DEEP WOUNDS, DEEP HEALING

CHARLES H. KRAFT

WITH ELLYN KEARNEY AND MARK H. WHITE

DEEP

WOUNDS

DEEP

HEALING

Published by Regal

From Gospel Light

Ventura, California, U.S.A.

www.regalbooks.com

Printed in the U.S.A.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Good News Translation, Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Other versions used are

NIV—Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

NKJV—Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Phillips—The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition, J. B. Phillips, Translator. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.,

866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

© 1993, 2010 Charles H. Kraft. All rights reserved.

First edition published by Servant Publications in 1993.

Second edition published by Regal Books in 2010.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kraft, Charles H.

Deep wounds, deep healing : an introduction to deep-level healing / Charles H. Kraft : with Ellyn Kearney and Mark H. White.

p. cm.

Includes biographical references.

ISBN 978-08307-4713-9

1. Spiritual healing. 2. Pastoral counseling. 3. Prayer—Christianity. I. Kearny, Ellyn. II. White, Mark H. III. Title.

BT732.5.K73 1993

253.5—dc20

93-29660

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 / 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

Rights for publishing this book outside the U.S.A. or in non-English languages are administered by Gospel Light Worldwide, an international not-for-profit ministry. For additional information, please visit www.glww.org, email info@glww.org, or write to Gospel Light Worldwide, 1957 Eastman Avenue, Ventura, CA 93003, U.S.A.

To order copies of this book and other Regal products in bulk quantities, please contact us at 1-800-446-7735.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One:

AN INTRODUCTION TO DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

1. What Is Deep-Level Healing?

2. The Aim Is Freedom

3. Who Needs Deep-Level Healing?

4. Present Problems Are Rooted in Memories

Part Two:

SPECIFIC ISSUES IN DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

5. Dealing with Wounds from the Past

6. Reactions Are Usually the Main Problem

7. Healing of a Damaged Self-Image

8. Healing from Loss

9. Healing for the Inner Family

10. Dealing with Demonization

Part Three:

HOW TO DO DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

11. An Orientation for the One Who Ministers

12. How to Do Deep-Level Healing

13. Ministry Techniques

Endnotes

Bibliography

Index

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank several of my colleagues for their assistance with the first edition of this book. My highest gratitude goes to the two whose names are on the title page: Ellyn Kearney and Mark H. White. Drawing from their own experiences in ministry, each of them helped greatly in writing portions of this book and in finding examples to illustrate the principles. In addition, they searched the literature to find pertinent quotes and revised various sections of the manuscript as needed.

Others to whom I am grateful for assistance of various kinds include: Barbara Sturgis, Nancy Thomas, Tracy Jashinski, Jeanie Connell, Marti Browne, Molly Sutherland, Gary Hixson and the many whose books I have profited from. I also thank my wife, Marguerite, for putting up with the pressures that come from having a husband in ministry and writing.

I am also grateful to Dave Came, managing editor of Servant Publications who published the first edition, for his assistance and personal interest in the book and especially for his patience with me when I missed deadlines. Thanks also to Ann Spangler and Beth Feia of Servant Publications, and Dr. David King for invaluable help with chapter 9, as well as to Paul Witte for compiling the index to the first edition.

My final thanks go to Gary Greig, Mark Weising, Rob Williams and the staff at Regal, who participated in getting out the second edition of the book. Special thanks to Deena Davis for her careful sharpening of content throughout.

INTRODUCTION

The subject of inner healing, or, as I prefer to refer to it, deep-level healing, is confusing for many within the Christian community. People are used to the idea of professional counseling and led to believe that enough of such counseling will bring them freedom from their emotional hang-ups. But the effectiveness of professional counseling is more and more being questioned both inside and outside of the profession. Christians are also used to being told that salvation means freedom and that prayer changes things. If anyone is in Christ, we are told, he or she is a new creature; old things are passed away and all things have become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). And many are led to believe that, as Christians, if they simply forget their past problems, they will be free (see Phil. 3:13, misused).

Life experience, however, is often quite different. We come to Christ thinking that will solve all our problems and we will find ourselves like Israel—in the Promised Land; but we soon discover that the land is full of giants who have to be conquered.

We don’t know why God does things this way. He seems to give us a gift and then expects us to work to overcome a considerable number of hindrances to our relaxing with that gift. Yes, there is newness when we come to Christ. Our human spirit is changed and it becomes a new nature. However, that newness is often interfered with by the emergence of old problems. We have taken the right first step. But for many Christians the freedom step is a second step. I have written about this in my book Confronting Powerless Christianity.

The disappointing news is that professional counseling is not very helpful for many people; nor does simply assuming that coming to Christ while ignoring one’s problems works well for many.

But there is good news. It is the testimony of thousands who have gone through deep-level healing that they are free. There is a way to participate with Jesus in taking the freedom step. And, though deep-level healing may not be the only way Jesus brings freedom, it is a very effective way. That’s what this book is about.

Jesus is a healer. We see in the New Testament that He went about healing. The record there, however, shows Jesus as primarily involved in healing physical problems and casting out demons. I suspect, though, that if we had complete accounts of His healings, we would find that He frequently dealt with emotional and spiritual problems—the kinds of things that cripple people inside and to which demons are attached. We will point to some examples of these deeper healings in the chapters to come.

For now, I want to discuss some of the confusion that seems to surround the practice of deep-level healing. One important source is the fact that we tap into a spiritual approach to healing that differs substantially from the secularism that is pervasive in evangelical Christianity. In spite of the assumption that what we do in church and in relation to church is spiritual, most of it is quite secular. The lectures (we call them “sermons”) tend to be intellectual rather than spiritual and relational; with the exception of contemporary worship, our hymns tend to be information-oriented rather than spiritually or relationally oriented; when healing is needed, we go to those who practice secular medicine; when we need psychological help, we go to secular counselors or Christians practicing secular counseling; when we train people, we train them in secular, informational and intellectually oriented institutions.

Deep-level healing is quite different. Jesus actually appears to the counselee and does things that rarely happen in normal church life. Healing happens at the deepest levels of a person’s heart and mind. Although the techniques we use are often borrowed from the counseling profession, the presence of Jesus in them makes all the difference in their effectiveness. This is new for most of our clients, and, for some, it may be confusing at first but very healing.

One area of confusion is the fact that many people expect emotional healing to take a long time. With Jesus’ involvement in deep-level healing, gaining freedom seldom takes long. Most people are substantially changed in one session. On the other hand, many expect that Jesus will do the healing as quickly as we see it in the New Testament, and with little or no activity on the part of the client. This, too, is seldom the case. So, with such expectations, plus general unfamiliarity in working in the presence and power of Jesus, people are often confused about the process.

There are, however, at least two further sources of confusion: (1) the anti-psychology movement within American Christianity, typified by the activities of Dave Hunt, Martin and Deidre Bobgan, and Don Matzat; and (2) the kinds of questions raised by those who are pro-psychology concerning whether counseling can be effectively done by nonprofessionals.

The anti-psychology movement sees a close relationship between the methods of psychologists (some methods of which are used in inner healing) and those used by New Age and other occult practitioners. As I have pointed out in my book Christianity with Power,1 though Hunt and others do well to warn Christians of the danger of getting entangled with the occult, their opposition to Christian psychology and inner healing is based on a wrong assumption. Their assumption is that because certain techniques we use are also used by the enemy, the techniques themselves are infected and, therefore, wrong for Christians. What they fail to recognize is that these techniques, though used by followers of Satan, have been put in the universe by God to be used for His purposes. The problem is not in the techniques but in the power behind the techniques. When psychological insights and techniques are empowered by Satan, the process in which they are used is wrong. When, however, insight and technique is empowered by God, the process is right.

A second problem with the anti-psychology movement is that it is crippled by Western rationalism. This group is unable to get beyond the influence of the eighteenth-century philosophical movement called the Enlightenment, a movement, by the way, that was anything but Christian. This is a perspective that has elevated human reason to preeminence among human characteristics and has badly infected both Western society and Western Christianity. The anti-psychology group is, therefore, afraid of emotion or anything else that explores reality outside the rigidly rationalistic tradition of its type of Christianity. In Christianity with Power, I have discussed the problems that such a tradition raises for those who seek to be biblical in experiencing God’s presence and power.

Having said that, I do not want to be perceived as uncritically endorsing all that is done by psychologists or even those involved in inner healing. I have my own set of criticisms of both. Even Christian psychologists, for example, often use their techniques without consciously claiming the power that God has authorized us to use when we minister to people (see Luke 9:1; John 14:12). Furthermore, there are those involved in inner healing who use guided imagery to take people on flights of fancy away from the truth rather than toward it. These people justify some of Hunt’s claims that guided imagery opens people up to the Enemy’s deceit. Untruth and deceit are never right in God’s work—not because the psychological techniques are wrong, but because those techniques have been used to deceive rather than to discover the truth.

A view that is more balanced than either the anti-psychology perspective or the overprofessional attitude of the psychological establishment is that of Siang-Yang Tan, a Christian professional psychologist who wrote a definitive book entitled Lay Counseling: Equipping Christians for a Helping Ministry. He and Gary Collins, another Christian professional, see counseling broadly as “a caring relationship in which one person tries to help another deal more effectively with the stresses of life.”2 They describe lay counselors as “individuals who lack the training, education, experience, or credentials to be professional counselors, but who nevertheless are involved in helping people cope with personal problems.”3

Tan, Collins, and others within the psychological community see the amount of emotional brokenness in our world increasing to such an extent that there are far more in need of help than can possibly be tended to by professionals. They see, then, a tremendous need for nonprofessionals to participate in the tasks of getting people emotionally well. As a Christian and an advocate of lay counseling, therefore, Tan argues that there is a biblical basis for Christians to be involved in lay counseling.

Deep-level healing is a form of lay counseling that Tan and other Christian psychologists approve of. Though we who practice this form of counseling are seldom highly trained in psychological technique, we look to psychology for as much help as we can get from it. But we also seek to work in the power of God, believing that the ideal combination is the power of God empowering the best techniques humans have been able to discover for dealing with deep-level problems.

This is the perspective we take here. We live in an emotionally damaged and damaging world. Rationalistic Christianity, unfortunately, often contributes to the damage; so, often, does a secular approach to counseling, whether employed by non-Christians or by Christians. Many in our churches can see the damage happening and many are experiencing it firsthand, but they don’t know what to do about it. Christians today seem to know little about how to do what the Father sent Jesus, and Jesus sent us, to do (see John 20:21) by working with Him to set captives free (see Luke 4:18). Contrary to what the anti-psychology contingent is saying, merely bringing people to Christ for salvation and then quoting a few Scripture verses concerning God’s attitude toward their problems is not succeeding in bringing people to the freedom Jesus promised. Indeed, many of God’s children seem to live their lives in the Enemy’s prisoner-of-war camps. Behind the scenes, then, the Enemy is actively engaged in keeping us either ignorant of or bickering about how to bring healing.

This book is dedicated to increasing our ability to help set captives free. It attempts to be biblical, balanced and comprehensive. It is based on more than two decades of my own experience, plus a good bit of experience on the part of several colleagues.

In working through the book to produce this second edition, I have rearranged the chapters and added a considerable amount to them. Though I will not claim to have produced a new book, I can claim to have improved and upgraded the book.

May God bless you richly as you read, and may He enable you to practice deep-healing ministry yourselves.

Charles H. Kraft

South Pasadena, California

January 2009

DEEP

WOUNDS

DEEP

HEALING

PART ONE

AN INTRODUCTION TO

DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

1

WHAT IS

DEEP-LEVEL HEALING?

Paul’s Story

Paul came to me feeling a keen sense of discouragement and defeat. He was in his early thirties and had been a Christian for 10 years. He felt that his life before conversion was normal except for a few excursions into sexual sins. His childhood, he said, had been fairly uneventful, except that he had had quite a temper and felt that the frequency of masturbation during adolescence might have been excessive. He also mentioned that he had developed quite a collection of Playboy and Penthouse magazines during his teenage years.

Soon after Paul accepted Christ, he met a young woman he described as “a wonderful person, just right for me.” He expected his conversion, plus his marriage, to bring both his temper and his lustful thoughts under control. But that didn’t happen. In fact, a major part of his concern was over the way he acted when he got angry at his wife. He seemed to completely lose control. Each time, he was filled with guilt and remorse, too ashamed of himself even to ask his wife for forgiveness. So he lived, worked and worshiped with a fake smile on his face and a deep sense of defeat in his heart.

To start our ministry session, I prayed a typical prayer, asking the Lord to be present in love and power, and forbidding the Enemy to have any influence on what we did or said. I asked the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say, the thoughts to think and the right things to do to bring freedom to His child.

Because problems such as temper and lust have roots, I felt led to take Paul back to conception by using the faith-picturing exercise I call “back to the womb,” described in chapter 12. Problems such as Paul described are usually rooted in early life experiences, so this approach enables many people to discover the root experiences they never knew were there.

Without getting into the details of that exercise, as Paul saw and felt himself in his mother’s womb, he became aware of an intense feeling of anger. He described the baby’s feelings with terms such as “angry, upset, feeling unwanted” and “rejected.” As these feelings came, Paul remembered that his mother had once shouted at him in a fit of rage that he had caused her trouble ever since his conception and that she never wanted to have him. At that point, I asked Paul if his mother blew up like that very often. He said no but that she was a very unhappy woman, perhaps hiding anger and dissatisfaction. He had never heard details, but what he had heard concerning her early life led him to believe it had been difficult. Because he was the oldest child, I asked if he had been conceived before his parents got married. He had.

I spoke of the hands of God forming Paul in his mother’s womb (see Ps. 139:13,15) and asked Paul if he could picture that. I wanted him to know that God was with him in those very early days and that, as with Jeremiah (see Jer. 1:5; see also Eph. 1:4), the Father had planned him and chosen him before birth. Granted that his parents did not want him to be conceived, I asked Paul if he thought Jesus had made a mistake in allowing the conception. He agreed with me that his conception was neither a mistake nor unanticipated to Jesus, even though it was a mistake to his parents. On that basis, then, I invited him to choose between God’s will and that of his parents.

This he did, choosing to approve of what God wanted. Then, identifying again with the preborn baby, he forgave his parents for not wanting him. As he did this, the feelings that his pictured baby self was having changed dramatically. The anger, resentment, heaviness and darkness were replaced by light, lightness and anticipation of being born. As we went through the remaining months of gestation, Paul found a new sense of self-acceptance emerging and a growing excitement about coming into the world.

There was more to do, but the success of this experience provided a firm basis on which to build a new self-image, a new closeness to his wife and a new relationship with his parents. He discovered that his anger at his mother had broadened as he grew up into anger at women in general. He confessed that his early sexual adventures, some of his masturbation and even some of his experiences with his wife had been at least partly motivated by an angry desire to humiliate women. Guiding his preborn self to forgive his mother, then, released him from the roots of his captivity to such a motivation. Paul still had quite a number of habits and habitual reactions to revise even after the roots were gone, but these were and are manageable with little or no help from others.

There is a new smile on Paul’s face and a new intimacy with Jesus, with his wife and with his family. There is also a newfound acceptance of himself. He loves the freedom and is active now in helping others in the same way he has been helped (see 2 Cor. 1:4).

Defining Deep-Level Healing

Inner healing, what I prefer to call deep-level healing, has been practiced at least as far back as the mid 1960s. Agnes Sanford (1966) is often given credit for starting this type of ministry. Other important early contributors are the late David Seamands, John and Paula Sandford and, on the Roman Catholic side, the Linn brothers, Dennis and Matthew. These and other practitioners have given us several definitions of inner or deep-level healing. David Seamands defined inner healing as “a form of Christian counseling and prayer which focuses the healing power of the Spirit on certain types of emotional/spiritual problems.” He goes on to relate inner healing to traditional counseling by suggesting that this approach “is one and only one of such ministries; and should never be made the one and only form, for such overemphasis leads to exaggerations and misuse.”1

Two other pioneers in the field, John and Paula Sandford, in their classic books Transformation of the Inner Man and Healing the Wounded Spirit, now revised and published in four volumes (see Bibliography), see such ministry as aimed at the transformation of the inner being of a person, a ministry to the inner person. One of my favorite definitions is that of Betty Tapscott:

Inner healing is the healing of the inner [person]: the mind, the emotions, the painful memories, the dreams. It is the process through prayer whereby we are set free from resentment, rejection, self-pity, depression, guilt, fear, sorrow, hatred, inferiority, condemnation, or worthlessness, etc.2

I would add to this definition that it encompasses the healing of the spirit as well. The more I minister to people, the more I find wounding that appears to go deeper than the mind or emotions. Certain types of circumstances and abuse (such as rejection by parents or satanic ritual abuse) seem to affect the very core of the person—the spirit. The Sandfords have dealt with this topic at length in their books. They have described various types of injury that the human spirit can sustain and how the Holy Spirit works through inner healing to set captives free.

My own definition of deep-level healing endeavors to cover the territory by adding to the definition several of its primary characteristics as follows:

Deep-level healing is a ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit aimed at bringing healing and freedom to the whole person, spirit, emotions and body. Since the majority of human ailments stem from damage in the emotional and spiritual areas, we focus there, seeking to bring the power of Christ to bear on the roots from which such damage springs. These roots are stored in the memories carried, largely unconsciously, by hurting people. Deep-level healing focuses, therefore, on healing the hurts held in those memories, often by helping people to experience Jesus’ presence in the memories and to give to him the hurts. Specific problems often encountered are unforgiveness, anger, depression, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, fear, worry, lust, rejection, deception and the like.3

Notice that this is a ministry involving spiritual power. Most of the techniques we use have come from professional counseling but are combined with the presence and power of Jesus. Usually the client is able to picture the memories with Jesus in them and release to Jesus the emotions attached to the hurts that he or she experienced. The roots of the damage are thus addressed and the feelings changed from hurt to healed.

As we will discuss later, the memory “capsules” in our minds contain the facts of the memories plus the emotional reactions we felt at the time of the hurt. We cannot change the facts, but with Jesus’ help, we can change the emotions attached to the facts by giving them to Jesus. We can thus change a reaction of anger and unforgiveness to forgiveness and receive the freedom Jesus provides for those who obey His command to forgive (see Matt. 6:12,14-15). Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28, NIV). There are few heavier burdens than emotional problems, no matter how we try to hide and ignore them.

Memory specialists tell us that we store memories of our experiences in pictures rather than words.4 To get hurtful memories healed, therefore, we must deal with them in pictures. Pictured memories cannot be healed through words alone. Thus, in ministry we lead people to go back to their memories in pictures and to picture the truth that Jesus was there, because He is omnipresent. Experiencing Jesus’ presence in the memories, then, enables people to picture themselves releasing their reactions to Him and gaining the freedom He desires for them.

Most of us could identify with several of the frequently found problems listed in the above quote. Many of us could add to the list. As humans we often experience deep levels of brokenness. We continually face the influences of our fallen nature and the fallenness of the world around us. Our Enemy, Satan, constantly uses the society in which we live (what 1 John 2:15-16 refers to as “the world”) and the human nature we carry with us (our “flesh”) to make things difficult for us. But our Lord has provided the means by which we can move into the freedom Jesus promised in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord . . . has anointed me to proclaim . . . freedom . . . recovery . . . release.”

God Is in Every Healing—Using Even Pain

We start with the assertion that there is only one Healer in the universe, God. Just as all life has its source in God, I believe that all healing has its source in Him, even when that healing is mediated by unbelievers. God is in charge even though He usually works with and through human partners. I believe He has made a rule for Himself that He will not work in the human context without a human partner.5

For example, I believe that no birth is simply the result of the physical process of sexual intercourse. God is involved in every conception. He is the only one who can give life. In the same way, only God can repair those parts of the life process that have gone off track. As with most of the other things God does in the world, however, He usually uses human instruments to bring about healing. As we are taught in Romans 8:28, “In all things God works for good with those who love him.”

Our Western worldview pressures us to dichotomize between what humans do and what God does. If we can explain something like healing in terms of “natural” human activities, such as the use of medicine, surgery or human counseling, we usually assume that God was not involved. This is untrue. In reality, God is involved in every facet of human experience whether or not we recognize His presence. It is He who makes the medicine work. It is He who makes a surgical procedure effective. It is He who empowers deep-level healing of emotional and spiritual problems. These processes do not simply work automatically. God is in everything that truly helps people, even if the vehicle is medicine or people, and even if we can explain the human part of the process scientifically.

God even works to use human brokenness as a launching pad for two very important dimensions of Jesus’ desire to bring freedom to His people. First of all, God often uses pain—whether physical, emotional or spiritual—to alert people to their need for ministry. When people are in pain, they are usually much more willing to let the Lord come close and help. Most of those who come for deep-level healing come with a sense of desperation. They often have tried professional counseling or other approaches to resolve their problems but have found those efforts unsuccessful. Indeed, they may have lived for quite a while with significant suffering. At last they are reaching toward the source of all healing—Jesus.

A second important way that God uses brokenness is to bring about greater intimacy with Him. Over and over again, people report that the physical or emotional healing they receive is overshadowed by the deepening that occurs in their relationship with the Lord as a result of their time in ministry. They find that God has used their desperation, brought on by the pain, as a means of bringing them closer to Him by leading them to seek deep-healing ministry.

Jamey came to us in pain. His stomach had been troubling him for nearly two years. He had undergone a number of medical tests and had even gone to a psychologist for several months, but to no effect. About all he had discovered was that his stomach got worse whenever his parents came to visit. After asking God to lead us, I felt led to ask about Jamey’s relationship with his parents.

At first Jamey claimed that he and his parents had always gotten along well. He spoke fondly of how his dad had coached his Little League team and had always attended his basketball and baseball games as he went through grade school and junior and senior high. I asked if he remembered any stomach problems during those growing up years. He thought for a while. Suddenly, as if by revelation, memories he had not consciously thought of for years came back. “Though it wasn’t as intense then as it is now,” he said, “I remember feeling a knot in my stomach before every game, especially when my father was present.” As I probed, Jamey told me of a father who never seemed to be satisfied with anything Jamey did, whether in athletics or in any other area of life. He remembered the terror he felt at the thought that he might fail either in athletics or in his studies. He remembered the same feeling of terror as his wedding date approached and later as each of their three children were born. Worse yet, it was now becoming obvious to him that his stomach problem got worse every time he became anxious about his wife’s reactions to things he planned to do.

During the next hour or so, we were able to help Jamey understand the roots of several of his father’s problems and their effects on him. His father had been deeply frustrated in his early life. He failed often and was seldom recognized or complimented even when he did well. Living in intense guilt over his past life, he pushed his son to succeed but could generate no warmth or even acceptance for him when he did. Fortunately, Jamey usually succeeded very well, so he rarely experienced his father’s wrath. Before any given event, however, his imagination held him captive to what he felt might happen if he let his father down.

Jamey was able to see both his father and himself as victims and to allow Jesus to soften his heart toward his father, toward himself and toward his wife. He was then able to forgive all three. He was also able to admit his anger at God and to forgive God for allowing all of this to happen. (The concept of releasing your anger against God and then the need to forgive Him is controversial and will be clarified later in the book.) As the Holy Spirit dealt with issue after issue by allowing Jamey to picture Jesus in several of the most memorable events involved, his stomach pain became less and less. When the pain was completely gone, we knew we had gone far enough for that session. Though there were other things to deal with in later sessions, the stomach problem and the emotional captivity it signaled have never come back. Jamey was free!

An additional benefit that can come out of the healing of brokenness is that the recipient often develops a heart for such ministry to others. Many of my ministry colleagues have moved from experiencing healing themselves to a compassionate ministry to others. This is in keeping with 2 Corinthians 1:4, which says, “[God] helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.”

The fact that we have received help from God is a powerful motivator to help others who are hurting. Those who have themselves been healed of deep hurts are usually very effective in ministry, even when their own healing is still incomplete. Out of our pain and the healing we receive, we can offer hope to others that their struggle will be worth it.

Healing the Whole Person

Deep-level healing is about the whole person in at least two ways. First, it aims to make people who are hurting whole again. This entire book deals with that subject. This first section, however, focuses on wholeness in the second sense—the fact that we need to deal with the whole person when we seek to bring about deep-level healing.

People are not simply a collection of various parts. Each part of a person is intricately connected to many other parts so that all function together. For the sake of analysis, we can speak about human spirit, body, mind, emotions, personality and will; but in real life, all of these come as one unit in each person; they do not function separately and should not be dealt with in isolation from each other as is usually done by health professionals. If we have physical pain, we are likely to go to a medical doctor who simply treats the physical problem as if it were divorced from the rest of our being. If, then, we have an emotional or psychological difficulty, we go to a psychologist who treats that part of us. For spiritual problems we may go to a pastor or other spiritual advisor.

Such approaches to treatment are usually inadequate. Even medical doctors admit that more than 80 percent of physical illnesses spring from emotional problems. “A doctor who works in a mental hospital in Tennessee put it this way, ‘Half of my patients could go home in a week if they knew they were forgiven.’ ”6 Yet medical training seldom enables a doctor to deal in any meaningful way with a person’s emotions. He or she has learned simply to function as a “body mechanic.” Likewise, though some psychologists suggest that many emotional difficulties are rooted in spiritual problems, they are seldom able to help in the spiritual area. And, sadly, psychological training programs in Christian institutions differ little from their secular counterparts and frequently teach that it is illegitimate to combine prayer counseling with professional counseling.

People are integrated; and when they hurt, they usually need healing in more than one part of their being. As Rita Bennett has said, “Your soul—intellect, will, emotions, memories, subconscious, personality, creativity, motivations—has the potential for total peace, but there may be wounds, some very deep, not yet healed. Each of us will need further healing during our lifetime.”7

Our rule, then, is to deal with the whole person—spirit, soul (mind, emotions, will) and body—and seek to bring healing at the deepest level necessary. In this sense, deep-level healing is more comprehensive, more holistic, than any of the usual secular models of healing. It is also more personal and more focused on love. For we believe that healing is about loving people. It is absolutely essential in our practice of ministry that people go away feeling that they have been loved.

Many times people come for ministry with physical problems that disappear after some emotional or spiritual issue is dealt with. A short discussion of the physical problem often reveals a deeper problem in the emotional, spiritual or relational area. When we deal with the deeper area, the presenting problem usually dissolves. There are, however, times when the presenting problem remains but the person has received a deeper healing through the touch of the Holy Spirit and the love of another person. Often the person receives healing for things that were never even mentioned, either in place of what was in focus or in addition to it.

Judy’s experience illustrates this principle. She had suffered with back pain for six years and had received prayer for that problem from my colleague Dr. Peter Wagner, who is greatly gifted in dealing with physical problems. When this was unsuccessful, he sent her to me to see if there might be a deeper issue to deal with. As is my custom, I asked her what was going on in her life when the pain started. Judy revealed that she had been four months pregnant when the back pain started, the same point at which she had miscarried in her previous pregnancy. So we worked with her through the loss of the earlier child by using a faith-picturing technique that will be described in chapter 4. In this way, we worked through the pain of the miscarriage, enabling Judy to release both her damaged emotions and her baby to Jesus. She was immediately released from her back pain and, as a bonus, was later healed of some other physical problems through prayer with Dr. Wagner.

The Relationship of Deep Healing to Professional Counseling

People often ask, “What is the difference between deep-level healing and professional counseling?” My answer is that the two approaches should be seen as more complementary than radically different, especially if the counselor is a Christian. Like professional counseling, deep-level healing involves delving into the counselee’s emotional and spiritual problems. For those of us who do not have professional credentials, we are classified as lay counselors. Lay counseling is considered respectable by many who have professional credentials (see Siang-Yan Tan’s book Lay Counseling: Equipping Christians for a Helping Ministry). But deep-level healing is more than counseling as known in secular practice, because it involves prayer and experiencing the presence of Jesus as major components of the process. We believe that God has given us as Christians the privilege of inviting His presence and working in His power. We do not, therefore, work only with human power and human technique when we counsel.

However, we also believe in psychological counseling and often recommend that our clients get or continue to get competent help from such professionals in addition to the help they get from us. Though we seek to empower the human techniques with prayer, professional counselors usually have more techniques at their disposal. In addition, professionals have a wider and broader knowledge of the workings of the human psyche to draw from. They can often help their clients in many ways not ordinarily a part of the “repertoire” of the one who works in deep-level healing, especially when more serious psychological problems are present. The ideal would be for one trained in the field of psychology to also work in the power of Jesus, combining the secular insights with deep-level healing techniques.

The professionals whose counselees come both to them and to me often tell me that many times when their clients work with me, they seem to experience “spurts” toward health. These spurts then provide the client with new thresholds from which to work with the professional. As we pray together, the power of the Holy Spirit often enables the person to jump to a new level of wellness that then becomes the new level from which the slower process of working with the professional counselor continues.

Some recent studies are, however, calling into question the value of much psychological counseling. It appears that psychologists and psychiatrists, though good at analyzing people’s problems, are often not very effective at bringing about genuine life change. Many clients seem to receive very little help toward getting well, though they may greatly value the supportive role of the therapist.8

My assessment of the situation is that professional counselors are usually good at technique but limited by at least three major obstacles.

1. The human motivation and power supplied by the client are seldom enough to bring about the necessary changes. Without the additional empowerment that is supplied by Jesus, clients only have the power they had when they came to the counselor. The insights and techniques of the counselor, though enlightening, may not add enough power to get the client truly free.

2. The spiritual nature of humans is usually neglected at best and denied at worst. Yet sickness of the human spirit is often at the root of the problems presented. It’s as if the counselor, whether Christian or non-Christian, is trying to complete a 300-piece puzzle with only 200 pieces. He or she is leaving out the spiritual part, often made up of such things as sin, curses, dedications, vows, demons attached to the emotional, or other spiritual problems.

3. The limitations of a 50-minute appointment are severe. Seldom is there time enough in an hour to really come to grips with any given set of problems. It is much better to schedule appointments for two to three hours.

Concerning this last point, Seamands concludes, “Because the prayer session is so important, it is essential that it be planned properly. The session requires unhurried time and an unpressured schedule. This means that it should not simply be an hour worked into a regular counseling schedule. It should not be subject to clock-watching by anyone.”9

In deep-level healing, we find that working for two to three hours at a time is much more productive than working for one hour. “One of the chief obstacles to healing is our obsession with the immediate. The ‘itch for the instantaneous’ pervades much of our Christian thinking. We have become impatient and frustrated with things that take time.”10

I wish that more Christian psychologists would learn the ideal combination: proven technique empowered by prayer. Of course, in spite of prayer, many people do not get motivated enough to do their part to move toward healing; and there are enough complexities in dealing with the human psyche that even the best techniques do not assure healing for everyone. But good technique with the empowerment of prayer is infinitely better than technique without such specific empowerment by God.

The Relationship of Deep-Level Healing to Other Types of Healing

Having dealt with the healing discipline that is closest to deep-level healing, let’s turn to three other approaches to healing.

1. Physical Medicine

One of the most obvious approaches to healing is physical medicine. It is God who has given us doctors and medicine. He works with doctors and the physical processes they have learned to use, whether or not the doctors acknowledge Him. He uses their skills even if they don’t pray or give Him credit for their successes. They work more effectively, however, when they have the power of prayer behind them.

We believe in doctors and medicine and advise those who come to us to use their services to the fullest. We tell those who have been put on medicine by a doctor to keep taking that medicine until the doctor decides it is no longer necessary. Given our inability to know for certain what God is doing in the healing process, it is unwise for people to stop taking medicine after they have been prayed for in hopes that they have been healed. The doctor who prescribed the medicine is the one who has the authority to cancel it. Jesus followed such a principle when He told the healed leper to go show himself to the priest who alone was authorized to pronounce him clean (see Matt. 8:2-4).

There is one problem that needs to be watched, however. People often respect the opinions of doctors so much that they take their diagnoses as gospel truth. A negative diagnosis given by a doctor can take on the status of a curse if a person accepts it as a sure prediction. Such a diagnosis needs to be seen as an opinion, not as a prophecy. And any tendency to let a diagnosis determine one’s expectation, as would a curse, needs to be rejected.

2. Pastoral Counseling

Pastoral counseling is often used by God. God has given many pastors the ability to help greatly. Yet, though it is in emotional and spiritual areas that most people need help, many pastors do not have the skills or training to deal with them. Pastoral training programs in seminaries and Bible schools usually focus almost entirely on “people skills.” Some pastors do develop counseling gifts, but they often do not know and use the authority that Jesus gives, along with the empowering of the Holy Spirit, to heal as effectively as they might.

Nevertheless, those involved in pastoral counseling who minister in the authority of Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit often work in ways quite similar to what we are recommending. They are our closest relatives among the various healing communities.

3. Deliverance

A third type of healing ministry that we relate to is what is called deliverance. A deliverance ministry specializes in casting out demons. Unfortunately, many deliverance ministries lead people to think that demons are the major problem and that once the demons are gone, a person’s problems are over. Such is seldom the case, however, since the real problems are the things the demons are attached to, not the demons themselves. Demons, though very often present, are always a secondary problem.

In deep-level healing, we get to cast out lots of demons. But we recognize that demons are like rats. And rats go for “garbage.” “Garbage” is the term I use to refer to the spiritual or emotional problems to which demons attach themselves. In order to live in a person, demons need to have a legal right. That right is provided when there are things in the person’s past or present life to which demons can attach. When those things are taken away, the demons are usually fairly easy to cast out.

Most deliverance ministries focus more on the rats than on the garbage. What often occurs, then, is a big fight to expel the demons. But even though the demons are gone, there is often a considerable amount of garbage left. And the person continues to experience most of the same problems. Deep-level healing deals with the root problems (the garbage), whether or not demons are involved. This usually results in dealing with the demons toward the end of the ministry session, after they have been weakened through loss of the things they were attached to. At that point they usually go very easily, without a fight. For more on dealing with demons, see chapter 10 in this book and another of my books, Defeating Dark Angels.

Distinguishing Factors in Deep-Level Healing

To summarize and amplify what we have said above, I’d like to point to four distinguishing features of deep-level healing.

1. Deep-level Healing Is Prayer Ministry

Though much of what we do involves counseling, the context in which the counsel is given is prayer. We seek to imitate Jesus by first listening to what God is saying and then working in His authority to do only what He wants us to do (see John 5:30).

We have to be careful not to get caught up in technique. We dare not make the “Moses mistake.” When God told Moses to get water from a rock the second time (see Num. 20:7-12), instead of listening to God and doing what He commanded, Moses did what he had done on the previous occasion. On this second occasion, God told Moses to speak to the rock (see v. 8), not strike it with the rod. But, remembering what he had done previously (see Exod. 17:5-6), Moses struck the rock and incurred God’s anger. To avoid this mistake, we need to be careful to listen for God’s instructions for this occasion, not simply to do what worked last time. Then and only then can we pray with the confidence and authority we need to bring the healing God intends.

Prayer ministry endeavors to utilize the gifts of the Holy Spirit to their fullest. For this reason it is good to work in teams where God’s gifts will flow through more people.

2. Deep-level Healing Is Holistic (or Wholistic)

Our aim is to get the person well at the deepest level necessary. Usually this requires dealing with several aspects of the person: body, spirit, emotions, mind or will.

This is not easy. It demands that we learn as much as possible about all areas of personhood and about how each area impacts the other areas. It is unlikely, therefore, that those who are ministering deep-level healing will be as expert in any given area as those who have specialized in those areas. In many ways, we are generalists rather than specialists. Yet we find ourselves constantly being consulted by specialists for advice on problems they recognize as relating to areas of a client’s experience outside their area of expertise.

For example, I, and several of my colleagues in deep-healing ministry, have been consulted by professional psychologists who found they were “over their heads” in attempting to deal with problems related to multiple personality disorder and demonization. In some of these cases, we understood both problems better than the professionals did, largely due to the fact that we are more holistic in our approach.

3. Deep-level Healing Employs Power Wrapped in Love

The most important mark of Christians is that they are called to be signs or instruments of God’s love (see John 13:34-35). Jesus certainly demonstrated the use of God’s power in serving the cause of love. Jesus healed because He loved. Over and over, the Gospels record that Jesus ministered to the needs of people because He felt pity or compassion for them (see, for example, Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34).

Though deep-level healers seek to minister in the gifts of the Spirit, we are just as concerned to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. We find that people who experience the love of Christ through our ministry are blessed whether or not they receive the healing they seek. One man for whom we saw little visible change remarked, “I’ve never been prayed for like that before” to register the fact that something amazing, though intangible, had happened inside him. And a recent conversation with him, several years after that event, indicates that important growth has happened since that date, stemming, as best we can discern, from the fact that he felt incredibly loved as he was prayed for.

4. Deep-level Healing Uses Insights from Any Legitimate Source

Perhaps because we are not established as professionals with turf to protect, we can be eclectic in seeking insight. We seek whatever spiritual insight God has given to any of His people, whether or not they claim to do inner healing. But we also are open to whatever insight God has given to professionals, whether Christian or non-Christian.

We do, however, seek to be discerning with regard to the insights and techniques we use. We commit ourselves to use only what is compatible with scriptural principles and use them only under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. And there are dangers. For example, we make considerable use of what I call “faith picturing” (visualization). New Age people also make extensive use of this technique under the power of the Enemy. As we will see in chapter 4, this God-given ability can be used in ways that glorify Him or can be used in ways that are not pleasing to Him.

FOR FURTHER READING

Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1992), pp. 139-156.

———, I Give You Authority (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1997).

John Sandford and Mark Sandford, A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992), pp. 49-85.

John and Paula Sandford, Transforming the Inner Man (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2007).

Daniel Schacter, Searching for Memory (New York: Basic Books, 1997).

David Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985).

2

THE AIM IS FREEDOM

Spiritual Abuse

The preacher was expounding on Philippians 3:13: “The one thing I do . . . is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.” He had connected that verse with 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.” With enthusiasm, as if debating with someone who disagreed, he emphasized his main point, that once a person has accepted Christ as personal Savior, the past is gone, all things have become new. So, he contended, we are not to look back but to forge ahead in our new life in Christ, just as if the past hadn’t happened at all. Nothing from the past can affect our present lives, he said, for Jesus took care of all of it at our conversion. Though most of the audience listened without betraying what they were thinking, a few shifted positions in their seats after that last remark.

The preacher was particularly disturbed over the increasing number of Christians who go to psychologists. “Christians do not need psychologists,” he thundered; “the Bible is the only therapy we need! Jesus never took people back through their past experiences to find out what their parents and others did to them to cause them to be messed up. All we need to do is admit our sins, confess them and be done with the past!”

As the preacher continued his diatribe, I grew increasingly embarrassed for the hurting ones in the audience. I could not ignore the fact that research has shown that at least 40 percent of the women, plus a fair percentage of the men, in an audience such as this would have experienced some kind of abuse early in life, be it physical or sexual. Would these people recognize that the preacher was wrong? Or would they heap more condemnation on themselves, feeling that there was something wrong with them spiritually, because they were not finding it possible to dismiss the past? Though I did not take a poll, I suspect that many in the congregation left church that morning feeling very guilty and spiritually condemned because they didn’t have the victory over the past the preacher had promised them in Christ.

How were they to know that the preacher was misusing his text? This Scripture passage in context is referring to the good things Paul had accomplished—the “medals” he had won in the race of life. He’s saying that unless he puts those accomplishments behind him and bends all his efforts to winning the present race, he will not make it to the finish line. It’s the victories not the defeats that we are to forget, lest we glory in them and lose the next race. The Bible never tells us to ignore or bury past pain.

Unfortunately, many of those sitting in the congregation that Sunday morning found themselves among the captives Jesus came to free. They had come to Christ but were still prisoners of war in the conflict between God and Satan, many through no fault of their own. And the preacher was only making their captivity worse. Though they had survived abuse of some sort, they still lived with the pain of the memories. Now they were being subjected to a kind of spiritual abuse.

People Need Freedom

People are hurting. Just as in Jesus’ day, many of us have been beaten up by Satan. He attacks us from the inside. He attacks us from the outside. He tries, often quite effectively, to mess up our relationship with God. We were made to experience closeness with our Creator, but that intimacy often eludes us.

On top of that, our relationship with ourselves is often negative. As I talk to people about their self-image, I find that the vast majority of them at least dislike, if not hate, themselves. They often hold a very low opinion of this person they are supposed to love. Our relationships with others are often warped as well. For many, the list of those they dislike, envy, harbor anger toward or even hate is much longer than the list of those they genuinely care about.

And most of us have assumed that the fault is totally ours. We’ve known about our sin nature and, assuming that it was the only factor, have blamed ourselves for the whole mess. In keeping with the lack of understanding of the spirit world demonstrated by our pastors and teachers, we’ve usually not seen the Enemy’s hand in our affairs. Not that our problems are all Satan’s fault—they’re not. We’ve given him plenty to work with. And we have to take full responsibility for doing something about our sins and failures.

But Jesus didn’t blame the hurting. He never condemned or blamed those who were ill or demonized. He treated them as victims. Even those who had sinned He saw as more worthy of pity than of punishment. Note the way He treated the woman caught in adultery (see John 8:1-11); the Samaritan woman (see John 4:1-42); and Peter after his denials of his Lord (see John 21:15-19). Jesus seemed to see such people as those who had stumbled or had even been overpowered rather than as those who had rebelled. His part, then, was to free them from the Enemy.

David A. Seamands points out that “God understood what it meant to be a human being. But because of the incarnation, His ultimate identification with us in the sufferings and death of Christ, God now fully knows and understands, not simply from factual omniscience but from actual experience.”1

Note that Jesus never advised people to stuff their hurts. Nor did He suggest that God brought hurts into their lives to teach them patience. In His kingdom, people are not simply to put bad things out of their minds. Rather, they are to face them. In the kingdom of God, as with sin so with abuse and other disagreeable experiences, we are to face our pain squarely and deal with it honestly. Things have happened to us. They are a part of our history. We are not to deny them. We must admit the experiences and any unacceptable reactions to them. Then, by giving our old attitudes to God, we receive the “rest” He promised us when we come to Him with our heavy emotional and spiritual burdens (see Matt. 11:28).

Scripture tells us to deal honestly with our sin by admitting it to God (see 1 John 1:9), thereby allowing Him to add it to the load Jesus carried to the cross. John and Paula Sandford tell us that “human free will is so precious to our Lord that He will not let the efficacy of the cross be applied to us without our consent.”2 We’ve learned how to do this and receive the sweet release that comes from God’s forgiveness. But Jesus also died to take away the pain of the brokenhearted:

The Sovereign LORD has filled me with his spirit. He has chosen me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison. He has sent me to proclaim that the time has come when the LORD will save his people and defeat their enemies. He has sent me to comfort all who mourn, to give to those who mourn in Zion joy and gladness instead of grief, a song of praise instead of sorrow (Isa. 61:1-3).

These are the verses Jesus quoted when explaining why He had come (see Luke 4:18-19). They were considered to be Messianic verses, and Jesus’ enemies took it very badly when He applied them to Himself.

Whether the people Jesus ministered to were victims of spiritual abuse or of a more direct attack by the Enemy, Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives and to set them free (see Luke 4:18-19). He does this in a spiritual sense when people receive Him as Savior. But He offers more. Jesus desires that we be as free from the influence of Satan as He Himself was. He said of Himself that Satan had no power over Him (see John 14:30).

In perhaps Jesus’ finest invitation, He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30, Phillips).

Jesus invites His people to freedom. But many of us don’t seem to experience this freedom. Saved yes, free no. He left us peace (see John 14:27), but we remain troubled. Jesus went around blessing, healing, delivering and forgiving. He brought peace and freedom to people being battered by the Enemy. This freedom is for now as well as for eternity; and He gave authority to His disciples (see Luke 9:1-2), and to us through them (see Matt. 28:20), the authority and power to bring such complete freedom to our contemporaries.

A Hurting Disciple

The rehabilitation of Peter recorded in John 21:15-19 is an excellent example of how Jesus brings freedom from the past. Peter was born again; his spirit was headed for heaven. But he had responded badly to temptation, vehemently denying three times that he was a follower of his Lord and best friend. As Jesus predicted, the Enemy had “sifted” Peter like wheat (see Luke 22:31), and he (Peter) had failed the test. Peter was so overwhelmed by guilt and remorse that he could not forgive himself or even seek the Lord’s forgiveness. Indeed, he had opted out of kingdom work and chosen to return to fishing (see John 21:3).

Matthew’s account tells us that once the rooster crowed, Peter realized what he had done and “went out and wept bitterly” (Matt. 26:75). Though he was sorry, and the Lord was ready to forgive and accept him, it appears that Peter could not receive it. So Jesus, after His resurrection, made a special point to resolve this. Taking Peter aside, Jesus questioned him about his love. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, and three times Peter said yes. Each time, Jesus recommissioned Peter to the work of feeding and tending the Lord’s flock.

