An Invitation to Pray for Healing in the Marketplace

by Taylor Smith
Spring 2014

Encounters with healing prayer have been unexpectedly popping up in my work arena recently, which are exciting and yet somewhat unsettling developments in my life. Unsettling, because I have always seen work and healing prayer as two circles that have been separated in my life. Recently, conversations about healing and healing prayer opportunities have occurred during marketing meetings, on airplanes, during fundraisers and during cocktail parties. One discussion even came up during a tough business deal negotiation. All of these situations are in very different venues from what I have long considered to be "normal" and "appropriate" for healing experiences. I think the Holy Spirit is redefining my "normal" to fit His business plan to spread healing prayer.

My journey into the "healing arena" began about 18 years ago when our son, Taylor Mac, was healed from a hole in his throat (see Endnote to this article for a summary of his healing). This was the singular event that completely rocked my world. My faith experience did not include the supernatural before then. After that first encounter, however, I assumed that praying for healing would occur almost exclusively within "Christian" settings, which seemed appropriate and orderly to my Presbyterian mindset. Over the years I have seen the Holy Spirit heal many times in churches, large and small conference gatherings, hospitals and even small home groups, all of which supported my initial assumptions. "Boundaries" and "structure" have provided some degree of safety for me with respect to my involvement in the healing ministry. Honestly, my comfort zone included keeping healing prayer outside of work settings.

Now, after almost two decades of experiences and after finally becoming somewhat comfortable seeing God heal people through "hands–on prayer" within these "safe" settings, I have begun to encounter Him outside the former boundaries and within my secular "marketplace." It is in this arena that I spend most of my time, so perhaps it is logical for the Holy Spirit to make this expansion, yet I am still finding it uncomfortable and risky. The enemy regularly places thoughts in my head, such as, "Hey, you might not want to talk with your non–Christian business partners about your experiences with healing, because they might think less of you and not want to include you in the next project." I find myself timid at times to talk freely about the subject.

Despite my discomfort and concerns, more and more work conversations have segued to the topic of healing without effort or guidance on my part. They arise out of nowhere, almost spontaneously, in all types of settings and they quickly penetrate much more deeply than normal topics of conversation. They have an unusual intimacy about them. And I also find that they have a more lasting impact on me. For example, at this moment, I can't remember the terms of a major lease negotiation from our biggest project from three months ago, yet I can recall with detail the one–off healing prayer encounter that I had with a rental car employee at the Ft. Lauderdale airport a few months ago.

The Holy Spirit appears to catalyze these healing prayer conversations and seems to be present as a third person during these encounters. Is God somehow presenting these new and special opportunities for me with business colleagues? Are these "divine appointments," or are the boundaries between my "faith world" and my "work world" now melding in such a way that healing prayer is no longer compartmentalized? It's a mystery to me.

I still find it difficult to take the next step and offer prayer in a work setting, even if we have discussed healing prayer. It is more common for me to talk about praying than it is for me to offer to pray (in that moment) for healing. In the same manner as with initiating a conversation about healing, my hesitancy comes from a desire to "not offend," and I struggle with a nagging fear of rejection by others. These issues usually stop me from offering. Interestingly, I don't recall a time when someone has rejected an offer of prayer.

Despite overwhelming personal experience to the contrary (e.g. in about 80% of my experiences with praying for healing, the recipient has received some degree of healing), more often than not, I fear that nothing will happen when I pray for healing. I even start to sweat just prior to the actual prayer. On a positive note, I slowly gain confidence as time goes by from watching others lead by example — in the case of my wife Kathi. Rarely does she NOT offer to pray for someone once she has entered into a conversation about healing prayer. We were in Miami in December for a work event with celebrities and musicians, and by the end of the evening, Kathi had offered to pray for healing with a few folks whom she had just met that night. I find it infinitely easier to offer to pray for healing when there is another praying person with me. I also find that when my family starts my day off by interceding for me (which is their norm), I seem to be more willing to risk offering to pray for healing.

IS PRAYING FOR HEALING IN THE MARKETPLACE NEW?

Exploring Israel over the Christmas holidays this year with my family was a fantastic adventure and provided me with new insight into the Scriptures. I was particularly struck by the "compactness" and proximity of the locations in which Jesus and His disciples did their ministry and lived their lives. The synagogues from that time were tiny, as were the houses and the public meeting places. Every aspect of life must have blended together and overlapped. From the home of Peter's mother in Capernaum, to the mount on which Jesus shared the Beatitudes, to the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, every setting was tight and small. It is easy to imagine how the crowds could follow Jesus from place to place and how difficult it would be for Jesus to find "away time." The marketplaces of the time and religious life must have been intertwined. Even though Peter might have worked occasionally in the evenings, his tent–making activities must have been right alongside his preaching, teaching and praying for healing. Jesus' healings would have occurred in and amongst everyday life and people. There were no quiet retreat centers, mega–church worship concerts, or scheduled healing services. Moreover, the folks involved with Jesus in ministry were for the most part common and unremarkable in their own circles, just like me, a common and ordinary businessman. In the Bible, the words of encouragement and instruction on how to pray for healing were given in that context. This gives me comfort in my new experience of healing prayer popping up in my work life. Just as He did during the early days of the church after Pentecost, I think the Holy Spirit continues today to use everyday people in everyday settings to bring healing and restoration.

