Here I am Lord

Gabriele Sedda Here I am Lord

Gabriele Sedda, who works for Goodnews, shares his testimony about
discerning God's calling to the Healing Ministry at the Westminster Prayer Group in Victoria, London

In the last four years I have been part of the healing team at the Westminster Cathedral Hall prayer group. I have to say that this experience has been an eye-opening one regarding the needs of the people of God and of His awesome love for us. I remember the time when, after Mass, I was surprised by one of the leaders of the prayer group who approached me and asked if I could pray for her as, when she saw me, she felt God asking her to come to me for prayer! I was really taken aback by her request: firstly because I thought there must be other people more competent in this area, and secondly because I had been baptised in the Holy Spirit only a few months earlier and I felt still very new. Nonetheless I prayed for her in front of the tabernacle. To my amazement I felt how much God loved her. Later she said that God healed her right there other physical sickness. She went on to say that she felt that God was calling me to serve Him by praying for healing in the prayer group. I felt I should pray about this, however and wait for a confirmation from God in some way, as at that time I was part of the music ministry.

" If God gave you the ministry for healing..."

The same year I went to the New Dawn Conference for the first time and one lady in a wheelchair stopped me and asked me to pray for her: I answered I wasn't part of the healing ministry and she said " You should, because there is so much of God's love in you!". Then one day, before coming back to London from Sardinia, my brother Marco suddenly said to me, without knowing what was in my heart:" If God gave you the ministry for healing, you'd better use it for His Glory". At that moment I knew that God was calling me to the healing ministry. So for the next 6 months I was trained by the Core team leaders of my prayer group and I assisted them in prayer ministry. This time helped me to grow in experience and leam from them. I believe our God is very active today in our world and that He wants to heal us of any sickness and disease, in body, mind, spirit and soul.

"Praying and fasting"

I have found it very important to be committed to daily prayer. This helps me to build a relationship with God, which I believe is fundamental when He asks someone to minister to His people in this ministry. As we meet on Fridays, I take the opportunity to fast all day on bread and water. As a result I find I can hear the voice of God much more clearly when I pray for people. God helps me to focus on their being, their humanity, their brokenness and their dignity as children of the Living God. What really humbles me is the fact that I am a link between them and God, to whom all the glory for the healing and restoration of the sick people goes to.

Because what God has given me is a gift, I am aware that sometimes my humanity can take over: I remember going to a conference and saying to myself I should be there praying for healing! Why wasn't I called, God?" I was quite upset about this, but God was there telling me something important: "It is not your gift Gabriele, I call you when I want you. It is not up to you when you are used!". So I remember asking God to forgive me for my pride. He repaid me later by giving me a chance to minister to a woman and her daughter who were quarrelling and really upset. Through God's grace I was able to pray for reconciliation, and they both asked for mutual forgiveness and to be reconciled.

"God's Gift"

During prayer I often do receive words of knowledge for people (I then pick up the Bible and ask the Lord to confirm this for me in the scripture). I also get pictures. This is not a totally new gift as I have always been spiritually sensitive, even as a child. I remember, on one occasion, when I was praying generally for this young woman. God asked me to tell her "You are not alone. I am with you and I love you". When I said those words, the young woman started crying saying that she had been feeling very lonely and that God didn't care for her.

I also pray regularly at home with my family. My son told me and my wife that he was bullied, at school, by older children. My wife's reaction was to speak to the headmaster immediately. I wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. When I prayed with my son, at bedtime, I felt drawn to pray for forgiveness because Christian was so upset. I was very moved when Christian said aloud their names asking God to help him to forgive the children who hurt him. And afterwards he was much more at peace with himself.

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