It is not coincidental that Jesus asked the question and gave the commission three times, for He knew Peter needed to be freed from the belief that his mistake meant that he did not love and could not serve the Lord. Just as it was a threefold denial, it had to be a threefold restoration in order to be complete.

Jesus very tenderly took Peter back to the past. He even built a fire to remind Peter of that other fire in the courtyard where the cock crowed. He wanted Peter to be able to picture the setting in which he had denied knowing Jesus three times and have another “fire” picture to remember that included a threefold reassertion of his love for Jesus and a threefold acceptance by Jesus of his confession and commission for ministry.

Jesus did not try to get Peter to deny or forget that horrible evening. Rather, He gently healed the memory so that what had been a gaping wound was turned into a healed scar that reminded Peter of a past failure, but that no longer hurt. Some sadness remained—enough to challenge Peter to faithful service to the end of his days. But sadness doesn’t cripple like guilt does. In Jesus’ gentle treatment of His friend, the fear of the memory left, as did the pain of guilt. This is a form of memory healing we will discuss further. The principles of deep-level healing are found in this and many other passages throughout the Bible. We can draw from them in our ministry to others.

Surface and Deep Healing

I have come to believe that God wants to be given the opportunity to heal everyone.3 And He usually chooses to do so with human assistance. Our biblical record shows that Jesus always combined healing, including casting out of demons, with the communication of the gospel. Furthermore, He never turned down anyone who came to Him for healing. On nearly every occasion, when He refers to how His followers are to communicate the gospel, He specifies that healing and casting out of demons are to be included (see Matt. 10:7-8; Mark 3:14-15; 16:15-18; Luke 9:1-2; 10:8-9). “As the Father sent me, so I send you,” he says in John 20:21. Presumably, then, we are to behave like Jesus behaved, to love as He loved, to communicate what and how He communicated and heal as He healed. He promised, “Those who believe in me will do what I do—yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

Certainly His early followers understood Him this way. They went everywhere proclaiming the Kingdom in word and deed, including healing (see Acts 3:6-8; 5:12-15; 6:8; 8:4-7,13; 10:36-41; 14:8-10 and so forth). All through the history of the church there have been people who understood that following Jesus means bringing healing to others. In our day, even many of us who were brought up in rationalistic Western Christianity are discovering that God still heals when we minister in authority in Jesus’ name.

But healing is not the main issue; love is. Jesus, with all the power of the universe at His disposal, chose to use that power in the service of love. God heals because He loves, not simply because He wants to show His power. Indeed, when people came to Jesus seeking miracles for their own sake, He declined (see Matt. 12:38-39). However, when hurting people came, He felt compassion toward them and healed them (see Matt. 9:36; 14:14).

Most of the healings we read about in Scripture seem to be physical healings. These are what I call “surface-level healings.” However, when God does a work on the surface, we can be sure there is also something deeper going on. Jesus makes this explicit to the paralyzed man of Capernaum when He stated, “Your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2). Yet, with the man born blind (see John 9), Jesus assures His disciples that the blind man’s problem was not the result of sin. With regard to the woman who had been stooped over for 18 years, Jesus points to the fact that she had been in captivity to Satan (see Luke 13:16).

The key principle here is that problems that seem to be surface-level usually have deeper roots. Typical is the woman who came to me complaining of stiffness in her shoulders and neck. I asked my usual questions, “When did it start?” and “What else was going on in your life at that time?” She told me it started in the previous year or so, during a messy divorce in which her former husband blamed her for the events leading up to the divorce. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she was able to forgive both herself and her husband. And the physical problem disappeared—without our even praying for it.

On another occasion, I was ministering to a woman I’ll call Ellie who had hurt her leg badly playing volleyball. At the time, the doctor who repaired the injury considered the problem routine. But when she returned to him two weeks after the accident, he was amazed to find that her condition was even worse than it had been before. As she explained this to me, I suspected there must be something in her system that was weakening it, something that would not let healing take place as it should.

So we went back into her early life to see if there was anything there that might relate to her present problem. We discovered a history of abuse resulting in a large amount of self-condemnation and a very damaged self-image. So we spent the next three hours working on these attitudes and their roots through the kind of deep-level healing process I will describe later. As God broke through to her in event after event, she was able to forgive those who had hurt her and come to a new understanding of who she is in Christ. Not only did her attitude toward herself change, but her leg also grew strong enough so that she was able to leave the church without using her crutches! And this happened without our even praying for her physical condition. Once the emotional damage was healed, her body was strengthened and God repaired the remaining physical damage.

The point is, apparent surface-level problems are usually connected with something deeper in the person’s life. Indeed, we have often found that if we simply pray for a physical problem, without dealing with deeper issues, one of two things happens: either the person is not healed at all, or the problem goes away immediately but soon comes back to stay until the deeper issues are dealt with. Jesus wants to heal the person at all levels, deep as well as surface.

I like to picture surface-and deep-level healing as follows. (Demonization may be, but is not necessarily, attached to either surface-or deep-level problems.)

Hindrances to Freedom

There are several ways of living that keep people from gaining freedom. Among them are the following:

1. Worldview

The apostle Paul points out that all humans have imperfect sight and partial knowledge: “What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete—as complete as God’s knowledge of me” (1 Cor. 13:12).

God has, Paul says, a more complete view than we do. God’s view may be referred to as REALITY in capital letters. This is how things actually are. Only God sees things that way. The view from our end is what I label reality in small letters. This is perceptual reality, a limited and sin-infected view that comes with our humanness.

What Paul is talking about is the fact that, even though God’s REALITY does exist, it is beyond our seeing and our knowing. Part of that REALITY is presented to us in the Bible. But even the Bible is subject to human interpretation. And all interpretation is done in terms of our reality. Seeing as “a dim image in a mirror” applies even to our interpretations of the Bible. And even after much study, we know the biblical revelation of God and His works in the partial way we know the rest of REALITY.

The study of human cultures helps us understand that as we grow up, we learn the assumptions believed by the adults of our society. We call these assumptions our worldview. On the basis of these assumptions, we interpret all that we see of REALITY. All that we think we know, then, we know in relation to these assumptions.

There are at least three kinds of basic assumptions: (1) those concerning what we are to believe or not believe; (2) those concerning what we should value or not value; and (3) those concerning what we should commit ourselves to or against.

Ever since the eighteenth-century philosophical movement called the “Enlightenment,” Western Christianity has participated in the intellectualism, rationalism, materialism and humanism of the surrounding secular society. We, like secularists, have learned to focus on the material world and largely ignore spiritual reality, even though we are theoretically committed to a biblical view of invisible beings and power. Our concern for power is largely the same as that of non-Christians—focused on human power over the material universe. It is usually only slightly altered in the direction of the primary concern of biblical peoples (and of most contemporary non-Western societies) for spiritual power. We practice, therefore, a largely powerless and secular Christianity in which such beings as Satan, demons and angels seem more mythical than real.

Most Western Christians would even view God as fairly distant and not very active in human affairs. For this reason, we find it difficult to believe that God works today as He did in scriptural times to bring people to the freedom He has promised. We have been infected by assumptions that lead us to believe that what we can see and touch, especially if it is endorsed by science, is real; while things that cannot be touched are either not real or not important. We have also learned to assume that God is not really involved in anything that can be explained scientifically.

For example, we may give God credit for an amazing healing from cancer that the doctors cannot explain, but we doubt that He is involved when the same or a lesser healing takes place after medicine or surgery has been used. Likewise, we may agree that Satan influenced Hitler, but not believe that Satan was involved in the latest difficulty we have had with health or our automobile.

We have become innocent victims of a worldview that makes it difficult to believe much of the Bible and see God’s hand in events. If we are to participate in deep-level healing, therefore (either as bringers or receivers of healing), we need to open up to a more scriptural view of God’s presence, power and willingness to heal. To do this, we must reject any view of God that holds that He doesn’t want to heal. We must stand against feelings of inadequacy, fear of opening up to spiritual things and the unwillingness to risk being labeled a weird “faith healer.”

Though I believe we need to maintain a healthy skepticism such as that of the apostle Thomas, we need to fight any tendency to follow the example of the Pharisees who refused to believe no matter how much proof they saw. If we are to change, we must be willing to risk new experiences with God. If we do, we will find ourselves changing in our understanding of God’s love, power and willingness to do wonderful things in our life. I recommend that you read the record of my own changes in these areas in my book Christianity with Power.4

2. Failure to See the War

Once we have pierced through the worldview problem, we can see in the Scriptures that there is a cosmic war going on between the kingdom of God and that of Satan. This war rages both in the air and on the ground. As humans, whether or not we like it, we are constantly influenced by this war. Peter saw this when he said, “Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

Satan, once known as Lucifer, is a created being. He was probably the highest archangel and headed up a rebellion against God (see Ezek. 28; Isa. 14). Though Satan has been defeated and publicly humiliated by being led as a captive in Jesus’ victory parade (see Col. 2:15), he still has great power and authority in the world. We are told that “the whole world is under the rule of the Evil One” (1 John 5:19) and that he is “the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God” (Eph. 2:2). Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30) and didn’t dispute his claim that the power and wealth of the world “has been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose” (Luke 4:6).

Satan has myriads of lesser spirit beings that serve him. They are called by such names as demons, evil spirits, unclean spirits, fallen angels, principalities, powers, rulers and authorities. As the ruler of this world (see John 14:30; 1 John 5:19), Satan has a great deal of control over its “systems” (e.g., governments, media, academic activity, philosophers, etc.). As a result, those who partner with him in running those systems war against us. Satan also takes advantage of our sinful human nature (“the flesh”), which is already hostile toward the things of God (see Gal. 5:16-17).

Jesus, however, brought a more powerful kingdom. He came to Earth “behind Enemy lines” to establish His kingdom in the domain occupied by the Enemy. Jesus constantly spoke about the kingdom. Through it, He set about “to destroy what the Devil had done” (1 John 3:8).

The Gospels record a selection of the events in which Jesus bested His adversary. He took him on, one-on-one, in the temptations in the desert (see Luke 4:1-13). He then declared war on the oppressor, stating that His purpose was to “proclaim liberty to the captives and . . . to set free the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). Jesus took ground from Satan over and over again in healings (e.g., Luke 4:38-39); casting out of demons (e.g., Matt. 12:28); forgiving sins (e.g., Luke 5:19-20); calming weather (see Luke 8:22-25); raising the dead (see Luke 7:11-17; John 11:1-44) and then once and for all through His own death and resurrection. George Eldon Ladd asserts:

The Kingdom of God, which belongs to the age of the future when Christ comes in glory, has already penetrated This Age. Satan is not yet destroyed as he will be when he is cast into the lake of fire. Satan is not yet bound as he will be during the Millennium of the abyss. Yet God’s Kingdom is active; God is attacking the Kingdom of Satan.5

Jesus’ kingdom is both now and “not yet.” When we look at the “back of the Book,” we see that victory is assured. But for reasons we don’t understand, the Enemy has not yet been locked up. And there are still casualties, as there were during the Second World War between the time when the Allied forces landed at Normandy in June 1944, assuring that the Allies would win, and the German surrender in May 1945. The culmination of the kingdom will take place when He returns (see 1 Cor. 15:23-26; Rev. 19:11-16).

Until then, we are to serve Jesus by extending His kingdom. He sends us into the world just as the Father sent Him into the world (see John 20:21). Just as He received the Holy Spirit at His baptism (see Luke 3:21-22) and began to do mighty works, so are we to receive the same “gift” (see Acts 2:38) and, as He promised, do in our world what He did in His (see John 14:12). As Jesus worked not in His own power (see John 5:19) but only with that of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 10:38), so are we to imitate His dependence. We are to accept our commission and extend His kingdom with the authority and power Jesus gave His disciples (see Luke 9:1-2) and then commanded them to pass on to their followers (see Matt. 28:20). We, like they, are to be filled with the Holy Spirit and do the works of Jesus (see Acts 1:4-8).

Thus is the war between the kingdom of God and that of Satan to be waged. And freedom from the Enemy’s captivity is the major theme (see Luke 4:18-19). Deep-level healing accomplished through partnership between the Holy Spirit and God’s people is an important part of winning this war.

3. Habits

A third hindrance to freedom lies in the habitual reactions of those needing ministry. As we grow, we develop ways of responding to the various situations we encounter. These responses become habits of reaction that come automatically and are very difficult to control. Many of the habits are good ones; but some are dysfunctional and need to be probed in ministry to discover the roots and get them healed.

To get at them, we need to ask questions such as: How does the person handle disappointment? How does he or she handle imperfection in self or others? How does he or she handle experiences that stimulate anger? And then, what types of life experience would seem to predict immature or dysfunctional reactions? Special attention should be given to any difficulties in the person’s relating to self, others or God.

Unforgiveness is the most frequent block to freedom, and the cause of much difficulty for those who come for ministry. The habit of holding things against self, others or God results in the unforgiving person being bound up in captivity to the Enemy. This is why Jesus had so much to say about the necessity of forgiving. Seamands calls forgiveness “the most therapeutic fact in all of life.”6 See further treatments of this most important problem in the following chapters.

Captivity to certain strongly negative emotions frequently produces problems that are both spiritual and emotional. These include anger, hate, fear, rejection, shame, guilt, depression, anxiety, and the like. Though such damaging habits seem to be the most frequent symptoms among Christians who come for deep-level healing, habits in activities such as worship, Bible study and prayer often emerge as well as problem areas. Such problems will usually provide clues concerning inner healing issues.

A wrong view of God is quite common among those who have been severely mistreated—especially those abused by parents or other authority figures. Survivors of abusive situations tend to ascribe the characteristics of the abuser to God or blame God for allowing them to be hurt without helping them. Underlying attitudes of this sort emerge in the form of fear of God or anger toward God. Even a tendency to overspiritualize often masks a poor attitude toward God.

When people know or suspect that there will be unpleasant memories or feelings to deal with, their habit will probably be to try to avoid both memories and feelings. Our place is to help them tread the path of truth. We serve a God who delights in the truth and gives us the courage and power to face it, no matter how frightening that prospect may be. Our Enemy, the devil, however, seeks to keep people captive through fear of facing the truth. The person coming for ministry is often in difficulty at least partly because of an inability to face the truth of some past or present situation. As Jesus points out, though, experiencing the truth is the path to freedom (see John 8:32).

Ignoring or bypassing hurts allows the hurts to fester and creates a point of attack for the Enemy. Being honest with oneself and with God is the necessary first step toward dealing with the emotional garbage that has piled up over the years. Helping people with such issues must, however, be done carefully and lovingly, lest they go away with an added burden of guilt on top of their already heavy load.

Part of what the person will have to face is sin. As humans, we are, of course, habitual sinners. As the comic-strip character Pogo has said, “We have met the enemy—and he is us!” The sin, however, is less likely to be rebellion than a reaction to abuse that, though quite normal when the abuse happened, became sinful when the person held on to it. We can certainly sympathize with victims when they react in anger, resentment and even hatefulness to their abusers. But even “victims” need to take responsibility for any of their reactions that have led them into sin. When people allow themselves to wallow in such attitudes, they soon find themselves harboring unforgiveness, a serious sin against which we are warned continually (see Matt. 6:14-15).

All sin must, of course, be admitted and confessed to the Lord. And His promise of forgiveness is sure (see 1 John 1:9). But hurting people need to be led very gently to deal with any sinfulness of their natural reactions. Because the term “sin” is so easily misunderstood, I have found it usually advisable to lead people to forgive without ever mentioning that unforgiveness is a sin. I prefer, rather, to focus on the freedom Jesus offers to those who want release from attitudes such as unforgiveness, anger, resentment, desire for revenge, and the like. People receive freedom and forgiveness simultaneously when such attitudes are given to the Lord.

Receiving such freedom and forgiveness is often difficult for people who have long lived with self-condemnation. Satan is always ready to pour false guilt on people even after they have been forgiven by God. Once a person has confessed a sin or given up a sinful attitude, it is often very healing when we use the authority given us in John 20:23 to pronounce them forgiven.

Ministry will proceed much more rapidly and successfully as people are able to fully realize their position in Christ. In spite of the fact that we are called kings and priests (see Rev. 1:6; 5:10), children of God (see 1 John 3:1), heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (see Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6-7), a wrong view of who we are in Christ is the legacy of many evangelical traditions. As Seamands puts it:

Satan’s greatest psychological weapon is a gut-level feeling of inferiority, inadequacy, and low self-worth. . . . Low self-esteem paralyzes our potential, destroys our dreams, ruins our relationships, and sabotages our Christian service.7

I like to refer to such theological positions as “worm theology.” Such belief systems have Christians looking at themselves continually as lowly, depraved and unworthy to be in relationship with God. (See chapter 7 for more on this important topic.)

These and other habits often reinforced by the church constitute large hindrances to deep-level healing.

Freedom Leads to Intimacy

As the Second Adam, Jesus demonstrated the intimacy with the Father that Adam, Eve and all their descendents were meant to experience. He constantly attended to what the Father was saying. Thus He could claim, “I say only what the Father has instructed me to say” (John 8:28). He was lining Himself up with what the Father was doing. Thus He could say, “the Son . . . does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does” (John 5:19). He lived in absolute dependence on the Father, affirming by life as well as by word, “by myself I can do nothing. As I hear from God, I judge, and my judgment is true because I do not live to please myself but to do the will of the Father who sent me” (John 5:30, Phillips).

Staying close to the Father was a day-by-day priority for Jesus. To make sure He kept on track, He regularly spent time alone with the Father. Over and over again we read that Jesus withdrew to a solitary place (e.g., Matt. 14:13) to be alone with the Father.

Whether we are seeking freedom for ourselves or for others, maintaining intimacy with Jesus is a crucial requirement. Deep-level healing is about good relationships, first with God, then with self and others. Moving close to God, then, is a primary aim of ministry. To bring this about, satanic interference in prayer, worship and Bible study often has to be overcome through dealing with internal emotional and spiritual “garbage.”

As for those of us who seek to minister to others, intimacy with Jesus as our source of power becomes our lifeline. The Sandfords emphasize this when they point out, “Our spirit finds nurture from its source, from God. It is personal devotion and corporate worship that are the basics of nurture for our spirit. The Holy Spirit is by design the power of our life.”8 “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63, NKJV).

Every time I minister, I am acutely aware of the fact that I am not the healer. Healing doesn’t happen because I am gifted. People are touched, healed and delivered because God Himself is there, doing what He likes to do. Whatever happens, therefore, is not by my strength or power, but by His Spirit (see Zech. 4:6). And this depends on the extent to which I maintain that closeness with the Source of strength and power.

Living in such intimacy is not, however, the mysterious thing many people make it out to be. It doesn’t necessarily involve a lot of religious ritual. People often ask me, “How do you prepare for a ministry session?” The truth is, I seldom go to great lengths to prepare for any given session. I try to stay prepared constantly, because I never know when I’ll be called on to help someone. I frequently have to be ready on the spur of the moment in restaurants, while visiting other people, during or after class, in my office and even over the telephone. In fact, I probably minister more in situations with no preparation time than in those before which I have had time to fast and pray. So I try to always be prepared by staying close to Jesus.

Though our power comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit, I believe our spiritual authority flows directly from our intimacy with Jesus. We dare not ignore this very important facet of ministry, either for ourselves or for those we minister to. We should, therefore, do our best to imitate Jesus’ approach to maintaining intimacy with the Father. Though He was a Son, He worked at the Father-Son relationship by regularly spending time with the Father. So should we.

There is a direct connection between freedom and intimacy. Here we seek to present deep-level healing as a method of bringing the freedom God intended to His people. But the payoff is not simply in the freedom. It is when that freedom to be open to God enables us to experience the intimacy with Him that we were made for.

A 41-year-old woman I’ll call Joy expressed it well in a series of letters she wrote to me soon after my wife and I ministered to her at a seminar. Joy is married with three children and, even before she received ministry, seemed to everyone to be a happy, committed Christian, very active in ministering to others. But she had been badly abused sexually and in several other ways as a youngster. In spite of years of professional therapy, she was still carrying a considerable load of hurt inside. Yet Joy says, “When I got set free on February 7, it was the most life-changing thing that’s ever happened to me.” In an earlier letter, she recorded some of her feelings at the time of ministry as follows:

“Thank you” doesn’t seem adequate . . . but it will have to do. The Holy Spirit keeps reminding me of your words to go slowly, but it is not easy. I have been healed of a “condition” that I have lived with my whole life! I have a peace and freedom inside, and it is indescribable! I’m so grateful to God and to you and Meg. . . . Toward the end of our time together when you asked me if I wanted a hug from Jesus, I fully expected you to put your arms around me. Then you asked me if I saw Him. Boy, did I!!! I will never forget, as long as I live, how real Jesus was and is as He held me in His lap!

What Joy experienced was intimacy with Jesus. It is this that she and all of us were made for. It is this intimacy that Adam squandered in the Garden. It is this intimacy that Jesus modeled for us. And because He modeled it for us within the limitations of His human nature, His example is not completely out of reach for us.

Both Minister and Client

Need Intimacy

Because intimacy with God is what we are made for, it needs to be the aim both of those who minister and, through them, of those who receive ministry. We who minister in Jesus’ name need to start with intimacy. Our aim, then, is to lead those who receive ministry into freedom so that they can experience that same intimacy.

The object of deep-level healing is freedom. The reason we need freedom is so that we can experience what we are made for: intimacy with God and others. Deep-level healing functions in two ways to bring this intimacy: (1) when we hurt from deep wounds, deep-level ministry brings healing of the hurts so that we can relate properly to self, others and God; and (2) when we assist others to come to this freedom, deep-level ministry bonds us to God in ways that we never dreamed possible.

1. Intimacy for Those Who Hurt

This book is an attempt to instruct those who hurt and those who help them how to work with the Holy Spirit to gain more freedom. Though the book is not intended to be a self-help book, many will find it possible to use it to help themselves with the kinds of problems that are referred to. Others will find it a useful guide in their attempts to bring freedom to people who are in captivity to their hurts.

2. Intimacy for Those Who Minister

Those who minister can also use this book to discover intimacy. All of us who minister deep-level healing to hurting people soon find that we are receiving an incredible bonus as we spend time and energy with God involved in doing things we cannot do in our own strength. As we pray with people, the presence of the Holy Spirit is real and tangible. The guidance we receive and the changes that happen as we apply His power to human hurts keep us constantly aware that we do not work alone.

Seeing people move from the tenseness and pain of captivity to the release of freedom never gets old. As often as I’ve seen this process take place, I never get tired of it. And it sends my spirit soaring to realize that it was God and me! The God part is easy to understand. When God appears, marvelous things happen. It’s the “and me” part that challenges my self-concept and draws me ever closer into the intimacy with God that I was made for. Renewal for me, then, is my constant portion.

FOR FURTHER READING

Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 37-50.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Ulrichsville, OH: Barbour Publishing, 2008).

Charles H. Kraft, Christianity with Power (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005).

Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart (New York: Ballantine Books, 2003).

J. Oswald Sanders, Enjoying Intimacy with God (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2001).

John and Paula Sandford, The Transformation of the Inner Man (South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1982), pp. 95-106.

David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), pp. 33-41.

——, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), pp. 72-87.

——, Healing Grace (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1988), pp. 25-39.

A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Radford, VA: Wilder Publications, 2008).

3

WHO NEEDS

DEEP-LEVEL HEALING?

Julie’s Story

Emotionally, Julie was a woman who had been deeply scarred. She was now in her thirties but continued to carry heavy emotional wounds from childhood days. Julie’s father was an alcoholic during most of her growing-up years. Julie remembers instances when she and her mother would have to go out at night “looking for Daddy,” trying to find out what he was up to and when or if he was ever coming home. This greatly reduced Julie’s sense of stability in the home.

The lack of stability was compounded by the shame she felt as friends and relatives would ask pointed and painful questions about her father. These questions had few easy answers.

Unfortunately, but understandably, Julie’s mother did not handle these questions by telling the truth. She chose instead to cover the truth about Julie’s father with lies made up to protect herself and her children from the shame her husband was causing. She, of course, needed an ally, so she encouraged Julie, who was the oldest of her siblings, to lie about her father to people who would call him on the phone or who wanted to know how he was doing.

Although Julie had a strong sense of the truth, she found that she frequently faced great pressure within herself to lie about other things as well. For the most part, Julie remained strong against this temptation. But being the oldest, she felt a strong sense of responsibility for what was going on in the family. As her mother’s lying became more frequent, she vowed that when she grew up she would never lie again. This vow, however, gave the Enemy a grip on Julie.

On the one hand, she fought the temptation to lie; on the other, she was frequently forced by her feelings of responsibility and duty toward her mother to fudge on the truth. The result was a high level of confusion. It was the frustration over temptation, doubt and confusion that pushed Julie to seek prayer ministry.

We found in one of the first sessions that a spirit of lying had entered Julie some 20 years earlier while she was being pressured to lie about her father. This accusing spirit had been feeding on the confusion in Julie. When she lied, the spirit made her feel guilty; yet when she got in a tight spot in areas of life not related to her father’s problems, the same spirit pushed her to lie her way out of it. The spirit even prompted her to make the vow that she would not lie, increasing her guilt whenever she broke it by lying. Julie felt that others disbelieved her when she was telling the truth. One of her secret fears was that if she were ever falsely accused of a crime in a court of law, the jury would find her guilty.

Through the deep-level healing of some of Julie’s childhood memories, the sin of lying was confessed and forgiven by God at its entry point. Julie was able to take responsibility for her sin but also to recognize and renounce the influence the lying spirit had gained in her life. These two choices released Julie from a large part of the self-condemnation she felt over her problems. She then had to release herself from the responsibility she felt both for her family and for the vow she had taken. When she gave both of these to Jesus, we were able to cast out the demon, releasing her from that pressure. From then on, she has often had to claim the victories we won with her by resisting the feelings of responsibility and guilt whenever they have started to return.

Although the process was more difficult than this recounting of it may indicate, it is exciting now, several months later, to see Julie with greater freedom to enjoy the honesty and truth that come with the Christian life. She is able both to be truthful and to enter more fully into trusting relationships. She is also able to joyfully use her spiritual gifts in ministering to others. Julie is largely free from even the temptation to lie. She is also free from the self-condemnation and confusion that so characterized her life previous to this time of deep-healing ministry.

Who Needs Deep-Level Healing?

There are basically two kinds of people for whom deep-level healing is appropriate: sinners and victims. Those who have knowingly or unknowingly committed sin need freedom from the internal damage that sin has produced and continues to produce. Once we come to Christ as Savior, of course, the sin problem is dealt with for eternity. The problem facing many of the redeemed, however, is the need for freedom from the present effects of that sin. Jesus came to release prisoners as much from present captivity as from future damnation.

The second kind of person needing deep healing is the one who has been sinned against, the one who has become the victim of another person’s sin. Jesus paid special attention to people in this category in His day. For reasons we don’t understand, God allows people to hurt other people. These hurts stimulate reactions that, if not tended to, eat away at the inner being of the wounded one in such a way that they cause many more problems than the original hurt.

This chapter will be devoted to dealing with these two types of problems. First, the sin problem.

The Enemy’s Grip Through Sin

Sin is a major issue in deep-level healing. In some sense, all of the problems we deal with are sin-related. Either the person who comes for help has sinned or someone has sinned against the person. Though it is no sin to be sinned against, the reaction to such abuse may easily become sin. When you are hurt, it is normal to get angry. Such anger is not a sin in and of itself (see Eph. 4:26); but it may become sin if you allow it to spawn such things as resentment, hate, unforgiveness and bitterness. If you wallow in such negativity, your reactions become sinful, even if they started out simply as normal, natural reactions to difficult situations. (See chapter 6 for more on reactions.)

There are also outright sins that have to be dealt with. When someone has taken a life through abortion or has committed adultery or lied or stolen, confession of such acts to God, according to 1 John 1:9, is a must if the person is to be freed by Jesus.

We attempted for two-and-a-half hours to get Bob free from a rather tenacious demon. He had shared with us several details of a very difficult love-hate relationship with his father, a pastor whose ministry in recent years had faltered.

We helped Bob deal with the anger and unforgiveness he felt toward his father. Because sin is often taken as an accusation, it is my habit to avoid using that term, though I usually ask the person if he or she has confessed all known sin. Early in the session, I asked Bob this question, and his answer was that he thought he had. So we were surprised when he blurted out, “I’ve never admitted this to anybody. I committed adultery in my father’s church! It was after this that the church started going downhill.” A simple confession of this fact to God brought forgiveness and enabled us to get rid of the demon.

When ministering to people, we should always look for any such obvious sins. It is, however, very important how we probe. It is easy to be unloving in searching for sin in the lives of people who have been abused. They are already sensitive, and if we are not careful, they may read more into even our most innocent attempts to probe in this area than we intend.

Dealing with Sin

The issue of personal responsibility is a crucial yet sensitive one. Some who minister focus their attention almost entirely on the moral failings of the counselee and concentrate most of their efforts toward healing through more righteous living. Though any moral failings must be dealt with thoroughly, and the need to live a righteous life should be emphasized, all too often focusing on such matters compounds the problem rather than bringing healing. People who are hurting often have an incredible ability to collect more hurt and add it to what they are already carrying. When we label a reaction such as unforgiveness or anger as sin, the hurting person usually turns inward, heaping on much greater condemnation and making ministry all the more difficult.

Sin is an important issue. Nowhere in Scripture do we find permission to blame others, the world or Satan for our problems. Julie, in the case described at the opening of this chapter, could not blame the demon or her parents for the fact that she regularly lied, even though both her parents and demonic influence exerted strong pressure on her. She had to take responsibility for her own sin. Each of us must give an account for our actions and reactions. However, there is more to healing than the recognition of sin. Most of the people we work with have been deeply hurt; and because of this, they have chosen unhealthy ways to deal with their pain. Though we do need to address their wrong reactions, jumping on the sin issue will usually either submerge people under a greater load of shame and guilt than they came with or induce them to raise their defenses higher.

The Samaritan woman and the woman caught in the act of adultery (see John 4 and 8) were both sinners. But they already knew that; they had condemned themselves and borne the condemnation of others. It is significant that Jesus did not focus on their sins. People who are self-condemned aren’t benefited when those who are trying to help them focus on their failures. Instead, the Master showed such people acceptance and love, gently leading them along the path to forgiveness.

Though we dare not be soft on sin, it is not our job to convict people of sin. Even Jesus Himself refused to do that (see John 3:17). Instead, He saw His mission as bringing release to people (see Luke 4:18-19). The task of convicting people belongs to the Holy Spirit (see John 16:8). We, like Jesus, are to be agents of God’s reconciliation (see 2 Cor. 5:20); as such, we are called to minister love and restoration. Our job is to free people from guilt, not heap more on them. This often involves helping the people to whom we minister accept the forgiveness already granted them by the Lord.

I find that most of those who come to me are already in the position of the woman caught committing adultery, whose story is recorded in John 8. They are keenly aware of their sins and, in fact, have usually confessed them to God over and over again without feeling release. Guilt and self-condemnation weigh so heavily on these people that they often cannot even believe that God will forgive them. Any additional hint of condemnation only drives them deeper into hopelessness. The most helpful and healing approach is to follow the path Jesus used with Peter (see John 21) and with the adulteress. He focused not on their sin but on God’s willingness to accept them back.

Confession and Repentance

When there is a sin issue, it is frequently necessary to lead people to confess the sin and repent of it. One of God’s rules of the universe is that unconfessed, unrepented sin puts people in captivity. King David ran afoul of this rule and stated:

When I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all day long. Day and night you punished me, LORD; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat. Then I confessed my sins to you; I did not conceal my wrongdoings. I decided to confess them to you, and you forgave all my sins (Ps. 32:3-5).

Confession and repentance are powerful and necessary prerequisites to deep-level healing. Confession is threefold: confession to self; to God; and, sometimes, to others. Confession is the opposite of denial. Denial of sin produces a self-inflicted wound. Such wounds enslave us to the Enemy.

Confession to Oneself

Denying that we have sinned not only makes God a liar (see 1 John 1:10), but it is also self-deception and deceit (see 1 John 1:8). Healing and freedom, however, require a relationship with ourselves that is honest and true. If we are to get free, we need to be able to recognize our sin quickly, resist the temptation to deny it and take it to God in confession and repentance. The first step is to confess the sin to oneself.

Confession to God

Confession to oneself must be followed by confession to God. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, God is able to release us from captivity to our sin and the Enemy who lurks behind it. Confession to God needs to be specific so that specific forgiveness and healing can replace the sin in our life. If we receive God’s mercy and forgiveness, the area that was wounded now is well on its way toward healing. We can then move on to the next level of the process.

Confession to Others

Though most of our sins are between God and us, sins that involve other persons may need to be confessed to them and reconciliation sought. Asking forgiveness from those we have offended, though difficult, is very healing and freedom producing. Our unforgiveness of another person restricts that person’s freedom; and their unforgiveness toward us restricts ours. If at all possible, then, we need to confess to and repent before the ones we have hurt to free both them and us.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is, however, not always possible due to unwillingness on the part of the offended one. Though forgiving another person requires one person (you), reconciliation requires two (you and the other person). And though you may be willing, the other person may not. This is sad, but we cannot force a person’s free will. The Scriptures tell us to keep on good terms with others as best we can (see Rom. 12:18; 14:19; Eph. 4:3; Heb. 12:14), recognizing that the other(s) may not cooperate.

In addition, there is often a benefit when we confess our sins to and receive prayer from a small group of Christians who are close to us. In speaking of healing and forgiveness, James 5:16 commands us to “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed.” God has established the members of His body to function in connection with one another (see 1 Cor. 12:12-31). When one member is hurting, all of the members are hurting. We need to help carry one another’s burdens, thus fulfilling the law of Christ (see Gal. 6:2). The Sandfords tell us:

The very purpose of our being here on earth is that right here, in the body, we may be loved to life in a way Heaven could not provide. God designed that we should find His love person to person, body to body, and so be drawn forth and trained to become human.1

Living outside the community of faith as a lone-wolf Christian can greatly inhibit the process of deep-level healing. Sharing our sin burden with others and letting them share theirs with us are powerful components of a complete healing process.

Within the process, we must have an overall attitude of transparency. The Enemy tries to keep us from opening up in confession. This allows rooms of darkness within us to remain hidden from the penetrating light of Christ. The light of Jesus desires to flood every room in our “house” with cleansing light. And where that light shines, no darkness can overcome it (see John 1:5)!

The Authority to Forgive

In working to bring deep-level healing, it is important to make use of all of the resources for ministry that God offers us. One of these is the authority to forgive people of their sins. Jesus said to His followers, “If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven” (John 20:23).

Some people don’t seem to be able to receive the mercy and forgiveness of God directly from Him. They often are deeply mired in self-condemnation and feel their pleas for forgiveness are not heard. They feel distant and unable to relate personally with God. Though the verse in John seems to give us permission to forgive people directly, I am cautious in the way I use this authority. I ask the person if all known sin has been confessed. If he or she says yes, I say something like, “In the name of Jesus, on the authority given me by John 20:23, I speak forgiveness to you.” The resulting release the person feels is sometimes dramatic.

Calling Sin, “Sin”

When the term “sin” is mentioned, most people think of a fairly small number of behaviors; but the Scriptures define sin more simply and broadly. According to Romans 14:23, sin is any disobedience to God. Thus, in addition to the “biggies” that come to most people’s minds—such as murder, sexual promiscuity and theft—we need to list such things as holding grudges, refusing to forgive, keeping anger or bitterness (see Eph. 4:31-32), desiring revenge, not loving ourselves, jealousy, being materialistic, envying, being competitive, being individualistic, to name a few. The fact that many of these sins are approved by our society keeps many of us from even recognizing them as sin. Neil Anderson gives a more scriptural definition of sin when he says:

You commit sin when you willfully allow yourself to act independent of God as the old self did as a matter of course. When you function in this manner you are violating your new nature and your new identity.2

It is usually “out of focus” sins that we have to deal with, those falling under this kind of independence from God, rather than those we ordinarily think of. This is why it is usually unloving to use the word “sin” as a rubric for labeling what the problem is. Though we may have studied the Scriptures and developed this broad understanding of what sin involves, most of our counselees will think only of the gravest of activities. Or, worse yet, they may develop a broader but inaccurate understanding of sin and condemn themselves for a multitude of things they should not feel guilty over. As pointed out above, it is our practice to be very careful in the way we use the word “sin,” even when it is obvious to us that the root problem is a sin the person has committed. Because Jesus almost never used the term, except when teaching His disciples, we choose to use it very sparingly when ministering deep-level healing.

We must, however, deal continually with sins and their effect, whether or not we use the word “sin” very much. When a person is involved repeatedly in some type of sinful behavior, there are a few things to consider.

First, the person must be willing to give up the sin and submit his or her will to Christ. Without such willingness, we (and God) are blocked in our attempts to deal with deep issues. The person’s will must be engaged on God’s side of the problem. One who continues in willful sin is taking Satan’s side and blocking God’s working in her or his life. To choose to give up a favorite sin may be difficult and require constant recommitment on the part of the person and constant encouragement on the part of the counselor until victory is obtained in that area. Great patience and prayerfulness on the part of both are needed.

Second, the roots of difficulty in choosing to abandon a sin often lie in emotional wounding. Pointing to this fact, the Sandfords say:

Love, being good, produces no bad fruit. Bad fruit has to come from bad roots in a bad tree. . . . What happened between your father and mother, or with your brothers and sisters? Somewhere there’s a bad root. Let’s find it.3

People’s determination and ability to choose may be quite weak, stemming from events early in life. As issues are worked through in inner healing, however, people usually gain strength to exert their wills more effectively.

Third, there may be demons giving strength to sinful habits. It is a part of a demon’s job description to enhance sin while getting people to blame themselves for the problem. When people are having difficulty giving up a sin, it is a good idea to probe to discover if there is a demon present, piggybacking on their weaknesses. Deliverance from spirits that enhance such things as lust, pornography, drunkenness, stealing, lying, unforgiveness, hatred and pride will allow the person much more strength of will to resist temptation in the future. (See chapter 10 in this book and my book Defeating Dark Angels for more on dealing with demons.)

The Gravity of Sexual Sin

In 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, the apostle Paul indicates that sexual sin is in a separate category from all other sins:

Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of sexual immorality sins against his own body. Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God’s glory.

Sexual intimacy bonds people to each other. Such bonding is more than a physical thing. It is spiritual. I believe the Greek word soma (“body”) in the above verses should be interpreted (in keeping with regular Greek usage) as referring to our whole self, not simply as referring to the physical part of us. As the Sandfords say, “It is impossible to touch body only, because it is the spirit living in every cell which gives life to the body (James 2:26).”4

The sexual part of us is of particular interest to the Enemy. He is, of course, against life and creativity. Thus, he mounts many of his strongest attacks on that part of us that creates life. He has also found that there is no better way to degrade us and damage our self-image than to attack the sexual part of us. The invasiveness of sexual mistreatment of women is a particularly potent method in the Enemy’s hands. He is especially hateful toward women because, as I have heard from several demons, “They give life.”

We have found in ministry that sexual sins, especially adultery and fornication, need to be dealt with in a special way. When people have been bonded to each other through sexual relations, what is called an “ungodly soul tie” is created. A soul tie is a spiritual bonding empowered by Satan. Though there are other types of soul ties created through control and domination of one person by another person or group, sexual soul ties are an especially potent way in which the Enemy interferes with persons, both internally and relationally. Marriage relationships are often considerably damaged when past sexual bonding has not been taken care of, whether or not the spouse knows of the previous affair(s). God is willing to heal us from the effects of such bonding if we come to Him.

In dealing with soul ties created by adultery, incest, rape, homosexual encounters or any other extramarital sexual relations, we first make sure the person has confessed to God any sin involved, and received His forgiveness. If it was adultery or homosexuality, the whole thing needs to be confessed as sin. Rape or incest, however, do not need to be confessed as sin by the victim because they were not the fault of the victim. But there may be attitudes of anger, bitterness, unforgiveness and the like that need to be confessed to God as sin before the person can be helped.

Once the sin has been dealt with, we ask the person to go back in memory and to picture the affair(s) under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, picturing the person and, if necessary, forgiving that person for his or her part in the relationship. The person then is guided to renounce, in the name of Jesus, all bonding to all persons he or she has had sex with, except the current marriage partner. It is my habit, as the person denounces the bonding, to take authority in Jesus’ name and break any satanic power that exists in the person’s life as a result of the illicit sex. To do this, I say something like, “In the name of Jesus, I cancel all soul ties and break all satanic power in this person’s life given the Enemy through these sexual relationships.”

As we minister in this way, we find that frequently God gives the person a picture to signify the breaking of the bonding with the other person(s). In one case, where the woman I was helping had been repeatedly raped as a child in a satanic cult, God showed her all the men lined up one behind the other. As she renounced the bonding, the whole line of men fell down like dominoes, and she was free.

Nonsexual soul ties can be dealt with in a similar way. Sometimes spiritual bonding happens when a person is dominated by another (including domination by a parent), or when a person strongly admires another or there is a very close friendship where one person dominates the other. Such spirit-to-spirit ties to other people need to be broken if the person is to get free. The steps are the same: deal with any sin through confession, renounce in Jesus’ name any bonding empowered by Satan, claim Jesus’ blessing on any part of the tie empowered by God, and forbid the Enemy to continue to interfere in or make any further use of the relationship.

Responsibility and Victimization

God has given His creatures a certain amount of freedom to make choices. It is clear that humans can choose to do right things or wrong things. These choices have consequences for which we are responsible. It is also clear that when such choices are made, they often affect other people. Indeed, many people suffer greatly through no fault of their own because someone else chose to do something that hurt them. And in addition to the choices and activities of people are the things Satan and his dark angels choose to do that affect humans. These facts underlie at least three important areas relating to how people get into difficulty.

1. A Person’s Own Choices

People often choose to run their lives outside of God’s will. Whether they choose to sin or simply ignore God, people are responsible for the choices they make and will be judged in accordance with how they have used their freedom. Much illness, whether spiritual, emotional or physical, is the result of the person’s own poor choices. In spite of the fact that our enemy Satan is often involved in encouraging such choices, the Scriptures indicate clearly that it is our responsibility to deal with our sinfulness. In ministering at a deep level, we frequently find that problems caused by the person’s own choices need to be dealt with first.

2. The Choices of Others

Not infrequently, a person’s difficulties are the result of others’ choices. Other people may have abused the person. An ancestor may have allowed demons into the family line. Those in authority over the person may have dedicated him or her to evil spiritual powers. As a result, such people have become victims because of someone else’s choices.

Victims are those who are hurt, often badly hurt, through no fault of their own. As Rich Buhler tells us in his book Pain and Pretending, “A victim is a person who has experienced destruction at the foundation of who that person is and in a way that has caused significant hindrance in the living of life.”5 The majority of the people we minister to fall into the victim category.

When Jesus announced “good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18), He was making a statement concerning His relationship to victims. The term “poor” in this context refers to those who are oppressed and, through no fault of their own, live in poverty.

Jesus never condemned those who were sick or demonized. He even refused to condemn at least certain people who had obvious sin in their lives—see the stories of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8) and Peter (John 21), none of whom could rightly blame anyone but themselves for their difficulties. Jesus treated them as if they had simply made mistakes, as if in learning to walk they had stumbled and fallen. Rather than condemning them as evil or as failures, He simply offered them His hand to lift them to their feet.

Jesus seems to have divided up the human landscape into three groups: the victims (oppressed), the victimizers (oppressors) and the “righteous” (see Matt. 25:31-46, especially vv. 33,37). He saw the common people as victimized by those in power (namely, the Pharisees and the rulers of the Jews) and set Himself to rescue as many of them as possible.

If we are to follow Jesus’ example, our eyes need to be focused on helping the needy, whether their problems result from their own bad choices or from victimization by others. We are to serve them automatically, because they have a need. When we help the needy, we minister to Jesus (see Matt. 25:37-39).

If Jesus’ world produced victims, how much more does ours? Whether we look at worldwide poverty, political turmoil and warfare, or widespread social dysfunction, ours is a world in which humans create an incredible number of victims.

3. The Actions of the Enemy

There is an enemy who is very active in messing up our lives. He instigates the temptation to sin and the inclination of people to victimize others, and he is right there to take advantage of each negative event. He is the victimizer par excellence. However, we are not allowed to duck our own responsibility by adopting the “theology” of seventies comedian Flip Wilson: “The Devil made me do it!” We do, however, need to recognize the nature and extent of our Enemy’s activities.

