07/12/2024
Farewell to HOTZ
Over a decade ago we began offering Healing On The Streets (HOTS) in Newtownards, modelled on what had begun in Coleraine a number of years before under the ministry of Mark Marx. So a wonderful group of people went out into Conway Square in all weathers and knelt down to pray for others. Many of those we prayed for are etched in our memories. The elderly woman who had been a paratrooper while in the army and had a severely damaged back and had to use a rollator as a result. As she was prayed for, noise came from her back as the Holy Spirit touched her and her pain disappeared. The woman who was on a shopping trip from Carrickfergus and who had fibromyalgia and whose pain in her knees disappeared. The man from Comber who also had knee pains and who got better every time we prayed for him. The woman from Fermanagh who had depression and who clearly described having a deliverance experience as we prayed for her. The man from Ards who had a significant problem with alcohol and who ended up giving his life to Jesus.
Then came Covid. That meant that we couldn’t do HOTS anymore because close contact would not have been safe. So we switched to Healing On The Zoom (HOTZ). We ended up praying for a much wider group of people and prayed for people from Australia, the USA, Germany, England, and Scotland.
Well time moves on. As Ecclesiastes says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … He has made everything beautiful in its time” People move churches. We get older and our responsibilities change. So today was the last day on which we are going to offer HOTZ.
One of the big post-Covid effects has been the vast increase in the number of churches and Christian organisations who now operate online. This includes many groups who offer online prayer for healing.
If you want prayer for healing after today, where would we recommend? If you want online prayer, our number one recommendation would be the Orbis Prayer Ministry Network. This is a ministry started by Ken Fish, who for many years worked for John Wimber, and which has a great reputation. Three members of our team also serve as part of that ministry. You will find the OPMN website at https://orbisprayer.org. Choose a date and a time and they will send you a Zoom link. Other groups also offer Zoom prayer appointments. These include the Healing Rooms movement. Locally, Divine Healing Ministries also offer Zoom appointments.
A number of local churches offer in-person prayer. For example, Helen’s Bay Church of Ireland (St John’s) have started a monthly Sunday evening service which is already seeing noteworthy outcomes of the kingdom of God breaking in with healing. Other churches undoubtedly also offer prayer for healing. Healing On The Streets continues to operate in Coleraine. Remember that the gifts-mix and training of churches, groups, and individuals will differ. Some may offer only intercessory prayer, while others may offer prayer ministry. If you are seeking inner healing prayer or prayer for deliverance from evil spirits, you may want to check in advance whether that is something a particular church or group offers.
Although our bi-weekly HOTZ events will now end, this page will continue posting healing stories and teaching summaries on Mondays and Thursdays every week to encourage others to obey the instruction that Jesus gives his disciples: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”
Thank you to all those who at any point were part of the healing team here and thank you to all those who gave us the privilege of praying for you.