The Rite Of Healing

The church has always practiced anointing with oil for healing. Renewing worship connects the rite of healing with Table worship. Here at the Table, the bread and wine, as well as the oil with the laying on of hands, communicates an encounter with the healing power of the risen Lord. Renewing churches are increasingly using the time immediately after a person has received Communion for the laying on of hands with a prayer for healing.

A Form for Prayer of Healing. A person with the gift for the ministry of healing may stand at an appropriate place near the Table. After receiving the bread and wine, the one desiring prayer may present him- or herself to the minister. There is no need for the exchange of words. The minister may lay hands on the one being prayed for and say:

I anoint you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (making the sign of the cross with oil on the forehead).

Then, clasping hands around the head, the minister may say:

May the Holy Spirit bring healing into your whole person, mind, body, soul, and Spirit, and may you be filled with the presence of Christ.

(The peace may be exchanged.) Most charismatic and renewal churches are more comfortable practicing a thorough ministry of healing, which includes interview, anointing, prayer for guidance, and healing prayers. Teams that have been raised up in such churches can be stationed near the Communion rail to offer such a healing ministry. As they leave the Table, persons can receive in-depth help while others communicate. This ministry can continue even after Communion and into the time of dismissal and sending, if necessary. Some churches employ prayer teams or eucharistic healing teams during Communion. After receiving the elements, the people are invited to move to a specific place in the front of the sanctuary for the ministry of healing. This allows more time for prayer and anointing, while allowing others to receive Communion.