In Jesus’ name, be healed!

I am heading towards the end of a writing retreat, in a beautiful part of North Wales, where the mountains meet the sea – and on this particular day, rather than walking along the beach and coastal path, I decide to climb the rather large hill that has been framing the backdrop to my stay.

By the time I reach the halfway mark, I haven’t seen another soul during the entire ascent. However, as I head higher, I notice two women in the distance, descending the peak, and walking towards me.

About midway between us is an unexpected and strategically placed bench, perched on a small grassy plateau. Reaching it first, I sit down to enjoy the stunning views out to sea and, a short while later, a small black dog comes bounding up, her harness announcing that she is a ‘service dog’.

The two women soon catch her up, and the older of the two sits on the bench to my right. She is petite, with long grey hair, and is dressed head-to-toe in floaty purple garments, adorned with all sorts of ethnic jewellery and charms. The other woman is much younger and looks more suitably attired for a walk, dressed in shorts, t-shirt and trainers.

It strikes me that they make an unlikely pairing, and they soon explain that they only met a few days ago, in a nearby café. The older, Maggie, lives locally. The younger, Sherie, is on holiday with her family, staying in the caravan park by the sea.

“When Sherie expressed an interest in climbing this hill, I said I’d show her the route,” Maggie explains.

When I ask about why the dog has a ‘service dog’ harness, a sad story unfolds.

“I went to bed one night, about twenty years ago,” Maggie reveals, “but then I woke up at 3am, unable to move.” She tells me that she went on to be diagnosed with lupus, an untreatable auto-immune disease.

Probing her as to what she had been doing in the lead-up to that night, she alludes to various ‘spiritual’ experiences, including astral projection. “Were you aware of what you were doing?” I ask her, wondering whether she understands the demonic influences behind such blatantly occultic practices.

Maggie shrugs and crosses her arms, clearly not wanting to discuss it, so Sherie takes the conversation in a different direction. Out pours another sad story, as she explains how she is hard of hearing, so she lip reads, which is why she’s standing and facing us on the bench, her back to the view.

But that’s not all. “My ten-year-old daughter has kidney failure and is on dialysis,” she explains, “and my partner was recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.”

As I sit and listen to both women, with their long lists of disease and disability, I sense a familiar surge of courage and compassion rising up from deep within me. It feels like God has ordained this moment, this timing, this overlapping of our paths, on this particular Welsh hillside. So I take a deep breath.

“Have you ever asked Jesus to heal you?” I ask.

Maggie, sitting beside me, immediately bristles and she reaches for the dog, who is circling the bench.

But Sherie looks genuinely baffled. “What do you mean?” she queries.

“I’m a Christian,” I explain, “and I believe in God, who heals people when they call out to him in the name of Jesus.” I seize it as an opportunity to share stories of hearing being restored and cancer disappearing because of prayers in the name of Jesus. But I am clear that calling on Jesus is not like waving a magic wand. “It’s only possible because Jesus died on the cross and rose again,” I explain. “It means that he defeated sickness, suffering, sin and death, once and for all.”

Sherie nods. “I remember learning that in RE at school,” she says.  

Maggie’s body language says everything about her discomfort with my repeated references to Jesus, and I know it’s demonic disquiet. Deep within my spirit, I can hear the Holy Spirit whispering, “He that is in you is greater than he that is in her.” So, I continue regardless.

“Jesus loves you and wants you both to be well,” I say, “but more than that, he wants a relationship with each of you.” I pause for a moment.

It feels like Sherie is with me, but Maggie is not.

“Do you believe in Jesus?” I ask.

Sherie smiles. “Yes, I do,” she says, “but I don’t really know what a relationship with Jesus means.” As I start to explain, she interjects. “Maggie’s spiritual,” she adds. “She was telling me about spiritual things when we were at the top of the hill just now.”

I swivel on the bench to look directly at Maggie, and the dog comes and sits at my feet, looking up at me with big doleful eyes.

Maggie proceeds to tell me how she believes in Jesus, but she also believes in Buddha, Hari Krishna, Karma and all sorts of other New Age ‘spiritual forces’. “For me,” she says, “Jesus is one of many options. I’m sure he heals, but I’ve seen other spiritual healings too.”

I cut her short, keen to be clear that, any healing that happens other than in the name of Jesus, is not of God. Maggie shrugs her shoulders, evidently unconvinced, and reaches down to pat the dog.

Then I take another deep breath. “How about I pray for you both?” I suggest. “Also for your daughter and partner,” I add, nodding in Sherie’s direction.

“I guess there’s no harm,” she says.

Maggie holds our her hands. “Alright,” she says, reluctantly.

Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit, I pray under my breath – and then, out loud, eyes open, I turn towards each of them in turn and pray. I simply call for healing and restoration in Jesus’ name, and I ask God to show them how much he loves them.

Maggie seems unmoved, but Sherie removes her sunglasses to wipe away a tear. “My partner is getting his biopsy results when we return from our holiday,” she says. “I guess that’s when we’ll see whether or not your prayers have worked.”

“It’s not about me or my prayers,” I reassure her. “If he has been healed, please give Jesus all the glory.”

I go on to suggest that they might want to consider connecting with local Christians in their communities, and Sherie nods enthusiastically. “Anything to help us,” she says.

I turn to Maggie. Her eyes are piercing, angry even. “Maggie,” I say, “no matter what you believe, or which other spirits you are interacting with, Jesus is the only one who can genuinely help you.” She nods, clearly thinking and processing.

“I can’t wait to tell my daughter about this,” Sherie says cheerily. “She won’t believe that a random woman has just prayed for her on the side of a large Welsh hill!”

We laugh as we part company. They head down the hill, the dog circling around them as they go, while I carry on to the top. All the way up, I am praising God for his impeccable timing, and praying that he will continue, in Maggie and Sherie, what he has just started.

***

How about you? Have you ever had an unexpected encounter, where God has given you an opportunity to tell someone that Jesus loves them, wants a relationship with them, and can heal them?

Maybe you’re like Maggie, aware of the spiritual world, but dabbling in things that are occultic. If this is you, why don’t you call on the name of Jesus? He has power and authority over all demonic spirits, and he can set you free.

Maybe you’re like Sherie, surrounded by disability and disease, but unaware that Jesus can bring healing and restoration. If this is you, why don’t you call on his name? He longs for a relationship with you.

Maybe you’re like me, getting into conversations with strangers, not knowing where they will lead and then realising that God has ordained it. If this is you, why don’t you ask God to give you courage and compassion, and offer to pray?

As ever, constructive comments are welcome below.

Photo my own, taken in North Wales, August 2025.