Video for May 14th, 2026
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s video.
Shortly after I became a Christian in 1978, I had to sit a university entrance paper. One of the questions in the general paper (and I still remember it clearly) was, “Discuss the problems raised by the statement: ‘God answers prayer’”. Before I became a follower of Jesus it would have held no interest for me whatever. However, since coming to faith I had given it a lot of thought. At the time I thought the presence of the question was evidence of the existence of God! I got in. However, the question does indeed raise several issues that go to the heart of divine providence. Some would argue that if there is a God then he is omnipotent, omniscient and knows our needs before we ask. On that basis asking for anything is pointless as he would do it anyway. Against this is the teaching in the Lord’s prayer where we are indeed invited to ask for things when we pray, ‘your kingdom come’, and the extravagant claims in John 14 where Jesus promises to his disciples that he will do anything they ask for in his name. Taken at face value, this could be cue for a form of spiritual positive thinking. If only we can summon up enough faith, we can ask and God will do it. The flip side of this would be unanswered prayers for healing blamed on the lack of faith, either of the prayer – which is bad enough, or worse still of the person being prayed for, effectively blaming them for their condition. It could also become formulaic, as if God could only act if we use the right formula or wording. The pastoral fall out of such things could be so severe that we’d be tempted to abandon any form of intercessory or healing prayer altogether.
But the healing ministry, not just of the emotions and the soul but of the body too have been part of the church’s life ever since Pentecost. Prayers in Jesus’ name by the Apostles in Acts led to lame people walking, and other sicknesses being cured. More recently the Wesleyan revival, the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement and charismatic renewal in mainstream denominations have been accompanied by too many stories of genuine healing to put it all down to suggestion or deception. At a Holy Week quiet day for the bishop’s staff a few years ago Abbott Paul from Belmont Abbey shared some quite extraordinary stories of miraculous happenings in Peru during his time there. I have myself experienced people’s healing in response to prayer. I wish it had been more frequent or that I had more recent stories to share.
What moves Christian prayer beyond mere wishful thinking is confidence in the person of Jesus. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Great Commission prior to his ascension contains the key phrase, “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”. In John 14 in the final discourse the promise of answered prayer is predicated on the fact that Jesus and the Father indwell one another. He claims he is the way, the truth and the life and that no-one comes to the Father except through him. An extravagant claim but borne out by the evidence of his life, work, resurrection and ultimate ascension which vindicates everything he ever said and validates his absolute authority. To pray in the name of Jesus is to dive into this stream of divine love and participate in what the Holy Spirit is doing in the here and now to move forward the work of the Kingdom of God.
I’m recording this at the top of the Cathedral tower on Ascension Day. I don’t believe I’m closer to God up here as our medieval forbears used to think. The whole point of the Ascension and Pentecost is that Jesus can now be encountered everywhere, unrestricted by time and space. But it does illustrate something of the perspective change that can occur as we grow closer to the Lord. Things that may have seemed insurmountable obstacles from ground level look insubstantial from up here. Things that may have seemed utterly essential for our wellbeing and the wellbeing of those we love and pray for may seem less so as we contemplate the reality of God’s authoritative presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit. When we have spent time with Jesus our sense of what an outcome in the name of Jesus looks like may shift. Prayer for cure might become prayer for endurance. Conversely, prayer to endure suffering or opposition may develop a faithful fire in the belly to contend for the Kingdom in healing and wholeness.
We are holding a healing service this Sunday, May 17th at 6.00pm in the Cathedral to which all are invited. There will be communion and the opportunity to receive prayer and anointing for yourself or a loved one. This symbol of being marked with the sign of the cross in oil dedicated at our Chrism service in Holy Week is a traditional way of expressing faith and hope in the powerful action of the Holy Spirit today. Our trust in the ascended Jesus releases faith in his continued action. Whatever the outcome of our praying, I trust we can encounter him there and anywhere.
+Richard