It is our job to deal intelligently with a fallen world in which people sin and victimize each other. We are expected to understand the Enemy’s devices (see 2 Cor. 2:11). But we are not to shoulder this responsibility alone. We are to help each other get free from the things that bind us.

Deep-level healing is a way of working in the power of the Holy Spirit to restore to health both victims and those who have made bad choices.

Ideal Relationships with God, Self and Others

The Scriptures, either by specific statement or by implication, present us with certain ideals concerning our relationship with God, self and others. Victimization disrupts these relationships.

The ideal relationship with God means that a person is a new and growing creature (see 2 Cor. 5:17); united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit (see 1 Cor. 6:17); filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 10:44-48); and living as close to the Father as Jesus did (see John 5:19,30).

The ideal relationship with self involves loving self as God does, accepting and forgiving oneself. We are to see ourselves as full-fledged children of God (see 1 John 3:1; Gal. 4:4-7; Rom. 8:14-17) who can hold our heads high as princes or princesses. Such people are free to accept and forgive those who have hurt them.

The ideal relationship with others involves loving them as God loves them and as one (ideally) loves oneself (see Matt. 22:39). We are to follow Jesus’ example and serve others (see Matt. 20:28), relating to them as members of the same family, the same body, with Christ as the head. Humans have a basic need for mutual interdependence and cannot be emotionally healthy without such closeness. This means that we need to fight our Western individualism so that we can attain good, close relationships with others, especially within church contexts.

Spiritual Roots of Deep-Level Problems

The emotional and spiritual areas of life seem to be so intertwined that illness in either tends to produce symptoms that are usually labeled emotional. I am not certain, therefore, that it is possible to distinguish between spiritual and emotional illness by looking at the surface symptoms. We may, however, attempt to distinguish spiritual from emotional roots for such problems.

We can identify at least seven spiritual roots to deep-level problems. And we can say that each of these roots causes spiritual illness, even though the obvious surface symptoms are emotional.

1. Sin

Sin is a primary cause of spiritual illness. We are told that our human nature (“flesh”) is no good (see Rom. 7:18). It is full of all kinds of sin (see Gal. 5:19-21). When, therefore, we give in to the “works” of our human nature, either consciously or unconsciously, we become spiritually ill and our relationship with God is disrupted until we confess our sin and receive His forgiveness (see 1 John 1:9).

2. Neglect of One’s Relationship with God

Neglect of one’s relationship with God also causes spiritual illness. We are made for closeness to God. Such closeness requires time spent with Him. Jesus valued this intimacy so much that He frequently went off to solitary places to be with the Father (see Matt. 14:13). If Jesus needed to spend much time with the Father, so must we to maintain our relationship with God.

3. A Wrong View of God

Many people experience a kind of spiritual illness because they hold a wrong view of God. For many, God seems too distant to concern Himself with them. Others see Him as so judgmental and angry that He refuses to help them, and His primary concern is to punish them. Still others see Him as determining everything without reference to any freedom of choice on the part of humans. Each of these views participates in satanic deceit and flies in the face of Jesus’ representation of God articulated in His words to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). These faulty perceptions also lead to seriously wrong impressions concerning the reasons for difficulty in the lives of Christians.

4. Anger at God

Akin to a wrong view of God is anger at God. People often assume that God can do anything He wants to do (including overrule the free will of those who hurt others) without regard to the rules He has built into the universe. If this is true, they reason, He certainly could have prevented the abuse they experienced. They are angry at Him for what they perceive as abandonment or neglect. Wallowing in such anger, bitterness and unforgiveness creates spiritual illness.

Though God will accomplish His purposes, and though “in all things God works for good with those who love him” (Rom. 8:28), many things do not go the way God wants them to in the here and now. For example, God “does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins” (2 Pet. 3:9). But many will perish. That God seems to have limited Himself in His relationships, both with humans and with Satan, is one of the most difficult things to explain to hurting people who feel that God has let them down.

5. Satanic Harassment

A fifth cause of spiritual illness is satanic harassment allowed by the “garbage” inside a person. If there are spiritual, emotional or mental problems, or disorders of a person’s will, the Enemy can attach himself to such problems. He likes to harass by taking advantage of such things as fear, guilt, anger and lust. Launching his attacks from such problems, he often disrupts sleep and other normal functions, as well as times of prayer, worship and Bible study.

Curses and vows may be involved in such attacks. Proverbs 26:2 speaks of curses not being able to land or have an impact without a reason. The implication is that if there is a reason, curses can have an impact. I believe that a lot of curses are directed toward people. Most curses are informal in the sense that they consist of angry words spoken against a person that are empowered by the forces of darkness. Some cursing, however, is done more formally and is sometimes reinforced by ritual. Such cursing is more powerful. In one way or another, if the curses hit their mark, they will be experienced as satanic attack.

People who are angry at themselves often say things such as, “I hate myself (my body, my name)” or “I wish this part of me wasn’t so . . .” or “I vow not to be like my father and mother.” When we say such things against ourselves, we often find that the Enemy sneaks in and empowers the words as curses or vows. He thus gains the right to harass. To break such curses or vows, a person usually only has to say something like, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce any curses I have made against myself or any part of me, and any vows I have made that are empowered by Satan.” The person who makes a curse or vow has the authority to recall it.

6. Demonization

In addition to such harassment from outside, there is demonization, the living of evil spirits inside a person. As already mentioned, it is not uncommon for us to have to deal with demons living in those who come for deep-level healing. In my book Defeating Dark Angels, I have treated this problem in detail. Suffice it to say here that when a person who has demons living within becomes a Christian, the demons leave the person’s spirit but still live within other parts of the person (i.e., body, mind, emotions and will). As the Christian grows in the faith and, hopefully, deals with the emotional and spiritual garbage to which the demons are attached, they are weakened and suppressed, and their ability to influence the person decreases. Even such growth often does not get rid of them, however. Though many Christians have been able to do it themselves, getting rid of demons living within usually requires the help of someone who knows how to cast them out.

7. Generational Spirits or Curses

People can inherit satanic interference from parents and ancestors who have allowed demons into their lives. Those who have participated in occult groups such as Freemasonry, Mormonism, Christian Science, Scientology, other religions, Eastern mysticism and martial arts frequently, if not always, pass their demons on to the next generation. When these people take on the curses involved in dedicating themselves to the spirits and gods behind their organization, the curses are passed on to the following generations of their families. In this way the Enemy gains access to the lives of countless innocent children who experience interference in the spiritual part of their lives, especially if they turn to Christ.

Emotional Roots of Deep-Level Problems

Although the spiritual and emotional components of deep-level problems are intertwined, we can identify two major emotional roots: (1) reactions to life experiences, and (2) what the person has done and usually continues to do to himself or herself.

1. Reactions to Life Experiences

During the course of our lives, we react to what happens to us. Life is difficult, even for those from good backgrounds. Often there are factors to deal with such as childhood illnesses, parental neglect, being born out of wedlock or born the “wrong” sex in the eyes of a parent. Seamands writes in Putting Away Childish Things:

You cannot cut yourself off from your own history. You are a complex tapestry, woven with a million strands, some of which reach back to Adam and beyond him to God who created you in His image. But many of the most important strands were introduced in your childhood, especially in the parent-child relationships.6

Childhood or school experiences may have been difficult. Adolescence is a difficult time for most, sometimes involving sexual experimentation or occult involvement. Adult experiences, too, often leave scars. Even good parents, teachers and other acquaintances make mistakes that hurt us.

Many people have experienced mild to severe abuse in emotional, physical, sexual or spiritual areas of life. When hurt, we usually respond by suppressing the emotion and quickly “bandaging” the wound so that no one can see that we have been wounded. Without cleansing the wound before bandaging it, the wound festers and later begins to leak the infection. This allows the unhealed wounds to influence the present, even though the experiences of being wounded happened much earlier.

Life experiences, especially the negative ones, affect a person’s physical, emotional and spiritual health. They usually affect relationships with God, self and others in a major way. Quite often, people blame themselves for their difficulties, even difficulties that are caused by others. Victims almost always blame themselves for their problems.

When hurt, people usually respond with anger, resentment and the desire for revenge. These are survival reactions; and though they are natural and legitimate, they become a major problem to the person who hangs on to them. These attitudes create the garbage that we have been talking about. Thus, the hurtful event is not as seriously harmful to the person as is his or her reaction to the event and, years later, the memory of it. Such negative attitudes can result in illness in any or all areas of a person’s life; these attitudes can also provide opportunity for demonic harassment and invasion. Rich Buhler, in Pain and Pretending, says:

God has given us the ability to blow fuses in the face of something overwhelming and that mechanism can enable people to survive, but that’s the only thing it is good for, surviving, not living and relating to our families and friends. Even though I believe God gave us these safety valves, I don’t believe he meant them to be a permanent way of life.7

For this reason, God has provided us with a spiritual and emotional excretory system. Note that Scripture tells us it is no sin to get angry. Anger can be normal. But to fail to rid ourselves of anger as soon as possible is risky. Hear the apostle Paul on the subject:

If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Don’t give the Devil a chance. . . . Get rid of all bitterness, [rage], and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ (Eph. 4:26-27,31-32).

With regard to anger, Buhler points out:

Sometimes the anger the victim feels is a righteous anger, a feeling that something very unjust has been done by one person to another, and that something needs to be done about it. This is a healthy anger and can lead to some wise decisions on the part of the victim, such as getting help for himself or herself and identifying the abuser and holding the abuser accountable for what he or she has done.8

The problem is not with the angry reaction; the problem is when we keep the anger. God has made it possible for us to give Him our right to anger and revenge. So we are to give up our right to these emotions in order to be free. As God commands, “Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God’s anger do it. For the scripture says, ‘I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord’ ” (Rom. 12:19).

2. What People Have Done and Usually Continue to Do

Spinning off from the kinds of things we have just been discussing, people often turn on themselves and continue the victimization. Many people dislike or even hate themselves. This usually involves large amounts of negative self-talk—the constant internal verbalizing of messages to oneself such as, “You stupid fool” or “You’ll never get it right,” or when something goes wrong, “What do you expect? Things usually turn out wrong when you’re involved.” A person may inwardly repeat phrases often heard from parents such as, “Shame on you” or “Damn you.”

The Enemy’s fiercest attacks are in the area of self-image (see chapter 7 for a more extended discussion). He doesn’t want us to know who we are. So he attacks us constantly through other people. Unfortunately, humans have a propensity for internalizing and replaying audiotapes in their minds of negative things heard from others. This lines up with what the memory experts tell us concerning the fact that we tend to remember negative things more clearly and accurately than positive things. Seamands, in Healing Grace, underlines this fact, saying:

People will remember a single hurtful criticism most vividly, while tending to forget a string of compliments. And they will feel a positive or a negative statement about what they are much more deeply than one concerning what they did. Thus it’s easy to see why the put-downs of being can be so completely shattering to our self-esteem.9

In this way, we abuse ourselves, continuing the abuse we received from our elders when we were children. The result is moderate to severe emotional illness that requires deep-level healing to correct.

Causes of Sickness in Relationships with Others

All of these problems can and frequently do result in relational illness. In addition, demons specialize in messing up relationships. They stimulate gossip, criticism, competitiveness and fear that others will discover what we are really like.

If our self-image is poor, it will affect how we relate to others, to self and to God. Those who have had damaging childhood experiences with authority figures will probably have difficulty relating to those in authority, perhaps including God. Those who have had bad experiences with members of the opposite sex (including parents and other relatives) will often find it difficult to relate to their marriage partner. Likewise, they will have difficulty in relationships with their peers. Here are three additional causes of relationship problems:

1. Individualism

One source of relational illness stems from our Western worldview of individualism. God made humans so that we function best when we live in genuine interdependence with others. Whether in our families, in society at large or in our churches, we relate to many other people, and relate very closely to some. I believe that we are not as healthy as God intended us to be when we are not in close relationships with others. The fact that American males usually do not have even one really close friend is a tragedy that makes for relational illness in most American males. I have no doubt that a major reason why American women live longer than men is the fact that more women establish and maintain close relationships with others.

People are often relationally ill because they are so individualistic. They keep to themselves, refusing to ask for help when they need it for fear of admitting they are needy. In addition, there is often an extreme spirit of competitiveness. Such competitiveness and refusal to interdepend are particularly troublesome between marriage partners and between those working in an organization (for example, a church) that requires teamwork.

2. Broken Relationships

When people do get into a close relationship that breaks down, a typical response is to shy away from further relationships. When a romance goes sour or a marriage falls apart or siblings are at each other’s throats, those who once were close often become enemies. Such animosity, then, tends to be accompanied by self-blame, anger and fear of getting close to anyone else.

3. Personal Characteristics

A variety of personal characteristics, usually rooted in deeper-level problems, serve as a third source of relational sickness. Fear of intimacy ranks high among these. This is often rooted in the fear of discovery of sin or something else in a person’s background that the person is ashamed of. Other characteristics include the need to control or dominate, always blaming others for one’s problems, arrogance, superiority or inferiority complexes, extreme shyness, overdependence and an inability to make decisions. All of these result in interpersonal illness.

The Enemy loves to make use of such relational “garbage,” especially among Christians. The more he can stir up relational trouble in churches and other Christian organizations, the better he likes it. One of Satan’s primary aims is to mess up Christians. He will gladly attack any vulnerable relationship, especially of those in ministry. Notice how many clergymen and others in “full-time” ministry struggle with and often fail in their marriages. Notice how many have difficulty with their children, not to mention problems relating to members of their churches or other constituencies. Both within families and Christian organizations, Satan especially likes to disrupt authority relationships.

The Effects of Relationship Sickness

The effects of such damage are many and far reaching. Spiritually, there is often great damage to a person’s relationship with God. If there was not already a wrong view of God, relationship problems can often produce it. For example, victimized people often develop a concept of God as being far away and either unconcerned or powerless to help when they are being hurt. Frequently, they see God as one who abandoned them or is powerless in their time of need. People with a Roman Catholic background who are used to seeing Jesus hanging on the cross are especially susceptible to feeling that God is powerless.

These attitudes can lead to such reactions as fear of God’s closeness, extreme feelings of guilt when thinking of God, an expectation of His condemnation, punishment, and even the belief that He is in the business of exploiting people. Not infrequently, people who feel this way give up any attempt to please God or other people and even gravitate toward rebellion against Him and His standards. These responses can, in turn, lead to greater vulnerability to demonic influence.

As mentioned, such damage usually turns a person against himself (or herself), resulting in self-rejection, self-hatred, perfectionism, a performance orientation or a sense of unworthiness and inadequacy. Furthermore, the person often experiences an inability to forgive self, a recurring guilt (even concerning things confessed) and an inability to accept forgiveness. This is often accompanied by self-cursing and other negative wishes toward self or parts of self (including one’s name, body, mind, emotions), along with a large amount of self-deceit.

People often experience unreasoning fear of facing any memories of the past. Psychologists tell us that the human brain records nearly everything that happens to a person. But to survive, a person often suppresses the memories of past hurts without getting them healed first. Buhler points out:

Victims who have experienced blocked memories will sometimes forget whole categories of childhood. Many, for example, can’t remember childhood at all. . . . It is important to point out that even if a person remembers abuse from childhood, it is common that what I call the “branding experience,” the particular event that caused the most destruction, is blocked from memory.10

The possibility of those unhealed memories coming to the surface frightens the person. Yet, in spite of attempts to suppress them, the memories affect the person’s present life in some or all of the following ways: depression (usually rooted in anger), upset sleep patterns (disturbing dreams, restlessness, noisiness while asleep) or lack of control of one’s emotional reactions to certain events or people. Sometimes the person loses control of the ability to suppress the memories and experiences flashbacks of the hurtful events. This usually results in even greater fear of the memories.

Spiritual, emotional and interpersonal damage all tend to show up in emotional difficulties. Such emotional problems seem to cluster in groupings. Thus, people with one of the problems in a group tend to also have one or more of the other problems in that same group. (See the “Typical Clusters of Emotional Problems” chart below.)

It is clear to medical doctors that emotional problems weaken the body. The vast majority of the physical problems I deal with have emotional roots, even when the immediate problem was an accident. When the body is weak, sickness or accidents have a greater and longer-lasting effect on it. Certain illnesses are notoriously psychosomatic, among them asthma, allergies, arthritis and migraine headaches. In addition, any weak part of one’s body may regularly manifest pain or other dysfunction under stress. Some people carry their stress in their backs; others carry it in their stomachs, heads, necks or other body parts.

We humans are complex. The previous pages have given us an outline of the various wounds that require deep-level healing. Such compulsions and addictions usually point to deeper problems. We also might note that physical problems can stem from any of the difficulties listed on the charts.

FOR FURTHER READING

Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 69-85, 193-207.

John and Paula Sandford, Transforming the Inner Man (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2007).

———, God’s Power to Change (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2007).

David A. Seamands, Healing Grace (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1988), pp. 125-138.

4

PRESENT PROBLEMS ARE

ROOTED IN MEMORIES

Meeting Jesus in Jenna’s Past

We were in our sixth inner-healing session with Jenna, who was making remarkable progress. I had just asked the Holy Spirit to direct us to the agenda for this meeting when Jenna interrupted me and said, “Wait a minute, I think the Holy Spirit is bringing a memory to me.” I allowed her some time for the memory to become clear to her, then asked Jenna to describe it for me.

“I see myself standing on the porch of my grandfather’s house,” she said. “I’m in ragged clothes and my face is dirty. My hair is unkempt and I am experiencing some sort of deep emotion.”

“What is the emotion?” I asked.

“It’s pain, deep emotional pain. I think my parents have left me,” Jenna said. She then went on to describe a deep sadness almost beyond her ability to handle. Along with the sadness came great fear of her pain, plus great insecurity. “I don’t know what to do,” she complained. “It makes me feel like putting the whole experience in a sealed box so it won’t hurt so much, and then quitting. In fact, I think that’s what I did at the time.”

“Keep watching,” I told her. “I want to ask Jesus to come and minister to you there. Do you think Jesus was there with you at that time of deep pain?” She wasn’t sure. I then explained to her that based on Scripture passages like Hebrews 13:8, John 1:1-3, Revelation 4:8 and Colossians 1:15-23, we can know that Jesus was indeed there when these things happened to her. He’s everywhere, not only in the present, but also in the past and future. He’s intimately involved in every detail of our lives whether we recognize and respond to Him or not. I then asked her if she could see Jesus there with her on the porch.

She watched for a couple of minutes with her eyes closed and then a smile came over her face. I asked her what she saw, and she said that a great big Jesus (in comparison to her), in flowing robe and sandals, had walked up the sidewalk in front of her grandfather’s house. He ascended the steps of the porch and stood in front of her. She was so small compared to Him that all she could see were His feet and shins. Jesus stooped down and picked her up, holding her in His strong arms. He then declared to all who were there that day, “This one is mine!”

Jenna allowed herself to be held by Jesus for a long time, just enjoying His loving presence, as she committed to Him her feelings of abandonment and worthlessness. Her pain ebbed away, replaced by a sense of Jesus’ closeness in the past as well as in the present.

Jenna still has work to do as she adjusts to her new freedom and mops up areas that still need healing. But the process is well underway and she can do much of what remains on her own. She has experienced the healing hand of the Lord applied to the roots of her problems and knows that “God, who began this good work in [her], will carry it on until it is finished” (Phil. 1:6).

Technique and the Holy Spirit’s Leading

In the course of learning to minister deep-level healing, we have found that certain methods are very effective. But discussion of technique in a ministry committed to doing what the Holy Spirit indicates can seem contradictory, almost as though we were trying to manipulate the Spirit instead of following Him. This is far from what is intended. Indeed, none of these techniques are failsafe. Nor do the techniques contain any special power in and of themselves.

We all need help to enable us to bring long-buried emotions and attitudes to the surface. This help comes in the form of methods or techniques designed to ferret out memories and assist our counselees in experiencing Jesus’ presence in them. Simply advising people to “pray about it” or, worse yet, to “forget it” has proven very unsatisfactory.

We do have a scriptural precedent for seeking specific techniques in spiritual matters. The disciples asked for just such a thing when they asked the Master to teach them to pray. What many of us call the “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” was the technique Jesus showed His followers in answer to their request. He did not, of course, want them to use those words like the “meaningless words” of the pagans (see Matt. 6:7). Rather, He was providing them with a pattern they could follow. In presenting that pattern, He was showing them the vital elements in a healthy prayer life: honoring the Father; seeking and submitting to His will; asking Him to meet daily needs for food, forgiveness and protection.

At the same time, we need to recognize that Jesus’ major “technique” was listening to the Father. This He modeled constantly, with the expectation that His followers (that includes us) would make it the basis for whatever they sought to do in His name. Thus, listening to the Holy Spirit becomes our primary technique. We will deal with techniques in more detail in Part Three, the “how-to” section.

Spiritual Inheritance

In deep-level healing, we seek to bring healing to deep-level problems. This explains our concern for what I call “spiritual inheritance.” This is the spiritual stuff, usually carried by demons, that gets passed down through the generations. In the Ten Commandments, God speaks of children being punished for the sins of their parents down to the third and fourth generation (see Exod. 20:5). We have found in ministry that demons often claim to have come from even farther back and that when we claim the power of Christ to break their power in previous generations, they lose their grip.

Spiritual inheritance can come either from Satan or from God. We deal frequently with clients whose parentage includes generations of dedicated Christians. We seldom have negative spiritual inheritance to deal with in such clients. Their ancestry seems to be fairly “clean.” Our major concern with spiritual inheritance is for the clients who have inherited generational spirits.

If there is a family history of occult involvement (for example, divination, witchcraft, palmistry, Ouija board, tarot cards, satanism) or of membership in a cult or non-Christian religion (including Freemasonry or other secret societies, Christian Science, Scientology, Mormonism, Islam, Hinduism, New Age, and the like), the power of God needs to be employed to break the satanic power (usually in the form of a demon) that has been passed down to the counselee. To break that power, the person needs to renounce any allegiance or relationship with such activities or organizations and, with the counselor, claim the power of Christ to break the Enemy’s power over generation after generation down to the present.

A woman I’ll call April was under the influence of a strong spirit of Freemasonry, coming from her father. The father was in the audience, so we asked him if he would agree to renounce his involvement in Freemasonry. This he did, freeing both himself and April from the power of the demon. April had never been a part of Freemasonry herself but had inherited the demon from her father as a part of her spiritual inheritance.

When we do the “Back to the Womb” exercise described in chapter 11, in focusing on the person’s conception, I claim the power of Jesus to cancel any rights the Enemy may have through inheritance. I assert God’s authority and power over both the father’s and the mother’s family lines to cancel the Enemy’s rights to the person through agreements made by the person’s ancestors. When this is done in such a general way, however, it is not always enough. It is often necessary to go back to the specific generation in which the satanic influence entered the family line, claiming God’s power to break the influence and cancel the Enemy’s right to the family at that point.

On one occasion, I was dealing with a spirit of death that wasn’t giving up easily until I commanded him to tell us if there was a generational curse that gave him power. He said there was, and I commanded him to tell us how far back he had gotten into the bloodline. He said, “Five generations back.” At that, I claimed the blood of Jesus to break his power in the fifth, fourth, third, second and first generation, and the demon’s power was broken. We got him out fairly easily after that. All such bondage needs to be broken through an authoritative word, speaking specifically to the family line through which such influence has come.

When working with Asians, Africans, American Indians and others whose cultural practice is to dedicate each newborn child to their gods, I always claim the power of Christ over their family spirits. Typically, I’ll ask for their fathers’ and mothers’ family names and challenge the demons by name. For example, a recent Korean client’s father’s family name was Kim, and her mother’s was Lee. So I challenged these demons, claimed Jesus’ power to break theirs and cast them out. There were other spirits that had entered this person since her conception, but these she had carried from the very start as a part of her spiritual inheritance. And they may have invited some of the others in.

Memories

The second major focus of deep-level healing ministry concerns memories. Most of the hurts we need to deal with are stored in conscious or unconscious memory. It is, therefore, important to understand as much as possible about how our minds work so that we can remember and recall.

Those who study the human brain tell us that nearly everything that happens to us is committed to memory. The memories are all there, encoded in our brains, including memories recorded before we were born. As Rich Buhler wrote:

Think for a moment about what a massive storehouse of information you are. Everything you have ever experienced or felt, thought or learned has been filed away in your brain somewhere. The brain, much like a computer, accepts enormous amounts of data and does amazing things with it.1

The problem is not memory; the problem is recall. We cannot retrieve a lot of the things stored in our memories, either because what happened didn’t impress us enough to keep it in our consciousness or because it was so painful that we repressed it. We have all had many more memories than we could handle if they were all available to our consciousness. Among the memories, then, are some or perhaps many that are painful. If we lived every day conscious of all our memories, especially of those carrying pain, we would not be able to function. Knowing this, God has built into us the ability to relegate most memories to unconsciousness and repress those that are especially unpleasant.

Each time we are wounded emotionally, we feel the need to hide our reaction in order to save face with those around us. We are hurt but don’t want to show it. So we hide the wound, pretending it isn’t there. It’s as if we have received a flesh wound but, instead of putting medicine on it to cleanse and heal it, we just slap a bandage on it. Without cleansing, the wound becomes infected and begins to affect the rest of our body. If we picture our bodies with a bandage for every time we have been emotionally hurt, most of us would probably look like mummies! But the emotional wounds under the bandages are still bleeding and often infected. The memory of these events may be repressed, but it still affects our present life.

Repressing memories requires an incredible amount of energy. It is as if the memories are pushing against the walls of the enclosure they are stored in, seeking to get out. Seamands says:

No one completely understands the mental, emotional, and neurological process. But we do know that it requires a great deal of continuous emotional and spiritual energy to keep the memory in its hidden place. It could be compared to a person trying to hold a bunch of balloons under water.2

We repress memories because they are unpleasant. But with God’s help, we can let our memories out and face them honestly, experiencing the freeing power of Jesus and healing for deep wounds. If the experience was sinful, we are to admit it (see 1 John 1:9). If the experience resulted in anger, we can be angry without sinning if we give our anger to God (see Eph. 4:26). We are to get rid of all anger, bitterness and hate by admitting such feelings and forgiving (see Eph. 4:31-32).

I have a scar on my hand that has been there for more than 70 years. The wound the scar represents once hurt very much. But it hasn’t hurt for a long time now because it was dealt with at the time it occurred and soon healed. The fact that I was injured was not changed when the wound was healed. But it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s similar with emotional wounds. Healing does not change history. Those wounds remain a part of a person’s life story. There is, however, an enormous difference between wounds that are still open and festering and those that have healed and been turned into scars. God is willing and able to turn festering emotional wounds into painless scars if we work with Him in deep-level healing.

Three Kinds of Long-Term Memory

The study of memory is fascinating and complicated, and those who study memory are not all agreed on how it works. For our purposes, we will simply refer to one widely held theory that there are three types of long-term memory, one of which seems especially important to those involved in deep-level healing. To present this material, I have depended heavily on two books: Searching for Memory by Harvard scholar Daniel L. Schacter, and Your Memory: A User’s Guide by British scholar Alan Baddeley.

Procedural Memory

The first of the three types of long-term memory is called procedural memory. It may be characterized as activity based. Our skills and habits are in this part of our memory. The memory of how to ride a bicycle or drive a car resides here. So do the directions for making a cake, guidelines for shopping, eating, studying and a million other activities we engage in daily. The reflexes we have developed that function automatically are governed by procedural memory. Physical, mental or emotional reactions seem to be lodged here.

This type or function of memory holds a person’s habits of anger, unforgiveness, self-rejection, shame, fear and a multitude of other destructive feelings. When we are hurt, we react in normal ways that often become habitual, resulting in attitudes that continue the damage.

Semantic Memory

The second type is called semantic memory. This type is word-based and is responsible for the storing of concepts and facts. The information we need to conduct skills and habits that govern our lives is lodged in this part of memory, ready to be brought to the surface when needed. This is the storehouse of our accumulated knowledge and plays a very important part in everyday life.

Here are lodged generalizations concerning reality, including the type of persons who have hurt us, often leading us to make judgments concerning a whole class of people on the basis of a specific experience with one member of that group. Theological generalizations are also stored here, including concepts of the nature and activities of God and what to expect from His interactions with the world in general and us in particular. Such theological expectations play an important role in attempts to gain freedom from emotional and spiritual dysfunction.

Episodic Memory

It is the third type, labeled episodic memory, that is of greatest interest to us. It is experience and picture based. In this part of long-term memory are stored the mental pictures of our subjective experiences, including all the hurts we’ve experienced. The good memories are here as well, but it is the fact that hurts are stored in this way that is of special relevance to deep-level healing. Schacter says:

In order to be experienced as a memory, the retrieved information must be recollected in the context of a particular time and place and with some reference to oneself as a participant in the episode . . . this kind of remembering depends on a special system called episodic memory, which allows us explicitly to recall the personal incidents that uniquely define our lives.3

Baddeley, contrasting semantic and episodic memory, adds:

Knowing the meaning of a word or the chemical formula for salt or the capital of France would all be examples of semantic memory. There is no doubt that there are differences between specific personal memories of individual incidents and generalized knowledge of the world, which has often been acquired over a considerable period of time. Whether these represent separate memory systems or different aspects of a single system is still uncertain. However, the distinction is a convenient and useful one.4

Semantic memory is the part of our memory system that stores what comes to expression in words, whether spoken or written. This is the part where we deal with logic, reasoning, linear thinking and most other intellectual activities. This is the part of our minds and memories most in focus while in school.

“Picture” memory, on the other hand, stores experiences in images. In this part, we deal with total experiences, including our feelings, reactions, intuitions, and the like. For most people, this is where they live most of the time, and the things stored in this part of the brain are usually both more influential and more easily retrievable when we want to recall them. It is even true of intellectuals that things pictured—such as sermon or lecture illustrations—are more easily recalled than things presented in logical propositions. This is why Jesus almost always spoke in pictures rather than propositions.

We make use of this insight in our ministry. In order to bring about emotional healing, we frequently take hurting people back to their unpleasant memories and invite them to picture a part of those memories they were unaware of when the events happened—the fact that Jesus was there with them in the event. In this way, people are able to experience both the truth that Jesus was there and the fact that emotional healing can take place when they give their anger to Jesus and forgive the perpetrators.

I use the term “memory capsules” to describe the containers that hold in picture form the facts of whatever event is being remembered along with the feelings the person experienced when the event was going on. We cannot change the facts. But by giving our hurts to Jesus, usually by picturing the transaction, we can change the feelings: anger and unforgiveness can be changed to forgiveness; shame, guilt and rejection to self-acceptance; fear and worry to dependence on Jesus.

Because a person’s hurts are stored in pictures, we find that using pictures is the best way to get at those hurts in deep-level healing. Things stored in pictures cannot usually be changed with words. To bring about changes in pictures, we need to use other pictures. Because Jesus was there when the person was being hurt, we can help the person picture himself or herself giving the hurts to Jesus in the event, thereby changing the emotion. We thus can work toward healing by helping the client deal with both the facts and the feelings in the stored memories through a new picture in which they experience the fact of Jesus in the event.

Memory Retrieval

The ability to retrieve memories is crucial to deep-level healing. As we commit the ministry session to the Holy Spirit, we ask Him to bring to mind whatever will be helpful in bringing freedom to the hurting person. Often, among the most helpful memories are those of past events (before or after birth) long hidden from the person’s consciousness.

Fred and Florence Littauer have greatly helped us with this area of memory retrieval in their books Freeing Your Mind from Memories That Bind and The Promise of Restoration. I have relied on their “Guidelines for Memory Retrieval” from the latter book. As you read those guidelines, keep in mind that the Littauers’ emphasis, like ours, is that the beginning, middle and end of the process of memory retrieval must be bathed in prayer, and continual attention given to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s how Fred Littauer defines the process of recovering painful memories:

[Retrieving painful memories is] the rediscovering of experiences we endured in childhood which were too painful to accept as reality at the time. They were then either consciously or unconsciously suppressed deep within our memory bank. There is obviously no need to find every childhood memory that has lapsed into obscurity. Our minds would be cluttered with useless trivia. It is only when there are adult issues that are troubling us that we need to dig up certain specific roots.5

When we ask the Holy Spirit to bring memories to consciousness, He does. While dreaming, praying, reading or during ministry sessions, fragmentary memories of scenes from the past often begin to come to mind. These flashbacks are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When they come, it is helpful to keep them in focus long enough to see if any other parts of the picture will come to mind. It is also helpful to write down the memories and describe the pictures.

Flashbacks frequently contain material that upsets the person who sees them. I have spent parts of many sessions helping people deal with disagreeable and often disgusting revelations concerning their parents. One of the biggest problems was allowing themselves to believe their parents would have done the things the flashbacks revealed.

Fred Littauer presents three steps toward memory retrieval. The first step is to desire the truth. Such a desire needs to be so strong that the person can face the hurt he or she suppressed as a child. Those who would be healed need to be determined both to seek the truth and to accept it. And for many, especially those who have been badly hurt, neither seeking nor accepting are easy tasks. Praying against blockage by asking God to make oneself willing to face whatever comes may be an important step toward healing.

The second step is to believe that God is leading and that He will not push a person beyond what he or she is able to handle. Third, we ask the Lord to reveal whatever He chooses. If healing is to take place, we need to ask, seek and knock (see Matt. 7:7) to discover what is hidden. It is a good practice to have the individual pray aloud, asking the Lord to reveal what is hidden.

Fred Littauer gives an example of how he and Florence went about seeking memories:

After the seeker of truth has prayed, we usually suggest that he (or she) sit back in the chair and relax. We ask him to shut his eyes, explaining this is only to blank out any distractions that might occur in the room. This enables him to keep his attention focused on wherever the Lord may take him, on whatever the Lord may reveal. Then we ask, “I want you to try to find yourself as a little child, perhaps at four or five years old, somewhere in your childhood. When you find yourself anywhere, I want you to tell me where you are. . . .”

We remind him that we are not asking him to remember anything or any place, but simply to find himself as a child.

Once a location is set, we ask the person to look around: “Tell me what you see,” always asking for more details, helping to make the scene clearer.6

Star Cole, one of the Littauers’ associates, suggests in an insert in Fred Littauer’s Promise of Restoration Workshop Manual that there are five ways in which memory retrieval is experienced:

1. Graphic recall. Some people find their memories coming back graphically, “in crystal-clear vision like a photo journal or video recording.” This is, however, the exception. Most people retrieve memories in one of the following ways.

2. Hazy impressions. The most frequent way of memory retrieval seems to be through faint but plainly discernable images. These impressions usually are hazy but definable and tend to become clearer when focused on. For many, focusing on the impressions results in fairly clear pictures of people, places and things. Even sounds and smells sometimes become clear.

3. Strong impressions. These can be “body sensations such as changes in breathing or sensations of tightness, tension, pressure or pain in the head, throat, chest, stomach, genitals, arms, legs or elsewhere; dizziness or sensations of movement; emotional responses such as anxiety, fear, panic, crying, anger, etc.; smelling fragrances or odors, hearing sounds or voices, etc. These impressions can be so strong that it is as though you ‘see’ what you are experiencing without an actual visual image. Many people experience memory this way.”

4. Medley. This consists of any combination of the first three types of recall in various ways and proportions.7

5. Nonvisual, nonsensory impression. This is a final way not mentioned by Cole. Not infrequently, the person simply knows what happened, even without pictures or feeling. Such recall is sometimes adequate. Sometimes, however, when there is a lack of feeling, it is because the person is repressing the memory or is not as fully involved in it as he or she needs to be to work toward healing.

Faith Picturing

Because the memories we seek are stored in pictures, the guidelines for memory retrieval lead naturally into dealing with the place of visualization, or what I prefer to call “faith picturing,” in deep-level healing. This is simply the practice of going back in the mind to picture events, people and places and to feel again the emotions associated with those memories. Faith picturing is for many of us who work in deep-level healing our most useful technique.

Throughout the Bible, God has revealed Himself and His messages in pictures, whether through visions and dreams or in word pictures and analogies. He spoke through visions and dreams to just about all of the heroes of the Bible, including Jacob, Joseph, Samuel, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, and John (see Gen. 28:10-17; 37:5-11; 1 Sam. 3:1-15; Isa. 6; Acts 10:10-16; 16:9; Rev. 1:10-22:5). In addition, as Gary Smalley and John Trent point out:

Jesus’ primary method to teach, challenge, and motivate others was word pictures. When discussing love, He launched into a word picture about a good Samaritan. Or to describe the forgiving heart of a father, He shared a story about a prodigal son. Interestingly enough, word pictures are also the most frequent means of describing who Jesus is.8

Picturing brings the Scriptures to life as we contemplate the great events of salvation history. We picture creation; the murder of Abel; the Flood; Abram leaving his home; Joseph in the pit; Moses and the burning bush; Joshua taking the Promised Land; the conflict between Saul and David; Job on the ash heap; the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection; the travels of Paul; and all the other events to which our faith is tied. In addition, we can picture the Lord as our Shepherd (see Ps. 23), the person who trusts the Lord mounting on wings like an eagle (see Isa. 40:31), the righteous person as a tree planted by good water (see Ps. 1:3), the runner pressing on to win the prize (see Phil. 3:12-14), and countless other word pictures as we receive God’s messages to us.

With all the pictures in Scripture, plus the insights of science into how we use picturing to store personal information, we should not think it strange that when God seeks to free people, He uses pictures to reveal the memories that bind them. Just as He speaks through and empowers words, so He speaks through and empowers pictures to lead people to truth. Faith picturing, then, is the use of our God-given ability to picture under the leading and power of God. This recall under the direction and empowerment of God is a function of our spirit, not just a product of our imagination.

We rationalistic Western Christians are often suspicious of this technique because we are captured by our left-brain orientation. Unlike Jesus and the Hebrew world of which He was a part, we often fear anything emotional or picture-oriented. Dave Hunt, in his book The Seduction of Christianity, points out that visualization is used heavily by psychologists (whom he considers anti-Christian); those in the New Age; and other occult groups. He judges that since the technique is used by such groups, any use of it by Christians will necessarily draw us into their errors. His conclusion is that the method itself is evil.

This viewpoint fails to take into account the fact that no technique, activity or created thing is completely sacred or profane in and of itself. Satan can use even the most sacred things, including prayer, the Bible (see Luke 4:1-13), worship, spiritual gifts and the church to serve his purposes. Are these things therefore evil because Satan uses them? Very few things should be labeled “evil” in and of themselves simply because the Enemy finds a way to make use of them.

In fact, a focus on whether the cultural forms (e.g., words, rituals) are good or evil obscures the real issues. The crucial aspect of the argument should not be the nature of the techniques but the way they are used and the source of the power behind them. Within New Age and other occult organizations, the power source behind such techniques is not Jesus, but Satan. Whether knowingly or not, practitioners of such faiths are receiving their power from demonic sources, and as such, any benefits they receive or bestow will ultimately do more harm than good.

Hunt rightly warns us to be careful when we see people using visualization techniques. But he warns us against the technique rather than pointing to the real problem, the source of the power. Our power source is Jesus. When we begin each ministry session, we ask the Holy Spirit to be in charge of what takes place, and He honors that request. Thus, our use of faith picturing is submitted to the Lord’s control along with every other practice we employ, like prayer, anointing with oil and blessing.

However, even when we use faith picturing under God’s power, I would raise one more caution. When we are dealing with memories, we are dealing with things that actually happened, not things as we wish they had happened. Some who minister are in the habit of guiding the imagery in such a way as to change what actually happened. Such “recreation” of history is, I believe, ultimately harmful because it is a kind of deceit. God never condones lying and distortion. In the long run, such an approach will not help the person. We cannot deny or rewrite the past to suit our desires. Our aim is to heal the damage to emotions that resulted from actual events.

The way we use faith picturing is to ask people to close their eyes and go back in their minds to an event in which emotional damage was done. We ask people to let themselves feel the emotion. We point out that Jesus was there when the event happened. This is fact. Seamands puts it helpfully, “Remember that Christ is alive. He is here now. And because he transcends time, he is also back at that painful experience. Confess to Him, turn over to Him each experience, each emotion, each attitude.”9

We try not to suggest what people ought to see but ask the Holy Spirit to lead. When they have been able to go back into the memory, we ask them to allow themselves to experience the feelings. This is often difficult, since avoiding these feelings has been their method of coping and is the reason they are now in need of help. At this time, preferably without having them leave the memory, it is often necessary to give lots of encouragement or even to ask questions concerning how they felt about the situation, the other person(s) involved, themselves and God.

The process of feeling the emotions again, plus the realization (usually pictured) that Jesus was there protecting them from greater harm, usually results in turning the painful wound into a painless scar. The true emotions have been felt and the truth of the Lord’s presence made clear, paving the way for healing.

With a little experience, we can often predict at least part of what will happen as the person sees Jesus in the painful events. Sometimes, too, God reveals part or all of what is going on through words of knowledge. Often, however, the results are surprising and the healing spectacular. Usually at least some of the things that happen are new to even the most experienced ministry leader.

We need to be on our guard as we lead people through faith picturing because Satan may try to interfere with this process. He has a lot to lose if the person becomes aware of the Lord’s presence in the painful events and gains healing. Demons will sometimes pose as Jesus in the picture. At times this is evident, as when one of my clients saw “Jesus” holding a knife behind his back. Another time a woman reported being kissed by “Jesus” in an unwholesome fashion. These uncharacteristic behaviors tipped us off to the fact that we were dealing with an impersonator, not the real Jesus.

At other times, it is not so clear that an imposter has appeared. Frequently, though, when this has happened, the Holy Spirit has alerted me and I have challenged the being the person is seeing. My challenge is simply to command any false Jesus to disappear or to turn black. If the being is an imposter, it will usually disappear or turn black immediately. Precautions can be taken against this type of interference by forbidding it at the beginning of the session, though occasionally it still occurs.

Sin in the person’s life or an unforgiving attitude can block faith picturing, especially the picturing of Jesus in the event; likewise with feelings of shame, guilt, unworthiness, rejection, fear, anger, or other negative emotions. Not infrequently, a person will feel shame over the thought of Jesus seeing her or him in the situation. Feeling that people have always rejected him or her, the person believes that Jesus is no more accepting than the others were. Often such attitudes need to be dealt with before the faith picturing can be effective.

Donald had such an attitude. He felt totally ineligible for help from anyone, especially one as righteous as Jesus. “I must be bad in God’s eyes or all this horrible stuff would not have happened to me” was his feeling. He was angry, hurting, hopeless and wished he could die. He refused to believe what we said about Jesus’ willingness to take on Himself Donald’s heavy burdens.

When I strongly affirmed Donald’s right to be angry, bitter and resentful, he began listening in a new way. Did I mean that Jesus wouldn’t reject him because he (Donald) hated those who had hurt him? Donald admitted he didn’t enjoy being so angry. I suggested he take a chance on Jesus. If it didn’t work, he could back out later. The words came haltingly, “I want to forgive those who hurt me. Please help me, Jesus.” And he gave his anger and hatred to Jesus.

We didn’t ask for a picture of Jesus. But without any suggestion on our part, God gave Donald a beautiful picture of Jesus in a shining robe with His arms spread wide to receive Donald. I asked if Donald would move into those arms. He said, “I’m running toward them!” The embrace was long and sweet. And Donald is a completely different person now.

Survivors of abuse, like Donald, often cannot even look at Jesus due to the shame and anger they feel. It is important for them to know that Jesus never blames people for their condition. Nor does He blame them for what happened to them. Indeed, He was hurt by it too. For reasons I don’t understand, Jesus often appears behind the person in the faith picture. When people tell me they cannot see Jesus in the picture, I frequently suggest that they picture themselves turning around, and there He is!

One woman in her fifties, dealing with a painful childhood memory, found it impossible to face Jesus, though she could picture Him in the event. Her shame and guilt were too great. When at last she was able to turn, however, she experienced immediate release from those feelings that had kept her bound.

Once people have seen Jesus in the event, they need to give all the painful feelings to Him. At this point, they may find it difficult to approach Jesus. Or they may find it difficult to give up the anger, bitterness or desire for revenge that the event arouses. Experiencing the emotion and seeing Jesus there—and giving Him the feelings—requires that people be willing to forgive all others for their part in the painful scene. Then they usually need to forgive themselves as well. Often they will also need to “forgive” (truly release all anger toward) God for allowing the hurtful events to happen.

