Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard Foster
Week 9: Moving Outward — Healing Prayer & The Prayer of Suffering
Read Chapters 14–15 of Prayer by Richard Foster ("Healing Prayer" and "The Prayer of Suffering"). Key Scripture: James 5:13–16; 2 Corinthians 12:7–10.
Previewing Week 9 of Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 14-week guide when you’re ready.
These chapters take us into some of the most tender and contested territory of the Christian life: praying for healing and praying through suffering. Come with your real questions and your real wounds.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Foster affirms that praying for physical healing is a normal, expected part of Christian community — not a special gift for a few, but a practice for all who follow Jesus. How does your church background shape your comfort (or discomfort) with this claim?
2.Foster is careful to present healing prayer as an act of compassion and faith, not a technique that guarantees results. He points to Jesus's own healing ministry — which was marked by both great power and apparent restraint — as the model. What does it tell you about God that Jesus did not heal every sick person he encountered?
3.Foster acknowledges honestly that many people pray earnestly for healing and are not healed. He refuses to explain this away cheaply. How do you hold together a real expectation of healing with the reality that God sometimes says no or wait? Have you experienced this tension personally?