After my husband passed away last year, a friend from church offered to do "listening prayer" with me to invite Jesus to speak to me about the pain and grief I was experiencing. Although I'd heard of emotional healing prayer, I'd never experienced it. But I was in a weak and needy place, and because I always want to discover new ways to hear from God, I agreed. My friend and another person from the prayer ministry sat with me for a couple of hours and together we asked Jesus to talk to me and bring healing to my emotional pain. And He did. I was amazed and deeply touched by what He did that day.
Specifically, I had
become distrustful of God. If He'd allowed my husband to suffer 11
years of debilitating, progressive illness and had not protected me
from all the fear, loneliness, exhaustion, and sorrow that came with
it, what would He allow next? I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Based on the crisis my family and I experienced, I had grown doubtful
of God's protection. And that's not a good place to live.
As I
sat with my prayer partners that day, Jesus helped me see how the enemy
had lied to me about God's character long before my husband had become
ill. Even in childhood he'd planted seeds of distrust that had at first
grown quietly, hidden beneath the surface. But now with this trial,
these noxious weeds had sprouted and started to tangle in the garden of
my heart.
My prayer partners led me to confess the lies I'd
believed about God, ask His forgiveness for discrediting and
disbelieving His goodness, and then they invited Jesus to speak into an
old memory of a time I'd felt unprotected and alone--perhaps the first
time I'd believed Satan's lie about God. Jesus did. He showed me in a
very personal, memorable way, that He always had been and always will
be with me in danger, and that I can trust in His heart for me.
Since
that time, God has used listening prayer many times to bring peace to
my soul in other areas of old woundedness and confusion. And I know He
wants to do that for all of His children.
The Navigators offer
an excellent seminar that teaches the principles of Listening and
Healing Prayer--the same principles my prayer partners used with me
(and now I pass along to others). If you could come to Colorado Springs
November 5 and 6 or to Lawrenceville, Georgia (near Atlanta) November
20 and 21, consider coming to one of these seminars. If you do, you
will have an opportunity to invite God to minister to your
heart, soul, and emotions, and at the same time give you tools to use
in sharing Jesus' healing and peace with others. For more information,
email pray@navpress.com.
How about you? Have you experienced
emotional healing prayer? I'd especially love to hear from prayer
leaders who are part of church-based healing prayer ministries. What is
Jesus doing with hurting people at your church?