Forgiveness does not mean saying it was all right for the event to have happened or that it no longer hurts. Indeed, forgiving is often extremely difficult. However, since unforgiveness binds us to the past and does not permit healing to flow freely, we must forgive. Sometimes the best a person can initially do is to “be willing to be made willing” to forgive. But that’s usually enough to bring a considerable amount of healing. The person usually feels a great sense of relief. Given the depth of the hurt, we shouldn’t be surprised if everything is not taken care of immediately. Many years have gone into the making of the problems and, though often the problems are healed right away, sometimes the healing takes place as a process over a longer time. God accepts whatever steps we take toward obedience, and He will give the strength and grace to further the forgiveness process.

After working all the way through an event, it is good to ask the person to revisit it to see if anything has changed. This request is often met with a good deal of surprise and unwillingness. The person doesn’t want to have to go through the pain again. This step is important, though, to demonstrate the difference in the feel of the memory now that it has been “defused.” Going back, the person will most often find a significant decrease in pain, for what was once like an open wound is now healing into a scar that will no longer hurt.

John and Mark Sandford point out:

Inner healing does not erase a memory or change our personal history. Rather, it enables us to cherish even the worst moments in our lives, for through them God has inscribed eternal lessons onto our hearts and prepared us to minister to all who have suffered in the same way (Heb. 2:18). We know we are healed and transformed when we can look back on everything with gratitude.10

There are quite a number of possible variations in faith picturing. Often, when we are focusing on one memory, the Lord will bring a quick succession of related memories to the person. In this way, God may bring healing to several memories at the same time. God led one young woman to see several very traumatic events as pictures hanging on the wall of a room. As she and Jesus walked past each one, He healed it and removed that picture. On another occasion, when the emotions aroused by the memory were so intense that the woman pleaded with me not to make her relive it, God enabled her to see the event as a still picture on which Jesus poured His blood, turning the picture white as He healed her emotional hurt. Once people have experienced this type of ministry, they can often work through other memories on their own with the Lord.

Some people are unable to visualize or may object to doing so for personal reasons. Some have been exposed extensively to visualization and guided imagery as members of occult groups. It may be unwise to use visualization with them. With such people, recalling the event in their minds without feeling it again may be just as effective. Techniques such as covering the event with the cross, planting the cross between the person and the event, or claiming the blood of Christ over the event can be used. The healing that takes place through these methods can be just as great as through faith picturing.

FOR FURTHER READING

Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 193-207.

Alan Baddeley, Your Memory: A User’s Guide (Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2004).

Francis and Judith MacNutt, Praying for Your Unborn Child (New York: Doubleday, 1988), pp. 143-152.

John and Paula Sandford, Transforming the Inner Man (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2007).

David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), pp. 33-42.

Daniel Schacter, Searching for Memory (New York: Basic Books, 1997).

PART TWO

SPECIFIC ISSUES IN

DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

5

DEALING WITH WOUNDS FROM THE PAST

Neglected

On the outside, Lila, in her mid-thirties, married and the mother of four, seemed fairly well in control of her life. When she shared with those closest to her concerning her inner life, however, it was a very different story. She could hardly remember a day when it was easy to get up in the morning. Depression was her constant companion. But she was told that a young mother with small children had to expect to feel like that.

During a social evening with Lila and her family, she shared with me her suspicions that what she was experiencing was not normal. After the children were in bed, we began to discuss her early life to see if there might be any roots there that would explain her present depression. Knowing that depression is often rooted in anger, I was especially concerned to ferret out any anger-producing events in Lila’s life.

After prayer, I felt led to do the back-to-the-womb exercise (see chapter 12) with her as a means of uncovering any roots that might be there from prebirth experiences. Lila was soon in tears, feeling deeply that her parents didn’t want her. We stopped the process, explored her parents’ situation at the time of her conception and invited her to release them from her anger by forgiving them.

When we got to Lila’s childhood, the Holy Spirit brought back to her memory that she had been quite ill as a small child and had to be hospitalized for a lengthy period of time. This meant that Lila had very little contact with her parents for more than a month. Intense feelings of abandonment accompanied this memory. As we prayed through this time, she experienced the presence of Jesus with her in the hospital, filling in for her absent parents. This wound, too, was healed through understanding and forgiving her parents.

As we went through Lila’s growing-up years, the Holy Spirit brought to mind one experience after another when her father and sometimes both parents were absent just when she felt she needed them most. She thought that some of these experiences would have been pleasant if her parents had been present for her. Some of them, though, would have been unpleasant anyway but were made doubly so by the fact that she had to go through them alone. Her feelings of anger, abandonment and worthlessness were so intense that, even though she was able to see Jesus in her memories and give Him most of her damaged feelings, she wasn’t able to completely release her anger and bitterness. However, she was able to make a start toward forgiving her parents, especially her father.

At a later session, some colleagues of mine were able to help Lila through the memory of her wedding. This was an especially hurtful event because she felt that she had been given very little say in arranging it. This had left a gaping wound in her psyche, even though she believed that a good marriage had come out of it. In releasing Lila from the pain of that memory, Jesus came to her in a faith picture, inviting her to plan and carry out just the kind of wedding she had always wanted. This she did and it brought newfound happiness and freedom.

Though Lila’s healing was more gradual than many, she’s in a very different place now than when she started receiving ministry. Her present had been badly infected by her past. She had a storehouse full of hurt in which festered deep anger, resentment, unforgiveness and bitterness, especially toward her father, covered by a thick layer of guilt and shame over the fact that she was angry at him. She also felt very unworthy and alone, devalued and abandoned by those who should have valued, encouraged and “been there” for her. She had a right to these feelings, but they were doing her in, robbing her of other rights such as the right to peace, joy and freedom. As Lila gave up her right to anger and unforgiveness, her depression lifted and she began to taste the freedom and rest that Jesus promises to those who give Him such heavy loads (see Matt. 11:28).

Infected Wounds: Their Symptoms and Sources

Lila had been badly wounded by people close to her. Some of the wounding was not her parents’ fault. They had no control over her sickness and the fact that the hospital had restricted parental visits. Unfortunately, much of her hurt was directly attributable to her father’s behavior. Though he had reasonable excuses for some of his neglect of her, she was deeply wounded by it, interpreting it, especially in her childhood, as proving that she was worthless and unvalued.

The healing she needed was not, however, simply a matter of getting at the pain of the wounds themselves. Wounds dealt with quickly are not nearly as difficult to heal as those allowed to get infected. Lila’s wounds had not been dealt with for nearly 30 years and had become badly infected, producing a much larger problem than that caused by the original experience.

What had happened to Lila in the emotional area was not unlike an experience I had with a physical problem during my final year of college. I awoke one night with excruciating pain in my abdomen and was taken to a hospital and examined. The doctors decided that I had a ruptured peptic ulcer in my stomach, and they operated. To their surprise, they found that there was no problem with my stomach except for irritation that was coming from somewhere else. Examining me further, they discovered a sac that my body had produced around my appendix. Inside it my appendix was gangrenous and was producing a poisonous fluid that was leaking out of the protective sac and irritating my stomach.

Emotional hurts are like that infected appendix. If they are not taken care of, they fester and become gangrenous. Our natural reaction is to produce a sac in which to isolate the infection. But such sacs leak and affect our present life. Then, in the present, we find ourselves overreacting to what are often minor irritants. As David Seamands has said, “Whenever you experience a response on your part that is way out of proportion to the stimulus, then look out. You have probably tapped into some deeply hidden emotional hurt.”1

The wounds we are concerned about are those that happen when people relate to each other in hurtful ways. Usually such wounds happen without the one who wounds intending to hurt anybody. Often they happen simply because the wounded one is too sensitive or misunderstands. For most people, a majority of such wounds seem to happen in prebirth, infancy, childhood and adolescence, when our understanding of life and its twists and turns is not yet well developed. The important thing to remember is that though we may be quite effective in hiding them, past wounds do not go away. Rather, they fester under the “bandages” we put on them and “leak” into our present life, as did the liquid from my gangrenous appendix into my stomach cavity. Here are some typical types of wounds and how they often come into being.

Abandonment

We saw with Lila that she had a deep sense that her parents, especially her father, were never there when she needed help. As a child she often felt alone, uncared for, unappreciated, unwanted and generally had nowhere to turn, even when she wanted to share something good. Many children develop such feelings that they have been abandoned when forced to stay in a hospital or continually turned over to a babysitter. An early divorce or the death of a parent will often produce such feelings as well, with children blaming themselves for the loss of the parent, often not understanding the real reasons for the divorce or death. A major problem arises when a younger, “inner child” (see chapter 12) part of the person believes that the departed parent has chosen to leave voluntarily.

Rejection

There seem to be many paths to feelings of rejection. Those who have experienced what they interpret as abandonment often feel rejected. Neglected children usually feel rejected. So do those who are abused. Children usually assume that their parents are in total control and make no mistakes. So if they feel rejected, it is their fault, not the fault of their parents. “There must be something wrong with me,” they reason, “or else my parents would pay more attention to me.” Children often develop feelings of rejection if they are always being corrected by their parents or are constantly given the impression that what they do is not up to their parents’ standards. Many times the rejection by others is internalized as self-rejection and may develop into self-hatred.

Feelings of Worthlessness, Inadequacy and the Like

Feelings of worthlessness often stem from these same roots or may come from signals that the child was unwanted while still in the womb. Often such an impression will leave children with the feeling that they were a mistake and have no right to exist. Later in life, the child may hear such things as, “You’re useless” or “You’re good for nothing.” Such statements either cause or reinforce feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy.

Many develop a performance orientation in response to feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. They feel that they must earn their right to attention and respect, even self-respect. Many have the feeling from their earliest days that they are not acceptable to their parents or other significant people in their lives unless they achieve enough to prove themselves. Such attitudes as perfectionism and hyper-criticalness are also manifestations of such feelings. These are especially likely in response to parents, teachers and others who never seem to be pleased with the child’s performance.

Shame and Guilt

These feelings often accompany the impression that one is not living up to the expectations of the adults in one’s life. Guilt is the lesser of the two, being regret over something a person has done. Shame is more serious because it has to do with being, not just doing. Shame is feeling bad about who we are, not just about something we’ve done.

As with rejection, a parent’s expectations and reactions often push a child into carrying guilt even over things that are not the child’s responsibility. If, then, underlying that guilt is a feeling of not deserving to exist, or a feeling of self-hatred, a person has a lot to dig out of if he or she is to get well. Expressions such as, “Shame on you” or “You should be ashamed of yourself” are often leveled at children if they make a mistake. Such expressions are taken as comments about a person’s worth. They are condemnations about the person’s being, even if the occasion was one of doing. What might have been said is, “You did a bad thing” rather than “You are a bad person.” Such expressions, usually accompanied by other demeaning words and behavior by adults, produce reactions that often result in a person, especially a child, feeling shame or guilt about nearly everything they do or are.

Anger, Resentment and Bitterness

Such emotions often develop before or after birth in response to mistreatment of oneself or of one parent by the other. The anger of many women toward men is traceable to their awareness while in the womb or during childhood of the abusiveness of their fathers against their mothers. If that abuse is sexual, the child in the womb experiences it firsthand. Children who experience abuse from their fathers (whether in or out of the womb) and feel unprotected by their mothers often feel anger toward both parents. Anger and resentment can, of course, develop at any time, over any issue. Anger at others often involves self-blame as well, especially if the root events occur early in life, since young children tend to blame themselves for anything that goes wrong around them.

The connection between anger and unforgiveness should not be ignored. Unforgiveness is emotional cancer, by far the most important emotional and spiritual problem we need to deal with. Jesus is very clear that we need to forgive if we hope to be forgiven. In the Lord’s Prayer and the verses that follow it, Jesus makes our forgiveness by God conditional on our forgiving those who hurt us (see Matt. 6:12,14-15). We are allowed to get angry (see Eph. 4:26), but keeping the anger and unforgiveness gives the devil the chance he seeks to live inside us (see Eph. 4:27). We will come back to this important subject several times in the chapters that follow.

Fear, Anxiety and Worry

Fears and worries are a frequent result of childhood and prebirth experiences that are not understood by the child. Children often develop intense fear of persons who react angrily, especially if their reactions are unpredictable, as is the case with alcoholics. Various life experiences can result in fear of abandonment, fear of the dark, fear of death, fear of pain and fear of failure. These fears, then, are usually accompanied by worries. Often the fears of a mother are passed on before birth. A child conceived after one or more miscarriages is very likely to have been affected by his or her mother’s fear and worry concerning another pregnancy. Add to such fears the fears of early childhood, and many have a lot to deal with.

I have found that women are often tormented by fears and worries. I think this is related to female brain structure. Whereas a man’s brain deals basically with one thing at a time, a woman’s brain is designed to deal with many things at the same time, contributing to a tendency to multiply concerns because there are so many in focus at once, rather than to isolate the concerns, as a man usually does, to focus on them one at a time.

A major fear that many have developed is that of not being able to control their circumstances. The fear that something will go wrong, resulting in chaos unless there is tight control, drives many to assert authority in destructive ways.

Rebellion

This is a frequent reaction to a number of kinds of mistreatment that produce fear, anger, shame or other damaging emotions. One kind of person seems to react to mistreatment by wilting; another reacts by rebelling. A variety of difficulties in relating to authority figures often lie behind a rebellious attitude. When authority figures have verbally, physically or sexually abused a child, or neglected him or her, or showed favoritism toward a sibling, the seeds are sown for rebellion. Legalism and parental control through guilt also push a person to this reaction.

Confusion and Indecisiveness

People who are greatly confused or can’t seem to make up their minds have often experienced inconsistency in their upbringing on the part of their parents and others. This results in self-talk, in which one “voice” regularly contradicts or out-reasons the other, leads to an inability to decide on even fairly minor issues. If, as often happens, perfectionism is also present, the person finds himself or herself virtually crippled in making major decisions.

Insecurity

Stemming from any number of sources, insecurity is a major problem for many. When we grow up with uncertainty over who we are and what we are to become, we are often tormented by thoughts that things might not turn out right for us. Many are insecure about their bodies, about performance in school or in sports or in relationships. We are taught to compete with other children and often lose or fear we will lose. Parents often compare their children with each other or with other children, voicing their expectations and embedding these expectations in the children. Often these expectations are unrealistic and lead to discouragement and expectation of failure.

Insecurities, then, and the fear that accompanies them often lead to the need to control. Children who had to take charge too early, as with the oldest daughter in the home of one or both alcoholic parents, often suffer from this problem. So do those who have experienced continual embarrassment and confusion concerning what was expected of them as children. They seem to reason that if they can control the circumstances, including conversations and relationships, they will be able to reduce the possibility that they will be embarrassed.

Desire to Escape

The feeling that life is so bad or unpredictable that it would be better to escape often leads to addictions and death wishes. Common addictions are to food, alcohol, tobacco, shopping, TV, movies, sports, a hobby, sex, pornography, drugs, gambling, studying or just about anything else. There is usually a sense of drivenness and inability to control the addiction. Often the roots lie in abusive relationships during childhood. Sometimes the feeling that they can never measure up to the expectations of parents and other adults leads people to give up trying to get ahead. “Why even try,” they reason fatalistically, “nothing will work. So I may as well just give in to whatever comes along.”

Death wishes are expressions of a desire to simply disappear. For many Christians, it is expressed as a wish to “just go and be with Jesus.” A person with a death wish does not usually want to commit suicide, but to have God take them so that they can escape the troubles of this life.

These are far from the only number of symptoms that could be mentioned. Please note this caution: Because any given set of symptoms may indicate a range of causes, we need to be very careful not to diagnose a particular case too quickly. Not everyone who manifests the above symptoms has experienced the problems we have suggested. In at least some cases, the characteristic may relate more to the person’s personality than to any abuse he or she may have experienced. For example, some people may have had a fairly normal upbringing but be extra sensitive in their reactions to certain stimuli. We must not assume that every reaction conceals an abnormality.

Willingness to Work at Getting Well

It is highly unlikely, probably impossible, that people who are not willing to work at their healing will receive much benefit from prayer ministry. Though there may be exceptions, as a general rule, we can assume that not even God will work against people’s will. They have to choose at the start, and continue to choose throughout the process, to work with God toward healing. Such a commitment is often a considerable challenge to their strength and determination.

There have been times when the Holy Spirit has showed me that people who have come to me are not fully committed to working with Him for healing. When this happens, my first task is to help them become committed. Failing this, I have to tell them I cannot continue to work with them until they are willing to work hard at the process, for it may be very difficult indeed.

To get healed, people need to be determined to do whatever is necessary to work along with God. With that determination, they can claim Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”

Christians often are not highly motivated to work with God toward further growth and freedom because they have been misled concerning the relationship of salvation to the Christian life. They have assumed that a verse such as 2 Corinthians 5:17 promises almost instant total freedom (“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!”). John and Mark Sandford helpfully trace such an assumption to the way salvation was presented during and after the Second Great Awakening, beginning roughly in the late 1820s and continuing through the latter part of that century. Whereas the earlier Wesleyan renewal had recognized that “every born-again believer requires disciplined reshaping into Christian values, virtues, and moral strengths,”2 this movement was different.

[It] began to elevate the conversion experience above what the Bible proclaims for it. They began to preach that whoever came to the altar would be changed totally, instantly. Positionally that is true: We are all made perfect in Jesus. But salvation is to be worked out experientially as well, “with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).

The false doctrine of instant, painless sanctification came to be preached throughout much of the church. If conversion made you a totally changed creature, there was no need to face sin and die to self daily on the cross (Luke 9:23).

That teaching made an idol of the conversion experience, and Satan saw his opportunity. If he could build that heresy into a stronghold of deception, he could disillusion countless numbers of Christians and non-Christians alike.3

Those of us who persevere in the Christian life discover that our conversion experience is but a small part of it, providing only the essentials from which we are to become new creations in Christ. In fact, the creation of the new being is hindered when a person has been badly damaged before coming to Christ. Then the transformation process will require a great deal of work. But it is gratifying to see how faithful God is to those who pay whatever price is demanded in time, energy and determination. Those who work with God find that God works with them and supplies the power they lack. Perhaps this is what Paul was advocating when he said in Philippians 2:12-13: “Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation, because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.”

The biblical use of the word “salvation” covers much more than the saving of one’s soul, so it is not unlikely that these verses legitimately include the process of getting free from such hindrances to growth as sin and deep-level emotional problems. In both, God is willing to work with us if we work with Him. In Ephesians 4:22-32, Paul elaborates on several aspects of what is involved, including what we have to do to carry our share of the load:

So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.

No more lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ. If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Don’t give the Devil a chance. If you used to rob, you must stop robbing and start working, in order to earn an honest living for yourself and to be able to help the poor. Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. And do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God’s mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.

Those who find it difficult to keep working toward freedom can be encouraged by the fact that the Holy Spirit’s presence with and in us is “a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set [us] free.” God’s working in us is exciting. But according to this passage and others, there is also a lot of work that we have to do if we are to enter fully into the freedom God has for us.

Hindrances to Healing

There are many hindrances to a person’s being willing to work with God toward freedom from infected wounds. Fears of various kinds are common. Fear of the past is a major one. Frequently, the people we work with are ashamed of many of the things they did or participated in when they were younger. There is, then, very little they dread more than dredging up the memories of those things. Later in this chapter there are suggestions for dealing with painful memories.

A second hindrance is unwillingness or inability to face the truth, often coupled with a fear of the truth. Humans have a great capacity for denial. Often such denial is close enough to the surface that a person can easily be made aware of it. Many times, though, people have been so badly mistreated that they seem to be incapable of admitting the truth even to themselves.

A 45-year-old woman I’ll call Nancy is a case in point. Though her parents were satanists and had abused her in the most monstrous ways from birth, she feels an obligation to respect and honor them. Furthermore, she is bonded to them as their daughter. As I write, it is more than eight years since she began dealing in earnest with the effects of her parents’ abuse, including multiple personalities and demonization. In spite of lots of independent confirmation, and her own intellectual agreement on what her parents did to her, in the deepest parts of herself she still continually questions and denies the truth. Perhaps she will someday be able to accept the truth. Or perhaps some part of her has been so damaged that she will never be able to bring herself to believe it.

Facing the Past with Jesus

It can be painful to go back to past memories. The events hurt when they happened, and it is not a pleasant thought that one would have to relive them. But the pain involved in recalling, “re-feeling” and then dealing with infected memories is the pain of surgery, not the pain of further infection. As with physical surgery, it hurts while we are going through it, but there is healing on the other side of it.

Though it is a fearful thought for survivors of abuse to face the past, the good news is that not every single memory has to be dealt with in the process. Facing as many memories as possible would be ideal, but many times the healing of one memory serves to apply healing balm to many others that are similar. John and Mark Sandford, in commenting on one session with a client, remark, “A traumatic memory is like a bushel of sour cherries. . . . By sampling only a few cherries, [people can] come to know their sticky texture and sour flavor. By sampling only a few memories, and their corresponding feelings, [a person can] step out of denial and experience the full bushel of God’s comfort.”4

I was ministering to a woman I’ll call Jennifer who told me she had had a horrible childhood. I asked her which year was the worst. She replied, “Age 12.” I asked if she would be willing to go back and relive that year with Jesus. At that suggestion, her eyes opened wide and showed stark terror! The last thing Jennifer wanted to do was relive that or several other years of her life.

After a discussion concerning how Jesus heals and how strong her motivation was to receive His healing, she consented. I instructed her to allow the Holy Spirit to bring back the memories of age 12, to let her feel the hurts and let her see Jesus in each event. This she did, sobbing freely for nearly three-quarters of an hour. Finally, through her tears, Jennifer smiled weakly and heaved a sigh of relief, happy that it was over. I let her catch her breath a bit, then asked her to go back through age 12 again. Again, the look of terror came over Jennifer’s face and she exclaimed, “Do I have to?”

“I’d like you to experience the difference,” I said.

So she went through the same experiences again, this time in about five minutes, and came up smiling. I asked if there was any pain this time. “A little,” she said, “but no fear!”

God is in favor of honesty and openness. Truthfulness demands that we admit and face the past as it really was, even if it is painful to do so. This is our history no matter how disagreeable. Denying or ignoring it doesn’t heal it. In fact, denying and ignoring disagreeable experiences in the past make things worse; such an approach buys into the lie that any damage done has been taken care of. God heals by our facing and working through problems, not by circumventing them.

Dealing with Painful Memories

Though Jesus was there when a wounding event took place, we probably felt alone, dependent entirely on our own resources. We neither saw Him nor felt His presence at that time. During ministry, however, Jesus graciously enables us to feel His presence and, usually, to see Him in the event. Though He doesn’t change the event itself, the awareness of His presence is usually sufficient to bring healing to even the most damaged memory.

The fact that Jesus takes most or all of the pain of such memories seems to fulfill the promise of Isaiah 53:4-5, where we read, “He endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. . . . We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.”

When Jesus takes the woundedness, He heals the reaction as well. The whole memory of the hurtful event is transformed to focus not on the pain but on Jesus’ presence. The damaged memories do not necessarily become pleasant ones, though for some, even this happens. Usually, though, the memory remains unpleasant, yet the deep experience of Jesus’ presence brings peace, freedom and a tangible impression of the safety and security we have in Him. It is healing for most people to feel Him fulfilling His promise, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you” (Heb. 13:5). In this way, they experience that this promise was just as true in the past as it will be in the future.

It is important in ministry to give the Holy Spirit complete freedom to run the session. It is easy for us to step in to tell Him what to do, which memories to handle first and even how to go about healing them. When we let God work as He chooses, we find that He typically brings forth the memories one at a time. He also usually starts with less traumatic ones, moving to the more difficult ones as the person gains more strength and confidence.

Sometimes God allows the memories to come in rapid succession, like a moving picture of a person’s life. On several occasions, I have found myself sitting quietly for long stretches of time as the memories come to my counselee quite rapidly. The counselee then invites Jesus into each memory and feels the pain dissolve.

On occasion, a person may be convinced that the Holy Spirit wants to deal with events that happened at a certain time but he or she has difficulty recalling them. When such is the case, it often helps to have the person begin to describe the physical surroundings in which the events took place. Detailed descriptions or photographs of such places as the room in which an event happened or the house and city in which the person lived are often sufficient to enable the person to recall the specific events God wants to heal.

Each painful event needs to be dealt with by experiencing Jesus in it. Counselees need to know beyond a doubt that Jesus was actually there. They are not simply imagining something that isn’t true or trying to trick themselves into seeing something that isn’t real. He really was there, but they didn’t have eyes to see Him at that time. They can, at this time, ask God to give them eyes to see where Jesus was and to accept His ministry to them.

Counselees can now reinterpret events with Jesus there (see Rom. 8:28). When people can see Jesus in such painful events, their healing, a new view of God and a revitalization of their relationship with God naturally follow. People usually experience Jesus touching them physically, often hugging them as He releases them from their pain. Once people have been helped through a few events, they can often handle other problem areas. In fact, those who minister can assign people to deal with other problems as homework.

Counseling the Newly Freed Person

At the close of the inner-healing session, it is important that we send people out prepared to meet opposition. Satan will often attempt to retake his “territory.” Help counselees to know and use their authority to command Satan to leave them when they are tempted to fall back into old habits. Stress the importance of spending time with God and establishing an intimate relationship with Him.

Spending time in personal and corporate worship is crucial. Reading and studying the Bible will continue to help give the person a good foundation and help them understand that they have tasted something the Enemy has kept from them for years: freedom! As they experience freedom in new ways, the Enemy will try his best to come in and knock them off course, stealing from them as much as possible the deep-level healing God has offered them.

FOR FURTHER READING

John and Paula Sandford, The Transformation of the Inner Man (South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1982), pp. 41-70.

———, Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, OK: Victory House Publishers, 1985), pp. 163-202.

David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), pp. 85-98, 125-148.

6

REACTIONS ARE USUALLY

THE MAIN PROBLEM

A Load Off Her Chest

“Wow! That was incredible! I feel 10 pounds lighter! Now I won’t have to go on a diet!” Amy had come to us with a fairly typical set of problems. Her early experiences with her family had left her with a poor self-concept. She struggled to survive, dragged down continually by the feeling that somehow she was responsible for most, if not all, of the things that went wrong around her. Intense guilt was her constant companion. And now her marriage had fallen apart and her husband was placing all the blame on her. As is typical of a person with such a life history, she was internalizing all the blame and feeling that life was not worth living.

Could God help her? she wondered. Nothing she had done so far seemed to bring much hope. We went back over her early life to see where Jesus was when she was being verbally abused. The Lord appeared to her, embraced her and showed her that He was indeed present in each of the events He brought to her mind. This helped enormously, and she experienced a good bit of release from the grip of a regrettable past.

But not everything was right yet. Amy was still blaming herself for causing these events and feeling shame and guilt over them. This did not surprise me, given the fact that she had become a magnet for guilt, willing to take full blame for anything around her that went wrong. So we reasoned a bit about her part in the things that had happened to her. “Amy, do you honestly believe you are totally to blame for your divorce?” I asked. “Or for the things that went wrong while you were growing up?” She admitted it was unreasonable to blame herself for everything.

At that point, I asked Amy if she had confessed all known sin. She said she had. So I claimed the authority Jesus gave us in John 20:23 (“If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven”) and said, “In the name of Jesus, I speak forgiveness to you, Amy.” And the load lifted—a load that was unwarranted but was, nevertheless, a very real reaction to her past.

The Enemy works hard to get us to feel shame and guilt over anything we are involved in that works out badly. It is a fact that victims tend to blame themselves for the crimes perpetrated against them. They reason, “If these things happened to me, I must somehow have deserved or allowed them. Therefore, I am to blame for them happening. This must be because I’m bad.”

Furthermore, many people have a hard time believing what God says about sin, that if we confess it to Him, it is forgiven. The Enemy takes full advantage and regularly raises doubts in our minds about whether or not we are actually forgiven. He likes to say things like, “After what you’ve done, do you think you can get off that easy? No, you’ve got to pay for it!” So there are many Christians who have confessed their sins but still carry heavy loads of guilt.

Some of those people are like Amy. They seem to gladly accept all guilt attached to actual sins and mistakes but also reach out for guilt that doesn’t belong to them. It is as if they are in the habit of claiming whatever guilt there is in the atmosphere! They are ready to blame themselves for anything, no matter whose fault it might be.

Reactions, Not Events, Require Healing

As pointed out in chapter 3, sin is a major issue in deep-level healing. We are sinners; therefore, we sin. When we sin, we react to what we have done, and these reactions are often unhealthy. Our tendency is to hide what we’ve done, both from others and often from ourselves. Though this is a time-honored tendency, going back to the Garden of Eden, it is just as damaging today as it was then. For there is a law in the universe, put there by God, that says if we confess our sins to Him, we receive His forgiveness and go free (see 1 John 1:9). If, however, we hide our faults, we become captive to them and to our Enemy.

Being sinned against is also a major issue in deep-level healing. When someone is victimized, anger is a normal reaction to such mistreatment. So are other natural but troublesome emotions such as fear, resentment, bitterness, and the like. Though the immediate emotion is not much of a problem if dealt with and released right away, most people tend to hang on to such reactions as anger, resentment and bitterness.

They may also, like Amy, turn in on themselves and feel guilty. Those who are victimized when very young tend to blame themselves for what others have done to them. Their perpetrator’s action is treated as if it were in response to their behavior and is their responsibility rather than the responsibility of the perpetrator. Their anger in reaction to the mistreatment is complicated by the feeling that they deserved what they got because of some defect or badness in them.

In my own case, I could never understand why I felt rejected by my father until I found out I was conceived out of wedlock and, therefore, rejected before birth. Those feelings of rejection led to my own self-rejection based on the assumption that if my parents rejected me, it must be because there was something wrong with me. I trusted their judgment and assumed that the rejection I felt was due to some defect in me. It did not occur to me as a baby in the womb that the problem was theirs. As I look back, it’s clear that they did accept me. However, since the first impressions I received while in the womb were rejection, my reaction was to build my life on that impression. I had no understanding either of the difference between rejection of a pregnancy and rejection of me or of the fact that grownups can make mistakes. When I was able to communicate those understandings to my prebirth inner child, I had a basis for working with Jesus to gain freedom from self-rejection.

There may be more than one level of reaction to deal with in bringing deep healing to people. I had to work at both the prebirth level and at the adult level to uncover two truths: that I was unwanted because of my parents’ mistake, not mine; and that they changed their minds before I was born. I then had to forgive my parents for their mistake and accept the fact that Jesus had planned me (see Eph. 1:4). I also had to forgive myself for a lifetime of unwarranted reaction to the circumstances of my conception, even though it wasn’t until I was about 50 years old that I found out my parents weren’t married when I was conceived.

From this and hundreds of other cases where there is misinterpretation underlying a reaction, we learn that it is the reactions even more than the events themselves that have to be dealt with in deep-level healing. The events cannot be changed or healed. But the responses that sprang from the events and the abiding attitude toward others, self and God can be redeemed. Guilt and shame for sins committed can be replaced by self-forgiveness based on claiming and accepting God’s forgiveness. Anger, resentment and bitterness as a result of being wounded can be replaced by freedom. Both the wounds caused by hurtful events and the reactions to those wounds can be healed.

This healing comes despite the fact that we seldom understand why the hurtful events happened or what our reactions have cost us. We have little ability to figure out such things, and God doesn’t explain. He simply says to us, “Trust me.” He then reminds us that “in all things God works for good with those who love him” (Rom. 8:28).

Prebirth Reactions

At the mention of memories, our thoughts usually go to things that have happened to us since birth; but frequently the experiences that people react to most are the ones that happened while they were in the womb. In working with people to bring healing from deep inner wounds, I frequently find that much damage was done before birth. Praying through prebirth experiences is especially helpful to those (like me) who were conceived out of wedlock or those whose parents wanted a child of the other sex, and those whose parents were experiencing marital discord or other difficulties during the pregnancy.

Some will object to this idea, saying that since they can’t recall early memories, the memories can have no influence over them. This attitude is both wrong and dangerous. There is ample evidence that memories are influential whether or not we can recall them. Our problem is not that we can’t remember early life events, it is that we cannot recall them. We are not conscious of these memories, but they are there and often affect our lives long after the events are over.

Those who study preborn children have a number of interesting things to say about our activities and level of consciousness while in the womb. A University of California professor, John T. Noonan, states this about the tenth week of gestation:

[A baby’s] adrenal and thyroid glands are functioning. He sucks his thumb and responds to pain. He can kick, curl his toes, and turn his feet. His brain is formed much as it will be in adulthood. And his fingerprints already bear the pattern that is uniquely his. His heart has now been beating for seven weeks—pumping blood that he has made himself.1

By the time the gestation process has reached two-and-a-half months (and probably much sooner), babies are experiencing life and recording those experiences in their brains. Though the outside world remains a mystery, it has been shown that preborn children will recognize certain voices and other frequent sounds (e.g., music) and know a good bit about the attitudes of parents and others toward their presence. I have heard of one study that showed that virtually the only way to quiet one crying child after his birth was by playing a particular song his mother had played repeatedly during his time in the womb. A study by Thomas Verny, M.D., entitled The Secret Life of the Unborn Child contains reports of clinical studies from all over the world concerning in-the-womb experiences. Dr. Verny says:

The womb is the child’s first world. How he experiences it—as free or hostile—does create personality and character predispositions. The womb, in a very real sense, establishes the child’s expectations. If it has been a warm, loving environment, the child is likely to expect the outside world to be the same.2

In the womb, babies are probably aware of any discord among those closest to the mother. A baby in the womb is likely to be aware of his parents’ marital situation and other facts about the family he will soon interact with, including his father’s attitude toward him. If the mother experiences any violence, especially sexual violence, the baby will be aware of it and, indeed, may be experiencing it firsthand.

Unborn children are especially sensitive to the mother’s emotions and attitudes. Seamands, in Redeeming the Past, tells us that “The mother’s attitude toward her baby has the greatest single effect on how an infant turns out . . . and the quality of a woman’s relationship with her husband rates second and has a decisive effect on the unborn child.”3

Unborn children are, therefore, likely to pick up any rejection, anger, fear, dissatisfaction or resentment the mother is carrying and will interpret those emotions as directed toward them, whether or not this is their mother’s intent. Even though a mother may be angry at her husband rather than at her child, the child interprets the anger as directed toward her (or him). Likewise, even if the mother’s rejection was toward the pregnancy, not the child, the child is likely to feel that she was not wanted.

There are several types of situations in which parents signal rejection to their unborn child. Rejection is felt in the womb by a child whose parents wanted a baby of the other sex or by one who was conceived out of wedlock. Or the pregnancy may not have been wanted even though the parents were married. It may have come by surprise or at an inconvenient time. In addition, a child whose mother feels rejected will likely feel rejected as well.

In our ministry to people who feel they may have experienced emotional damage while in the womb, it soon becomes apparent that praying through such experiences brings great freedom. One 35-year-old man, whom I’ll call Bob, came to freedom from a lifelong guilty feeling over the fact that he was male. The issue was that his mother had given birth to one son and one daughter, and then she lost the daughter. His mother’s strong desire for another girl seems to have been communicated to him in the womb, leaving him with an intense feeling that he disappointed his parents by being male.

In their valuable book Healing the Wounded Spirit, John and Paula Sandford have recorded a helpful list of certain roots and the fruits that stem from prebirth experiences. These insights come from their own personal observations and those of Dr. Verny. I list here a few of the more important of these observations:

ROOTS AND FRUITS OF PREBIRTH CONDITIONS

The Root Condition

Fruit of Condition After Birth

1. Child not wanted

Performance orientation, inordinate desire to please or rejecting before being rejected, apologizing, death wish, frequent illness, refusing affection or insatiable desire for affection

2. Conceived out of wedlock, or before parents were ready

Deep sense of shame, lack of belonging, believing “I’m a burden” or “an intrusion”

3. Wrong sex

Trying to be other sex, striving to please, defeatist attitude (“I was wrong from the beginning”), sometimes contributes to homosexuality

4. Next child after miscarriage/abortion

Trying to make up for the loss, over serious, striving, anger at being a “replacement,” not getting to be “me”

5. Mother’s fear of childbirth

Fear, insecurity, fear of childbearing

6. Mother loses loved one during pregnancy

Deep sadness, depression, death wish, fear of death, loneliness, fear of loss of loved one, feeling he or she has no one to depend on except self

7. Mother heavy smoker, drinker of alcohol or coffee

Predisposition to severe anxiety, chemical damage, baby absorbs negative attitudes that caused mother to drink, low activity level

8. Fighting in home

Nervousness, uprightness, fear, jumpiness, keeping people from quarreling, feeling guilty when in conflict, taking emotional responsibility for parents

9. Father dies or leaves

Guilt, self-blame, anger, expectation of abandonment, inordinate hunger to find substitute, death wish, depression

10. Violent and/or unwholesome sex during pregnancy, more than one sex partner

Aversion to sex, fear of male organ, unhealthy sexual attitudes

11. Induced labor or C-section

Bonding problems, intense craving for physical contact, sexual perversion

12. Unusually painful delivery

Unacceptably expressed anger, depression

13. Cord around neck Aversion to sex, fear of male organ, unhealthy sexual attitudes

Throat-related problems, problems with swallowing, speech impediments, anti-social behavior4

To illustrate a selection of these conditions, the Sandfords have shared some of the connections between prebirth experiences and present problems from their own lives and that of their children. Paula discovered the root of her own defensiveness by pointing out that her mother had an operation just before her pregnancy and had to have her abdomen bound up for support. Paula’s mother feared that the pregnancy would burst her incision or that she would lose the baby. In the womb, therefore, Paula felt guilty for being there. Here are Paula’s own words about the effect of these impressions:

[This resulted in my] trying to perform to earn a right to be, and taking responsibility emotionally for endangering my mother. Consequently, I developed an overgrown sense of need to control, to keep situations in manageable order. The sort of shyness with which I had struggled all of my life was identified by the one who prayed with me as being rooted in feelings deep inside me that if I grew, I would take up space that would threaten another. And so I would hang back in fear and with hidden (to me) anger.5

The Sandfords’ son Loren lived with a disturbing fear of death. From birth he had resisted going to sleep, no matter how exhausted he became. When he was born, Paula had gone through a difficult labor, and no one was allowed in the labor room with her. She says:

I remember fighting fear and loneliness and praying, “God, don’t let me die!” . . . The doctor, without consulting me or my family, gave me a strong dose of ether, unaware that warnings had been given years before that I should never be given it. When I first saw Loren, he was pale blue and extremely sleepy, and he remained that way long enough to cause everyone some concern. We had to work hard to keep him awake sufficiently to eat. Research has now revealed that alcohol, drugs, and anesthetics given to mothers are immediately experienced by the fetus. No wonder his little spirit was afraid to sleep. He had received the message, “I have to stay awake because if I go to sleep I might die.”6

The Sandfords’ daughter Ami suffered from lethargy, which they describe:

Ambivalence in the parents can result in lethargy in their child. Ami began life as a tubal pregnancy. I spent ten days in [the hospital] with my feet elevated. Prayer, a small miracle of moving by the Lord, and good medical care worked together to save that precious life. But Ami was so sleepy she would hardly eat. Throughout her early youth she seemed to be sleepily dreaming through life, unable to take hold. Further prayer for healing of the wounded spirit called her forth to blossom and take hold of her life dynamically. Prayer also set her free from fear of tight places.7

Their son Mark suffered from a feeling of being unwanted, about which Paula says:

Mark was the next to be conceived while we were still in seminary, and we had to fight to prevent the repeated threat of miscarriage. He also had to be called forth by prayer to take hold of his life. And the Lord showed us that the dyslexia he struggled with in his early years was a physical manifestation of his spiritual fleeing from life. Feeling unwanted—a third child when two were a financial strain—he did not want to be born. His feelings of expecting to be rejected caused subsequent scramblings of other parts of his being.8

People who have been adopted often experience major self-image problems. The roots of these problems almost always lie in the person’s reaction to the circumstances surrounding his or her conception, gestation and birth. This is predictable, since the conception usually happened out of wedlock, with a very young mother left to deal with the pregnancy virtually alone. She experiences tremendous shame and fear, accompanied by self-condemnation and strained relationships with parents and friends. She wants to hide or die and is tormented by regret. The child within her experiences all of these feelings and is born with such emotions as rejection, shame, fear of abandonment and the feeling that he or she was not meant to be. These feelings create deep wounds that many live with all their lives without knowing where the feelings came from or what to do about them.

In one of my seminars, a young man we’ll call Larry raised his hand after we had done the back-to-the-womb exercise. He complained that everything had gone black for him as soon as we started the exercise. As is our custom when that exercise done in public results in such blockage, we arranged to meet with him privately for prayer ministry. Larry had been adopted at a very young age by a childless couple that he and everyone else I talked to contended were model parents. Yet he had lived all his life with intense anger toward them and himself. As we ministered to Larry, we discovered that the roots of his anger lay in his feeling that he had been abandoned by his birth parents and feeling frustrated in his attempts to find out who they were and why they had abandoned him.

As we prayed and tried to hear from God the circumstances under which Larry had been conceived, we decided it was likely his birth parents were not married. One very important issue was whether or not he could forgive them both for bringing him into the world without a family and then turning him over to the people who brought him up. He needed to see their giving him up for adoption as a responsible act of love and concern designed to provide a family for him rather than as an irresponsible act of abandoning him. Though it was difficult, Larry eventually was able to experience the presence of Jesus in the events leading up to his adoption and was able to forgive his birth parents and thank them and God for caring enough to provide him with a good family. There were demons to deal with as well, but they were easily cast out once the main problems—his anger, unforgiveness and self-rejection—were dealt with.

Reactions to Childhood Experiences

In addition to prebirth memories, children can perceive that they are not wanted after birth as well. Whether it is true or not, children can feel rejected because they feel they are a financial burden, a bother or the cause of family problems. They may feel they are not good looking or they lack ability; they may have a behavior problem (for example, crying too much or being too pushy); they may feel they are the wrong sex or less favored by their parents than a sibling.

Julie had such an impression. She was born the second child after a boy. This should have assured her of acceptance on her own merits, since a boy followed by a girl is what parents usually want. Her brother was, however, unusually skilled in many ways, and Julie was constantly compared with him and found wanting. For example, from her earliest days, she was a complacent child, seldom crying or demanding attention and was content wherever she was put. By her parents’ own admission, she often got ignored. As she grew up, it was frequently noted in her presence that she learned to use a spoon, to walk, to talk and stopped wetting the bed later than her brother. The fact that she learned to use the potty earlier than he did was scarcely mentioned.

Things got worse when, shortly after her second birthday, her younger sister was born. This baby demanded attention and got it. Again, Julie got ignored. This pattern continued in her school experiences. She was the quiet one, too shy to raise her hand even when she knew the answer. She went largely unnoticed by teachers and peers alike. She had one good friend in first and second grades. But her family moved away before Julie started third grade, and she never made another friend like her first-grade buddy. The rest of her story doesn’t get any better, even though she turned to Christ as a teenager.

By the time Julie came to us for ministry, she suffered from incredibly low self-esteem. In ministry, she received a good amount of freedom as she saw and felt Jesus’ presence in a number of these events. She is, however, still working on her habitual way of relating to herself. She has to work to keep from neglecting herself as her parents did, looking for disadvantageous comparisons between herself and others, using negative self-talk, and the like. I like to recommend to people like Julie that they spend time daily before a mirror speaking love to themselves—choosing to love themselves even before they develop any love feelings.

The patterns we were dealing with in Julie’s life were deeply ingrained, stemming from her childhood. Though the wounds weren’t her fault, she is responsible for dealing with her reactions. Julie doesn’t seem to have been an unwanted child, but she interpreted the lack of attention she received as indicating that she was not worth much.

Reactions to perceptions of school experiences are another important source of emotional damage. Even if one has escaped such damage at home, schoolmates are often cruel. Furthermore, teachers often misjudge what we need even when they attempt to treat us well. And some of them, weighed down with their own problems, are not able to treat us the way we need to be treated. For whatever reason, Jill, though she was a very good student, was ridiculed by her teacher after doing poorly on a paper in fifth grade. This had never happened to her before and she was mortified, never again able to be comfortable in the classroom. In prayer ministry, however, Jill experienced Jesus standing by her side during the embarrassing event, saying, “It’s all right, I’m with you.”

Reactions in Puberty and Adulthood

Whether people experience any of this type of emotional damage in childhood, many are hurt badly during adolescence and later. Puberty can be especially hard on self-image. The timing of our development is often out of sync with that of others. We probably were self-conscious because we seemed to be either ahead of them or behind them, bigger than the others or smaller, and laughed at by the rest of the group.

