One of the most difficult things to deal with as a sufferer of a chronic illness is actually something that is meant with the best of intentions, that is, prayer for healing.

I understand why people pray; it is something of a comfort blanket to submit all your problems to another being who can take care of them for you, in the same way a small child is comforted by a gentle hug from a parent or friend after grazing their knees during a fall. However, prayer doesn’t have the same appeal for others; it makes them feel awkward and uncomfortable, and I am one of these people.

Most people imagine that prayer for healing only occurs within religious groups of people, but this is not true. While the majority of such prayers have occurred within churches and related meeting groups in my case, I have had a significant number occur completely unprompted in situations that wouldn’t naturally lend themselves to deities. I have even had a total stranger approach me and ask to pray for my healing while waiting outside the theatre for the doors to open before a show.

Whenever someone prays for my healing in my presence, and I don’t immediately leap out of my wheelchair and perform a series of cartwheels, I invariably receive one of two reactions. The first is to blame me for lacking the faith God requires to be able to heal me, which only ever served to push me further away from God, and to distance me from organised religion. The second is to say that God has a plan for me, of which disability is a part, as if that would be enough to stop the pain. Some would even argue that this blog is part of God’s plan; it’s true that I wouldn’t be writing this was I not disabled, but that implies that the decision to try and make a difference to the treatment of disabled people is not my own, and I find that degrading. To be able to deem my efforts virtuous, they need to be the work of my own hands.

I have no issue with people praying for healing, and their kind-hearted and well-meaning sentiments are much appreciated. I simply wish that people would pray for my healing on their own, and would keep their thoughts about why I was not healed to themselves, or that they would let me ask for prayers for healing when I felt ready for them. It is not that I do not want to be healed; I simply wish to have the time and energy to prepare for such a life-changing event.

All disabled people will have very different feelings and experiences concerning healing and prayer, and I am sure that some will completely disagree with me. However, it may be worth asking how someone feels about the subject before immediately jumping into miracle mode, to save the discomfort and embarrassment of everyone involved.