Healing on the Streets in Oxford

These are exciting times as many of our churches are experiencing increased levels of breakthrough in the area of healing. Matt Watt (Emmanuel Church Oxford) shares about what God is doing on the streets of Oxford…

Oxford; city of proud spires, where some of the world’s greatest academics study, where people worship in many different faiths, where one of the largest council estates in the UK is located, and where Richard Dawkins and many other atheists have their home. This all sounds overwhelming, and even you may be thinking, ‘How can God’s kingdom advance in a place as resistant as Oxford?’

But Oxford, like your location also, contains men and women who are broken and hurting and need to know God’s love. Praying for healing is one of the ways in which local churches have joined together to serve and ‘Love Oxford’ not just in word but in action.

Initially, I was terrified about approaching people and asking them if they wanted prayer for healing, as it was not something with which I had much experience. However, in October 2008 Mark Marx, an evangelist from Northern Ireland, came to Oxford and provided teaching and training in a successful method of praying for healing on the streets. The most important thing that I learnt during the training day was that it is the believer’s right to exercise power in the context of mission. Having previously passed off authority for healing as being for other better or ‘holier’ Christians, I came to understand that as a child of God my authority comes from God and not from using the right formulaic series of words at the end of a prayer.

Mark Marx in his training manual explains what ‘Healing on the Streets’ is all about: ‘The Healing on the Streets model is a simple, but beautiful way, to reach out to the lost and hurting on the streets of your town or city. It enables you to connect with your community every week, powerfully expressing God’s love in the market place, whatever the weather. We simply invite people to sit on chairs so we can pray for them.’

Together with a few friends, I started going along to Healing on the Streets every few weeks. It was incredible – people were actually being healed! We were simply commanding the pain to go and it went. There were no long petitioning prayers but simple authoritative prayers such as ‘Pain get lost!’ and sure enough many times it did. Even people who weren’t instantly healed felt peaceful and often returned the next week for more.

On one occasion a friend and I approached a small group of teenagers. We asked if any of them had any pain such as neck ache or back pain. An older teenager, Jack, shared that he had a bad back, and Ella also admitted that she had stomach cramps. We explained to them that we believe Jesus heals, and if they would like to come and take a seat we would happily pray for them. ‘What’s the catch?’ was the first question. ‘It’s free, there is no catch’ my friend replied. Very quickly Ella responded and sat down, but Jack refused to since he didn’t believe in God. We prayed for Ella, commanding the stomach cramps to go, and she was instantly healed! She was so amazed, and in shock, that the pain went so quickly. The first thing she did was explain to her friends that she wasn’t lying and that the pain had actually left her. After seeing this Jack decided that it was worth the risk. He went over to a chair and a couple of the team prayed for him. His legs were measured up and they were different sizes. As he was prayed for one of his legs began to grow! They both returned two weeks later and shared that they hadn’t experienced any pain since. Ella also returned with a friend who had stomach cramps, but not for long as she was healed too.

It has been so exciting to be part of a team that shares a similar passion and craving to see God move! We are all sharpening one another and spurring each other on to cultivate a lifestyle of trusting in God and praying for healing. It is so exciting to see churches joining together to bring the kingdom of God in Oxford, and so liberating to realise that he wants to use us all, no matter how timid and afraid we might feel.

Matt Watt
Emmanuel Church Oxford