Barbara Rainey speaks of the emotional damage she experienced when, during adolescence, she was asked, “Are you sure you’re a girl?” She was late in developing—by other people’s standards—and was treated cruelly by the other youngsters. Boys can be just as cruel, as a visit to any junior high boys’ locker room will prove. The boy whose penis is small and who has little or no pubic hair gets no pity from those who are farther in their development. Many boys are scarred for life by such experiences.

Further down the road of life, rejections and betrayals are also likely to have a traumatic impact. These may come from people perceived to be loyal friends or partners in romance, especially a marriage partner. Career experiences such as uncertainty over or disappointment in one’s present position, being fired or even failing in business can also figure in—often in a big way—as damaging to the emotions. The man we call John in chapter 7 was pressured to leave his first job and change careers. A deep sense of failure and shame in the presence of family and friends, combined with his own habit of blaming and condemning himself for whatever went wrong in his life, produced wounds he carried with him for some time.

We may imagine ourselves moving through life as tourists on a sightseeing trip. At each stop along the way, we buy more things. The things we purchase, however, result in heavier and heavier luggage to carry and greater difficulty getting into and out of cars, buses, trains and planes. So, too, in life, as we plod along our personal journey, our rejection baggage gets heavier and heavier, more and more bulky and difficult to manage. As we move from place to place, we are off balance and always in danger of falling. We strive to look calm, cool and collected. But there is a very large struggle going on inside to conceal the load we carry. Such baggage makes us prime candidates for deep-level healing.

As with Larry mentioned earlier in this chapter, the internal damage can allow demons to enter and remain. As stated earlier on, demons are like rats, and rats go for garbage. The garbage of anger, shame, self-rejection, fear and a host of other negative emotions provides fertile ground for demonic rats to enter and live in a person. Though demons are always a secondary problem to the “garbage” on which they feed, if the person is to be free, once the garbage is dealt with, the demons will need to be kicked out. See chapter 10 and my book Defeating Dark Angels for how to deal with the “rats.”

Even Conversion May Not

Solve the Problem

How disappointing conversion is for many who carry such loads. They have been promised that all things will become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17) when they accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, but that doesn’t always happen in all areas of their lives. Rather, the same old problems, both those that are external and those that are internal seem to continue. I clearly remember my own struggle with habits and thoughts I had hoped would go away once I gave my life to Christ. Paul’s struggle recorded in Romans 7:15-19 was a very real one for me—I could neither do what I wanted to do nor understand what was wrong with me. This struggle led me frequently to the point of questioning the validity of my conversion.

I do not fully understand even now how Paul could so glibly promise the newness of life in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he knew it would be so much work! What I know now, though, is that through prayer ministry, the power of God can be brought to bear on the reactions we struggle with in such a way as to free us. Not only can we be released from enormous burdens, but we can also forgive those who misled us into thinking things would be easy.

Taking Responsibility for Our Reactions

Though as human beings we seem to be playing on what some might call an uneven playing field, we cannot blame other people or demonic interference for the problems raised by our reactions. True, we have a sin nature that tips us in the direction of sinning. And many of us have a life history extending back to conception that has left us with plenty of festering emotional wounds. On top of this, we have to contend with the pressure put on us by the ever-active dark angels whose job it is to harass us. Yet the Scriptures give us no right to blame others for our reactions, no matter how much pressure we may be under.

The key to taking responsibility for our reactions comes from discovering their roots and dealing with them. This is why I spend so much time on early life experiences. As Seamands points out:

If we stop honestly to look at our behavior, we may discover that we really haven’t reacted to the present situation as it is. Rather, that hidden child of the past has surfaced to respond to some childhood event or relationship. We have not acted with maturity; rather, we have responded to circumstances entirely different from those immediately apparent.9

We can discover the roots to our reactions with help from God and other people, but we alone must take responsibility for them. If we want to be healed, we must be determined to face and work through our experiences and our attitudes toward them. Although we do this in partnership with Jesus, He doesn’t do the work for us. We need to work at it with Him. Attitudes such as shame, fear, anger, bitterness, resentment and the like, whether initially identified as sins or not, must be admitted and handed over to God.

Satan tries to keep us from taking this responsibility by tempting us to blame others for our problems. Even though many things we struggle with are caused by others’ actions, we still have no right to blame others for our reactions. Perhaps we can apply here Jesus’ words concerning the mouth that it is not what goes into a person that defiles him or her, but what comes out (see Matt. 15:11). We cannot blame others; we cannot blame “the system”; we cannot even blame Satan for our attitudes.

Though God will judge those who hurt us for what they have done (see Rom. 12:19), He holds us accountable for our reactions. This is true even when what was done to us will result in great punishment for the perpetrator(s). Perpetrators are responsible before God for their actions; we are responsible for ours. Regardless of the source of the wound, if we desire deep inner healing, we will have to take responsibility for the attitudes and actions we have now internalized. Refusal to do this will only delay, if not completely impede, the healing process.

When we have been victimized, God’s rules require us to give up all right to revenge against those who have hurt us. This is a hard rule, but one we must obey if we are to gain freedom and minister freedom to others. Jesus is clear that we must forgive our enemies if we expect God to forgive us (see Matt. 6:12,15). If we have been hurt, I believe we have a right to revenge. But this is what Jesus wants us to give to Him—our right to revenge. If we want to be free and stay free, we must live a life of forgiveness.

The Problem of Guilt

One of the major strategies of the Enemy is to get us to feel guilty or keep us feeling guilty. He especially focuses on three areas: (1) confession of sin (if he can keep us from it, he will); (2) feeling guilty for sins already confessed and forgiven; and (3) feeling guilt over what others have done to us. If allowed in and fed, guilt gives Satan a spiritual and emotional stronghold in us that can result in our viewing reality in a completely skewed way.

Seamands underlines the destructiveness of guilt in human life:

If it is true that forgiveness is the most therapeutic fact in all of life, then guilt must be the most destructive. We are simply not built for it, so we automatically try to atone for it, to get rid of it somehow. Often we carry it around in our bodies and minds and it affects our entire personality. Or we pour it into a bag and dump it on someone else.10

The same could be said about shame. Guilt is feeling bad about something that we have done; shame is feeling bad about who we are. They work together. What we have done that makes us feel guilty can strongly affect our attitude toward ourselves so that we live in shame, self-condemnation, even self-hatred. Here are some of the underlying causes of guilt and shame:

1. Unconfessed Sin

The Enemy can often get us to leave sins unconfessed, especially if we have become discouraged and feel we can never do anything right. When we sin, and fail to confess it, we give the Enemy an opportunity to burden us unnecessarily with guilt. What God intends is that when we sin, we experience conviction, a response in our spirit generated by the Holy Spirit, which leads us to confess the sin and receive forgiveness.

In contrast, the Enemy attempts to make us captive through hiding sin and developing guilt. Deep-level healing is often necessary to show people how to distinguish between the Holy Spirit’s gentle chiding (conviction) and guilt (the emotional reaction to unconfessed sin).

In the spiritual realm, guilt and conviction are poles apart. Paul points this out in 2 Corinthians 7:10 by contrasting the sadness or sorrow that comes from God (conviction) with what is human in origin: “For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation—and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death.”

2. Sin Already Confessed

If the Enemy is unable to keep us from confessing our sin, he tries to keep us from feeling the forgiveness God grants us. Though we have confessed our sin and have been cleansed from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9), it is often easy for Satan to convince us that our sin is just too big to be so easily taken care of. We are indeed free from the sin, but we don’t feel forgiven.

“The most helpful word I have ever heard on this [subject],” says Seamands, “was from a young man who said every time he started to pray, he would remind God of a certain failure in his past. One day when he started to do this it was as though God whispered to him, ‘My son, enough of that. Stop reminding Me of that sin. I distinctly remember forgetting it a long time ago!’ ”11

Both the lack of confession and/or the retaining of guilt after confession often result in an inability to forgive ourselves. With David, we may feel that we are “always conscious of [our] sins” (Ps. 51:3). Guilt is one of the major roots of a lack of self-forgiveness. The inability to forgive ourselves also needs to be confessed, because God wants us to forgive everyone He has forgiven.

3. Blame for Self as the Victim

Victims usually blame themselves for what has been done to them. They assume that those who hurt them knew what they were doing and did it because they deserved it. I have often heard from victims a statement such as, “If I wasn’t bad, he (she) wouldn’t have done these things to me.” It can be difficult to convince victims that their experience was the result of the badness in someone else. They insist on feeling guilty, even if they cannot find anything they have done to deserve such treatment.

Rich Buhler, in his very helpful book Pain and Pretending, calls this habit of blaming ourselves for what others have done to us the “doctrine of eligibility.” He writes:

Why do children blame themselves? I believe it is because of what I call the “doctrine of eligibility,” which exists in a fascinating way in the heart of even the youngest child. We carry this doctrine with us into adulthood, and it affects many of us in ways we may not fully realize. This doctrine prompts a child to conclude, “I am the reason for the pain.”

What is the doctrine of eligibility? Quite simply, it is the belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. As we grow and develop, we learn there are “good” people and “bad” people in the world. We conclude that good people are associated with success and victory and bad people are associated with failure and defeat. In simple ways, we learn that to have something good happen in our lives, we have to be eligible for it. We also learn that if we are bad, then bad things might happen to us.12

A man I’ll call Terry who was hounded by guilt was experiencing intense physical pain in several of his joints. Though he wasn’t aware of it until we were well into our ministry time, the pain and the guilt were closely connected. Terry was well aware of his feelings of guilt. They plagued him wherever he went. He described himself as feeling guilty over just about everything he did or anything that others did in relation to him.

We found the roots of Terry’s guilty feelings in the fact that, from his parents’ point of view, he wasn’t supposed to be born. So he felt guilty for even existing. He interpreted the slightest mistreatment by his parents, playmates, teachers and others as his fault. Likewise, he felt guilty for whatever went wrong around him, even if he had nothing to do with causing it. Terry’s whole view of reality was distorted by his guilt feelings.

In commenting on a view of reality like Terry’s, Seamands says, “Some of us wouldn’t know how to live if we didn’t feel guilty; we’d go to pieces from spiritual anxiety. That guilty self becomes the basis of a ‘good conscience,’ while a good conscience somehow creates a feeling of guilt.”13

Terry actually was experiencing all three of the Enemy’s ploys: unconfessed sin, inability to receive forgiveness for confessed sin, and blaming self for what others did to him. Though guilt over the sins he had committed was not his major problem, he had left several of his sins unconfessed due to discouragement. In addition to the guilt he carried over those sins, the Enemy was able to get him to carry a much greater sense of guilt stemming from confessed sins he could not seem to forget, and guilt resulting from self-blame for wounds inflicted on him by others.

For people like Terry, the last thing they need to hear is the word “sin” connected to their guilt-related problems. That only makes them feel more guilty. I choose, therefore, to refer to these problems as “holding on to guilt,” an “inability to forgive oneself” and “blaming oneself for other’s crimes.” People dealing with these issues don’t need to acquire any more guilt because we have labeled them as sinful.

Dealing with Unforgiveness

The greatest block to receiving healing at the deepest level is unforgiveness. It seems to be a rule: Wallowing in unforgiveness creates such disruption in our physical and emotional being that the consequences can be quite serious. Unforgiveness is the reaction that seems to cause the most damage to a person’s emotions.

When people are hurt, it is normal to react in anger. But when people retain their anger, it easily turns into such attitudes as resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness. These attitudes provide fertile ground for Enemy activity.

I can’t estimate the large number of people, for whom I have prayed, that have received emotional, physical or spiritual healing almost immediately when unforgiveness was dealt with. On several occasions, people have come to me with extreme tightness and pain across their shoulders. But when they forgave the person they were angry at, the symptoms left immediately. One woman’s whole personality and outlook on life changed when she gave up her unforgiveness toward scores of people against whom she held bitterness.

Forgiveness is so basic that we are well advised to deal with it early on in ministry. The “rule of thumb” in deep-level healing is, look for unforgiveness. When people forgive, they release the one they have been holding something against from their anger, bitterness, resentment and desire for revenge. When people forgive, they do not declare the one they have forgiven “not guilty.” Rather, they recognize his or her guilt and give God their right to pay the person back. Forgiveness is not for innocent people but for guilty people.

When people withhold forgiveness, both they and the person they are angry with remain captives. When they forgive by giving up to God their right of revenge, both people get to go free.

In ministry to others, when we look for unforgiveness, we should leave no stone unturned. It’s best to start at the very beginning, at conception, to look for anger, bitterness and resentment. As we saw from the chart earlier in this chapter, many prebirth experiences need to be cleansed of such reactions for the person to get free. Likewise, childhood and adolescent experiences need to be taken seriously and cleansed through the change of attitude that occurs when one forgives.

Scripture shows us that forgiveness was a major theme in Jesus’ teaching. Our Lord taught His disciples (and us) that there is to be no end to the amount of forgiveness we give others (see Matt. 18:21-35). He then set the example Himself by forgiving those who crucified Him (see Luke 23:34). Following up on this, Paul tells us to “forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you” (Col. 3:13). It is part of the Lord’s Prayer to ask God to “Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us” (Matt. 6:12). Jesus elaborates on this statement by telling us that only if we forgive others will God forgive us (see Matt. 6:14-15).

“For many victims,” says Buhler, the thought of forgiving those who caused their pain seems absurd and even impossible. Certainly forgiveness is contrary to the “get even” attitude of our society. It is a more important step toward a more complete healing, however, which is one reason forgiveness was so paramount in the teachings of Jesus Christ.14

Forgiveness is a kind of spiritual “excretory system.” To explain that analogy, think of the law inherent in our biological makeup that sees to it that we pay a price if we refuse to go to the toilet. If we refuse long enough, or if for some reason our excretory passages get blocked, biological law sees to it that we get poisoned from inside. The same happens in our spirit with unforgiveness. If we refuse to get rid of it, there is a law in the universe—a law just as firm and unbending as the law of gravity—that sees to it that we get poisoned from inside. The consequences of ignoring this principle are serious problems in regard to emotions, body and spirit. In fact, unforgiveness is like emotional and spiritual cancer. As it spreads, it blocks emotional and spiritual healing and can lead to a kind of spiritual death. It can even be one of the root causes of numerous serious physical illnesses.

In ministry it is my practice to affirm a hurting person’s right to be angry and even unforgiving. Most of those who struggle with unforgiveness have been badly wounded by others. They need to realize that they have this right to anger. Affirming the fact that their feelings are normal and that they have a right to keep them can be an important first step toward freedom. But to get free, they need to give to Jesus their right to anger, bitterness and revenge.

Hurting people have many times been led to feel that their anger itself is sinful. This is not the case, as we learn from Ephesians 4:26. Seamands writes:

It’s high time some of us get over our childish ideas on this subject. Anger is not a sinful emotion. In fact, there are no sinful emotions. There are only sinful uses of emotions. . . . Anger is a divinely planted emotion. Closely allied to our instinct for right, it is designed—as are all our emotions—to be used for constructive spiritual purposes.15

God doesn’t deny us our right to choose a reaction that He knows will be damaging. He simply invites us to get free of our reaction, saying, “Give me your burden. Keeping such burdens as anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness will enslave and destroy you.” He has burdens like this in mind when He says, come to me with your heavy burdens so I can give you rest (see Matt. 11:28; 1 Pet. 5:7). When He says we should give up our right to revenge (see Rom. 12:19), He knows it is for our own good. He knows the laws of the universe and what is best for us as He uproots the spiritual cancer of anger, unforgiveness and bitterness from our lives.

Giving our anger, bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness to God is not a form of spiritual denial. It requires honest facing of our feelings and admitting them. God requires complete truthfulness. God only heals those who face the facts and give the heavy burden of such feelings to Him.

Often, though, releasing such intense feelings to God is a process rather than a single, once-for-all act. We who minister need to recognize this and not be impatient if people cannot shed all their anger and unforgiveness immediately. God understands this and often grants great freedom to those who have simply taken the first step of their journey toward completely forgiving those who have hurt them.

Honesty requires that we recognize that there has been real hurt and those who have brought it about are responsible before God for their behavior. God will repay them. He simply tells us not to try to do His job for Him. He will avenge our wounds in His time and in His way (see Rom. 12:19). When Jesus forgave from the cross, it was forgiveness for those who nailed Him to that cross. They were guilty and had to pay for it. But Jesus was not going to allow Himself to become captive to anger, bitterness and resentment, no matter what they had done.

When ministering to those struggling with how to forgive, it is often helpful to lead them to look at the perpetrator’s past life. Because victims create victims, those who hurt others have usually been badly treated themselves. Often a simple question such as, “What was your father or mother’s early life like?” is sufficient to change the attitude of a wounded son or daughter toward his or her parent. When we see our parents, or others who have hurt us, as victims in their earlier life, it is usually easier to forgive them. Sometimes the “good parent, bad parent” exercise described in chapter 12 is a help in this process. I often point out to people that those who hurt them never had the advantage they have right now of receiving ministry to get their problems healed. Having such troubles in earlier life is no excuse for abusers to do what they do. But understanding their pain makes it easier to forgive them.

Beyond forgiveness lies what for many is an even greater challenge: the challenge to bless and love the persons they have just forgiven. Scripturally, love is a choice, not an emotion. We are to choose to love people whether or not we like them. We are to choose to love even our enemies (see Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27,35) and to bless those who have cursed us (see Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:28; Rom. 12:14). The ability to bless and love those who have harmed us is an undeniable demonstration of the freedom Christ bestows when we forgive.

Forgiving Self and God

The need to forgive others should be obvious by now. Not so obvious is the fact that wounded people usually also need to forgive themselves and God.

Anger at Self

Because victims tend to blame themselves for their problems, especially when they have been mistreated early in life, we frequently find such people to be unforgiving and angry toward themselves, as if they had been the perpetrators. In the wake of such attitudes often come self-condemnation, self-rejection and self-hatred reinforced in many cases by demons.

Sally is a case in point of someone who held all of these harmful attitudes toward herself. She felt badly neglected by her mother and by the series of husbands her mother had brought into the home while Sally was growing up. Sally responded to these feelings of neglect and worthlessness by doing things that got her into trouble with school officials and later with the police. Though recognizing the part her mother’s neglect played in her woundedness, Sally steadfastly contended that her reactions proved that she was bad to the core and didn’t deserve to be forgiven.

In ministry, it was comparatively easy to get Sally to forgive her mother. It was obvious to her that her mother had been victimized in her early life and had never gained control over her reactions to that mistreatment. Sally could also accept with her mind that her own reactions were forgivable. She could not, however, seem to give up the feeling that there was something defective and bad about herself. “Otherwise,” she said, “why would I react in such unacceptable ways?” It took some time for her to give her self-hate and unwillingness to forgive herself to Jesus.

One important step in the process was when she moved from knowing that Jesus forgave her to recognizing that He expected her to forgive everyone He forgives. Another important step was for her to exercise toward herself her own gift of compassion, a gift that God marvelously used through her in working with disadvantaged people. Finally, she was able to forgive herself.

All of us have responded in anger toward ourselves for certain things we have done. It is easy to hang on to such feelings, allowing them to fester and turn into bitterness and unforgiveness. Self has then become the enemy we need to learn to love (see Matt. 5:43-45). Those with low self-esteem (see chapter 7) are especially vulnerable to allowing such feelings to escalate and damage them emotionally. Like Sally, we need to call off our war against ourselves and forgive this self that Jesus has forgiven, accepted and chosen to be His child (see 1 John 3:1-3). We need to accept ourselves as Jesus accepted Peter after his crushing failure of denying his Lord. Though guilty of an enormous sin, he was as forgivable as a child who had simply made a mistake.

Anger at God

For many, a bigger problem than anger at self is anger at God. Counselees often ask, “If God loves me so much, why did He let those horrible things happen to me? Where was He when I was being abused? Why didn’t He stop it?” It is painful to have to deal both with the unanswerable questions and with the immutable requirement that we must forgive.

I don’t know why God allows horrible things to happen to people. But I do know what the Enemy had in mind. He wanted to destroy these people. And the fact that he wasn’t able to destroy them means that God prevented him from doing his worst (see 1 Cor. 10:13). I can say with certainty that God was there. Satan did all he was allowed to do but not all he wanted to. In the process, the person was hurt but not destroyed.

Though we may never understand “why” in this life, we need to recognize that God often does not get His way in the universe. So we must accept what God allowed, and thank Him that He kept it from getting worse. Beyond this, we know that He is willing and powerful enough to bring healing to even the most damaged people.

Furthermore, God allows us to be angry at Him. He knows we don’t understand as He understands. With our human limitations, we probably would not understand even if He explained things to us. And He doesn’t. He didn’t even explain things to Job. But He allowed Job to get very angry with Him without penalty. And when Job repented (see Job 42:2-6), he released God from his anger, bitterness and resentment. This is what I mean by “forgiving God.” Though we don’t understand, we can give up our right to be angry at Him, in effect agreeing, as Job did (see 40:3-5; 42:2-6), that God can run things, even our lives, His way. This is hard to agree to, but it is the only way to freedom.

For many, though, it is difficult to admit that they are angry with God. This is not considered proper, even though we know the stories of Job, David and other biblical personages who expressed their anger at God. Many people, however, fear that God will disown them or punish them for their anger. So they, like Adam, try to hide their secret even from God Himself. But, again, freedom lies in admitting our anger and frustration and giving it to Jesus. Hiding such anger gives the Enemy an advantage. Facing it and dealing with it by giving it up bring freedom.

Setting Boundaries

One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with reactions to those who hurt them comes when people are still in constant contact with their perpetrators. It is one thing to lead people to forgive those who have hurt them in the past. It is quite another to help them forgive someone who is still hurting them. I frequently have to deal with wives who are being mistreated by their husbands and have to go right back to them when our session is over. This type of situation is among the most difficult to handle.

Many people think that forgiving a person means giving up all rights to protect themselves. This is not true. To forgive means to release the other person and oneself from captivity to anger, bitterness and resentment. It does not mean one gives up common sense, reason and those resources available for one’s protection. These resources include: (1) setting clear boundaries, (2) taking authority over spirits, and (3) contacting civil authorities or other professional services.

1. Clear Boundaries

Setting boundaries is not easy. It requires carefully thinking through one’s own rights and those of the abuser. It is frequently advisable for a person to work with a professional counselor or someone else who has had experience with abusive situations to strategize a course of action. This usually requires setting clear and firm conditions of the this-far-but-no-farther type. These conditions need to be communicated (often by another person) to the abuser and accompanied by a threat that if the person oversteps that boundary one more time, the victim packs up and leaves, either for good or until certain further conditions are met. It’s very important that the victim be prepared to do whatever is threatened and carry it out if the abuse continues.

A woman whom I’ll call Emily had a husband who wanted to see their marriage work but kept sabotaging it. They had returned from overseas Christian service, largely because his abusive rages made life intolerable for Emily. She threatened to leave him several times and finally did leave by admitting herself into a facility for battered women. She also made arrangements with a friend to live with her if she needed to. During her stay in the facility, her husband sought help. He had sought help before, but only short-term change had resulted. This time, however, he went to someone who ministers in deep-level healing and the change in him seems to be permanent. As a result, there are now healthy boundaries of mutual respect and love in Emily and her husband’s relationship.

2. Taking Authority Over Spirits

Often those who abuse physically do so under the influence of evil spirits. Whether these spirits are working from inside of the person or outside, they frequently provide the push that results in a physical attack.

When an attack takes place, it is a good practice to speak directly to the spirit behind the attack rather than to the human perpetrator. The words can be something like, “Whatever spirit this is, in Jesus’ name I forbid you to harm me,” or “Stop it, foul spirit, in Jesus’ name.”

I have heard the stories of several women who were able to successfully ward off attacks in this way. One woman told me she was attacked by a man holding a gun. When she forbade the spirit to do that, the man’s gun hand dropped to his side and he turned and walked sheepishly away. What she said was something like, “This body belongs to Jesus Christ. I forbid you to hurt it.”

Whether the abuse is physical or verbal, we can assume that a spirit is probably involved. I like to say, usually under my breath, “If this is the Enemy, stop it!” If it is a spirit, the command will be heard and usually obeyed. I have seen quite a number of situations changed radically when this command is uttered. When an argument starts or a meeting shows signs of getting out of hand, this command is often quite effective.

3. Contacting Civil Authorities and Other Professional Services

In some communities, women are able to go to a home for battered women for a time to escape a husband’s abuse. Some have had to call the police for help. Though such measures are usually short-term, they often make the point with perpetrators that the victim is serious about setting boundaries. Sometimes this motivates the perpetrator to do something permanent about his or her problem.

Now we move on to the emotionally charged issue of healing our wounded self-image.

FOR FURTHER READING

Rich Buhler, Pain and Pretending (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), pp. 65-84.

Henry Cloud and John Townsend, Boundaries (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001).

John and Paula Sandford, The Transformation of the Inner Man (South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1982), pp. 95-106.

David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), pp. 25-38.

———, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), pp. 112-119, 125-166.

7

HEALING OF A DAMAGED

SELF-IMAGE

Marge and John

When I asked Marge why she had come to me and how I could help her, she said, “I hate myself.”

The story she told is common to many people. Marge was the firstborn in her family and wasn’t sure her parents wanted a child at that time in their marriage; and she was certain that if they had wanted a child, they would have wanted a boy. As she looked back at her past, she said that she tried hard to be a boy in what felt like a vain attempt to win her father’s approval. When she reached puberty, however, she had to give up the pretense and tried to content herself with being a girl. But that, too, was disappointing.

To Marge, her hair never seemed to look right. She felt that her hips grew too big. Her breasts developed late and were small. Menstruation came as a surprise and was treated by her mother as something to be hushed up. Marge’s mother seemed to be angry and ashamed about this part of womanhood and about sex in general. Marge worked hard at her studies and made good grades. This brought approval from her parents. But good grades added to her feeling that she was unattractive physically, sabotaging any hopes she had of becoming popular with the boys.

As she grew into young adulthood, Marge had a couple of brief relationships with men, both of which involved sexual encounters that left her feeling exploited, unwanted and worthless. Though she made a commitment to Christ early in life, her relationship with Him did not grow enough to provide much of an antidote to her general depression and low self-esteem. So here she was, in her mid-thirties, unmarried, feeling very unattractive, lonely, and hating herself.

John, a man in his mid-fifties, told a similar story. He was conceived before his parents were married. Happily for him, they did get married and provided him a fairly typical American home for his generation, with a mostly absent father but a mother who spent most of her time at home or with her children. As John grew up, he did well at school but could never quite make it in athletics in spite of a sizable drive to prove himself athletically to gain his father’s approval. He was small of stature until late in high school. This set him up for a lot of teasing from other boys. And he made few friends. Though this stemmed to some extent from his lack of self-confidence, it also contributed to it.

John, too, felt unwanted. He resented his father’s absence and apparent unwillingness to spend time with him. He resented the fact that he hadn’t grown faster and wasn’t more mature. He didn’t like himself and assumed that others, including his parents, didn’t like him either. Though he continued to do well in school, this fact didn’t seem to attract his father’s attention as John hoped it would.

I believe the roots of self-rejection in both Marge and John lay in the knowledge they had before birth that their parents did not want them. As pointed out in the previous chapter, when feelings of rejection come to babies in the womb, they cannot understand that it is the pregnancy, not themselves, that is being rejected. The message of rejection gets personalized and they are born feeling unwanted. Since they trust their parents’ judgments, they assume their parents reject them for good reason. So they agree with what they perceive to be their parents’ opinion, feeling that the opinion was arrived at rationally and on the basis of good evidence. Thus, they reject themselves.

Both Marge and John turned to Christ in their early years. This exposed them to the promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17, that if they were properly “in Christ” they would be “new beings.” Their experiences did not, however, show the kind of newness they expected, leading them to wonder if they were indeed “in Christ” or simply faking. Furthermore, the frequent sermons they heard concerning human sinfulness were taken personally, reinforcing their negative self-attitudes.

John, especially, kept feeling a deep sense of failure in the sexual area. He had been taught that masturbation is sin, so he felt guilty every time he succumbed to the temptation. Though he prayed sincerely and often and tried as hard as he could to overcome this habit, nothing seemed to work for more than a couple of days. This sense of failure in his Christian life compounded the effects of his negative self-image to such an extent that, even when he did succeed in athletics and in several other areas of life, he found it impossible to change his attitude toward himself. He still considered himself a loser, in spite of quite a bit of evidence that he was a winner.

Satan’s Strategy

Though we cannot blame Satan for our weaknesses and failures, we have to recognize that he lurks in the background, ready and waiting to take advantage of whatever is there to harass and, if possible, destroy us. He hates God and anything God has done. He is sterile and cannot create anything himself. He can only disturb and destroy what already exists. He especially hates the creatures God has created most like Himself—us.

This hate drives him to attack us where we are the weakest—in our sense of identity as the prized creation of God. “Satan’s greatest psychological weapon is a gut-level feeling of inferiority, inadequacy, and low self-worth.”1

He is envious of the position God has given us, just a bit lower than Himself. As Psalm 8:5 says, “You made [man] inferior only to yourself; you crowned him with glory and honor.”

Only we are created in the image of God. Only we have been given the privilege by God to procreate others in His image. When God created us, He positioned us above the angels. We are, therefore, number two in the universe. This makes Satan jealous and angry. Some have even suggested that God’s plan to make a creature superior to the angels is what led to Satan’s rebellion and fall.

Out of jealousy, then, the Enemy attacks us in whatever ways he can. He particularly attacks those things he cannot have, such as our creativity and our ability to procreate. He also zeros in on our ability to relate to God, to others and to self. Furthermore, he and his followers envy the fact that we have bodies, and he seeks to do as much damage as possible to them.

Not only is Satan jealous about the things God gave us at creation, but he is also upset over our redemption. Only we, not the angels, have been redeemed. Only humanity was adequate for the Incarnation—the uniting of God with His highest creature. Through Jesus, God worked out a way to redeem humans.

Out of envy, then, Satan assaults humans in at least four ways: (1) he tempts people to obey him and does his best to keep them from responding to God’s plan of salvation by blinding them (see 2 Cor. 4:4); (2) he continues to tempt even believers to sin; (3) he tries to keep us from feeling forgiven; (4) he continually plants lies in our minds and emotions, especially concerning our identity before God. Satan is the author of what some call “worm theology”—a theology that continually focuses on our sinfulness and inadequacy. Unfortunately, that is reinforced by the liturgies of many churches in which God is continually begged for a forgiveness He freely gives to all who confess their sin (see 1 John 1:9).

Satan is especially active in attempting to disable us emotionally and spiritually. No matter how strong we may be in mind and body, the Enemy knows that without emotional and spiritual health, we will be crippled in our effectiveness for the kingdom of God.

Satan’s attacks on our self-image come in the form of accusations. They are in stark contrast to the picture God draws for us:

Symptoms of the Problem

For those whose self-perception is out of sync with God’s view, here are nine common symptoms that need to be dealt with. They seldom occur separately, and it is not uncommon for a person to show all nine symptoms at the same time.

1. Dislike for Self or Some Part of Self

Many people grow up with negative feelings toward their bodies, or parts of their bodies. Because the cultural standards for the size and shape of our bodies are rarely attainable, many of us, especially women, live with a continual guilty conscience. Many women intensely dislike their faces, hips, stomachs, breasts, height, hair or their whole bodies. In addition, many dislike their minds, emotions or personalities and are constantly directing negative thoughts and words toward themselves.

Many have inherited, or developed from before birth, a sense of shame for even existing. In the case of a person conceived before marriage, this shame may have come from a mother who was ashamed to be pregnant. John Bradshaw speaks of the need to integrate the “shame-bound” parts of us in order to achieve self-acceptance. He says, “As a formerly shame-based person, I have to work hard at total self-acceptance. . . . Most shame-based people feel ashamed when they need help; when they feel angry, sad, fearful or joyous; and when they are sexual or assertive.”2 These are sure symptoms of a self-image problem.

2. Dislike of Given Name

Many people dislike the name they have been given. John, for example, was called “Johnny” during his growing up years and detested it. Some see their name as a kind of curse. Indeed, I have worked with people from other societies whose name actually is a curse. For example, in Spanish, girls may be named Dolores (meaning “pains”) or Soledad (meaning “isolation”). People who bear such names may feel cursed or even actually be cursed.

3. A Wish to Be Someone Else

Rather than facing the pain in our life, we sometimes find it easier to imagine being someone else. With some people, this desire becomes an obsession. Wanting to be someone else can powerfully erode self-esteem if we don’t come to grips with it.

4. Obsession with Own Sinfulness

Christians with self-image problems are frequently obsessed with their own sinfulness. We are indeed sinners. There is no denying that. But based on the truth of 1 John 1:9, when we confess our sins, God forgives us our sins, and they are gone. Furthermore, since it is no longer our nature to sin (see 1 John 3:9), we do not have to continually focus on our sinfulness. It is enough to commit to God anything we may have done knowingly or unknowingly and recognize that He forgives it as soon as we mention it.

5. Use of Mood-Altering Techniques

Many people resort to mood-altering techniques to escape feelings of worthlessness. Such techniques include but are not limited to substance abuse. Many of us mask our pain through such addictions as work, athletics, exercise, eating, TV viewing and even religion. As Bradshaw says:

Toxic shame has been suggested as the core and fuel of all addiction. Religious addiction is rooted in toxic shame, which can be readily mood-altered through various religious behaviors. One can get feelings of righteousness through any form of worship. One can fast, pray, meditate, serve others, go through sacramental rituals, speak in tongues, be slain by the Holy Spirit, quote the Bible, read Bible passages, say the name of Yahweh or Jesus. Any of these can be a mood-altering experience.3

6. Cursing Part or All of Self

Many people curse part or all of themselves. A woman once asked me to pray for healing for lumps on her breasts. As it turned out, she had been sexually abused as a teenager with her breasts as the focal point of the abuse. This led her to curse that part of her. When she renounced the curse she had put on her breasts, the lumps disappeared. Many people say hateful things to themselves or about parts of themselves. In one of my seminars, a lady raised her hand and said, “I think I’ve cursed my hair!” We all laughed, but hair-cursing is probably very widespread and a frequent result of a “bad hair day.”

Negative words frequently said, such as “I hate my _____,” are empowered by the Enemy and become curses. Curses need to be broken by saying something like, “In the name of Jesus, I renounce any curse I have put on my body (or some part of it).”

7. Addiction to Approval or Accomplishment

Many of us are addicted to approval or accomplishment. If we can’t accept ourselves, we believe others can’t accept us either, unless we do something to win their approval. In many cases, approval addicts are driven people, always striving to attain and never satisfied no matter how great their accomplishments. Indeed, many of those who seem to have accomplished the most during their lifetime have done so out of deep feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy.

Such people often grow up feeling their parents will never care about them unless they do something significant. Even though their parents praised them, sometimes lavishly, the praise was only for what they accomplished, never for who they were. They feel they have never experienced parental love for who they are, only for what they accomplish. The results are a driving “performance orientation” in which the yardstick of what others think is used to measure everything they do.

A woman we’ll call Jean recounts how her mother regarded Jean’s and her siblings’ childhood report cards as her own performance report, indicating whether or not she was doing a good job at mothering. This made Jean and her siblings very fearful at report card time, lest they disappoint and discourage their mother. So they worked hard to gain and keep her approval by getting good grades. Now Jean is married and has lived away from her mother for two decades. Her mother’s letters, however, still reveal her mother’s need for proof of her mothering abilities.

Sandra Wilson, in her book Released from Shame, relates a story of a man she calls Walt who was brought up in an upper-middle-class family and who excelled both in athletics and academics. In recognition of his accomplishments, he received lavish praise from his parents. As he looks back, though, he cannot remember ever being affirmed for his own sake, only for his accomplishments. As an adult who was driven, insecure, critical and alcoholic, Walt exclaimed, “It just doesn’t make sense to me. My folks were wonderful compared to some of the parents I hear about. So why do I feel so connected to all the stuff I’m hearing about self-hatred and codependent relationships? I’m really confused.”4 In discussing this case, Wilson continues:

Praise without affirmation focuses on performance, not personhood. If you were subtly abused by this technique, you might feel hollow because all of your parents’ emphasis was on outward performance to the neglect of inner development. You might be a person who experiences yourself not as a human being but as a human doing. In praise-without-affirmation families you hear phrases like: “Mommy loves Susie when she cleans up all her toys like that.” Or, “I was never so proud of you, Dan, as the day you made the all-state team.” You might also hear variations on the family motto: “second place is no place.”5

Many of us, as we grew up, can’t even imagine our parents saying to us things like, “I love you just because you’re you,” or “I’m so glad God gave you to us because you’re such a neat kid.” The only way we knew to receive approval was to work for it. Such a background leaves us with deep wounds that God is eager to heal.

These wounds relate both to our attitude toward self and our attitude toward God. For it is at home that “we get our earliest ‘feltness’ of God through relating with our parents. A great many of their characteristics are woven into our idea of His character, from what is caught as well as taught.”6

Such home influences, then, often propel us to develop what some have called a “messiah complex,” an approach to serving God that pushes us to incredible amounts of activity in service of Him. Such activity, far from being the proper expression of total dedication, often springs from the same root that generates the “I must perform well to gain my parents’ acceptance” syndrome.

“When you waste time and energy trying to be Super Self, you rob yourself of growth and the friendship of God. And you never let God accept and love the Real You for whom Christ died. This is the only you that God really knows and sees.”7 God’s acceptance of us on the basis of who we are (not of what we do) never dips below 100 percent.

Approval addiction and accomplishment orientation are not from God. God wants to heal us from these defects.

8. Seeking Disapproval as a Desperate Attempt to Get Attention

There are those who seem to have developed a habit of being bad. They have a way of doing things that provoke others to anger. The attention they get seems in some perverse way to be an acceptable recompense for their need to be noticed by somebody, at any cost. Because their low self-esteem keeps them from seeking positive attention, they settle for negative attention, believing that some attention, even negative attention, is better than no attention at all!

9. Giving Up on Self

Some people are so convinced they aren’t worth anything that they simply give up. They often envy others but can’t bring themselves to imitate anyone who has succeeded. Indeed, they are often quite negative and critical of anyone who has achieved something, perhaps thinking that by tearing down successful people they win the right not to succeed themselves.

The Best Defense Is a Good Offense

In dealing with self-image problems, as with all other problems we struggle with, we need to recognize that we are at war. There is an Enemy who has his own plans for our lives and who works full-time to implement them. Ours is not a smooth road to Christian maturity; it is a battle against “the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world” (Eph. 6:12). Though we are expected to know the Enemy’s schemes and strategies (see 2 Cor. 2:11), we in the Western world tend to be blind to them.

So learning Satan’s strategy is the first step. It is important to know that he is there and how he works against us. Whether in warfare or in athletics a good bit of time and energy is put into studying the Enemy and assessing strengths and weaknesses. No good general or coach goes into the next battle or game without thoroughly studying the opponent and drilling his army or team concerning how to fight. We should do likewise so that we can mount both a good defense and a good offense.

When we are on the defensive, we need to constantly claim the protection that is ours in Christ. We can daily put on the armor pictured for us in Ephesians 6:13-18. We can stop going to places where our self-image is wounded and stop associating more than necessary with people who wound us. We can stop allowing negative self-talk within our heads. We can constantly play praise and worship music. One of our best defenses is getting to know God better. The closer we get to Him, the better able we are to recognize and combat the Enemy’s voice.

We can also take the offensive, attacking the Enemy in prayer and by ceasing negative self-talk. In prayer, our first concern is to be intimate with our God. We are accepted and loved by Him. We should, therefore, act like it and spend as much time as possible with Him. With a close relationship with God as our foundation, we can exert our authority to command the Enemy to stop telling us lies about ourselves.

One of the things I’ve found helpful is to forbid the Enemy to use the first person in our self-talk. Satan likes to take over our self-talk and put in our ears things like “I’m no good” or “I’m never going to make it.” If we forbid him to say “I” and allow him only to address us as “you,” it will be easier to identify that the comment is coming from another being rather than from ourselves. One time in a deep-healing class, I forbade the Enemy to use “I” in speaking to a member of the class and found that both the demon in the lady I was ministering to and a demon in another member of the class obeyed me!

A major factor in dealing with the Enemy’s lies is choosing to always tell ourselves the truth. Our self-talk should “fill [our] minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable” (Phil. 4:8). As difficult as it is to choose to act in contrast to our feelings, choosing against the negative things and for the positive and true things is a necessary part of gaining the freedom we desire.

Our self-talk should embody a scriptural perspective on our identity. As Neil Anderson has said in his excellent book Victory Over the Darkness:

No person can consistently behave in a way that’s inconsistent with the way he perceives himself. If you think you’re a no-good bum, you’ll probably live like a no-good bum. But if you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you’ll begin to live in victory and freedom as He lived. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.8

Let’s take a more detailed look at that scriptural perspective.

A Scriptural Perspective of Self-Image

We need a solid dose of instruction about God’s attitude toward us as we reach toward a healthy self-image. When we study what God thinks of us, we come up with a lot of ammunition to counter the Enemy’s lies and our own negative self-talk. We find, for example, that God planned and chose us before the foundation of the world (see Eph. 1:4; Jer. 1:5). He created us in His image and likeness (see Gen. 1:26). He formed and cared for us while we were in our mother’s womb (see Ps. 139:13,15). Then, after we had sinned and turned our backs on Him, He redeemed us while we were still in our sinful condition (see Rom. 5:8). Beyond this, He chose us and calls us His friends (see John 15:15-16). He even calls us His children (see 1 John 3:1-2; John 1:12), chosen and rescued from slavery (see Gal. 4:4-7) to inherit the kingdom with Jesus, as the eldest son did in Jewish society (see Rom. 8:14-17). In addition, we are continually referred to in the New Testament as saints (see Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1) and even as a kingdom of priests (see Rev. 1:6; 5:10). As children of the King, we are princes and princesses, just the opposite of what many of us have felt about ourselves. This is our status, not because we have achieved it but because God has given it to us.

It is obvious that the Enemy has been quite effective in his strategy to mess us up in the self-image department. But we can count on the fact that our Lord both wants to and can reverse what Satan has done to people’s self-concept. Jesus’ intense commitment to the downtrodden of His day was an important part of His campaign to destroy what the Enemy had done. As He said when He announced the reason for His coming, God “has chosen me to bring good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).

The term “poor,” as Jesus used it, has a wider application than simply material poverty. It usually is more akin to that of the predominant Old Testament usage referring to people who are oppressed:

Where there is no specific mention of an oppressor, the word becomes generally synonymous with the socially poor, with those without land. That such poverty had been caused by disinheritance or unlawful injury and not by the person’s own fault is shown by its being contrasted with violence, not riches. . . . The poor man is the one who suffers injustice; he is poor because others have despised God’s law.9

When we read “poor” in the New Testament, therefore, the meaning is close to our term “victim.” This is one reason why Jesus never condemned those He helped.

Jesus certainly knows the difference between mistakes and rebellion. He also knows our weaknesses and the pressure Satan puts on us to fail. Take the instances of the woman caught in adultery (see John 8:1-11) and of Peter on the beach (see John 21:15-19). Though both of these cases looked like rebellion, Jesus treated them as if they were mistakes. Jesus came into the world not to condemn but to rescue (see John 3:17). He extended a helping hand, lifted them up and sent them off with His backing and trust. There is incredible healing in such acceptance and trust.

It is significant that it was Peter who later instructs us, “Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). He learned that day on the beach something of the freeing acceptance of his friend whom he had treated treacherously. It was an undeserved acceptance and trust, and it transformed Peter’s life. Afterward, he could say of himself and us, “you are a chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

He learned that a child of God is special. Barbara Sturgis, a friend of mine, has put together a helpful chart based on the word “special.” A child of God is:

S

Saint: 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2

P

Priest, Prince/Princess: Gal. 4:6,7; 1 Pet. 2:9-10

E

Enemy of Satan: 1 Pet. 5:8

C

Child of God, Citizen of Heaven: John 1:12; Gal. 3:26,28; Eph. 2:6; Phil. 3:20

I

In Christ, In God: Col. 3:3

A

Adopted Son/Daughter, Alien to this World: Eph. 1:5; 1 Pet. 2:11

L

Light of the World: Matt. 5:14

Ministering to Those Who Reject Themselves

Who we are as children of God is the scriptural perspective that needs to pervade our ministry to those with self-image problems. Neil Anderson has written Victory Over the Darkness to help us communicate this perspective. I highly recommend his book to all Christians who struggle with self-acceptance. Neil’s position is, “Self-worth is not an issue of giftedness, talent, intelligence or beauty. Self-worth is an identity issue. Your sense of personal worth comes from knowing who you are: a child of God.”10

Whatever our parents may have wanted, according to Ephesians 1:4, we were planned and brought into being by God. Conception is not simply a physical human act. Only God gives life through our parents’ physical bodies, and He was not surprised at our conception. Rather, He affirmed it by granting us life. From His perspective, no one’s birth is an accident. Though we might have been a surprise to our parents, a “mistake” coming at an inopportune time, even unwanted, we were not a mistake to or unwanted by Jesus. Our conception was a part of His plan from before He made the world. So, as someone has said, “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re a mistake.”

