Healed Even When We Forget to Pray

by Francis MacNutt
Fall 1996

While I was reading Dr. Larry Dossey's book Healing Words a section on "Time–Displaced Prayer" reminded me of some unusual experiences that we have had over the years; namely, sometimes when I forget to pray, the sick person gets healed anyway. Has this happened to you, too?

It's really embarrassing, isn't it? For instance, someone phones and asks you for your prayer because she is going to see a doctor for a second opinion on whether she should get a mastectomy. Then she tells you the hour and the date of the doctor's appointment. You say, "Yes, I'd be glad to pray." And you mean it, but then you forget.

Then, the day after the doctor's appointment, she excitedly phones to tell you that the tumor has mysteriously disappeared. Profusely she thanks you for what you didn't do (but which God, who never forgets, did). So you feel embarrassed and a little guilty.

I could offer you even more startling examples — which might prove hard for you to believe. Dr. Dossey has an example where "It was apparent that the cancer had disappeared before the minister had actually prayer for the man. It was unlikely that anyone else prayed for him, since no one knew his diagnosis except for him and his doctor" (neither the doctor nor the patient were people who prayed for healing).

I think this is very encouraging news: God covers for us, even when we forget. Or can we explain it because the very desire of our hearts for the sick person to be healed is a form of prayer, even before we put that desire into words. When we receive the phone call, or read the letter, telling us about a friend's illness, our heart's desire for healing goes out to that suffering person.

Isn't it wonderful that God honors even the silent cry of our hearts?

Francis MacNutt is a Founding Director and Executive Committee member of CHM.