Sometimes God answers a prayer with a welcome at the church door.
Yesterday, I discovered that a local Anglican church was holding a special healing service for St Luke’s Day. I had been searching online for a local healing ministry, not really expecting to find anything. And suddenly, there it was. Right on my doorstep.
I laughed. God has a wicked sense of humour.
You see, I had attended this particular church about ten years ago. Things hadn’t ended particularly well. I’d mentioned Meditations on the Tarot to the vicar, and the reception I’d received afterwards had left me feeling rather unwelcome.
I had no idea whether the same vicar would still be there. As it turned out, he was.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
A Long History With Healing Prayer
Healing prayer has been on my mind lately because I’ve been exploring the gifts of the Holy Spirit and trying to understand my calling.
This isn’t entirely new territory for me.
When I was 27, I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. I subsequently experienced what I believe was a complete healing, without medication. Afterwards, I began experiencing heat in my palms and a strong sense that I was meant to pray for others through the laying on of hands.
About three years later, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray for a friend who was struggling with infertility. I laid my hands on her and prayed. She subsequently experienced what we both understood as a miraculous healing.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much guidance from my pastor at the time about how to develop or discern this gift.
Life moved on. So did I.
But lately, as I’ve been seeking a closer friendship with Jesus, the question of spiritual gifts has returned with considerable force.
What have I been given that I can use to serve others?
It’s a much more useful question than endlessly worrying about where I fit within the various Christian denominations.
Searching for a Church Home
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring a return to the Catholic Church. I’ve attended Mass, spoken with a priest and rediscovered how much I love the liturgy.
The Rosary, particularly the Seven Sorrows, has also played an important part in bringing me back to a more Christ-centred spiritual life.
However, my marital history presents certain complications regarding full participation in the Catholic sacraments. The priest I’d spoken with had promised to investigate the annulment process, but I haven’t heard back from him.
I’m not going to speculate about why.
Meanwhile, I’ve been increasingly aware that I need more than somewhere to worship on Sunday. I need Christian fellowship. I need to be part of a living congregation where people know one another, pray together and actively serve their community.
And I need somewhere I can bring my gifts, whatever they turn out to be.
Yesterday, when I found the healing service at the Anglican church, I felt genuinely excited about attending.
That alone was rather wonderful.
St Luke’s Day and the Healing Eucharist
Today, 18 October 2026, I attended the Sunday morning service celebrating St Luke, the physician and evangelist.
The service was beautiful.
The Scripture readings included Isaiah 35:3–6, with its encouragement to strengthen weak hands and feeble knees. Given that I’m awaiting a hip replacement on 30 October, I appreciated the relevance!
But although physical healing would certainly be welcome, my greatest desire has been for healing of the heart.
I want to become an instrument of God’s peace. I want to be free to follow wherever the Holy Spirit leads.
During the service, there was an opportunity to receive prayer and anointing. The ministry was simple and unobtrusive. Nobody asked me to explain what needed healing.
Perfect.
The presence of the Holy Spirit felt palpable around the healing area. I received the anointing gratefully and returned to my seat.
There was no drama. No need for any.
Just prayer, grace and the quiet assurance of God’s love.
A Couple of New Friends
Another lovely part of the morning was meeting a married couple, a few years older than myself.
The wife, who sat in the pew in front of me, is involved in the church’s healing ministry. She and her husband were wonderfully welcoming.
We chatted about our respective church backgrounds. They come from a less formal Christian tradition, and he alternates between attending this Anglican church and a Pentecostal church.
I loved hearing that.
Here were Christians who clearly weren’t particularly bothered about denominational boundaries. They simply wanted to worship God and be part of a community.
By the time I was getting ready to leave, I felt as though I’d made a couple of new friends.
And then something happened.
A Very Specific Prayer
As I prepared to leave, I spoke quietly to God.
I told Him that I thought I’d like to come back to St Mary’s and become part of the congregation. But I wanted a sign.
A very specific one.
If this was where I was meant to be, I wanted the vicar to greet me on my way out and make an effort to get to know me.
Remember, this was the same vicar who had seemed to freeze me out ten years earlier.
Well, guess what?
He did exactly that.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
I explained that I’d attended about ten years ago. He seemed to remember me vaguely.
I decided not to remind him that I was that Tarot lady.
Instead, I told him how much I’d enjoyed the service and how meaningful the healing ministry had been.
I also mentioned that, once I’d recovered from my hip replacement, I’d love to start attending regularly and perhaps become involved in the healing ministry myself.
He was encouraging and recommended that I visit The Guild of Health and St Raphael to learn more about the kind of healing ministry they practise.
And just like that, a door that had seemed closed for ten years felt open again.
Perhaps he didn’t remember what happened before. Perhaps he’d had a change of heart. Or maybe I’d changed enough that the old difficulties simply didn’t matter any more.
I honestly don’t care which.
What matters is that I felt welcomed.
Finding My Place in the Body of Christ
For some time, I’ve been wrestling with questions of Christian identity, doctrine, spiritual gifts and belonging.
I’ve also been learning that friendship with God is not something I have to earn by getting every theological question right.
And perhaps finding my place in the Body of Christ doesn’t require resolving every doctrinal disagreement before I can begin serving.
Perhaps I can simply show up, pray, love my neighbour and allow God to reveal the next step.
I don’t know exactly what my involvement in the healing ministry will look like. First, I have a new hip to acquire and a period of recovery to navigate!
But for the first time in a long while, I’m looking forward to becoming a regular member of a congregation.
I’m looking forward to getting to know people, praying with them and finding ways to contribute.
Yesterday, I was searching for a healing ministry.
Today, I received prayer, anointing, a warm welcome and what felt like a very personal answer to a very specific prayer.
To be continued.
Note: Certain identifying details have been omitted or changed to respect the privacy of those mentioned.
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