In ministry, it usually helps those struggling with their self-concept to do the back-to-the-womb exercise (see chapter 13), dwelling on the above facts concerning God’s place in our conception. It is good, then, to focus on Jesus’ pride in them after they were born. Following this, it is usually a good idea to work right through life experiences with Jesus, from childhood up to the present.

Conceptually, it is often helpful to get them to see themselves as kids, as Jesus recommended (see Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17). Kids are open and vulnerable, able to relax with Jesus, sit in His lap and receive His love, just as they accept their parents’ love. We like to guide the person to picture himself or herself in Jesus’ arms, then walking with Him through memories, from infancy to adulthood. Note that as parents serve their children, so Jesus served His disciples and seeks to serve us (see Matt. 20:28), even to wash our feet (see John 13:1-20). During ministry, we try to help people let Jesus express His servant love to them.

Have you ever observed how healthy, undamaged little children feel no shame about who they are or how demanding they may be on their parents? They just turn their problems over to their parents unashamedly. But they are very vulnerable to being hurt, especially at the emotional level. When this kind of hurt happened to us as children, we learned to repress our emotional hurts. That’s how we got our emotional wounds. We bandaged them, but they festered under the bandages and began to leak our emotional woundedness. In addition to that, Satan enjoys kicking people when they’re hurting.

Jesus wants us to go back to the point of being like a little child in order to simply acknowledge our problems as we do our sins (see 1 John 1:9), and then give them unashamedly to Him (see Matt. 11:28; 1 Pet. 5:7). Being God’s kids means freedom, healing, self-acceptance, self-love and self-forgiveness. It also gives us the right to come boldly to God without shame (see Heb. 4:16) and the ability to receive God’s love and forgiveness. He chose us, and He invited us to come to Him. We should not refuse the rights He has given us.

Blessing and Advice

People who are struggling with the problems associated with a low self-image need special help, first to get free, then to continue working to change their habits; for it is our habits that keep our dysfunctional attitudes in place. For those of us who are Christian lay counselors, working with Jesus to get victims free is the first step. We work in the authority Jesus gives us to bring this about. This whole book is aimed at helping you understand how to do that. Another book of mine, I Give You Authority, goes into more detail on the authority issues.

Dealing with the ingrained habits of low self-esteem is for some people much more difficult than breaking loose from the bondages that spring from the memories. At the end of a ministry session, we bless our clients, speaking freedom from such things as root problems and curses. Further, we bless them with the ability to accept and forgive themselves as God does and to love self and others in a way that has never before been possible. We also bless them with the ability to break old habits of self-rejection and any patterns of envy, bitterness, anger and unforgiveness they project to others.

We also warn that their old habits die hard, so they are going to have to link up with Jesus and assert their will to conquer the habits. Working with a mirror is one technique I have found helpful in my own life. Looking into that mirror and saying “I love you” was extremely difficult for me at first, but now, after several years, I can do it laughing. I even caught myself recently saying “I like you” to myself! “Like” is several steps beyond “love” in this mirror exercise.

Several years ago, a lady in her late thirties was brought to me who said she was the fourth girl in a Chinese family. Rejected by her parents, she hated herself for being female and had cursed her female body repeatedly and constantly attempted to prove that she could outdo men. One result was that she developed cancer in her female organs. This is why she had come for prayer. In a marvelous way, Jesus met her and helped her see herself from His perspective and to be grateful for her female body. But the cancer did not go away until she did a more difficult thing than accepting herself as female. I suggested that she stand naked every day in front of her full-length mirror and bless her body. This she did, and in a letter written about two years after our prayer session, she reported that the cancer had been healed.

This lady drew from her emotional freedom to rework her habits. Self-hatred is a habit, and working to overcome it involves developing an opposite habit. This takes work beyond the prayer session(s). Jesus continues to help, but we need to assert our will to work with Him to get in the habit of loving self and any part of self that we are not satisfied with.

Another challenge is to revise negative self-talk. We need to take charge of self-talk and practice speaking the truth of God’s acceptance and who we are in Christ. The development of new habits in this area is no less difficult than the mirror exercise but is just as necessary.

In John Bradshaw’s helpful book Healing the Shame that Binds You, he lists seven things we can do to make positive self-talk work for us:

1. Work with the same affirmation every day. The best times are just before sleeping, before starting the day and especially whenever you feel “bummed out.”

2. Write each affirmation 10 to 20 times.

3. Say and write each affirmation to yourself in first, second and third person, as follows:

“The more I, _____, love myself, the more others love me.”

“The more you, ____, love yourself, the more others love you.”

“The more she/he, _______, loves herself/himself, the more others love her/him.”

Always remember to put your own name in the affirmation. Writing in the second and third person is very important since your conditioning from others came to you in this manner.

4. Continue working with the affirmations daily until they become totally integrated in your consciousness. . . .

5. Record your affirmations on cassette tape and play them back when you can. I very often play them while driving the car on the freeway or when I go to bed.

6. It is effective to look into the mirror and say the affirmations to yourself out loud. Keep saying them until you are able to see yourself with a relaxed, happy expression. Keep saying them until you eliminate all facial tension and grimaces.

7. Use visualizations with your affirmations.11

In addition to these suggestions, it is important to bless ourselves, including our attitudes. The act of blessing releases God’s power to accomplish the blessing. We can bless in general—“I bless my body”—or we can bless specifically—“I bless my sore shoulder with freedom from pain”; “I bless my self-talk to be positive and truthful today.”

FOR FURTHER READING

Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 17-67.

Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992), pp. 79-98.

8

HEALING FROM LOSS

We’d Like Another Child

Jim and Penny had a lovely little girl and now wanted another child. So far, their desire had been frustrated by two miscarriages. When I met them, they were very discouraged and fearful. They asked if I would pray with them over their situation.

What God led me to do was deal with the miscarriages by using the picturing exercise described later in this chapter. As they both pictured themselves holding the babies they had lost and gave them names, Jim and Penny experienced tremendous release from the fear that they would never be able to have another child.

As Penny pictured Jesus caring for her during the miscarriages, she also found release from the vague but tangible guilt she had felt over the possibility that she had done something to cause the miscarriages. Without this couple’s knowing it, the Enemy had played games with their minds and bodies to block the possibility of another conception.

Having worked through the emotional damage connected with the miscarriages, it was only a month or two later before Penny was pregnant again. Now Jim and Penny have two more fine children, and Penny has suffered no further miscarriages.

The Issues in Facing Death or Separation

The death of, or separation from, a loved one is something all of us will have to face eventually. Knowing this does not decrease the pain and loss we will feel as a result of it. Among spouses, family members and close friends, there is a spiritual bond the breaking of which often leaves unfinished business for the living. Seamands comments, “Studies show that the two greatest stress-producing factors to body, mind, and emotions are the death of a spouse and divorce.”1

There are many types of death, each having its own issues. Miscarriage, abortion, infant death, death due to tragic accident, serious illness and the death of an older person all require some deep healing for the living. So does separation through divorce and the breakup of romantic or other close relationships.

Among the issues to be resolved in deep-level healing for wounds caused by these kinds of separation are (1) agreeing with God that it is all right for the person to be gone; (2) dealing with guilt over events or unfinished business with the person; (3) release from any bonding to the person; (4) coping with the pain of separation; and (5) allowing oneself to grieve.

As with all deep-level healing ministry, it is important to help people acknowledge the truth of what happened, allow themselves to feel the pain, help them experience Jesus in the separation event and give their pain and damaged emotions to Him. At the beginning of ministry to a counselee, I ask the Holy Spirit to guide in healing the damage, and He usually gives the person a picture of the separation event, with Jesus present. The counselee is then free to talk with the person who is gone from their life, and talk with Jesus, in order to deal with any unfinished business. After this, the client is usually open to entrusting the other person to Jesus, signifying agreement with Jesus’ choice to allow the person to leave him or her.

At the end of one session of a deep-level healing seminar, I noted a tall fellow I’ll call Randy quietly weeping in the back of the room. I approached him and asked what was moving him so. His story was that of a badly hurting father who had watched his 14-year-old daughter waste away and die.

Randy told me that as I was speaking during the seminar about dealing with the separation of death, God had used a faith picture to take him back to the hospital room where his daughter was dying. He saw himself counting his daughter’s final breaths as he leaned over her. On the other side of the bed, he saw Jesus leaning over her, too, lovingly waiting for her. As she breathed her last, Randy saw Jesus take her tenderly in His arms and carry her to heaven to be with Him. At that moment, he felt all the pain, frustration, anger and discouragement he had been carrying since his daughter’s death drain away. His tears became tears of joy and gratefulness to Jesus who had healed the damaged emotions within him.

Randy retained the sadness that he and his daughter would not be together again in this life, but the pain was gone, and sadness doesn’t cripple like anger and bitterness do. Suddenly Randy was captivated by the tenderness of Jesus and the excitement of knowing that his daughter was out of her pain and with Jesus, waiting for her father to join them for eternity.

The Loss of a Loved One

There is a mystical bonding between human beings who are members of the same family. When that bonding is disrupted by death, the resulting wound can be very deep. Whether it is the death of a loved one as an adult or the death of a preborn child through miscarriage, there is emotional and spiritual disruption for each person involved and between family members. Those who have lost parents, children or anyone they are close to need ministry for their wounds. I have ministered to numerous mothers and fathers who, like Jenny and Jim, experienced wounds of which they often were not aware when their child miscarried. (By the way, surviving siblings of miscarried babies may also need ministry to deal with their wounds.)

When God created Adam and Eve, I believe that it was His intent that humans live forever. Death is an intruder into God’s plan. We know that God created us like Himself (see Gen. 1:26-27), higher than the angels and a little bit lower than Himself (see Ps. 8:5). Satan, however, jealous of the high position God had given Adam and Eve, sought to thwart God’s plan by destroying God’s highest creatures. The Enemy’s plan succeeded in part. For when they ate the forbidden fruit, the curse of physical death fell upon them and would fall on all humanity from that time on. There were also curses on the earth, on physical labor and on childbirth. But none of these problems has been nearly as disruptive as the parting caused by death.

Our death is and has been Satan’s ultimate goal from the beginning. His intent has been “to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He cannot carry out those purposes without God’s permission, however, since his activities are strictly circumscribed by God’s plans and power (see Job 1:9-12). Yet, we are told in Hebrews 2:14 that Satan has the power over death. Perhaps within the sovereignty of God, a part of the Enemy’s responsibility is that he be the one who carries out death whenever God allows it to happen.

But because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God came to us and made it possible to reconnect with Him spiritually, defeating the Enemy who wanted to make spiritual death permanent. Though physical death continues, Jesus’ resurrection has sapped death of its terror, and we can look forward to the day when Jesus will return to abolish death completely. Jesus states in triumphant antithesis to the curse, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

Through Jesus, the terror of death has been broken forever for those who believe. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “[Jesus] has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life” (2 Tim. 1:10).

Many Christians, however, are not yet experiencing the freedom from death’s power that is their inheritance in Jesus Christ. And even for Christians, death and the fear of death are among the weapons Satan is able to use most effectively to imprison them. Though most Christians do not grieve as those with no hope (see 1 Thess. 4:13), the pain we feel over the loss of a loved one can create deep wounds that only God can heal through deep-level healing.

There is also the difference between death and dying. We may have overcome our fear of death, but the process of dying may still terrorize us. And giving that fear to Jesus may be a major challenge. We don’t know why death takes some quickly while others linger and suffer. But in the confidence that Jesus will keep His promise to never leave us nor forsake us, we, like Randy, can be assured that Jesus will be right there on the other side of the bed to carry us to one of the prepared places in heaven (see John 14:1-3).

God’s Purpose in Human Bonding

As humans, we have a great capacity for bonding. I believe that bonding is a spirit-to-spirit relationship entered into through birth or commitment. The commitment of marriage and the commitment of oneself to God are examples of the latter. As pointed out in chapter 3, when people engage in a sexual relationship, they are automatically bonded to each other. Close friendships also create a bond, as do relationships in which one person is under the domination of the other. We sometimes refer to bonding as “soul ties.” There are godly soul ties—normal bonding empowered by God; and there are ungodly soul ties—sinful ties empowered by Satan.

I believe that the normal bonding (godly soul ties) between parent and child, between siblings and between marriage partners are empowered by God. Abnormal and sinful aspects of these relationships may, however, enable the Enemy to empower part or all of the bonding, making ungodly soul ties.

Adulterous and perverted sexual relationships allow satanically empowered bonding. So do relationships in which one person is dominated, even controlled, by another. Soul ties can occur between friends or relatives. Not infrequently, domination by one or both parents creates such satanically empowered ties between parent(s) and child (children).

When death, divorce or something else brings separation, it disrupts a relationship bond that has been God-empowered, and the wounding can be severe. When a person dies, or leaves, the fabric of the relationship is abruptly torn in two. The tapestry of the relationship, once unified on many fronts, is now loose, jagged and fraying from the wrenching of separation. The severity of the wounds accompanying the breaking of the relationship bond varies with the closeness of the connection between the persons. The closer the relationship, the greater the painful effect the death or divorce or some other severing of relationship has on the person. Because of the loss, something has died within that person, and there is now a need for deep-level healing.

Although bonding that is God-empowered needs to be blessed and strengthened while it is functioning, it can be very difficult to deal with the pain when it is severed. A large number of those who need healing ministry come with wounds suffered from the severing of bonds that God had blessed. In this type of situation, the ministry technique we most often use is like that described for Elsie in the section on adult deaths later in this chapter. If the loss is a miscarriage or abortion, we use the technique described in the section immediately following this one.

For satanically empowered bonding, I have already outlined in chapter 3 how to break this type of bonding using the example of sexual sin because of the satanic bonding involved in this type of sin. Soul-tie bonding can be broken in the same way.

Miscarriage, Abortion and Infant Death

Miscarriage is seldom viewed by our society as a form of infant death. Because the child is usually not developed enough to live outside the womb, many see no reason to mourn or seek healing over a miscarriage. Yet any child at conception is a full-fledged human being destined to live forever. From the very beginning, the mother has a relationship with her developing child. By the fifth month, the child usually can be felt growing and moving inside of her. Due to her changing physiology and the child’s growth, both the mother’s appetite and weight have begun to adjust. It becomes apparent that there is another living being growing within her. All of these factors and more contribute to the mother’s sense of relationship with the child.

Though much of the relationship between mother and child is conscious, it is probable that much is unconscious. When a miscarriage occurs, both the conscious and the unconscious parts of the relationship are severed. Deep within the mother there is a rending of the close bonding with the child and a great sense of loss. A miscarriage is not simply a loss of biological tissue, it is a death; it is the severing of a bond that leaves the mother in need of deep-level healing.

In contrast to miscarriage, abortion is murder. Each of the one to two million babies aborted each year in the United States involves the taking of a life and the painful rending of a mother-child bond. It is interesting that every state in the United States treats the intentional death of an unborn child as murder . . . unless it comes in the form of abortion. If a criminal shoots a pregnant woman in the abdomen, killing her child but not the mother, the criminal is tried for murder! Some call this the “abortion distortion.” The inconsistency in our laws at this point is astounding.

The rending of the bond between mother and child is a trauma that doesn’t simply go away, in spite of “politically correct” rationalizations that ignore the spiritual reality of the bond between the mother (and, often, the father) and unborn child. The grief and mourning over separation by death are there, even if not openly recognized, and often emerge later in life in very troublesome ways. As Jack Hayford points out:

Often we feel that if we’ve effectively pushed our emotions into some kind of submission that we’ve dealt with everything. Conquering feelings of pain or denying the reality of the depth of mourning through stoical denial of genuine human emotions can leave us emotionally desolate—or worse. And anger left undealt with can quickly turn into bitterness.2

Though one must confess the sin of abortion and receive God’s forgiveness, it is seldom enough. The emotional pain usually requires deep-level healing. Dr. Susan Stanford, a professional counselor who herself experienced an abortion and has written about it, reports:

One of the most universal aftereffects of abortion is the feeling of guilt and loss. In my own practice some post-abortion women may deny feeling guilty and consequently avoid the topic of their abortions early in the counseling relationship. However, invariably the topic comes up, perhaps around the anniversary due date or death date. When I’ve asked my clients how they feel about it in retrospect more than 90 percent share they feel some level of guilt feelings. Other women, who perhaps have come to counseling with the presenting problem being the aftereffects of their abortion, define their feelings ranging from a pervasive dullness or depression to overpowering remorse and regret.3

The loss of an infant whether unintentionally through miscarriage, illness or accident; or by choice through abortion, is always traumatic. It usually generates a great deal of questioning, confusion and anger. Death in the womb or in a child’s early stages of life outside the womb can produce intense wounding in the parent(s) that needs to be addressed through deep-level healing. The death of a child at any age is difficult, but the death of an infant is especially painful.

One important set of difficulties is caused by the uniqueness of early childhood in the relationship between parent and child. It is a time when the child is learning and doing things for the first time. No other time in the parent-child relationship is more dynamic in forming deep bonds than in these early stages. From conception through childhood are the most formative years of development. The parents are intensely devoted to this development. The death of an infant, therefore, can be expected to produce a high degree of wounding in both father and mother, but especially in the mother.

Something that is not ordinarily recognized in our individualistic society is the fact that siblings are also affected by miscarriage, abortion and early infant death in their family. There is a spiritual bond between family members that gets ripped apart when there is death or separation. This is true even when the separated family member is preborn or an infant. In addition, the mother’s emotions, especially fear that she may lose another child, are often felt by any children conceived after the miscarriage or abortion.

In chapter 6, I mentioned a 35-year-old man whom I’ve called Bob who described for me an intense feeling of guilt he had over the fact the he even existed. As I stated, we found that the root of his guilt went back to the fact that his mother had miscarried a girl several months prior to Bob’s conception. She already had a boy and badly wanted a girl this time around. So, in the womb, Bob’s mother seems to have passed on to him a keen disappointment over the fact that he was a boy rather than the girl she had hoped would replace the baby who was lost. Thus, Bob lived with guilt over the loss of an older sister who died before he was conceived. Though Bob never knew that sister, he was bonded to her as well as to his mother, whose reactions to the loss he shared.

With Bob, we went through the procedure detailed below for ministering to parents who have experienced miscarriage or an abortion. It is good to also minister to the siblings of a child miscarried, aborted or lost in infancy in the same way as the parents.

Ministry to Those Who Mourn

the Loss of Children

In ministering to parents who have lost children, there is a range of emotions to deal with. People try to find reasons for such tragedies and will often assign blame where none exists. Mothers think, “If only I had been more careful about my activities, I wouldn’t have miscarried.” “If only I had listened to my gut feelings instead of my boyfriend, I would not have gotten an abortion.” “If only I had checked on the baby one more time before going to sleep.” Sometimes fathers blame themselves for not having been there in time to do something to save the child.

When ministering to people going through loss, much of the difficulty stems from the realization that we will usually never receive an explanation for what happened. And most of the time, no amount of blaming will do the situation any good. It is important, however, for people to feel the freedom to express their emotions, along with their anger toward God or others.

Once the venting of emotions has taken place, I’ve found it healing to have the parents ask Jesus to let them picture themselves holding their child. Francis MacNutt gives a helpful rationale for doing this:

Since [the mother] has no concrete image of the child to say goodbye to, she feels incomplete and a great emptiness. She is saying goodbye to a child she never held in her arms. For this reason, it may be helpful for the parents (if possible) to see and touch the miscarried child, to name . . . him and perhaps to hold a simple funeral.4

When asked, Jesus will usually give them a picture of the baby and show them whether the child was a boy or girl. The parents can then give the baby a name. Next, they can imagine themselves either talking to Jesus concerning what they would like the child to know or they can talk directly to the picture of the child, knowing that though we are not to attempt to talk to the dead, Jesus can pass along our message to the child in heaven.

Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of picturing a conversation with someone who has passed away. It is best for these people to picture themselves talking to Jesus rather than to the child. Whether they picture themselves talking directly to the child or to Jesus, it is my custom to ask Jesus to have His way in conveying the messages to the dead person. Though the prohibition against speaking to the dead in Deuteronomy 18:11 does not refer to this kind of practice, I choose to be cautious. The prohibition there is against consulting the dead through divination to seek information concerning the future. But I don’t want to encourage anyone to speak regularly to the dead for any purpose. Nor do I want any messages that are not specifically approved by Jesus to get across the divide.

In speaking to their pictured child, or to Jesus, the parents can express their love for the child and their sadness at not being able to raise her (or him). They can also communicate other things such as the fact that the child will be in good hands with Jesus. In the case of an abortion, it is good for the parent(s) to apologize to the child. When ready, the parents can then give the baby to Jesus, releasing him or her to the Lord and agreeing with His choice to allow the death of the child.

For those who have had an abortion, there is a huge weight of guilt to be worked through. Seldom do they need to hear they have sinned. Usually they know this so well that they often do not believe forgiveness is even possible. We who minister to such people can help them confess this to the Lord, then point out God’s attitude toward sin that has been confessed and forgiven; it is removed as far from us as the east is from the west, and forgotten (see Ps. 103:12). The hardest part is often to get parents to forgive themselves. Talking to the baby or to Jesus in the way I’ve described usually brings great freedom.

Ministry to Those Who Mourn the Loss of an Adult

Two types of adult death that need deep-level healing are death from tragedy (including untimely illness or accident) and death of one who is old and “full of years.” Each instance of death is unique and should be approached with its own particular set of circumstances. But even when the person who dies is very elderly, we don’t seem to be ready for it. How much less are we ready for a tragic death.

Sudden and unexpected death results in shock to the ones left behind. The door is open to large amounts of pain and guilt, eliciting cries such as “I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.” “We had been fighting all day. I thought I would see him again later to patch things up.” “If only I had told him I loved him before he left that morning!” There are usually many unanswered questions about sudden death, among them, “Why, God, did You let this happen?” Receiving no answer to that question usually brings anger that now combines with pain and guilt, causing the person to experience outbursts of intense, unexplainable emotion.

It is important when ministering to the bereaved to take both their loss and their emotions very seriously. Not infrequently, Christians internalize the idea that they are not allowed to be sad or to grieve. Though it is true that we are not to grieve as those who have no hope (see 1 Thess. 4:13), we can certainly grieve a deep hurt in the loss of a loved one. Those who have not adequately grieved such a loss are sitting ducks for satanic attack on their damaged emotions. We need to encourage the honest expression of emotion by affirming people’s need and right to grieve. Only when they honestly face and express their pain are they ready to freely receive healing from God.

In ministering to the bereaved, it is good to have them go back in their mind to visualize the situation in which the friend or loved one died. This may be a very difficult thing to do, but you can help them see its importance in the process of healing. You can help them understand their need for a sense of closure in the relationship. Even though it may hurt to “re-feel” this experience, the future benefits far outweigh the present difficulty. The goal is to break free from the pain and stop “holding on to” the loved one. Once this is done, they will have the freedom to live in wholeness and health.

Once the grieving person has recalled the separation event, ask the Holy Spirit to guide the experience, including any picturing of the events. Do not manipulate the experience by suggesting what the counselee should picture or experience. In this exercise, what usually happens is that the person sees himself (or herself), the loved one and Jesus. He or she feels encouraged to talk to the pictured loved one, settling anything that needs to be resolved. The person is then free to say goodbye to the deceased. At that point, have the person renounce any unhealthy bonding that may have occurred with the deceased. At the same time, you should take authority over such bonding and break its power. The person then should commit the deceased to Jesus, telling Jesus in prayer that, even though she may not understand completely why the person was taken, she agrees with His will to allow it to happen.

Death of an Older Adult

When an older adult dies, there is usually not the intense pain and shock that comes with a tragic death. Often the older adult has been sick for months or even years. The obvious debilitation in the person’s health has made the death process more gradual and easier to anticipate. The shock factor, though not entirely missing in many cases, is usually less. Nevertheless, the death of an older adult can cause painful wounding that needs to be dealt with through deep-level healing, especially if there are unresolved relationship issues with the person.

You would deal with this kind of death in the same way as suggested above. Be sure, however, to look for and deal with any trauma the person may have experienced in seeing the dying friend or family member in his or her last days. This is especially important if the death occurred after a lingering illness.

It is also important and usually very healing for the bereaved person to thank God for the years he or she had with the person before death separated them. I like to ask bereaved persons what life was like with the deceased. Usually they will speak very positively about those years. I then invite them to focus on the positive experiences they had rather than the termination of the relationship.

Elsie came to me with a number of problems. A major one was that her favorite elderly uncle had died quite unexpectedly and Elsie had not been able to say goodbye to him properly. Her uncle hadn’t even been ill. Elsie had visited him the morning of his death but had no idea she would not get to see him again alive. And there was some unfinished business between them, so the Enemy used guilt over that unfinished business to gain a stranglehold on her.

When we committed the event of her uncle’s sudden death to the Holy Spirit, He took Elsie back to her last visit with her uncle. In her faith picture, she was able to talk the matter through with her uncle and forgive him and herself. She then could commit him and the unfinished business to Jesus. As she saw Jesus take her uncle to be with Himself, she felt sure of two things: the matter between them was resolved, and she could agree with Jesus that it was all right for her uncle to die. And she could also thank Jesus for the gift of her uncle’s life over their many years together.

Praying for Those Who Grieve

The culture of our Western society has made ministry to those who are grieving a difficult task. The belief that we should not show weakness in the face of difficulty tends to keep many in bondage to the wounds and hurts suffered during the death of a close friend or family member. Even our churches have tended to frown on those who say, “I’m not okay. I need help.” Instead, we want to keep our grief and sorrow bottled up inside, holding the view that repression is the best option. Such a custom is very damaging. For we know that grief and sorrow are powerful emotions that, if suppressed, cause real damage. Those who have suppressed their emotions usually suffer deeply until the damage is healed.

When ministering either to those suppressing grief or those who are in the process of grieving, it is important to acknowledge the validity of their grief. Those who have hidden grief need to feel the freedom to unlock the doors to the rooms they have kept shut, sometimes for years. They need to feel they are free to express their pain without fear of condemnation. Whether grief is out in the open or hidden, it may be helpful to make a distinction between grief and sorrow. Here the Sandfords assert:

Grief may be quickly healed and banished by faith, whereas sorrow may return many times. Sorrow and tears are not marks of lack of faith. Sorrow is a healthy release of loss and hurt. For many months after grief is assuaged, tears may well up, especially at holidays or when some incident triggers a cherished memory. Such sorrow is not something to be done away with, nor banished as one would cast away a demon, nor healed too quickly. It is not something bad or evil. It is something to be endured and sweetened by. It is a mark of love’s knowing the pain of loss. It will pass away naturally in time, when its work is done in the heart.5

Grief, then, is a poignant sense of loss. Sorrow implies the ongoing yearning and loneliness that more naturally works itself out in a person’s heart. In relating to a person’s deep grief, we must respond with deep but firm compassion. Maybe the person has never gotten over the death of the loved one or has repressed the emotion to the point of seeing it surface in harmful ways. Repressed grief often comes out as anger.

Sometimes, deep grief has regressed to the point of becoming a spiritual stronghold in the person’s life, often held in place by demons. Grief can be so ingrained that it becomes a part of the person’s normal personality. The initial wounding from a loved one’s death can provide the opening for the stronghold, while the person’s refusal to let go of the grief may enable the stronghold to take root and develop.

Taking people back to “re-feel” the initial emotions is very important at this point. If their emotions have been repressed, this will enable them to get in touch with that pain again. If they have been wallowing in grief, going back to the scene by picturing the event can afford them opportunity to approach the grieving situation differently this time by setting some boundaries for its expression.

It is important now to break the stronghold of grief at the point of entry and allow the person to begin afresh the journey of dealing with the loved one’s death. Also, it is necessary to break any strong ties of bonding with the deceased person. Often it is important to have people renounce their connection with grief, asking God’s forgiveness for holding on so long instead of giving their burden to Jesus. They will then probably need to forgive themselves for holding on to the grief.

Once grief has been dealt with, sorrow and sadness can be addressed. Sorrow is a less debilitating emotion than grief, but it can also have profound effects if a person wallows in it. As mentioned in the Sandford quotation, sorrow can be appropriate and legitimate for a longer period of time than grief. Simply missing the person or feeling sad once in a while is more a testimony of love for the deceased than an indication of any dysfunction or need for deep-level healing. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to deal with sorrow by taking people back, with Jesus, to the death event or their reaction when they first heard about it in order to “re-feel” their emotions and receive healing.

An important approach to healing is to help the grieving person get in the habit of being thankful for the deceased person. Instead of wallowing in the regret and negative feelings that can take over any memory, the person should think and speak gratefulness for the presence of the person who is now gone. The memory of a person who has died at age 43, for example, can either be allowed to be so painful that it casts a pall over the life of the one who has survived or it can become an occasion to thank God for those 43 years. The latter approach does not deny the fact and the pain of death, but it changes the focus from the way things ended to the way things were for several decades before the end.

Forgiveness Toward the Dead

Often people are perplexed over what to do if they were holding something against a person at the time of that person’s death. They may have been waiting for a reconciliation that never came, and now it is too late. They feel guilty over the fact that they didn’t get the matter taken care of. But forgiveness and reconciliation are two different things. To reconcile with a person, that person must agree and be present. Forgiving someone, however, does not require the presence of the one to be forgiven. It is an individual act of the one who has been hurt and desires to be free.

Because the biblical command to forgive is absolute, the first order of business is to help the person forgive the deceased. We are required to release a person from our unforgiveness, even if he or she is no longer living. In ministry sessions, this can be done in the normal way as discussed earlier.

What is harder to deal with is the unforgiveness people often level at themselves for not dealing with a matter before the other person’s death. To resolve such a situation, first the negligence that resulted in the delay will probably need to be confessed as sin. Having accepted God’s forgiveness, the person then needs to forgive self. Often the act of presenting the sin and guilt to Jesus visually and receiving His forgiving touch can bring powerful release.

Divorce, Suicide, and Other Separation from Family Members

God, in His wisdom, has established the family as a group of people bonded together by blood and marriage. Besides the traditional family bonded by blood, today’s families may include step-relationships of all kinds, especially stepparents and stepsiblings. The relationship, whether by blood or marriage, between members of the same family is a mystical, spirit-to-spirit bonding that produces social cohesion intended to provide much of the meaning we experience as we go through life.

Relational bondedness is so important to God that He uses the family as a model for the Church (see Eph. 5:22-33). Christ is the Head of the Church, with many members in His body. As with the human body, all of the members fit together with complementary functions. There is a strong relational connectedness. When one member hurts, all of the members hurt (see 1 Cor. 12:12-31).

In the family, as in the church, God’s intent is that He be the Head under whom the husband, wife and children function. All are spiritually bonded to each other and, ideally, each fulfills a special role in mutual submissiveness and obedience to each other and to God. The family is intended by God to be the basic social unit, a microcosm of what life on Earth is supposed to be. Thus the family has become a favorite target of the Enemy in his attempts to disrupt and destroy humanity.

Family and marriage are so important to God that we are given teaching on them several times in Scripture (see for example, Eph. 5:21-6:4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Among Jesus’ teachings are the following words on marriage:

Haven’t you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? And God said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.” So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together (Matt. 19:4-6).

When there is a separation within a family—divorce or suicide, or when a young adult chooses angrily to leave the family, three painful things take place that contribute to the deep-level wounding of individuals. First, the spiritual bonding once firmly holding the family together is cut. As these ties are broken, each of the family members experiences a wounding very much like the kind that happens when an actual death occurs.

Second, divorce, suicide or rebellious separation can wound even more than the normal death of a loved one because the separation involves the person’s choice to abandon his or her family. “The death of a spouse, though painful, can be a clean wound. Divorce often leaves a dirty, infected wound, throbbing with pain.”6

In addition to the pain of loss comes the added pain of rejection. Those who have been left are constantly aware of the fact that it was the person’s choice to leave. To the wounds of separation and rejection, then, is usually added a burden of guilt over how things might have gone differently.

Third, unlike normal death, with these kinds of separation there are underlying spiritual principles or laws of the universe that have been violated. Whether it is the death of a relationship, or a family member who took his or her own life, the consequences of the sin of that event and the sins that led up to it must be dealt with thoroughly. Something that is specifically under God’s lordship—whether it concerns the bond of marriage, a parent-child relationship or a life that He has created—has been wrested from His “hands” by humans. In these cases, forgiveness may be especially difficult.

The intensity of the wounds left by divorce, rebellion and suicide makes it very obvious that only the forgiving grace of God offered through Jesus Christ can heal, assisted by the use of deep-level healing techniques. This may take time, though Jesus often works much faster than predicted through such techniques. Yet, we may need to be very patient as we minister to people dealing with these issues. We must allow people a lot of freedom and space as they work through the various aspects of their situation.

With regard to divorce, we cannot realistically offer the wounded person hope that the separated one will return. There is usually more hope in the case of youngsters who have turned against their parents in rebellion. Prayer for the return of a rebellious youngster is appropriate, with advice such as, “Don’t count the score at halftime” to encourage patience. In the case of divorce or rebellion, the immediate issue is to give the separated person to Jesus, with no assurance that he or she will ever come back. Loss of a relationship through divorce or rebellion is a heavy load to carry, and Jesus wants us to give it to Him (see 1 Pet. 5:7; Matt. 11:28).

Suicide usually carries even more pain. It is so final. The decision to leave is irreversible. The act of suicide is inherently anti-relational and can produce gaping personal wounds.

“How could Daddy just leave us like that?” or “Didn’t she love us anymore?” Unanswered questions abound in a post-suicide situation. In helping those who have gone through such an event, one deals with the most intense kind of anguish, wounding and anger.

When ministering within these circumstances, it is usually helpful, as with most other deep-level problems, to allow the Holy Spirit to bring to mind faith pictures of various events. The goal is to help the person “re-feel” and grieve the loss in the presence of Jesus, release to Jesus the pain of the memories and release the separated person to Him. Even though it is difficult and painful, we help the person agree with Jesus in allowing what He allowed. And, finally, we help the person focus their gratitude on the positive experiences they had with the person who is gone.

Both grieving and forgiving often take longer with these kinds of separation issues. Self-forgiveness and forgiveness of God for allowing the events may be especially difficult. Several sessions may be required to work through all the issues completely, so be very patient and loving as you guide such persons. There will probably be a great amount of sorrow to deal with.

It is important to remember to deal with the bonding issue. Members of a family, and close friends, are spiritually bonded to each other. We may picture this bonding as the connection between Siamese twins. All goes fairly well as long as the twins are moving in the same direction. But when one wants to go one way and the other chooses another way, there is great difficulty. When death or divorce occur, it is as if the departed person is pulling the other in his or her direction with the person who remains exerting an equal pull to retain the relationship. As painful as it is for the latter to give up this bonding, it needs to be done to receive healing. In the power of Christ, then, we sever this bonding as we do with the bonding between unmarried sexual partners (see chapter 3). If there should be a later reconciliation, in the case of divorce or a rebellious youngster leaving home, the bonding can easily be reestablished.

Healing the Trauma of Murder

A distraught mother once came to me whose son was in prison for murder. Though there are many complications associated with the trauma of murder, the process of dealing with the issues is the same as we have been recommending for less complicated matters. Repenting and receiving forgiveness from God is, of course, crucial. So is self-forgiveness. Repenting to the family of the one murdered is also a critical component in deep-level healing.

Many ritual-abuse survivors have been forced to murder. Not atypical is the case of a man I’ll call Mark. His parents were satanists and had made a practice of enticing vagrant women into a basement room where they would be forced to perform sexual acts. Mark’s job as a young child was to slit the victim’s throat while she was in the act of sexual intercourse with one of the members of the cult. A cult member I’ll call Esther was forced to entice men off the street, lead them to a secret place and engage them in sex. As they embraced, her job was to stab them to death. Another woman brought up in a satanist family was forced to murder her friend’s baby soon after its birth with the threat that this was the only way to keep her friend from dying.

Each of these people, as well as many others I’ve ministered to, were able to develop special personalities to perform these horrible acts (see chapter 11 for a full discussion of multiple personalities). The host person of the personality, however, carries an enormous amount of guilt over knowing that he or she participated in murder, even though it was under extreme duress. The trauma of such events, plus the heavy load of guilt, results in demonization along with a multiple personality disorder.

Though the way to treat the emotional ills that have come to these people is the same as for others, the intensity of their feelings is much greater. The amount of guilt, shame, self-condemnation, anger and the like is beyond estimation. Again, great patience and perseverance are required of the one ministering to such persons. It can be very difficult just to get them to believe that God could forgive them. Forgiving themselves may be an even greater difficulty. When there are multiple personalities involved, each personality has to be led through the same process.

Something deeply distressing and disruptive happens to a person’s inner being when he or she participates in wrongfully taking the life of another. In addition to the emotional wounds requiring healing, something akin to bonding between the one who lives and the one who has died needs to be broken.

Demons and Death

“I should drive my car into that wall,” Larry heard a voice say in his mind. “I wonder what it would be like to jump off this balcony?” another voice said on a different occasion. Larry was a Christian and had been getting closer to God in the past few years. But every now and then, he noticed subtle suggestions like these breaking in on his conscious thoughts. As Larry drove down the road, sometimes he would have the notion of killing himself in various ways using his car to ram a bridge or run off the road into a ditch. At other times, when in tall buildings, Larry would feel pressure to jump from the building and actually have flashes of what he would look like as he flew through the air.

Larry quickly put aside these thoughts. He had learned to take “captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, NIV). He knew that Jesus did not want him to commit suicide or even let the thought rest in his mind. He had no overt reason in his life to contemplate the idea seriously. Yet from time to time he would have these urges, sometimes strongly. He wondered about the source of them.

Larry came for prayer and discovered that a generational spirit of death had been passed down to him from one of his parents. This spirit had tried to kill him when he was born but was unsuccessful. The spirit of death had invited in a spirit of suicide to aid in the attempt to destroy Larry’s life. In the deep-level healing session, this was the spirit who confessed to be the one suggesting thoughts of suicide to Larry. Because Larry had been resisting these spirits for years and their only hold on him was generational, it was fairly easy to break their power and get them to leave. With the spirits gone, Larry is now free for the first time in his life from suggestions of suicide. (See chapter 12 for more on dealing with demonization.)

The aim of Satan and his minions is “to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). Demons are, therefore, active in seeking death. They hate life. They delight in abortions, murders, suicides and the pain these cause. Often, in fact, it is demons that push people toward causing such deaths. In addition, demons are quick to take advantage of the pain people feel when someone close has died.

When doing deep-level healing, it is important, after doing the inner healing, to challenge any demons that are there. While not all the human problems will involve demonization, where violent death is involved, demons are almost surely involved.

Margaret seemed to be a fairly congenial person. From time to time, evidence of a hot temper emerged, but she never seemed to lose control of it. One day as we were working on some of her deep-level problems, Margaret burst into tears and blurted out, “You know, sometimes I think I have demons.” She was asked what she believed the names of the demons to be. She replied, “Suicide and murder.”

Then Margaret recounted how often these themes recurred in her thought life. On the outside she was pleasant, seemingly calm and mild, but inside she wanted to tear some people to pieces and had vivid thoughts of doing so. Her reactions to one family member in particular drove her to think such thoughts to the point of almost carrying them out at times.

Demons of suicide and murder were cast out and forbidden to return. Spirits of anger and hatred plus several others were banished as well. A few days later, Margaret remarked, “The strangest thing has happened. I can’t find my anger anywhere. It’s gone! And my hate for people is gone too.” She said further, “I called up a friend of mine that I don’t even like very much and told her I was sorry for all the mean things I said to her. That’s not like me! What has happened?”

We explained to Margaret that her personality had been so affected by these spirits that the violent thoughts had become habits. When the demons were cast out, the stimulus behind a lot of what she considered her normal behavior was now gone. Without them, she was learning new ways of relating to people in place of the pressure from the evil spirits.

One problem that we need to be aware of is that when a demonized person, especially a relative, dies, demons from that person sometimes attempt to inhabit other members of the family. Perhaps it is family bonding that makes this more possible within families than with other situations. Recently, I was asking a demon how he got into the man I was ministering to. He said it happened while the man was a boy when his grandmother died. As a boy, this man had had a close attachment to his grandmother. This attachment, plus his own ignorance, resulted in the entrance of the demon—an entrance that could have been prevented had he claimed the power of Christ to protect himself.

When there has been a death of a demonized person in a house, the demons will often stay and cause disruption to subsequent residents in that house. When this happens, the current residents need to take authority over the house and the land it is on. In the name of Jesus, they should break all previous authority over them that may have given the Enemy a right to be there.

Graveyards and mortuaries, being places of death, will also often have demons hanging around. For reasons I cannot explain, demons frequently stay in places where the body they inhabited once was, long after that body has left. I have even heard of a church that was badly disrupted by demons simply because they had been given a carpet once used in a mortuary. Apparently the demons came with the carpet. When the source of the carpet was taken seriously, and it was disposed of, the demonic disruption ceased.

Where there is or has been death, the Enemy often has an opportunity to work. We need to claim the protection of Jesus and, if possible, deal with whatever gives the Enemy permission to be there whenever we are in or near such places.

FOR FURTHER READING

Bill and Sue Banks, Ministering to Abortion’s Aftermath (Kirkwood, MO: Impact Christian Books, 1982).

Jack Hayford, I’ll Hold You in Heaven (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2003).

Jeff Lane Hensley, The Zero People (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1983), pp. 97-105, 203-207.

Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992).

Francis and Judith MacNutt, Praying for Your Unborn Child (New York: Doubleday, 1988), pp. 129-142.

John and Paula Sandford, Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1985), pp. 429-454.

Susan Stanford, Will I Cry Tomorrow? (Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 1999).

9

HEALING FOR THE

INNER FAMILY

Not “Me,” but “We”

Parts of this chapter will be a bit more technical than the rest of this book. This is because we are dealing with a major internal complexity of human beings. God has made us to be complex, and a part of our complexity comes into play when there is abuse. The part we will focus on here is the reaction technically called “dissociation.” I define this below. Here we will focus on the divisions within us that make dissociation possible.

We can describe these divisions as like an inner family made up of a variety of parts, subselves or subpersonalities—each with a different attitude and response to various persons and events in life. This concept of the inner family is developed in a very helpful article by Richard Schwartz, a prominent family therapist, and in a book entitled Subpersonalities by another prominent therapist, John Rowan. Schwartz says in his article:

In my own work, I find it most useful to conceive of one’s inner life as an internal family, in a loose, metaphorical sense. In this family, the Self is like the central executive of a loyal clan containing a wide range of members, from needy children to meddling older relatives. Indeed, if asked, most clients can conjure up an image of each part or subself . . . and the visages of the personified parts range from very young to old and haggard.1

Dr. Schwartz cites the findings of Michael Gazzaniga, a prominent researcher on the nature and workings of the brain. According to Gazzaniga, “The brain actually consists of an undetermined number of independently functioning units or ‘modules’ with specialized functions” that we access unconsciously at different times for various purposes as we go about the tasks of living. These modules shape both our cognitive and emotional functioning in such a way that our inner family can be seen to “consist of a group of ‘modular selves,’ clusters of related beliefs, feelings, and expectations about the world” that govern our everyday behavior.2

In his book, Rowan defines a subpersonality as “a semi-permanent and semi-autonomous region of the personality capable of acting as a person.”3 Furthermore, Rowan traces the concept throughout psychological literature, making a good case for treating this theory as a well-attested psychological concept. A popular, though not fully developed, version of this theory was published by Eric Berne and labeled “Transaction Analysis” as early as 1961.4 Since that date it has become common for many to speak of the “parent,” “adult” or “child” parts of the human person. Similarly, Richard Dickinson refers to certain parts of the human person as the “inner child” and “inner parent.”5

Rowan contends that the fact that we can experience internal conflict indicates that we have more than a single subpersonality. These subpersonalities, then, form a continuum in the human person. “At one end of this continuum are fluctuations in mood, interpreted as a state of mind organized around a particular emotion. . . . Further along the continuum, but still well within the range of normal experience, are the roles and ego states and subpersonalities within which individuals perform state-specific tasks and life activities.”6 Farther along the continuum, according to Rowan, are the subpersonality states that are not normal and require therapy. These will be our concern in this chapter.

