Excerpt

During the laying on of hands for spiritual healing, our subtle energy system serves as a channel for the passage of divine healing energy to the person for whom we are praying, to bring about physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing. The flow of this energy is sometimes experienced as warmth or tingling in the hands of the person who is praying, and as warmth in the person on whom hands are placed.

The Church has revived the laying on of hands for spiritual healing over the past several decades. In current Roman Catholic liturgies for anointing of the sick, the priest lays his hands upon the head of each ill person in silence just after he anoints the person. In the current Protestant healing liturgies, either the minister or the minister and a small team of representatives of the church lay hands upon the ill person while praying for healing, which may be preceded by anointing of the person by the minister. Notably, the time given to the laying on of hands in these liturgies is usually a few seconds in duration for each ill person. I believe that this time is insufficient to generate optimal connectedness with God and each other for spiritual healing. Therefore, I suggest that every laying on of hands, accompanied by prayer, last a minimum of three minutes.

An ill person who desires spiritual healing, but is unable to attend a healing service, can be represented at the service by a surrogate, or stand-in, for the laying on of hands. The person being prayed for must give the surrogate permission to divulge the nature of his or her illness; otherwise, only non-specific prayer for healing should be used. When I know in advance of a service that an ill person will have a surrogate, I encourage the ill person to be in a prayerful attitude while the service is being held, so that his or her spirit can be fully open to receiving divine healing energy.

Everyone who attends a healing service should be invited to participate in the laying on of hands to maximize the flow of divine healing energy to the person being prayed for. Those who do not wish to participate in the laying on of hands should be asked to join in prayer or sit in meditation for healing.

Participants in the laying on of hands should comfortably surround and gently touch the ill person or a person in the line of contact with the ill person. When many attend a healing service, more than one location for performing the laying on of hands may be advisable to allow ample time to lay hands on and pray for each person who desires spiritual healing.

As a way through which we connect with God and each other for spiritual healing, the laying on of hands in a healing service enables us to serve as channels for the passage of divine healing energy to the ill person on whom our hands are placed. An ill person who is unable to attend a healing service can be represented by a surrogate, must give permission to the surrogate to divulge the nature of her or his illness, and should be encouraged to be in a prayerful attitude during the service. Everyone at a healing service should be invited to participate in the laying on of hands, while allowing ample time to lay hands on and pray for each person who desires spiritual healing.

Part IV
A Healing Service
Overview
In Part III, I described how the design and conduct of a healing service are shaped by spiritual faith, compassion, prayer and the laying on of hands. We should also give consideration to providing an ambiance for the service that helps to open people's minds and spirits to God's healing Spirit.

A healing service can take place anywhere, even out of doors. In a church it might be held in the sanctuary or chapel or, for small number of people, in a pleasantly decorated room with everyone seated in a circle. Indoors, the ambiance can be enhanced with soft lighting, including candles, and the playing of inspirational music before the service. Distractions during the service should be prevented by asking attendees to turn off their cell phones and pagers, closing the door or doors to where it is being held and placing a sign or signs for silence in the church entryway and hallways.

I recommend that everyone who comes to a healing service be provided a worship bulletin that contains all of readings, songs and prayers, and possibly the message, for many wish to keep the bulletin to read again. As a healing service begins, connectedness with God and each other can be intensified with words of inspiration, extending a warm welcome, describing what is to occur in the service, inviting all to welcome those around them in the spirit of love, and affirming the reality of spiritual healing in readings from scripture and in a message. A spiritually uplifting song might precede the message.

A guided meditation can also help us get into a spiritually healthy attitude for communicating freely with God for spiritual healing, by calming our minds and clearing them of troublesome thoughts and emotions. The words of a meditation should be spoken slowly and clearly, in a gentle voice that everyone can hear. The placement and duration of pauses should be sufficient to allow mental processing of each scene being described. In the "Resources" section I will give five examples of the kind of meditation that I use in a healing service. Other resources can be useful in selecting and developing guided meditations.1

I believe that a healing service should focus only on spiritual healing, and not serve as a means to something else, such as seeking God's forgiveness for sin. This service should give purpose and meaning to everything that is said and done. It should avoid such pitfalls as inappropriate emphasis on faith, teachings that induce guilt or anxiety, trivializing, judging, predicting how God will work, and making demands of God.

A framework for a healing service and resources for use in it follow. An example of a service is provided in Appendix C.

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