My Healing Testimony

I have struggled with bipolar depression and generalized anxiety since I was a child. And as a child, I had no way of expressing these feelings because I didn't know what it was or how to describe what I was feeling. As I got older, I prayed to God for relief, but relief would only come temporarily. I came to accept that I would struggle with these feelings for the rest of my life and that I would just deal with it as a "thorn in my flesh" like St. Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. But we are instructed in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 to "Pray without ceasing." And that is what I did. I never gave up praying for relief.

In 2023 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I went through 6 weeks of daily radiation therapy and was told that it would take a year after treatment ended to determine if the cancer was gone. So, naturally, my anxiety increased and became extreme.

Since I was not having much success from praying without ceasing, I somewhat reluctantly decided to go to my church, Church of the Nativity, and receive healing prayer from our prayer team. I say reluctantly, because I thought my struggle was very trivial compared to those who have very serious reasons to seek healing prayer.

I went to the room where there were groups of people praying. I sat down at a table where 4 men were waiting for me. I told them my story. I told them about my cancer diagnosis and that even though my treatment was over with, I still had extreme anxiety because I wouldn't know if the radiation worked until a year had passed. There was no closure. I had "You've got cancer" thoughts running constantly through my brain. So when we finished reading and discussing the scriptures, all of the prayer team stood around me with their hands on my shoulders and they prayed for me and anointed my head with chrism.

I felt something come over me. I can't really explain the feeling, but it was a good feeling; a calm feeling; a peaceful feeling. But there was something else I noticed as I said goodbye to the prayer team. My anxiety had been so strong that I couldn't help but notice right away that it was gone. Totally gone! It has been gone now for almost two years.

But another thing happened that I didn't even ask to be prayed for. My depression was also gone too. Again, it has been close to two years now and I haven't been depressed at all during that time.

This is a very big deal. This has never happened to me before. I had previously never gone one day without having anxiety. I had never gone more than three weeks without depression..

And here I didn't think that I deserved to be prayed over.

I want everyone to know what happened to me. I want you to know what can happen for you. You don't have to qualify to ask for healing. Your desire to be healed is not a trivial thing. If you want relief, you don't have to rely only on yourself. "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20).

Brian R. Cooney
January 8, 2026

I just wanted to add this update: I have been gigging quite a lot more this year and had a big one coming up at a brunch near where I live. I was experiencing heavy anxiety about that and other upcoming gigs and felt like my depression was coming back. I didn't know what to do. I was thinking, "What happened to my healing?. How can I admit to anyone to whom I witnessed about my healing that the depression and anxiety had returned? Do I need to be prayed over again? Will I be healed again? Have I failed in faith? Was I like Peter when he walked on the water toward Jesus, and then started sinking as in Matthew 14:29-31?".

But I heard a message spoken from the altar at my church that said "When the Enemy is DISCOURAGING you, then God is ENCOURAGING you.". And just like that, my depression and anxiety left me and has not returned since. I believe that the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to me though that person. It was a reminder that those negative thoughts and feelings are NOT from God, they are from the Evil One. Sometimes negative thoughts try to take over and I need to be reminded of who is watching over me, whispering to me with that still, small voice.

The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name (Luke 1:49)