If Rowan, Schwartz, Gazzaniga and others who are analyzing human personality in this way are right, all of us, whether normal or abnormal, are much more complicated than we think. “In a sense, we are all multiple personalities.”7 According to this analysis, such abilities as talking to ourselves, holding differing opinions and attitudes at the same time, even of assuming a different persona as we adopt various roles in diverse settings, demonstrate the presence of subpersonalities within each of us.

Such an analysis rings true to me as I consider how I regularly conduct internal conversations with myself or, according to this theory, with my subpersonalities, especially during times of conflict. It also helps me explain differences in my behavior that occur when I am teaching as compared to playing with my grandchildren; when I relate to my wife as compared to talking with my students or counselees; and when I am worshiping as compared to playing softball.

I see such complexity as God-given, and this analysis as an insight into the way He has made us marvelously as human beings. As we approach the question of bringing healing to those who have deep-level dysfunction, we are not asking whether there are various internal parts in a person, but rather how those parts or subselves function, with the goal of integration and wholeness for the complete person. In ministering to people, we have found it possible to talk to subpersonalities other than the main self in nearly everyone.

For example, I have frequently been able to talk to the six-or eight-or twelve-year-old part of a client to get information concerning how that person felt during a particularly traumatic episode of her or his life. But not all such subpersonalities I have talked to have been hurting. Some seem to have had rather normal experiences. Therefore, rather than treating the existence of such internal subpersonalities as pathological, as many have, we will here regard it as normal, given the complexity of the human personality.

Many I have ministered to have observed this internal complexity and wanted to know whether it was normal. Especially when people have experienced conflict between parts, they often suspect there is something radically wrong with them. As we work together, people come to see that the problem is not the existence of the parts, but that some of these parts have sustained damage earlier in the person’s life. The problems, then, can be handled under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit by helping the damaged subselves toward functioning in a more integrated way with other parts that are relatively healthy and normal.

To help understand these subpersonalities better, we need to consider the term “inner child.” This term is used in at least three different senses in inner healing and psychological literature. Some use it to refer to immature aspects of a person’s personality (see Richard Dickinson, The Child in Each of Us). Others, particularly those in the “recovery movement,” see the inner child as “the sensitive, vulnerable part of ourselves” that should be discovered, healed and then nurtured throughout our lives in order for us to achieve wholeness, emotional health and our creative potential (for example, Lucia Cappachione, Recovery of Your Inner Child). Still others find the term a convenient label for one or more subselves created by persons as a kind of storehouse of reactions to negative experiences in their past, especially in their childhood (see Rita Bennett, Making Peace with Your Inner Child, and David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things).

The concept as we are developing it here is most like the latter usage, though we see the existence of such internal parts as normal rather than pathological. The fact that some of these “person parts” sustain damage and, therefore, need to be ministered to makes the following discussion important in a treatment of deep-level healing.

Many have found that attitudes and behaviors of parents and other significant persons in their lives are often represented by the attitudes and behaviors of certain subpersonalities as well. These may be called “inner parents.” In the inner family, then, the inner child or children of a particular person seem to encapsulate attitudes and behaviors reminiscent of their reactions to those significant others represented by inner parents—responses that may get triggered even in adult life when we encounter those people or others who remind us of them.

I have, for example, been fascinated and frequently disturbed by the immaturity of my own reactions as an adult to authority figures who remind me of my father. It helps me to think of a part of myself as embodying a “little boy” who responds unconsciously even now to such authority figures as a much younger “me” responded to my father. When this happens, the coordinator part of me, what Schwartz calls the “Self,” has to take over and remind myself that I am now an adult and that the authority figure I am reacting to is not my father. I am no longer a little boy and do not have to respond unthinkingly in the dysfunctional way I did as a little boy in relating to my father.

Damaged Subpersonalities

Probably because they are more disturbing to us, we are more likely to be aware of our damaged parts or subselves than of those that are better adjusted. Take, for example, a person whose internal family includes a confident, well-adjusted subself; a tender, loving subself; a condemning subself; and a “poor me” subself. It is likely that person will be more aware of and troubled by the latter two than by the first two. Those who interact with this person on a regular basis will also be more troubled by the latter two. Seeing this person as a singular, uncomplicated being rather than as made up of several subselves, then, leads both to misjudgment and to confusion about the exact nature of the person’s problems.

A man I’ll call Gene, for example, found himself in the situation of one of Dr. Schwartz’s examples: “If a husband says ‘I hate you’ to his wife in the midst of an argument, she is likely to think, even after his post-fight apologies, that down deep he really does hate her since ‘he wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it.’ In other words, people tend to mistake the parts they activate in each other for the whole person. . . . Similarly, if a sad, hopeless part of the wife is activated by her husband’s anger and overwhelms her, she may conclude that that part is all she really is.”8

Gene was helped considerably when he was able to see that different parts of himself could take control at different times and that only parts, not the whole, were dysfunctional. By working toward better cooperation between the parts under the direction of the Self, we made great progress toward helping him solve his personal problems.

To understand how our subselves can become damaged, it is helpful to realize that within each person, imprinted on the brain, is a lifetime record of experiences and that person’s reactions to those experiences. Often, a subpersonality is built largely around one or more damaging experiences. This is particularly true in childhood when we are most vulnerable. Uncontrolled emotional responses that appear unwarranted in a current situation may indicate that there is such a subself or inner child within responding out of pain from the past. It is these damaged parts, subselves or inner children that need deep-level healing.

When there is damage, especially that of abuse, one of the functions of these subselves is to hide the memories from the conscious “overseer” Self. God has built into us the ability of certain parts of us to protect other parts. One may picture, then, an abused subself building walls inside to protect the coordinating or overseeing part of the total person from the traumatic memory, so the person is free to go on with life in as normal a manner as possible. When this happens, it may look on the surface as if the Self is in denial concerning the abuse. In reality, however, the Self may simply be protected from the memory by a subself.

Jerry and Jenny

Jerry, a career missionary in his mid-fifties, had been in therapy for some time when he came to my colleague Mark White for prayer counseling. Jerry had had a difficult childhood with lots of abusive experiences and Mark had the feeling that the best way to help Jerry get at the difficult events of his childhood was to look for one or more inner children. So Mark quietly asked if there was “a little boy in there” who would be willing to talk with him.

Soon a picture came to Jerry of himself at about age five, dejected and demoralized. Mark asked if he could see Jesus in the picture and Jerry answered, “Yes, but the little boy cannot face him.” Without prompting or instruction to Jerry, Mark began speaking to him as if he was a little boy, asking about his feelings during the abusive situations in which he was involved.

Immediately, Jerry’s voice was that of a small child! A little boy’s voice, a “subself,” spoke describing in detail his feelings as he experienced the abuse. Jerry was surprised, first by the change in his voice and then by the information this young part of him was sharing—information that Jerry remembered vaguely but felt was not a “big deal.” When his voice changed and the tears came, however, Jerry began to see the kind of impact the events of age five had made on him and the importance of dealing with them.

Seeing Jesus in these events, then, began a transformation in the little boy. Jerry could see a pained expression on Jesus’ face and Jesus’ arms outstretched toward him to receive and embrace the five-year-old so that many of the blows aimed at little Jerry fell on Jesus instead! Experiencing Jesus’ presence in this abusive situation and knowing that Jesus took the abuse with him affected Jerry deeply, leading to Jerry’s five-year-old part coming to understand that the beatings stemmed from his father’s problems and were not his fault. He then could forgive his father both for the beatings and for the fact that his father never got control of his problems. The session ended with the little boy rejoicing in Jesus’ embrace and free from the unforgiveness he had held against his father for all of his life.

Turning to another case: Jenny was a woman in her mid-thirties who came seeking help for confusion and pain stemming from memories of abuse as a young adult. During our discussion of these experiences, it became obvious that she also carried memories of abuse during her childhood. As the Holy Spirit began to help her recall these early memories, I noted that her voice often changed to that of a child when she recounted what had happened. It was then easy to interact with these subselves as if they were separate children living inside of her. In working with Jenny regularly over a period of months and then more sporadically for two years, we found a number of these mildly dissociated subselves, each encapsulating memories of difficult experiences and the emotions that go with them. Though these inner children had been keeping Jenny from remembering these experiences, they were not able to keep her present adult life free from turmoil.

With Jenny, I began the process by interacting with several of these inner children one by one. Jenny then continued the process on her own. In her case, it was helpful to identify each subself by age. Thus, we could label the inner child that encapsulated her six-year-old experiences, “Jenny-6”; the one who encapsulated her eight-year-old experiences, “Jenny-8”; and so on. We found that each inner subself had a series of difficult experiences to recount, most of which the adult Self could remember only in general, if at all. The inner children supplied her with detailed descriptions of traumatic events, though often they had to be coaxed to do so. The need for coaxing arose from the fact that most of these dissociated parts of herself saw their main purpose as the hiding of such facts from the adult Self.

So we dealt with each of the experiences in the ways described throughout this book. As the problems were first admitted to the adult Self, and then dealt with, each of the “children” forgave those who had hurt them. Strange as it may sound, several of them also needed to forgive Jenny for what they perceived as neglect. In addition, we sought to make sure that those subselves who were created prior to Jenny’s decision to commit her life to Christ knew Jesus and were in agreement with this commitment.

Most of our interactions proceeded something as follows: Once I had identified, say, Jenny-8, I would ask if eight-year-old Jenny would agree to talk to me. I would then describe myself as a friend of the adult Self who was trying to help her with some of her problems. An eight-year-old voice would respond, “Okay.” After further conversation designed to build rapport, I would then ask if there was anything bothering her that I could help her with. I might suggest that Jenny had told me that her eighth year had been a difficult one, so we thought Jenny-8 might be able to fill us in on some of the details.

Though sometimes shy and distrustful at first, Jenny-8 would eventually talk about the abuse that had taken place during that year and we would deal with forgiveness of the perpetrator(s), and her relationship to the adult Self and to Jesus. Our goals were to heal the pain, take care of all reaction problems, such as unforgiveness and work toward integration of this dissociated part with the Self.

My first interaction with Jenny-13 was especially dramatic. Adult Jenny had been working through this process on her own. She had found it relatively easy to speak to the various subselves within herself without the need for me to be present. But one day she called me to ask for an appointment because her 13-year-old would not talk to her. In her picturing, adult Jenny could not even get Jenny-13 to face her. In fact, the picture she got was Jenny-13 running away whenever the adult Self tried to approach her.

When adult Jenny arrived at my office for help, I introduced myself to Jenny-13 and asked if she would talk to me. After a while, she reluctantly agreed and I asked her what was bothering her. She confessed to me that she was ashamed to talk to the adult Self but would not tell me why. Our suspicion was that she was hiding some abusive event or series of events. I asked her then if she knew Jesus. She said she did, so I asked if she would agree to stop her running and talk to adult Jenny if Jesus was present.

After some coaxing, she agreed. In that context, she eventually shared with adult Jenny the abusive events she had been hiding. Contrary to Jenny-13’s fears, adult Jenny accepted her, assured her that she was not guilty, and they got to be friends. Soon after this event, Jenny was able to incorporate (technically “merge”) Jenny-13 into her main Self so that they are no longer separate.

Weaker Inner Children

Not all inner children are as well defined as those of Jerry and Jenny. Nor are they all traumatized. For many people, these inner subselves are holding happy memories or only mildly unhappy ones. And there may be several of them. I have worked with many who have found lots of younger ones from preschool up into young adulthood, only some of which were holding difficult memories. In a typical ministry session, I will ask the person to move in memory from birth through adulthood looking for an inner child at each year or so, inviting each to interact with Jesus. I’ll suggest that the happy subselves cluster around Jesus, dancing or playing with the unhappy ones gathered in another part of the picture. I’ll ask these latter selves one by one to share with Jesus and with us what they are struggling with.

Recently when I did this we found that most of the inner children were quite happy, especially with Jesus there. One, however, about five years old, was cowering behind a rocking chair, afraid to join the others. Seeing this, the person remembered an event where he was hiding behind a rocking chair in fear that his father would discover something he had done wrong and discipline him for it.

I asked the inner child if he was alone behind the chair and he immediately answered, “No, Jesus is here with me.” I asked the adult if the boy (himself at age 5) had been disciplined and he said, “No.” This we communicated to the inner child, inviting him to give his fear to Jesus since we knew that what he feared hadn’t happened. This he did, received a hug from Jesus and was able to come out from behind the chair and join the happy ones.

The adult was amazed at the impact that this long-ago-and-nearly-forgotten experience had on him. In the picturing, he felt strongly both the fear of the little boy and the release of giving that fear to Jesus. As we pondered the experience, he remarked that this fearful hiding was a kind of paradigm of his whole life. Through dealing with this experience of his five-year-old subself, we got to the roots of his fear, enabling him to get healing and victory over his fear.

We will come back to the inner child in chapter 13.

Understanding Dissociation

Dissociation, broadly defined, is the ability to turn off one’s consciousness so that one is unaware of something like a dog barking or children fighting or a train passing. Mothers are often good at dissociating when their children are making a lot of noise. Those working in very noisy factories may learn to be completely unaware of the noise. We all dissociate from real life from time to time. When we daydream to the point where we don’t hear the phone ring or someone calling our name, we are dissociating. In itself, dissociation is not a negative thing. Indeed, it can be a useful mechanism that allows us to concentrate or relax when we need to.

When a psychologist uses the term “dissociation,” however, he or she is speaking of a degree of dissociation that far surpasses daydreaming or getting lost in a movie or book. These extreme forms involve the building of walls between subselves and the Self and the producing of new subselves to encapsulate damage in such a way that few or none of the memories and feelings are shared with the conscious Self. Though these more extreme forms of dissociation serve the valuable purpose of enabling the total person to survive difficult, usually abusive, situations, they typically become problematic later in life. The person who dissociates to the extent of producing pathological multiple personalities or angry inner children will usually require deep-level healing at some point.

With an eye to these more extreme forms, such as what has been called Multiple Personality Disorder (now called Dissociative Identity Disorder), we will define dissociation as the human ability to separate off certain experiences from the mainstream of life and encapsulate them in an alternate consciousness that functions to a greater or lesser extent separately from the main consciousness. When this alternate consciousness is not very well defined, not very separate and may only hold a single memory, we refer to it as an inner child. When, however, it is very strong and very separate from the core person (the Self), we may refer to it as an “alter” personality.

I believe the ability to build mental and emotional “walls” around abusive experiences is God-given, enabling people to survive abuse by storing the memory or memories apart from conscious awareness. Inner child dissociation is typically built around a single memory or set of memories. Multiple personality dissociation, then, involves a great deal more complexity

This degree of dissociation involves the separation of one or more internal subselves from the conscious Self so that certain memories are encapsulated in the subselves in such a way that they are partially or even totally inaccessible by the core person until the subpersonalities agree to share them. When someone (usually a therapist) makes contact with one of these subselves, the person will usually exhibit the personality characteristics of a person at the age at which the trauma occurred and the subself dissociated. These dissociative subpersonalities, unlike the conscious Self, are usually able to describe in detail the particular problem(s) that led to their being created. Being able to describe the problem(s) does not, however, necessarily mean that the subself is willing to share that description with either the core person or an outsider such as a therapist. Willingness to share depends on positive rapport and trust. So sometimes it may take quite awhile to develop the trust necessary for the subself to be willing to share the facts.

The degree of dissociation in response to abuse or trauma seems to depend on at least three factors: the severity of the abuse, the age at which the abuse happened, and the creativity of the person. When the abuse is great, the person young and very creative, the walls between the various subselves and the coordinating part of the total person are built very high and thick. This results in Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) in which there is, for many parts of the Self, a greater distinctness and completeness to each subself than in lesser forms of dissociation, such as inner children. When the abuse is less, though separation of subselves is a factor, the barriers between the subselves are not as difficult to take down. In both cases, though, we are dealing with dissociative reactions to abuse and trauma rather than with the much milder and temporary dissociation of watching a movie or reading a book.

Although this will be viewed as controversial in certain circles, in my view, milder (inner child) and more severe dissociation (MPD) can be seen as at the opposite poles of a scale of trauma-induced dissociations (see the chart below). Within each, then, there is a range of variation. That is, there are weaker and stronger forms of inner child-type dissociations and weaker and stronger forms of multiple personality-type dissociations. Stronger forms of inner child dissociations, however, can be difficult to distinguish from weaker forms of multiple personality dissociations. For this reason we can view them as varieties of essentially the same phenomenon.

There is a certain amount of inner healing literature dealing with inner children and a certain amount of psychological literature dealing with multiple personality disorder. Seldom, however, do these writings connect the two. Having worked with both, I find great similarities between them. Ministering to inner children, then, though much less complicated than ministering to persons at the MPD end of the scale, is done in a way quite similar to an approach to MPD.

Dealing with Dissociated People

Jenny’s growing-up years involved a lot of sexual, physical and verbal abuse. She grew up in an alcoholic family with a father given to long absences or drunken rages, and a mother who was emotionally unavailable to her. Such childhood experiences frequently lead to the dissociation of one or more of a person’s subpersonalities to enable the Self to survive.

In cases such as Jenny’s or Jerry’s, they dissociate in order to handle the pain of the abuse. As mentioned, this is a mild form of multiple personality. The dissociated part, the inner child, then, is created to isolate and contain the pain and the other emotions that go with it. The parts are “containers” in which to hide disagreeable experiences and the emotions that go along with them. The predominant emotion hidden with the pain is likely to be anger, but other likely emotions are shame, loneliness, fear, insecurity, the need to control or some other negative emotion, accompanied by low self-esteem and self-rejection.

As adults, those with inner child dissociation will from time to time find themselves reacting more like damaged children than mature adults when something “triggers” a childhood memory. This can be embarrassing and indicates the need for integration and deep-level healing. Yet they may go for many years without recognizing the source of the problem or what to do about it. This was Jenny’s constant experience until we discovered the dissociative parts of her and dealt with their problems.

Clara was a much more complicated case, requiring many sessions over a three-year period, whereas cases like Jerry’s or Jenny’s may only take one or two sessions. Clara was born with several serious physical problems involving her legs, her spine and several internal problems. So she was forced to undergo several surgeries at a very young age. These and other things in her growing-up years resulted in the creation of many alters that provided her a way to escape psychologically the life conditions that she experienced as abusive and traumatic. Though she was in her late twenties when I worked with her, she would often manifest the characteristics of young children and a troublesome fifteen-year-old. She had a seven-year-old alter whose job it was to take all or most of her pain. We eventually counted 34 distinct alters, all of which Jesus was eventually able to merge into one whole personality.

With someone like Clara, it is like working with several persons. Each of the subselves had traumatic experiences to work through with deeply felt negative feelings to give to Jesus. But they had to be convinced and several of them had to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord before they would allow Him to help them. Several of them were angry toward me, since I seemed to be another abuser. So I had to win them over before they would cooperate. Each had characteristics distinct from the others, and many of them were pulling in opposite directions at first, though eventually they began to pull together and then to allow Jesus to merge them.

Those who minister deep-level healing will before long be called on to deal with dissociative parts, subselves or inner children in their clients. Everyone has inner children or subselves, whether weak or highly developed. Subselves become highly developed in those who have experienced abuse, especially early childhood sexual abuse. Unfortunately, such abuse is common and results in many who have highly developed inner children or full-fledged multiple personalities. Getting acquainted with the subselves of those who come for ministry, then, is often the best way to get at the root problems of those who come for ministry.

Though we have to regard as unproven theory our attempts to analyze exactly what is going on psychologically, it is my experience that even inner-child subselves are typically distinct enough for another person to talk with them. I have had many extended discussions with inner children and with dissociated alters over the years. Much can be learned through such conversations that enables us, with Jesus, to bring healing to deeply hidden experiences. As with all deep-level problems, we need to be concerned to see them dealt with under the power of God. For only then can freedom come at the deepest levels to damaged people.

Ministering to Dissociated Subselves

For the most part, once contact is made with a subself, the counselor can follow the same patterns of inner healing discussed elsewhere in this volume. There are, however, a few specifics to keep in mind.

Making Contact

The counselor has to discover or “make contact with” the damaged subself. If you suspect such a subself is present, first ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to find “him or her,” then ask the adult Self for permission to talk with that part. You can then address the subself as you would a normal person of that age. If you are not sure whether a damaged subself is there, you may ask something like, “Is there a little boy/girl here who would be willing to talk with me?” Often such hurt parts of the Self—inner children and especially MPD alters—are fearful of being discovered lest they be treated as badly as they were in the past. They may, therefore, have to be coaxed and assured that they can trust the lay counselor and the adult Self.

Working on One’s Own

Much of the work with inner-children subselves can usually be done by clients on their own. Often, whether in the lay counselor’s presence or on their own, they will be able to picture the subself at a specific age or stage of life. Guide them to note such things as posture, facial expression, and manner of speech and location in which they see the inner child. The child may be hiding or in the dark for some reason. Often, important facts concerning the problems that need to be solved are indicated by what the person sees or hears concerning such matters.

At the MPD end of the scale, it may be much more difficult to work with one’s alters at first. Once the process is going positively, however, there may be a lot that can be accomplished by the core person interacting with alters.

Accepting Jesus

Dissociative subselves may not know Jesus as Savior, especially if they were created before the person accepted Christ. If so, they can be led to commit themselves to Jesus. I’ve had the privilege of leading several alters to Jesus. I don’t know what the theological implications of this are. All aspects of a person benefit, however, when subselves surrender to Jesus.

Forgiving the Abuser(s)

In my experience, it appears that forgiveness granted by a subself “at the age” at which the abuse occurred is often more complete and effective than if the adult Self simply grants the forgiveness. Granting forgiveness is difficult, especially for victims of abuse. Understandably, it may be a long-term process for adults. When an inner child or alter forgives the abuser(s) at the age at which the abuse happened, the forgiveness seems to be a deeper kind of forgiveness.

Dealing with Subselves at Any Age

As indicated, subselves can be any age. The fact that most of the abuse that leads to dissociation tends to happen to children, however, leads to the tendency to refer to these parts of the Self as inner children. However, adult subselves are quite common as well.

Acceptance and Love

It is essential that these parts of the Self be accepted and treated well both by the counselor and the client. Clients are sometimes so “freaked out” by the presence of dissociative subselves that they do not at first make the subselves feel safe. If the subselves don’t feel safe, they will usually remain hidden out of shame, anger, fear, guilt or other negative emotions. They may have been badly hurt and are, therefore, unwilling to trust easily. Unless they are assured they will be accepted no matter what has happened to them or what they may have done, they will probably continue to hide.

Further, as Dr. King points out, if inner healing is pursued too aggressively, it can trigger negative emotions in a way that is detrimental and possibly even dangerous to the client.9 As we saw with Jenny, if the inner child is reluctant to come out, it is often helpful to invite Jesus to be present to mediate between the Self and the subself. When Jesus is present, inner children and alters will often be more willing to reveal to the one ministering and to the client what they are feeling and needing.

In communicating love and acceptance to the inner child, it is usually helpful for the adult Self to apologize for not acknowledging the existence of this inner part earlier on. While this may sound bizarre to many readers, it is important to realize that the inner subself typically feels that the way the Self has apparently ignored it indicates something is badly wrong with it. To overcome this problem, the Self usually needs to spend time with this inner part, supplying the safety, acceptance and love it felt deprived of.

Reparenting

Disaffected inner children and young alters usually need nurturing and “reparenting.” This term refers to the ability of adults to commit themselves to be more adequate as “parents” to parts of themselves than their own parents were as they were growing up. This often requires the adult to spend a good bit of time with the inner subselves, expressing love and acceptance in ways that were missed as the person was growing up. This can usually be done by clients on their own once the major issues have been addressed and worked through. Eventually, the dissociated subself and adult may decide to merge or integrate. This often happens automatically once enough inner healing has taken place.

When subselves are discovered, either the counselor or the client can converse with them as would be appropriate with any real child of that age. It may be helpful to use a nickname the child had, as long as it did not hold negative connotations. Such dissociated subselves will need to be listened to, comforted and befriended. Allow them to express the emotions they have been holding, then encourage them to give their hurts to Jesus for healing. To some extent the counselor, but mostly the client and Jesus, can supply what was lacking in acceptance, nurture and love. With Jesus we can supply such things as comfort in distress, a trusting relationship in place of loneliness, love and acceptance in place of rejection, freedom to cry or grieve, attention to remedy neglect, hope and forgiveness in place of hopelessness and self-condemnation.

The Goal of Merging and Wholeness

When damaged subselves experience healing, there comes a time when they want to merge or integrate with the Self. Though this time should not be rushed, the counselor should watch for it and welcome it. A counselor should not, however, make too much of a “big deal” of merging. The key thing is for the “person parts” to be cooperating and all moving in the same direction. Many people can live quite happily with unmerged parts if the parts are working with rather than against each other.

Sometimes person parts are encouraged to merge and agree to it before they are really ready to take that step. I have sometimes been suspicious that I encouraged the merger too soon. If this happens, it is usually not a big problem. The parts may simply split again. Though this may delay the ultimate merging, it will probably not cause serious problems.

When both parties have agreed to merge, I simply ask Jesus to merge them. After each such integration, the Self begins to move toward a degree of wholeness and emotional maturity that he or she has never known previously. And this process may be quite challenging. Though the wholeness does not happen overnight, learning to live in an integrated way usually begins to pay large dividends from the start. The immature emotional reactions that used to characterize the person’s life no longer happen so frequently. There is a new sense of freedom, even though the process of getting used to the integration has just started and requires work.

One of the important changes that Clara noted was that the talking in her head stopped. For the first time in her life her mind was quiet. And she could sleep! For before merger, her personalities were often awake and conversing with each other during the night when she was trying to sleep! Now things were quiet.

One pitfall in seeking integration and wholeness is that, as mentioned earlier, the material revealed by inner subselves may be surprising or alarming to the conscious Self. We need to be alert to this possibility and help clients accept such information so that they, in turn, can communicate acceptance and support to the subselves. Integration should not be sought until both the Self and the subself/subselves are in full agreement about being joined. In addition, it is important for the client to thank the damaged part for his or her hard work in holding the painful feelings and hiding the traumatic experiences for so long. Often both the conscious Self and the inner subself need to ask forgiveness of each other—the Self for not paying attention to the hurting subself, the latter for causing overreactions in many situations.

A commitment on the part of the Self to pay attention to the subselves from now on goes a long way toward healing and integration. Before integration takes place, the knowledge of life experiences (especially the good things) that have happened since the inner children or alters were created can profitably be communicated to the subselves, providing them with a good deal of hope. Those things that build the subself’s faith to the level of the faith of the conscious Self are particularly helpful. In this transition from dissociation to cooperation and integration, the Self can be nearly an ideal parent for the subselves, providing opportunities (often through picturing) that the person never had as a child, as well as the appropriate discipline in love that may have been lacking. Let Jesus and the Self reparent the child inside and many exciting changes can occur.

Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder

As I have indicated, when the inner parts, subselves or inner children we have been discussing are hurt, they often move into dissociation. The most dysfunctional kind of dissociation is what psychologists call Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID, formerly referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD). Though treatment of DID/MPD should always be directed by trained and experienced professional therapists, it is not unlikely that readers of this book who launch into inner healing will find themselves faced with it from time to time. We need, then, to be able to recognize the problem, if for no other reason than to refer the client to the right kind of professional. As we have seen, though, prayer ministry can make a valuable contribution of its own to the total therapeutic process in dealing with dissociative disorders.

The psychological establishment seems to be coming to the conclusion that DID/MPD is much more common than previously believed, especially among those who have experienced early childhood sexual abuse, ritual abuse and/or incest. With regard to ritual abuse especially, then, there is usually a spiritual dimension. Thus, when people coming out of such a background seek healing, they often turn to prayer ministry. This increases the chances that those of us engaged in deep-level healing through prayer will be faced with people suffering from DID/MPD. This has certainly been the experience of the inner-healing ministries that I’m acquainted with.

The following is designed to assist us to understand enough of the problem so that we can refer people to professionals and assist them in the therapeutic process. Those with MPD (as well as those with other problems) usually profit greatly from receiving both prayer ministry and professional counseling on a regular basis. Professional Christian counselors who recognize the value of deep-level healing, therefore, are likely to encourage their people to continue working with those who practice deep-level healing and are willing to make a long-term commitment to the client.

DID/MPD involves a high level of dissociation. Virtually impenetrable walls are built between subselves and the Self to protect the latter from the devastation of being conscious of abusive experiences. With such experiences segmented off into distinct alternate consciousnesses, the Self can often lead a fairly normal life, as if the abusive events had never occurred. There usually comes a time, though, when the surfacing of disturbing memories or some other mental or emotional dysfunction alerts persons who have been protected in this way to the reality that all is not well at the deep levels of their being. They then become prime candidates for deep-level healing.

The age at which a person becomes aware of such dysfunction is usually around 35. And I would estimate that about 80 percent of those with DID/MPD are women. It seems that most of the women have been able to successfully suppress their dissociational problems through their early marriage and child-rearing years but find it more difficult to ignore these problems once they move into their mid to late thirties.

As with the inner-child kind of dissociation but with greater intensity, the dissociation of DID/MPD is a defense mechanism, usually employed unconsciously, against the kind of psychological disintegration that could occur if the person retained a consciousness of the abuse. Like the weaker forms of dissociation, the consciousnesses that get split off can be memories (of specific events or whole periods of time); feelings (such as those thought to be wrong, dangerous, or shameful); or even bodily sensations that relate to abusive events. When children are forced to cope with circumstances beyond their ability, this form of defense can enable them to escape destruction from the immediate trauma. This method of coping may, however, result in deep trauma later in life when the subselves seem to weaken in their ability to protect the Self from the memories.

At the MPD end of our scale are full-blown alternate personalities (called “alters”) who have identities, memories and emotions that often differ completely from those of the host or core personality (the personality most often in control, or “out”). In the milder form of dissociation (inner children) described earlier, the Self usually had at least a general knowledge of the events known in detail by the dissociative subselves. Sometimes, the adult Self will have rather detailed knowledge of the events but, because of the existence of the inner child, be disconnected from the emotions he or she felt when the abuse happened. With DID/MPD, however, the encapsulation of knowledge of the events and of the emotions associated with them is usually much more complete.

As an example, I will produce a typical case and call her Abby. She came with no awareness that she was a multiple. This is the usual situation, since it is the job of alters to hide most or all information concerning the hurtful events, including the fact that they are hiding it, from the “host” or “core” personality. As Abby described the fact that she could not recall certain parts of her life, however, and that sometimes there were short periods of time even in the present that she could not account for, I began to suspect that we were dealing with DID/MPD.

We spent our first few sessions, before we were certain that Abby was a multiple, dealing with the usual inner-healing matters. There were events she could remember in which she was hurt, so we dealt with these and turned over to Jesus her anger and unforgiveness. As is usual with abused persons, there were also a few demons to deal with in her core personality, so we weakened and cast them out in the way described in chapter 10. To attempt to get at the gaps in her memory, I then began to probe to see if there were any more personalities there.

I asked Abby if she had ever been called by any other names or nicknames. She said, “Yes, my dad used to call me ‘Sweetie’ and an uncle called me ‘Pudge’ because I was a bit heavy when I was younger.” Often other personalities in a multiple will be called by names used by the abusers or even by others close to the person during childhood. When a name is uncomplimentary, it is advisable to get the personality to agree to change it. In this case, I asked if there was a person named “Sweetie” there who would agree to talk to me. Without waiting for an answer, I introduced myself and stated that I was there to see if I could help with some of the wounds she had experienced. I mentioned that Abby had invited me and asked if Sweetie knew Abby.

Soon, a youthful voice replied that she was Sweetie. I asked how old she was. “Eleven,” she replied. Sweetie did know Abby, but was angry at her for not paying any attention to her. She was also angry at men in general and her father and uncle in particular for the way they treated her—and again at Abby for not at least comforting her. I tried to explain that Abby didn’t know Sweetie was there but that I was sure she would treat her better now that she knew. I asked if there were any others there. Sweetie knew of a three-year-old named Cathy as well as another child, age unknown, named Joey. But she couldn’t tell me if there were any others.

In such cases, the first order of business for me is to ascertain that the alter knows Jesus. So I asked Sweetie if she had a relationship with Jesus. She said she didn’t know Him herself, but she did know that Abby had a relationship with Him. “Would you like to know Jesus?” I asked. She replied in the affirmative. So I led her to the Savior.

Next, I probed to see if there were any demons present. Experience has shown that abused alters are almost always demonized. So I asked Sweetie if she was aware of any beings that came around and tried to get her to do bad things. She asked, “Do you mean those black things?” I said I thought they might be the ones I was referring to and asked her for permission to talk with them. She gave me permission, and I prayed silently for the Holy Spirit to show me what to do. The word “abuse” came into my mind. So, looking into Abby’s face, I commanded any spirit of abuse to come to attention. Within a few minutes, this spirit answered that he was indeed there, so I began getting information from him concerning what rights he and any others had to live in this alter. The demon told me that Sweetie was angry at the men who had misused her sexually.

Disengaging from the demon, then, I asked Sweetie if she would agree to forgive the men who had hurt her. After some discussion as to what this meant and how to do it, she consented and forgave them. I then recalled the demon. He was now considerably weaker because Sweetie had forgiven the men who had abused her. So, using the procedures in chapter 10 and in my book Defeating Dark Angels, I was able to bundle several (hopefully all) of the demons together and cast them out. Sweetie remarked that she felt much different, much lighter and less fearful, after that. As we have continued to work with the “family” of alters inside of Abby, Sweetie has proven to be a delightful little girl.

This is how we got started with Abby. Since it was clear that she (and we) needed professional assistance, we contacted a therapist who is experienced in dealing with DID/MPD. Together, we and the therapist have continued to work with Abby and the several alters we have so far discovered within her. The therapist deals with the more technical aspects of multiplicity, leaving me the spiritual side, especially anything dealing with the demons.

God has apparently built into humans, especially in our childhood years, an ability to defend ourselves by dissociating whole chunks of our experience into compartments quite separate from the core personality. Christian psychologist James Friesen, a specialist in dealing with multiple personalities, tells us:

Dissociation is the most wonderful protection against pain that any child could ever develop. There could be no more effective defense—the child pretends the traumatic event happened to somebody else, and then . . . Poof! . . . COMPLETELY forgets about it. It is gone.10

This ability to encapsulate the experience(s) into another consciousness enables many to continue to function under very difficult circumstances. Many women under continual abuse are able to assign an alter to take all the abuse while the core person lives a fairly normal life, sometimes without even knowing that the abuse is going on. I once worked with a multiple who had several alters who hated the core Self because she saw nothing wrong with her father, assigning the alters to take all the abuse while she, the core Self, had only positive experiences with her father.

A common scenario is for a child to respond to abuse during the first few years of life by walling off separate alters designed to contain the memories of abusive events, either singly or in groups. Perhaps some of these alters are made from subselves already in existence, while some are created specially to contain the memories. This strategy, then, becomes the person’s primary way of dealing with trauma and is resorted to quite unconsciously whenever the trauma of an event is too great. Severely abused children often get into the habit of dealing with even relatively minor crises by splitting off alternate personalities. Friesen states:

MPD usually begins in childhood in response to stress and abuse. The child encapsulates and organizes each part of herself, the resultant splits becoming personalities, each with its own life, history, feelings, and behaviors. Their various personalities may also have verifiable differences in physiology, neurology, and immune system characteristics, which can be proven when the multiple switches.11

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) offers a clinical definition of DID/MPD with three components: (1) the existence within an individual of two or more distinct personalities, each of which is dominant at a particular time; (2) the personality that is dominant at any particular time determines the individual’s behavior at that time; (3) each individual personality is complex and integrated with its own unique behavior patterns and social relationships.

Friesen lists four factors contributing to the development of MPD. First, a biological factor allows about 25 percent of all children to dissociate—splitting off parts of their memory and personality. Second, for this 25 percent, severe early childhood abuse can trigger MPD. About 85 percent of MPDs, usually women, have been sexually abused at a very young age. Third, if a pattern of continuous abuse and lack of nurture continues, this unsafe environment encourages the child to continue to use this severe form of dissociation as a defense mechanism. Fourth, these children are highly creative and intelligent, with the creative ability to develop such a rich and complicated inner life.12

Ministering to Those with DID/MPD

Following are several important points to remember in ministering to those with MPD:

Working with MPDs Is Similar to Working with Several Clients

Ministry to those with DID/MPD follows the same pattern as that outlined for any other deep-level healing. In this case, however, it is as if we are dealing with several distinct clients all in the same body. That is, each alter must be treated as a separate individual. DID/MPD personalities, more so than subselves with milder dissociation, are usually quite complete personalities, each with different memories and emotions, likes and dislikes, and even habits. Friesen says:

Every alter is a real personality with real problems. Each has real feelings to work through and real needs that must be attended to. . . . Every alter is important. Any alter can sabotage treatment if it is not given the same respect as the others. Be careful not to let any alter convince you it is bad—it may be contaminated because of cruelty and it may have spiritual problems, but it is not inherently bad. It belongs to the system, and has an important job to do for the system.13

It is important to recognize that each alter has been created out of a specific need. Some have been incredibly traumatized, while others appear not to have a care in the world and serve to keep things organized or perform certain tasks. Get to know them as they appear. Find out their stories one by one—but don’t push for more than they want to share. Just like any other person who has been injured, they need the healing touch of Jesus in their lives and will benefit greatly from acceptance, love and prayer.

Further, since the abuse suffered by MPDs tends to be greater than that of those who simply have inner children, it is often more difficult to deal with issues such as unforgiveness, anger and hatred. So those who minister need to exercise great patience in helping them work through those issues.

The Alters Will Likely Be Organized into a Family

When starting to work with a multiple, there is usually no way of knowing how many alters there will be. There may be a handful, tens, or, in rare cases, many more—all organized to more or less keep internal order. In this internal system, Bryant, Kessler, and Shirar observe, “You can be certain that ages will vary and roles differ . . . just as they do in any family system.”14 Though this fact will seem strange to the inexperienced, as in a family, one or more of the personalities will usually be of the opposite sex from the core personality.

Those with MPD “Lose Time”

When an alter other than the core Self is out, the core person is spoken of as “losing time.” That is, since the person cannot account for what may have happened during the time the alter was in charge, the time is “lost” to the host. Though such an experience seems weird to most of us, as Friesen says, “People who have grown up with MPD are accustomed to losing time, and think it is the way everybody lives.”15

Alters Are Often “Frozen” in Time

Alters, like inner children, often lack information about the host person’s current life situation. But it often is much more difficult to bring them up to date. Time has stopped for many of them, and they frequently live as if they are still back in the abusive situation. When dealing with memories of abuse, they may believe it is still happening when, in fact, it stopped several years earlier. Thus, they may be feeling abused and unsafe even in your presence. Helping them feel safe and in the present, then, becomes an important priority in working with multiples. So does the need to bring about greater communication between the alters and the core personality and between them and the counselor.

I have had DID/MPD clients argue with me concerning the date. They have told me the year is, say, 1981, when in fact it is 2008, and then accuse me of changing the calendar! They can, however, usually be patiently taught what the true date is. When they recognize that they are in a new time and place, it is usually easier to bring healing.

One aspect of the time problem is the way in which alters recall events. Often, the mere mention of the abuser or the event will trigger what is called an abreaction in which the person experiences all of the sensations of an abusive event as if it were taking place right now. Often the best thing to do when this happens is to simply wait, providing comfort and safety until the abreaction is over. Being there, helping them with time and safety before, during and after such events is most important and the basis on which whatever else we do is built. If it seems best to bring them out of the abreaction, the switching chairs exercise described in chapter 12 usually works well. Whether or not you bring them out of the experience, you need to encourage them to tell you what happened, while you continue to show them that it is a memory and not actually a present event. Again, invite Jesus to come and heal the pain—physical and emotional.

MPDs Need Safety, Support and Affirmation

Bryant, Kessler and Shirar point to four things anyone attempting to help a multiple needs to supply. Multiples need (1) to know they are believed; (2) to know they are safe and supported; (3) to be gently helped toward the truth that the abuse was the fault of the abusers, not something they deserved; and (4) to affirm that it is all right to feel as they do about the abuse.16 Once their right to feel angry and resentful toward their abusers is affirmed, then we need to carefully and lovingly lead them to forgive.

Complications Require Working in Tandem with a Professional Therapist

Because there are more complications with DID/MPDs than with other types of clients, it is imperative that the client also work with a professional psychologist. Not all therapists understand or even believe in DID/MPD, however. The client should, therefore, be careful about who he or she chooses to work with. Since satanic ritual abuse (SRA) and other types of abuse seem to be on the rise, it is important that we who work in deep-level healing attempt to find reputable Christian psychologists who have experience with DID/MPD so that we can recommend them to our clients. A number of helpful books dealing with MPD have been published. Though written from a non-Christian point of view, the one by Bryant, Kessler and Shirar is an excellent clinical treatment. Friesen’s Uncovering the Mystery of MPD is, in my opinion, the most helpful from a Christian perspective.

Goal Is to Integrate, Merge or Fuse Personalities

As with milder forms of dissociation, the ultimate goal for those with DID/MPD is to become one whole person. While there are some who do not agree with this or think it is not possible for every multiple to integrate, studies by specialists such as Richard Kluft and Frank Putnum have shown that non-integrated multiples do not attain the highest level of functioning and continue to be triggered by outside stimuli or internal emotional cues (see Kluft’s and Putnam’s books listed in the bibliography).

Merging, the process of uniting the personalities, occurs as healing takes place. Sharing of information, memories and feelings, as well as breaking down the amnesic barriers that often exist between alters, are steps in the process of integration. Friesen tells us:

Fusion is the point at which two or more alters actually become one. Fusions can occur spontaneously in places other than therapy, but it seems safer and more predictable if they are accomplished during the therapy session. The use of imagery facilitates the process nicely. Imagery is the tool, but the alters need to be willing to make it happen. (Joining is a good synonym.)17

When the various alters become significantly healed from their trauma, they may or may not wish to join with the host person and become one. Some alters may fear that fusion means his or her “death” or obliteration. What it actually brings, however, is the blending of all of the qualities and characteristics of both into a normal Self-subself relationship. Thus, the core person gains all of the memories (good and bad), emotions (pleasant and unpleasant), and strengths and weaknesses of the alter who joined. Given that all that is gained is not necessarily positive, it is imperative that each alter (along with the Self) be in full agreement with the process and that all of the trauma be worked through first to insure successful fusion. As mentioned, when personalities are fused prematurely, they will usually split again.

When alters are ready to unite with the host person, I normally ask Jesus to come and do it. The person often reports a picture and/or various sensations. In one fusion, the core person reported seeing herself standing facing the alter. Both of them were mostly transparent, like transparent fish, allowing her to see the complementarity of the parts she contained and those of the alter. Then she saw Jesus place one hand on her shoulder and one on that of the alter.

As He drew them together into one, she saw both her inner parts and outer body come together to form a single person. This was a unique moment for both my client and myself and has not been repeated in subsequent fusions. Jesus does it differently for different people. We need to recognize that each host person, as well as each alter, is unique, and the way the process of joining was accomplished once will likely never repeat itself exactly. Flexibility is important, and the characteristic creativity of such persons is often seen in the fusion process.

After such integration has taken place, it will take awhile for all segments of the new combination to get used to the newly fused person. We, and they, dare not assume that fusion solves all the person’s problems. It does resolve some, but raises others the person has never dealt with before as he or she struggles to cope with new feelings, attitudes and abilities. But usually the person reports enhanced functioning soon after.

Demonized Alters

The same kind of abuse that produces multiple personalities usually results in demonization. This is not hard to understand, since the conditions that push people to this level of dissociation are the same as those that allow demons in. I have found that approximately 75 percent of the alters of DID/MPD clients I have worked with are demonized. Alters usually carry their own demons and have to be dealt with as separate demonized persons in keeping with the principles outlined in chapter 10 and articulated in greater detail in my book Defeating Dark Angels. Here are some tips for those working with demonized alters.

Alters May Not Know Jesus

Alters often need to be won to Christ first. Then the demons need to be cleaned out of them before we work at getting the alters to cooperate and eventually fuse with the core personality. For some, it is quite distressing to learn that there may be parts of themselves who either do not know Christ or actively reject Him. They need to recognize, however, that these parts have had only limited and largely negative life experiences. They may not have heard or understood the gospel previously, since they probably were not aware of what was going on when the core person made this decision.

