The Healing Journey

March 24, 2026

The Prayer Posse

By Deb Marusa

In 2021, my close friend Kristen’s brother Mark was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Mark was a husband and father of twin girls who were high school seniors. In the midst of shock and overwhelming sadness, Kristen was guided to start a prayer group. And so, the Prayer Posse was created. It included Kristen, her husband, her mother, aunt, and three friends. I was blessed to be one of the friends.

We met weekly on Zoom to pray for a miracle for Mark. After several weeks, Kristen decided to ask Mark to join our circle. To our surprise and joy, Mark agreed…on one condition: that the prayers were not focused entirely on him. That was just like Mark. Before and during his illness, he thought of others before himself. Thus, when Mark was able to attend a prayer posse meeting, he did, often from his bed, always with a smile and appreciation for our efforts on his behalf.

Once Mark joined, we shifted our focus to gratitude…for nurses, doctors, caregivers etc. Our intention was “We are grateful for the miracles of healing that have already occurred and those that are still unfolding.”

Our process was the same every week. Each person had a role, whether it was an opening or closing prayer, a breathing exercise to center and ground the group, or the ringing of a bell to signal the beginning and end of our silent meditation. Even Archangel Raphael, the “Divine Healer,” had a role. He was always invited into our meditations. Some weeks, we even wore green because it is his favorite color. We met each week for a year with gratitude, grief, sadness, and hope…until Mark passed on December 24, 2022.

After Mark’s passing, Kristen sent the group a heartfelt email: “I started this prayer group to focus on healing prayers for Mark to bring him back to health and back to us. God had other plans. However, when I look back on this past year, it’s so clear to me that this group, meant to help Mark, actually has helped to heal and support me and my family on this difficult journey…I feel the power of this group when we join our hearts with a shared intention. I believe that we have brought healing into this world, though we weren’t always able to dictate what that healing looked like.”

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