The Headline I never thought I'd see

Earlier this month, I was privileged to speak at an event exploring the Healing Power of God at Whaddon Way Church. This is church is particularly important to me, as it was here that I first sought out healing prayer when I was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.

I must admit it wasn’t an easy move for me to do this. Over the past few years I have spent quite a bit of time in the US, and when jet lag prevented sleep during the early hours of the morning, I would often flick through the myriad of TV channels and on a number of occasions came upon shows by TV healers.

These self-appointed healers format often involved the apparently miraculous, with the throwing away of crutches or wheelchairs followed by calls for substantial donations. I used to be angered by what I saw as the manipulation of the desperate. . . . that was until I found myself in a place of desperation.

Cynicism and keeping an open mind

I confess that all my cynical filters were well and truly intact when I first made my way to a church in Bletchley recommended by the Christian Healing Mission, the body that trains and supports a network of healing prayer groups. But I ended up being blown away by what I experienced there and the results.

Having once been told that my cancer was so advanced that it might not even be worth doing surgery based on how much time I had left, I have now been clear of cancer for three and a half years. It is more than I ever could have hoped for when I first set out in search of healing.

What I must make clear is that I had very good medical care, and I always advocate against people fighting diseases like cancer on a diet of prayer and carrots. Doctor are God’s hands and feet and all the wisdom behind the amazing medical breakthroughs we see come from him.

‘The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible person will not hesitate to use them . . . , when you get sick, don't ignore it. Pray to the Lord, and he will make you well. . . . Then call the doctor—for the Lord created him.’ (Sirah 38: 4,9,12).

But the reality is that there are some aspects about my healing that can’t be explained, not least the fact that the cancer began to shrink before my treatment even started. And one of the things that I was pleasantly surprised by was the openness of the medics that I met to the fact that not all aspects of healing can be conventionally explained. Many put it down to positive thinking, but as science delves further into our nature, there seems a greater openness to the fact that the world is a more mysterious place than we can ever imagine.

When talking about my experiences, I generally tend to avoid using the M word but I was I fascinated to see a recent poll undertaken by the BBC in which they found that 62% of British adults believe that some form of miracle is possible today.

Belief or embarrassment

Apparently nearly half of those questioned in the survey by market research firm ComRes admitted to praying for a miracle at some time, with 18-24 year olds being the biggest group who believe in the possibility of contemporary miracles.

According to the survey 37% of British adults who attend a religious service at least monthly say they believe the miracles of Jesus, and half this group say that their prayers for a miracle have been answered in the way they hope for. Yet sadly, 37% of Christians also say that they have never prayed for a miracle.

While there are some denominations which actively seek the miraculous, the same cannot be said sadly of most CofE parish churches.

On reflection, perhaps my own reticence to use the M word comes from a sort of Anglican embarrassment about the possibility of God breaking in on the world in answer to prayer. But when I listened to the stories of the delegates at this recent healing event - and reflect on my own story - I can only conclude that it is arrogance to presume that because we do not understand a phenomenon it does not happen. Let’s face it only a few hundred years ago we thought the earth was flat.

Perhaps it is time for us to be more open minded about the possibility of the impossible and remember that for Jesus, miracles were a sign of God’s Kingdom breaking into our reality here on earth.

To find out more about the ComRes survey go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45679730 or https://www.comresglobal.com

Kate Nicholas’s best-selling memoir Sea Changed (shortlisted as Christian Biography of the Year 2017), and her latest book Sea Changed: A Companion Guide – Living a Transformed Life are available at Christian bookstores and Waterstones throughout the UK and online at eden.co.uk and Amazon worldwide.

You can catch up on her recent TV series Living a Transformed Life at

https://www.tbnuk.org/vod/watch/living-a-transformed-life/our-god-of-transformation

or on her website www.katenicholas.co.uk.