praying for healing

last tuesday our church sent volunteers to serve food at a soup kitchen in harlem. we also prepared christmas gifts & led a brief worship. i gave a sermon on the parable of the sower. after the sermon i invited people to come forward to receive prayer. i prayed for a man named larry, who stood at the very front. after i finished praying, he took off his dark sunglasses to show me that he was missing his right eye. all that was left was a skin-covered scab. after he showed me his eye, he said "pray for me! pray for me!". so i prayed for God's healing upon his eye. then i asked people to come forward to receive prayer specifically for physical healing. a few more people came forward. & some who were already standing, raised their hands to receive prayer specifically for physical healing. as our church members were praying with them individually, i had the opportunity to pray for one more person. carol asked me to pray for her diabetes which was causing her pain in her legs and feet.

i am not a charismatic & i don't have the gift of healing. & i normally don't ask people to come forward to receive prayer for physical healing. but i learned something last tuesday. i learned that people are desperate & they need prayer. & for many people (whether rich or poor), a physical sickness is their number one prayer concern.