ENDNOTE: AN UNEXPECTED "KNOWING" FROM OUR FOUR YEAR OLD SON (1996)

At four years of age, Taylor Mac was struggling. Kathi and I had just received the results from a barium swallow test at Nemours Children's Clinic in Jacksonville, which showed a malformed esophagus valve. He needed corrective surgery, but the doctors were not willing to operate until his esophagus was fully mature, which wouldn't happen until he was at least twelve. We were devastated; eight more years of living with the condition seemed impossible. Taylor Mac had already endured four years of violent vomiting on a daily basis. Due to the deformed valve, he had developed a chronic case of Gastrointestinal Esophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD, also known as reflux), which was very painful. His nightly regime for years consisted of a large nightly dose of liquid Zantac and being propped up in bed to limit his occurrences of being physically sick. We saw no relief for our son in the near future. Prior to this diagnosis, a friend had suggested that we go to a place in Jacksonville where Taylor Mac could have people pray for him. It was Christian Healing Ministries. After several weeks, we went to a walk–in Tuesday night Open Prayer at CHM. After filling out a brief card outlining our prayer requests, we were led into a little room with two volunteer lay prayer ministers. The twenty–minute appointment consisted of the two people listening intently to our summary of Taylor Mac's condition followed by a ten to fifteen minute prayer session, during which time they exuded love and kindness through their gentle demeanor. Eyes open, soft words and gentle prayers in tongues are my memories of the time. Kathi and I sat on a couch both bemused and comforted at the same time. Taylor Mac happily played with a toy, while running in and around the chairs (receiving fly–by prayers from the prayer ministers). We went home not thinking much and feeling a strange sense of "peace" from the experience. Kathi and I had actually been hesitant to go, and yet afterward, we were both struck by the mysterious transfer of love and peace that happened during the short session.

The next day began as usual, with bustling pre–school preparation for Taylor Mac, my departure on a business trip and the normal routine for Virginia, our healthy and energetic two–year–old daughter. It started off as a normal Wednesday. At the end of the pre–school day, Kathi was so happy to hear that Taylor Mac had not thrown up that day at school. We only received that kind of report a couple of times a year. At bedtime, as she spooned out his Zantac medicine, Taylor Mac shook his head and said "Mommy, I don't need my medicine." Kathi noticed something very different about this adamant declaration to the medicine; it was different from his unsuccessful attempts at avoiding unpleasant vegetables and foods (e.g. "I don't need broccoli today"). His firm resolve seemed beyond his years and had no hint of deceit. Kathi's eyes must have registered surprise. Apparently Taylor Mac saw her face and registered a response — fear — he thought she was mad at him for lying. "I'm not lying Mommy," he said, as tears formed in his eyes and his four–year–old frame took a step back — though he was in trouble. "How do you know?" Kathi asked somewhat sternly. Her external and internal reactions were very much a knee–jerk response, triggered by the memories of long nights awake watching him throw up, sometimes for hours. You have to know my son to understand his response. He was always black and white, always a "truth–teller," often to his detriment whenever he did something wrong. "Because God healed me. I'm not lying." My four–year–old had responded as though his healing was indeed a fact — question in his mind. We had not ever explained to him why we had gone to "that place" the evening before. We hadn't even debriefed in front of him. We didn't want to make him self–conscious about going for healing prayer. We all believed in God at this point in our lives, especially Taylor Mac, but the certainty of his healing expressed in that moment was startling. How could he "know?" How could Kathi know? In her hesitation, she was faced with three choices, each of which seemed like a dilemma in the moment. Each had consequences, depending on her response. First, she could override his "knowing" and give him Zantac; second, she could believe that this was a real "knowing" and not give him the medicine and face a night of violent illness; or, as a third option, she could hedge her response and "somewhat believe" the "knowing" but still give him Zantac as "insurance" to ensure that she would avoid a solo parent night with a vomiting kid. She told me that she felt like Peter in the New Testament as he asked Jesus to call him to walk on the water. When Jesus said yes, the fear (gulp!) was there, the hesitation, the invitation to come to Jesus was there for Peter. He asked for it and got it. We had asked for healing the night before, and now could it really have happened? It was our solicitation. Kathi realized that it was the same for her in that moment; time to step out of the boat. And so in a split second decision, she decided not to give our son his Zantac, but, instead, to "have the faith to walk on water," so to speak. She was going to believe that maybe, perhaps, Jesus had invited our family into the "walking on water" realm where gravity was defied and a plunge of faith had to be taken in order to experience the mystery of healing. As it turned out, our son was totally healed. He had not lied. And he had received a "download" from God of his healing, as I call it today, a "knowing" that he had been healed. His healing was the beginning for our family into an amazing adventure and journey into the realm of prayer for healing and association with Christian Healing Ministries. Taylor Mac never threw up again and did not have to have any surgery for this former condition. His Jewish physician at Nemours called it a miracle. Taylor Mac is now a happy and healthy senior at Florida State University.

Taylor Smith is a member of CHM's Board of Trustees and speaker at many of CHM's schools and conferences.