team from Causeway Coast Vineyard church were ministering every Saturday morning to the general public. Their message was simple: God loves you and wants to demonstrate that love by healing you of anything that is wrong.

On the street, they put out six chairs, a banner simply saying "Healing" and a small loudspeaker playing instrumental worship music. They were giving out invitations to come and sit in a chair and allow God to touch them through healing prayer. From time to time one of the team would speak over the mircrophone, encouraging people to come and giving testimony to the many healings they had already seen.

After gentle and loving prayer, they would give the person an envelope containing a letter with practical advice, an invitation to stay in touch and a "Why Jesus?" booklet.

We saw and heard about many healings of different kinds from back problems to liver cancer, to paralysis, to smoking addictions broken, to a job offer when a person was desperate. And so on.

However, what made the most impact was the presence of God. We were so blessed and touched ourselves and a member of our group was healed of a gluten intolerance when prayed for by their team in one of those chairs on the streets.
 
 

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Some months later on Saturday 24th March 2007, with an assurance that God was wanting to come to the streets of Inverness in the same way, and with help and training from Mark Marx, the leader of the Coleraine team, we launched the same ministry at Eastgate by Marks & Spencer.

On the team are people from seven different churches; word somehow got around! On our first session that day, Sue Giles from King's Fellowship gave testimony that she had been healed from osteo-arthritis and osteoporosis. She was able to walk up and down the street and up and down shop stairs in a way she had not been able to since 1990.

Many of the general public were touched in the presence of God. One lady came to church the next day and a man phoned that week to say that he had felt heat in his legs when they were prayed for and that now they were much better.

God has been with us thus far. However, we are in for the long haul, come rain and shine, every Saturday between 10.30am and 1pm. Please pray that Inverness and the region will begin to experience the love of God through this ministry and that many will find Him personally as a consequence.