A 30-year-old woman I’ll call Diane had a six-year-old alter who didn’t know Jesus. She suffered from deep feelings of rejection, inadequacy, distrust and guilt stemming from some very difficult life experiences. Because at age six, Diane had not yet turned to Christ, this alter had been “left behind.” As I interacted with the six-year-old, showing her love and acceptance that she had not experienced previously, she came to trust me. I was then able to lead her to Christ and get her to forgive her parents who had hurt her deeply. With her permission, then, I was able to cast out a group of demons whose job it was to reinforce the above emotional problems. Soon after this session, six-year-old Diane was ready to fuse with the 30-year-old core personality.

Victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse Have Difficulty Accepting Christ

Those who have been victims of satanic ritual abuse (SRA) often encounter special difficulties in accepting Jesus because of the lies they have been told about Him. Satanic ritual abuse victims who are abusers often deliberately contaminate references to Christian beliefs by claiming they are doing abusive things in Jesus’ name or by mocking Christian claims that God will help in time of need. Thus, the very mention of God or Christ may be terrifying to some of the alters. Also, the person may have been coerced into some sort of ritual of dedication to Satan and believe it is irrevocable. Many survivors of SRA have been used in various rituals and often purposely demonized. It is very important to refer to Jesus as “the true Jesus” or “the Jesus who lives in the light” or simply as “the Authority we work under” with these victims.

Sally is a woman in her forties who experienced years of the most horrible kinds of abuse as a part of satanic rituals. She, her therapist and those of us who minister deep-level healing to her now have to deal with several dozen alters, many of whom are quite hostile and most of whom are heavily demonized. Because the leader of one of the cult groups in which she participated called himself “Jesus,” several of her alters consider Jesus to be an abuser. Because such alters are reluctant to accept Christ, so far we have been unable to employ the power of the Holy Spirit from within her as we can with persons and alters who know the Lord.

Some Demons Have Authority over Demons in Other Alters

Though ordinarily demons seem to be assigned to a single alter, some head demons have authority over demons in other alters. When I am working on a head demon in one alter, then, I will command it to tell me if it has demons in any of the other alters. If it does, I command them to be bound to the head spirit so that they can be cast out all at once. While this is not always possible, it frequently proves effective in freeing a number of alters from a host of evil spirits at once.

In working with a man I’ll call Herb, we found this approach to work well. He came to me with the report that one of his alters was very violent. Though I have had good success in keeping demons from getting violent, I did not want to have to deal with a violent alter if it could be avoided. So I began working with the demons in Herb’s core personality. To my delight, I found that the head demons in Herb had authority over the demons in the violent alter. By commanding the demons in the alter as well as those in the core personality to be bound together, I was able to rid the violent alter of his demons at the same time as we cast out those in the core personality. When I met the (formerly) violent alter, his comment was, “Something’s changed. I’m not angry anymore!”

Demons May Switch Alters on the Counselor

A common trick demons will play in multiples is to switch alters just when you are getting somewhere with the demons in the one you are working with. When this happens you may suddenly find yourself speaking to a very confused personality who has been unaware of what has been going on, but unexpectedly is forced to come out! To prevent this, I forbid the demons to switch alters during deliverance. This usually keeps them from playing this trick on us. Before I learned this, the more powerful demons in Sally pulled such switches on me several times.

Freeing an Alter from Demons Often Brings Dramatic Change

I have found that, once freed from demons, even totally hostile, depressed or uncooperative alters usually become much more willing to work together with the one ministering as well as to cooperate with the other alters and the core personality.

In working with a woman I’ll call Irene, we came upon a very angry 19-year-old alter. She was especially angry at Irene for ignoring her. As I gained rapport with that alter, I asked her if I could explore the possibility of demonic spirits in her. With her permission, then, I found some and cast them out. To our complete surprise, the 19-year-old alter immediately asked to unite with the host personality. After ascertaining that this was indeed her will, we asked Jesus to join them, and He did.

Never Treat an Alter as a Demon

Key in dealing with multiples who may be demonized is to take extreme caution that alters not be treated as demons. When an alter is mistaken for a demon, it can lead to further damage and set the healing process back. While demons may pose as alters and vice versa, they are actually quite different and, with practice, can readily be distinguished from one another. Demons never evoke the kind of sympathetic response that personalities can. Though they speak, act and have a good deal of information, demons are in some ways more two-dimensional and flat than personalities. While every alter may not be likeable, especially those created to perform evil tasks, they are considerably more developed and well-rounded than demons. With a little experience, you will seldom mistake the one for the other. Friesen provides a helpful (though not infallible) chart suggesting certain of the differences between alters and demons. (See the following chart.)

ROOTS AND FRUITS OF PREBIRTH CONDITIONS

Alter Personality

Demon

1. Most alters, even “persecutor” alters, can become strong allies. There is a definite sense of relationship with them, even if it starts out negative.

1. Demons are arrogant, and there is no sense of relationship with them.

2. Alters initially seem [out of sync] with the person but that changes to [in sync] over time.

2. Demons remain ego-alien—“outside of me.”

3. Confusion and fear subside with appropriate therapy when only alters are present.

3. Confusion, fear, and lust persist despite therapy when demons are present.

4. Alters tend to conform to surroundings.

4. Demons force unwanted behavior, then blame a personality.

5. Alters have personalities with accompanying voices.

5. Demons have a negative voice which has no corresponding personality.

6. Irritation, discontent, and rivalry abound among alters.

6. Hatred and bitterness are the most common feelings among demons.

7. Images of alters are human in form and remain consistent during imagery.

7. The imagery of demons changes between human and non-human forms, with many variations.

WARNING

Though in my experience mature lay counselors can be effective in working with mild (inner child) dissociation, I strongly recommend that any client who is a survivor of childhood trauma be advised to seek professional counseling in addition to deep-level healing. This is especially needed in dealing with MPD-level clients who require skill beyond that of any other issue we deal with in deep-level healing. Such clients should either be turned over to reputable, professional Christian counselors who specialize in MPD, or mature lay counselors should work under their direction.

For those who have experienced childhood trauma, Christian psychologist Dr. David King, who has counseled a number of people with dissociative disorders, recommends “great caution in applying these methods. For untrained and unsupervised [by professionals] lay counselors to apply these techniques could potentially cause considerable harm.”

Dr. King’s point is that there is usually great psychological complexity in such cases. “Any person,” King says:

who has been severely traumatized has built up a very large system of parts which protect the person from feeling certain feelings and re-experiencing various aspects of the original experience. Bringing a repressed memory too swiftly to awareness by wanton application of these powerful methods will almost certainly trigger strong reactions . . . . The consequences could range from episodes of self-loathing and shame to overeating, rage outbursts, self-abuse, or even suicide.19

The reason for dealing with this subject at all, in spite of such a strong warning, is that as we work in prayer ministry, we are likely to come across such phenomena. We need, therefore, to be able to recognize such disorders and take the necessary steps to obtain the right kind of help for the counselee. According to Dr. King, however, it can be very helpful for all involved in Christian counseling, whether on a professional or a lay basis, to employ both the inner family model summarized above and prayer ministry. He says:

In my experience, the Schwartz model, adapted for Christians by allowing for Jesus’ participation in the healing process, is by far the most powerful method of therapy that exists for certain kinds of problems, especially those resulting from deep trauma. I am glad to see these ideas being espoused by someone in the Christian literature. I think it will provide a foundation for others to build on.20

This being true, in dealing with trauma-induced dissociation, it is at least as important for professional counselors to engage the assistance of those experienced in deep-level, prayer-centered healing techniques as it is for deep-level healing specialists to call for professional assistance. Alternatively, professionals can learn the techniques of deep-level healing and employ them, in addition to those learned in their professional training.

FOR FURTHER READING

Rita Bennett, Making Peace with Your Inner Child (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1987).

Doris Bryant, Judy Kessler and Lynda Shirar, The Family Inside (New York: W.W. Norton, 1992), pp. 1-41, 44-69, 218-243.

James Friesen, Uncovering the Mystery of MPD (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock 1991), pp. 41-67, 69-102, 205-223.

Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992).

John Rowan, Subpersonalities (New York: Routledge, 1990).

Richard Schwartz, “Our Multiple Selves,” The Family Therapy Networker (Washington, DC: The Family Therapy Network, Inc., March-April 1987), pp. 25-31, 80-83.

David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982).

10

DEALING WITH

DEMONIZATION

Allyson’s Story

A few years ago a student came to my office for an appointment. She wasn’t one of my students and seemed rather nervous, so I asked if she was embarrassed. “Of course I am,” she said. “I don’t even know why I’m here.” “Don’t worry,” I told her, “we’ll figure it out.” After that we talked for about 20 minutes, in which time I got a history of major family dysfunction; divorce; drug use; and lots of bizarre, inexplicable activities going on in her apartment and her life in general since her move to California for school. When I asked her to come back the next week so that we could talk more about her family, she was quite surprised and told me, “There’s nothing to tell; they’re all Catholic.” But she agreed to come back.

By the next week, things had changed dramatically. Allyson had begun to hear demonic voices in her head very clearly telling her not to come see me. They told her that I would not stick with her. I would stop in the middle of the process and leave her to them. This was an effective lie in her case, because she had a history of people abandoning her. Previously, the demonic activity had been more clandestine. Now, however, the demons seemed to see the possibility of Allyson being set free and, in panic, began to escalate their activity to get her to stop seeking help. Demons often overplay their hand like this when they feel threatened. As in this case, they begin to act in ways that allow people to distinguish their own thoughts and actions from those of the demons.

During the intervening week, the demons had tried their best to get Allyson to capitulate to them. They fed her quite a number of lies. They attempted to convince her to move back home, away from this interference, and even attempted to get her to commit suicide. Their behavior made it obvious, at least to me, that they were desperate to keep her from coming back for ministry. They even tried to entice her to stay with them by offering to enhance certain abilities she had to predict the future through dreams and to know things about other people that she had no natural way of knowing. They told her that all she had to do was agree to never see me again.

With all of this and more opposition, Allyson just barely got to my office the next time. Although she was Pentecostal and believed in demons, she had been taught that demons could not reside in Christians. So what seemed clearly to be demonic opposition coming from inside of her was a big surprise. Not knowing the demons were there, Allyson had never been able to distinguish their voices from her own thoughts. They played on her ignorance of their presence to get her to believe that all of their deceits were her own thoughts. Hearing them so distinctly was quite a shock.

She also saw manifestations of spirits in her bedroom at night. A demon would appear to Allyson in the form of a beautiful woman, but when asked to name itself, would turn into a horribly ugly figure. The night before our second meeting, God had shown her numerous objects in her possession that had been given to her by an aunt who was a self-proclaimed witch. Though her family had always made a joke of this claim, Allyson was now beginning to take it seriously. She collected all the objects, including a ring she had worn for six years and was still wearing, along with some other objects she just felt suspicious about, and brought them to my office.

She told me where the objects came from and what had gone on during the week. A colleague of mine who is gifted in discernment came in to help. He had not heard the explanation of the objects, so I asked him to come take a look at them. Within a few moments, he had discerned the very objects that she had reported were from her aunt, the witch, from all the other ones. As we prayed together over them to break their power, there was a noticeable reaction in Allyson, who began to shake, especially as we prayed over the ring.

As is my usual objective, I wanted to work on some inner-healing issues because, though I knew there were demons present, I wanted to substantially weaken them before tackling them. We talked for a while, and then I prayed and asked her to report whatever memory or issue the Lord had brought up for us to work on in prayer. Once I prayed, she opened her eyes and said she couldn’t concentrate on the prayer, felt dizzy and all she could see was a huge hand inside pushing everything down. Again I asked her to close her eyes so that we could try something else. At that point I addressed a spirit of death within her. Instantly, her eyes flew open and she said, “This can’t be happening! I’m a Christian.” The demons had responded in her head quite clearly.

After a discussion of demonization in Christians, she was willing to allow me to speak to the demons. That was the first of many deliverance sessions with Allyson in which we discovered inherited demons, familiar spirits, spirits that came through witchcraft and dedication and those that were attached to emotional wounds.

Now after many sessions, she is substantially cleaned out, though she continues to work on emotional issues. Probably the most gratifying moment was when she told me that for the first time in her life she, like Clara in chapter 9, no longer heard voices in her head.

Rats and Garbage

In the course of a deep-level healing ministry, we very frequently have to deal with demons. In my book Defeating Dark Angels, I cover in detail the topic of deliverance from demons. I recommend that volume be used in conjunction with this one for a well-rounded approach. Here, we will briefly look at the interface of inner healing and deliverance from demons. That interface is very important since demons are like rats, and rats go for “garbage,” the kind of inner emotional and spiritual damage to which deep-level healing seeks to bring healing. If there are demons, then, there automatically is deep-level damage that needs to be healed. And it is this garbage, not any “rats” attached, that is the major problem. Demons are always secondary.

Because people are integrated beings, whatever spiritual, emotional and physical problems may be present all interact with each other. In seeking to bring healing, we must deal with all of them. We cannot deal with any in isolation from the others if we want the person to get well. Among the spiritual problems we need to treat is the problem of demonization.

By demonization we mean that a person is inhabited by a demon. Unfortunately, many of our Bible translations have used the term “demon possession.” This is an unwarranted translation of the two Greek expressions used in the New Testament, each of which means simply “to have a demon.” The translation “demon possession” is not only inaccurate, it is dangerous, because it gives the impression that the Enemy has more control over a demonized person than he usually does. The fact is that demons inside a person may be quite strong or very weak, but they never have complete control of a person 100 percent of the time. More often, whether weak or strong, a demon will exert considerable control on some occasions and virtually none at other times. It is best, then, to use a term that does not give the impression of complete control.

The satanic kingdom is sterile and cannot create something from nothing. Demons can only take advantage of conditions that already exist. When they find such conditions, they exert pressure to get the person to cooperate with them. They specialize in finding weaknesses they can make worse or strengths they can get people to exaggerate. They like to work, as in Allyson above, while keeping people ignorant of their presence, so that they can tempt and deceive—pushing people to fear, anger, bitterness, rejection, self-hate, unforgiveness, lust, shame, guilt, perversions and compulsions of various kinds. When people submit, then, demons like to get them to blame themselves, as if they made their mistake unaided.

In short, any of the garbage we seek to deal with through deep-level healing can be infested by demons. Not that everyone who has such problems has demons. There are plenty of people who need deep-level healing who have no demons. But demonic rats may well inhabit people who harbor such garbage. Without the garbage, demons typically have no foothold to exploit. As Jesus said, the Enemy could find nothing in Him (see John 14:30).

Demonized Christians?

Usually when we mention demonization, the question arises as to whether or not Christians can have demons. Unfortunately, in spite of the myth that demons cannot inhabit people in whom the Holy Spirit lives, the experience of each of us who have had to deal with demonized people is that we have had to cast demons out of many Christians. In the more than 20 years since I was involved in my first deliverance session, I have dealt with well over 2,000 demonized Christians. The vast majority of the demons we have found in Christians have, however, entered them before they accepted Christ.

Support for the fact that Christians can carry demons comes also from Jesus’ ministry. The people who came to Him for healing and deliverance came in faith. They came believing that Jesus could free them. So they were people of faith, people we would call “believers” or “Christians.”

The fact that Christians can be demonized does not call into question the believer’s salvation. What we have found is that a demon cannot live in a Christian’s spirit (“heart”). If people are demonized before they accept Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within their spirit and the demons have to leave that part of them. Demons can, however, continue to inhabit their mind, emotions, body and will. I have asked scores of demons if they live in the Christian’s spirit. They always say “No.” “Did you used to live there?” I ask. “Yes,” they answer. “When did you get out?” I say. They reply either, “When Jesus (or the Holy Spirit) came in,” or they give me the date of the person’s conversion.

It appears that the spirit part of us, that part of us that died when Adam sinned, can be the home of the Enemy only until we give ourselves to Jesus. When we come to Christ, He moves into our spirit and we become alive with His life in that innermost part of us. If Enemy spirits live there before we come to Christ, they have to leave. However, just as after salvation we still have to deal with sin in other parts of us, as Christians we also need to deal with any grip the Enemy may have gotten on us through demonization. Though all of us have the sin problem to deal with, not all of us have to deal with demons living within us.

Because demonization is a reality for many Christians, that is what we have to deal with. For an in-depth study of demonization in Christians, see C. Fred Dickason’s excellent book Demon Possession and the Christian.

How and Why Demons Enter

During the course of ministry, it is not uncommon to run up against strongholds in the person’s life that are empowered by demons or at least influenced by them. Sometimes this becomes evident while trying to do faith picturing. Either counselees are blocked from getting any images when normally they can, or the picture suddenly goes black. Confusion, disorientation, sudden unwarranted fear or pain or other unexpected thoughts or feelings might indicate the presence of demons. Internal voices can also indicate demonic presences, though be cautious to distinguish between these and the possible presence of alternate personalities.

Demons most often enter a person’s life in one of four ways: (1) by invitation of the person or someone in authority over the person; (2) by inheritance; (3) through wrong reaction to emotional hurts; and (4) through sin. In dealing with demons, we are dealing with laws that God has placed in the universe, laws that operate whether or not we know or believe in them. Our ignorance of these laws, as “rational” Westerners, puts us at a serious disadvantage in understanding and dealing with them. As I have said in Defeating Dark Angels:

Laws and principles in the spiritual realm are every bit as binding as those that operate in the physical realm. Even an unconscious invitation for demons to enter has the same effect as an unconscious breaking of the law of gravity. If we stumble, no matter how unconsciously, we fall because we are subject to the law of gravity. Or if we consciously declare that we don’t believe in the law of gravity and defy it, we soon find we are subject to it whether we want to be or not. The same is true of spiritual laws. Invite a demon, consciously or unconsciously, and you get a demon, whether or not you know what you are doing or even believe in demons.1

1. Demons the Person Invited In Before Accepting Christ

Many Christians have in their pre-Christian days consciously or, usually, unconsciously invited demons to enter them. Some have belonged to occult organizations such as the New Age, Freemasonry, Scientology, Mormonism, non-Christian religions or even certain college fraternities and sororities. In joining such organizations, usually without their knowing it, they invited the demons attached to the organization to come live within them. Others—by getting involved with certain rock groups and their music, playing with ouija boards, attending séances, playing computer games such as Dungeons and Dragons, going to fortune-tellers, or playing mirror games such as Bloody Mary—have unconsciously invited the demons attached to certain games and activities to come in. Some have quite consciously invited demons in by seeking New Age spirit guides or, sometimes, simply by crying out for help in abusive situations. John and Mark Sandford tell us:

It can take only a moment to become demonized—for example, just one séance. The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod. 20:3). Deuteronomy 18:10-11 forbids consulting occult sources. One who does so calls on a power other than God. Rest assured that if anyone from the dark side is nearby, it will answer that call for more than we bargained for!

Or we need commit only one act of sexual perversion. If there happens to be a demon specializing in sexual sin anywhere in the vicinity (most likely in the sexual partner), it will probably enter. The prostitute Mary Magdalene was delivered of seven demons (Mark 16:9).2

In addition to demonization through a person’s own invitation, we find demonization by invitation of someone in authority over the person. In one of my sessions with Allyson, we were dealing with a demon who had an especially strong grip on her. I asked what right the demon had to be there. It said, “Her mother gave her to me.” Apparently, when Allyson was very young, her mother had dedicated her to that demon. Because Allyson is an adult and has given herself to Christ, we simply asserted her and Jesus’ authority to break the authority of her mother and were able to cast the demon out with ease.

In dealing with a man I’ll call Nate, we found a demon who had a right to live in him because of a babysitter. Nate and his parents had lived in a Latin American country when he was small, and his parents daily turned him over to a babysitter while they worked in a medical facility. The babysitter, either because she consciously wanted to infect his family or because she didn’t know any other way to help Nate when he got ill, gave him to a demon. Because she had been given authority over the child by his parents, her authority was sufficient to get him demonized. Again, we were able to take that authority away from the demon and free Nate. The satanic world takes such authority very seriously and is able to infect many through it.

People from many non-Western societies are routinely dedicated to their gods and spirits before or at birth. It is customary for Chinese parents and grandparents to take a written record of the date and time of birth of a newborn to a temple, so the baby can be blessed and dedicated to a god. In doing this, the relatives believe they are gaining protection and blessing for the child but actually they are putting him or her under the authority of evil spirits.

2. Inherited Demons

Unfortunately, one of the laws of the universe is that demons can be inherited. The book of Exodus (20:5) tells us that the sins of the fathers get passed on to the following generations. This has been an ongoing point of personal struggle for me when I encounter people who have been severely damaged by inherited demons. While it does not seem fair to us that a baby can enter the world already demonized, this is what we encounter. We who minister to such people must continually give our questions, confusion and anger over to the Lord.

People who have themselves become demonized through belonging to occult organizations pass these demons on to their offspring. Freemasons, for example, curse themselves and their families, allowing demonic infestation that can be passed from generation to generation. Some of the strongest demons I’ve met have been inherited by the children of men involved in this evil organization. We have found that almost every type of demon can be passed on through inheritance. Frequently, when people manifest the negative emotional characteristics or even the physical illnesses of their parents, these have been passed on demonically. We have found inherited spirits of fear, death, pornography, rejection, hate, rage, homosexuality, cancer and diabetes.

3. Demonization as a Result of Emotional Wounds

When people wallow in negative reactions to emotional wounds, they often get demonized. When we are injured, it is a natural response to be hurt. Our second response, our reaction to the hurt, however, is the one that can bring trouble. Apparently, retaining reactions to abuse such as anger, bitterness, unforgiveness and self-rejection weakens our systems to such an extent that demons are able to enter. When Paul cautioned us, “do not stay angry all day [lest we] give the Devil a chance” (Eph. 4:26-27), I believe he was warning us against harboring the type of feelings that give the Enemy a foothold.

All of the issues we have discussed as reasons for needing deep healing can also give demons opportunities to attach themselves to us. Again, the key element is dealing with the garbage so that the Enemy cannot find a place to attach to us. Again and again I have dealt with people who, in response to verbal, sexual or physical abuse have reacted in anger, resentment and unforgiveness. They have held on to these emotions and gotten demonized. Though they were the victims rather than the perpetrators, they got demonized. I don’t like the rule in the universe that allows this, but I have to recognize it and work with the victims toward freedom.

4. Demonization as a Result of Unconfessed Sin

Whether it is an obvious sin such as adultery, abortion or homosexuality, or a less recognized sin like unforgiveness, fear or anger, when we hide sin we are in grave danger of becoming demonized. Apparently, hidden, unconfessed sin gives the Enemy the right to enter and live within.

If we trace the issues that give the Enemy rights to inhabit us, sin would probably underlie every one of them, simply because of the fallen world we live in and our fallen nature. The satanic kingdom, however, specializes in accusing people and getting them to blame themselves for much that is not their fault. Undeserved guilt, then, becomes a major avenue for demonization. And one of the spinoffs of this is the self-blame that many feel for being demonized. We must, therefore, be very careful when we are dealing with hurting people who often live under a load of condemnation, lest we unwittingly add to their guilt and thus to the grip the Enemy has on them.

Especially with demonized people, remember that if it is not loving, it is not God’s way. Jesus gave us a prime example of this when He forgave the woman who was about to be stoned (see John 8). He knew, and she knew, that she was living a sinful life. He did not need to tell her that. What she needed was forgiveness and encouragement to adopt a new lifestyle. While we may see sinful patterns in people’s lives, it is likely that they already know that and, for some reason, are unable to overcome it on their own. Jesus never condemned anyone for being demonized or ill.

What Allows Demons to Stay?

If, as I have been contending, Christians often carry demons, what is it that allows the demons to stay? Why don’t we become aware of this excess baggage early in our Christian life and do something about it? These are legitimate questions, but there are several reasons for the lack of freedom many Christians experience.

1. Western Worldview

Our Western worldview is a major contributor to the ability of demons to stay with their hosts. The whole subject of spiritual beings has been relegated by Western societies to the realm of superstition and make-believe. We laugh when we hear stories of gremlins, ghosts and goblins on the prowl at Halloween. We regard fairy stories as flights of imagination suitable only for children. When missionaries come back to tell us of strange beliefs and events in other lands, most people listen with the assumption that there must be rational explanations not yet discovered for such beliefs and events.

We even have theological systems, preached faithfully from orthodox pulpits, that explain away most of the types of activities of invisible spiritual beings recorded in Scripture. Many Christians have assumed that Jesus took care of demons once and for all. Others believe that, though demons may be active in other societies, our “Christian” society is at least mostly clean. Many pastors, Bible school and seminary professors and even whole denominations teach that Christians cannot be demonized. And if they do believe in demonization, many Christians consider the whole prospect of trying to get rid of them terrifying.

Furthermore, our churches and training institutions have been infected with Western assumptions such as, “If you can’t see it, it either doesn’t exist or can’t be very important,” and “If a thing can be explained scientifically, neither God nor Satan is involved.” Unfortunately, many non-Westerners, having been taught such Western worldview assumptions in school, have come to believe them too.

Peter Wagner, in his book The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, writes concerning these naturalistic assumptions:

In my opinion, [they] stem mainly from our traditional Anglo-American worldview which is increasingly materialistic and naturalistic. Secular materialism has penetrated our Christian institutions to a surprising degree. This is not to say we have an atheistic worldview. No. A large majority of Americans believe there is a God, and many of them know him personally through Jesus Christ. But our worldview is heavily influenced by secular science. We are taught to believe that almost everything that happens in daily life has causes and effects which are governed by scientific laws.3

When people have understandings like these, the emissaries of Satan can work freely right under our noses with the assurance that whatever they do, we will either not notice it or will explain it some other way. So demons can do pretty much whatever they have a legal right to do in Western societies without being discovered.

2. Ignorance of Evil Spirits

A related reason is our own ignorance concerning the ways in which the Enemy does his job. Satan’s primary strategy is to keep us ignorant. Even when our worldview allows us to believe that demons exist and are active, we are usually ignorant of how they work. Thus, many harbor demons without ever knowing they are there. They interpret the pressure put on them by demons as that of their own natural desires, and their difficulties in opposing such pressures as their own weakness. And then they get discouraged.

3. Failure to Deal with Internal Garbage

Whether because of ignorance, unwillingness or laziness, a large number of people never deal with their internal garbage. Often they feel that’s just the way things are for them. They don’t seem to know that God can give freedom. Because they don’t deal with the garbage, they continue to harbor any demons attached to it. Lest we be too hard on these people, it is often very hard work to resolve deep-level issues. And people seldom get any help from their church or clergy. Many start to work on their issues either by themselves or with a counselor who may be Christian but who is practicing secular psychology. Then they get very discouraged over the amount of effort required and the lack of success. So they give up.

4. Inability to Get Help

Some individuals, of course, suspect that they have demons but are unable to get help. This problem speaks of the discouraging inability of our churches to deal with demonization. It also is a function of the fact that those who do know how to deal with them are very overworked and often looked on with suspicion by Christian leaders.

5. Choice to Keep Demons

Some who have demons choose to keep them. Often these are people who have been given special power by demons to know certain things or control certain situations. They have been told they also have special protection. If they consider getting rid of the demons, they hear lies such as, “If you get rid of me, you will have no more ability to control your life or know things others don’t know. You will lose all your protection and all your strength if you abandon me.” Out of fear of losing such advantages, they hang on to the demons.

I once was asked by a mother to minister to her daughter who was given special athletic ability by demons. I asked the girl if she wanted to be free of the demons. She said, “No, I’m enjoying the advantage they give me.”

Whatever the reasons may be, it is a sad thing when people allow the intruders to stay, whether by ignorance or by choice. Often, it is a major part of the task of those who minister to help such people understand that they can gain freedom from demons, and to keep encouraging them toward it.

Demonic Attachment and Strength

Demons vary in the amount of influence they can have on their hosts. Some demons are very strong; others are very weak. For example, family and occult demons tend to be stronger than those that go by the names of functions or emotions. Among the latter, however, spirits of death, rage, hatred, rejection, abuse, destruction, darkness and rebellion tend to be stronger than those of lust, fear, confusion, skepticism, and the like.

We usually find that the major variable lies in whatever it is that gives the demons the legal right to be there. Demons have very little power beyond what their hosts give them. When first contact is made with a demon, it is important to find out why he has a right to be there. Demons cannot live in a person without legal rights. We have focused largely on the right that emotional garbage gives them to inhabit a person. They gain permission also through inheritance, vows, curses and dedications. These are issues based on authority given either by the persons themselves or by someone over them.

If there is unforgiveness in the person’s life, or if there are traumatic events that have not been worked through, these will enable any demons that may be present to retain their grip. If the demons have been invited in by the person, they are likely to have quite a strong grip until that person renounces the invitation and cancels all authority given to them. If there is a lot of unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, fear, shame and the like, or if the person has been deeply involved in such things as sexual abuse and pornography, the demons will be strong. If a person continues to practice these attitudes and behaviors, the demons gain strength.

On the other hand, when people grow spiritually and emotionally, demons attached to their garbage lose much of their power. I have talked to many very frustrated demons who couldn’t do what they wanted to do because the person was “too close to Jesus.” Or, as I heard from one demon of lust, “I can’t get him to look! Whenever I bring a pretty girl across his path, he turns his head!”

We can talk of demonic strength of attachment on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being strongest. We’ll call weak-attachment levels 1–3, medium-attachment levels 4–7, and strong-attachment levels 8–10. Because the amount and kind of garbage the demons are attached to is the variable that predicts the strength of attachment, when we get that garbage taken care of, the strength of the demons decreases. This is why we see deliverance from demons as a subcategory of deep-level healing. See my book Defeating Dark Angels for more on the strength of demons, as well as on the other subjects raised in this chapter.

Even weak demons can harass, confuse, engender guilt and contribute to many other annoying problems. Stronger demons can exert quite a bit of pressure even on Christians who appear to have things pretty well together. People seem to have differing levels of tolerance to demonic pressures, however. Some people seem to be strong enough to endure quite a lot of pressure without buckling. Others seem to nearly collapse at the slightest pressure.

Finding and Even Using Demons

in Deep-Level Healing

Often, when helping people toward healing at a deep level, even though it appears that there may be demons attached to the problems we are dealing with, I will continue to do the most important job, the inner healing. I’ll reserve the casting out of the demons for later when they are very weak. But not infrequently it is helpful to call up a demon to get information from him concerning what to tackle next in the process of getting the person healed.

Working with a man I’ll call Ollie, I decided to seek more information from the demons I suspected were there. Ollie was a typical American male, not very well in touch with either his emotions or his pain. We had been dealing with his anger, especially toward his father. I suspected there were parts of his relationship with his father that we weren’t able to deal with because Ollie wasn’t admitting them. So I asked his permission to see if there might be a demon present. I let Ollie know I would keep things under control, and he agreed.

So I looked straight into Ollie’s face and said, “If there’s a spirit of anger here, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come to attention. I forbid you to hide. I forbid you to remain silent. I forbid you to cause any violence, any throwing up or any other theatrics. I also forbid you to receive any help either from higher-level demons outside or from any others inside. Anger, are you there?”

After challenging this demon and others I suspected might be there, and getting no verbal response, I asked Ollie if he was feeling anything. He replied that he was experiencing a tightness in his chest when I challenged anger and rejection. So I challenged anger again. This time Ollie got the impression the demon was admitting that he was there. This came as words in his mind, “Okay, okay, I’m here.” Though Ollie’s natural resistance to something as strange as having another being talk through him kept us from finding the demon immediately, we now had direct contact. The spirit of anger turned out to be at about a level three, not really strong, but strong enough to bring about a good bit of disruption in Ollie’s life.

So I asked the demon when he got in. He replied by bringing to Ollie’s memory an event when his father was beating him. He was about five years old at the time. This information led me to turn aside from dealing with the demon and to address myself to a five-year-old inner child I suspected was there. The five-year-old replied that he was indeed there, feeling lonely and hurt over his father’s beatings and the fact that the adult Ollie was neglecting him.

During the next few minutes, five-year-old Ollie was able to forgive his father, taking that grip away from the demon. By using additional insights revealed to us by the spirit of anger and several other demons, we were able to discover and deal with a number of other events Ollie had forgotten about. In this way, we were able to use the demons to assist in getting at the garbage. When the garbage was dealt with, the demons were weakened to the point that they were easy to banish. This is a typical way in which we discover, come in contact with and then use demons to help us deal with deep-level issues.

There are those who deal with demons who are very much against talking to them to get the kind of information we got in Ollie’s ministry session. They argue that we cannot trust what demons tell us. What they miss is the fact that the demons are under great pressure from the Holy Spirit to help us. I asked a demon I had missed why he revealed his presence. He replied, “Jesus made me reveal myself.” In ministry, God uses three ways of getting us the information we need—words of knowledge, experience and demons. If we refuse to use the demons to help us, we are in danger of missing something that God wanted to reveal to us. It will probably also take a lot longer to get the demons out.

Demons like nothing better than to disrupt ministry times by causing physical pain, scaring the person or attempting to take over. Whatever their tactics, we need to assert our authority, letting them know who’s in charge and commanding them to stop. Again, it is best to deal with as many of the inner-healing issues as possible before dealing with the demons. This weakens the demons and reduces the possibility of their being able to interfere. If they are reasonably strong, however, they may interfere with the process of dealing with the garbage. If they do, confront them, get information from them and use that information to do the inner healing.

Prayer ministry such as this, in which we focus on both deep-level healing and freeing the person from demons, often requires more than one session before the person is totally free. Those who simply do deliverance can often complete their job in a shorter amount of time. But a person is seldom completely well who has only been delivered of the demons. And getting rid of demons without dealing with the garbage often entails a big fight. We are not to be discouraged, then, if such ministry takes several sessions with a particular person. Working through the layers of the person’s problems is simply part of the process.

Getting Demons Out

Usually, as with Ollie, there are several demons. Typically they work in groups, with one at the head of each group. Usually when there is anger, his group will include bitterness, resentment and depression. When there is fear, there will be worry, anxiety and panic. Shame, guilt and deceit are another frequent group. Abuse and violence are frequently together as are rejection, abandonment and neglect. We found several such clusters in Ollie.

The way I find out what demons are there is by developing what I call a “suspects” list while we’re doing the inner healing. When we deal with such things as anger, fear, shame, rejection and the like during the inner-healing time, I list these in the suspects list with the plan that I will challenge each of these group heads and their underlings when we move to the deliverance part of the ministry.

In Ollie’s case, once I made contact with the spirit of anger and took some ground from him, I was able to break the power of the rest of his group and bind them to him. I could then lock his group in a spiritual “box.” I could then ignore that group and concentrate on breaking the power and locking the other groups in boxes. This is done by commanding that all spirits that are under the authority of each head spirit be bound to the head spirit and locked in their box. If there is difficulty in getting any of the spirits into their boxes, I know that we need to go back and do some more inner healing. In this way, we get each group bound together and into the locked boxes waiting to be sent to Jesus at the end of the ministry session.

During this process, there may be demons still outside the boxes once we’ve gotten the obvious ones inside. At this point, we can command any of the spirits in the boxes to tell us if there are still some spirits outside the boxes. They may be there either because we haven’t identified them or because whatever emotional or spiritual problem they are attached to hasn’t been fully dealt with. If, for example, the spirit of fear is still loose because the person has not yet taken care of whatever that spirit is attached to, we go back to the person and deal with the root of his or her fear problem through inner-healing techniques. When that is finished, we recall the spirit of fear and command him into the box. If this doesn’t do it, more deep-level healing needs to be done to gain full authority over this and any other spirits that are not yet in the boxes.

When we’re sure they’re all in the boxes and we’ve finished getting information from them, we send them to the feet of Jesus and ask Jesus to dispose of them. At this point, it is my habit to say something like, “Lord Jesus, will You take these boxes full of spirits and separate the spirits from ______ as far as the east is from the west, and show _____ what you do with the boxes.” Then I like to place the cross of Jesus and His empty tomb between the person and the spirits, and forbid them to ever return or to send any other spirits.

Once the demons are taken to the feet of Jesus, the person being delivered can usually see what the Lord does with them. Often He crushes them or throws them away. At this point, the person usually feels a great release. Usually the person reports that he or she feels lighter. Most speak of the freedom they feel. Once the demons are gone, I like to “seal all that Jesus has done” for the person and then call down upon him or her blessings that are just the opposite of the problems that have been dealt with. For example, in place of anger we may speak blessings of peace, patience and love; in place of fear we speak hope, confidence and boldness; in place of rejection we speak self-love and the ability to feel that the person is a child of the King.

Post-Deliverance Counseling

If people are to retain the freedom God has brought them during our sessions, we need to counsel them concerning what to expect next and what to do about it. For example, demons will often try to harass their former hosts and convince them that nothing has changed. With the authority we have in Christ, however, the freed person can simply command them to be gone. And it usually works. I recommend that people say something like, “If this is the Enemy, stop it!” Or simply, “Get away from me!”

Our counselees need to know that they have the same Holy Spirit and the same authority that we do. All of us, especially the newly freed, need to obey James’ command to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7, NIV). Knowing their authority (see Luke 9:1) should be accompanied with the assertion of their position in Christ. They have probably heard the Enemy lie to them about who they are. They can, however, assert, on the authority of the Word of God, that they are Jesus’ children (see Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:4-7; 1 John 3:1-3), set apart to become like Jesus (see Rom. 8:29), called and chosen by Jesus to be His friends (see John 15:15-16). Our right to assert such truths concerning who we are is a powerful weapon for defeating the Enemy when he comes around.

Clients should, of course be advised strongly against allowing themselves to slide back into the same kinds of patterns and sins the demons had attached themselves to. There will probably be many habits to be broken—habits of anger, unforgiveness, lust, and the like. Though habits can be difficult to break, they are much easier when the person is free from demonic rats who spent their time and energy enforcing them. There may also be friendships to break, places to refrain from going to, and other changes of attitude and behavior.

In addition, counselees should be advised to become part of a support group and to spend time worshiping, praying, memorizing worship songs and listening to worship tapes. The Enemy does not like it when we glorify Jesus and when we associate with God’s people. When we do any of these activities, not to mention regular corporate Sunday worship, we make a statement to the whole universe concerning our allegiance.

FOR FURTHER READING

Anderson, Neil. Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 155-173.

———, The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1990).

James Friesen, Uncovering the Mystery of MPD (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock 1991), pp. 243-269.

Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992).

John and Mark Sandford, A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992), pp. 127-157, 275-303, 355-359.

John and Paula Sandford, Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1985), pp. 309-342.

PART THREE

HOW TO DO

DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

11

AN ORIENTATION FOR THE

ONE WHO MINISTERS

It’s Gone!

I was standing before about 200 people, leading a seminar on deep-level healing. Having learned from past experience that the Enemy likes to distract people in such settings by causing headaches, stomach ailments and other kinds of physical pain, I stopped to ask if anyone in the audience was experiencing such discomfort. As I expected, quite a number of people raised their hands.

Seeing this, I simply said, “I take authority over each of these headaches, stomach ailments and other problems. I command them to go away, in the name of Jesus Christ.” I had hardly gotten the words out of my mouth when a man sitting midway back in the room began shouting, “It’s gone! It’s gone!” At my request, he explained that he’d had a fairly severe headache for most of the day, a headache that had disappeared as soon as I had commanded it to. And most of the others in the room who had headaches, stomach ailments or some other physical discomfort also indicated they were now free.

A headache doesn’t seem like a big thing unless, of course, you’re the one who has it. However, the fact that these disappeared on command indicates something about our authority.

God has given us the authority to use Jesus’ name to command things to happen that are according to His will (see 1 John 5:14-15). I believe we are to do our best to ascertain what God’s will is in any given situation and then use the authority He has given us to bring about what He wants. This is what Jesus did. He lived in dependence on the Father (see John 5:19), never using the power of His own divinity, but ministered in powerful authority, an authority that He passed on to His immediate followers (see Luke 9:1). He then commanded them to teach their followers all that He had taught them by word and deed, and through generations of followers, passing what Jesus taught on to us (see Matt. 28:20).

I am convinced that God does not want people who are trying to concentrate on His instruction to be sidelined by headaches and other such ailments. I’m quite sure that it is often the Enemy who is behind such distractions. So I have no problem assuming that God wants us to use His authority to banish such interference. And God backs up the assertion of this authority by healing people as He healed those in the seminar.

Obedience and Gifting

The authority God gives us is truly impressive. We will discuss that authority later in this chapter. But there is a prior consideration to deal with: the matter of obedience. When Jesus sent His followers out to minister to people, He commanded them to communicate the gospel and to heal (see Luke 9:1-6; 10:8-9; Matt. 10:7-8). He did not simply invite them to heal if they chose to. They were ordered by their Master to minister to the needy through the use of God’s healing power. Later Jesus told His followers that whether or not they loved Him was to be evaluated on the basis of whether or not they obeyed His commandments (see John 14:21-24). Refusing to minister healing, then, is disobedience to our Lord and a refusal to demonstrate our love for Him. The fact that so many of Jesus’ followers have disobeyed Him in this matter has a lot to do with the anemic Christianity of most of our churches. People are hurting; Jesus has commanded us to do something about this; we neglect to do so; our people continue to hurt and come to believe there are no answers in Christianity for their problems.

I have written two books to help in this area. The first deals with the matter of our authority in a much more detailed fashion than is possible here. It’s called I Give You Authority. The second book tackles the problem of anemic Christianity. It’s called Confronting Powerless Christianity. One of the points I try to make is that salvation, as crucial as it is to our Christian life, is but the first step. We are then to defeat the Enemy and gain freedom. But freedom is seldom attained without the application of spiritual power. That’s why there is deep-level healing.

Some may feel that I am too strong and/or too negative on this point. But just as it was Jesus’ highest desire to obey the Father by doing His will (see John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38), so it is to be our highest desire to obey our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by doing His will. And His will is that captives get free (see Luke 4:18-19). If we call Him Lord, we are to acknowledge His lordship in our life by being obedient to Him.

“But what about gifting?” I am often asked. “Not all of us have the gift of healing.” This is true. First Corinthians 12:29-30 says so. When someone raises this issue, my reply is usually to ask, “How do you know you don’t have a gift of healing?” The usual response is, “No one has ever been healed through my prayers.”

I once used these arguments myself in trying to excuse myself from the command to pray for healing. On one occasion, I told John Wimber, a good friend and a pioneer in the healing ministry among evangelicals, that I was quite convinced I had no gifts of healing. His reply was something like this: “They tell me you have the gift of teaching. How did you get that gift?” Then I recalled my early struggles with teaching and preaching. I remembered what a difficult time I had controlling my knees, my voice and the color of my face whenever I stood in front of people to speak. I also remembered the great difficulty I had in preparing messages and lectures, the many hours it took me each time I had to prepare something for a public presentation.

But with determination and practice, I got better at it. And apparently the Holy Spirit was in it. I’ve seen confirmation that there is more than simply human ability in at least some of my teaching. As I recalled these facts for Wimber, he pointed out to me that the gift of healing is developed in the same way. We obey the Lord’s command to speak healing. We practice and practice, determined to obey what Jesus has commanded us. And we discover that God is pleased to use us in bringing healing to those who hurt.

I needed to learn that obedience many times precedes gifting. God distributes His gifts liberally. Most people have several gifts. Some are obvious. Simple observation of ourselves and others enables us to discover them. But other gifts are often there as well, waiting to be unlocked through experimentation in obedience to the commands of Christ.

Levels of Spiritual Gifting

As we obey Jesus and pray for people, we discover where we fit with respect to gifting. There are at least three possible levels of spiritual gifting: role, ministry and office.

1. Role

When the Holy Spirit gives a gift in a particular situation, the person He uses performs whatever role the gift entails. People without gifting in areas such as teaching, preaching, hospitality, encouragement and administration are occasionally called on to exercise such functions. And with the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, they often do well. They exercise the role of teacher, preacher, encourager, administrator, provider of hospitality or healer, whether or not there is any evidence that they are gifted in these areas in an ongoing way.

2. Ministry

Those who see a pattern of effectiveness in an area, however, may be said to have a ministry in that area. As we experiment in obedience to God with praying for healing, for example, we may discover that God chooses to use us often to bring freedom from certain types of problems. Such frequency suggests that God has given us a ministry. One who regularly teaches, preaches, exercises hospitality, encourages or heals under the direction of the Holy Spirit can claim to have a ministry gifting in that area.

At this level the exercising of one’s gifting is like a hobby. I meet with people regularly to help them meet with Jesus to gain freedom through deep-level healing. But this is not my occupation. My occupation is teaching. Doing inner healing is my favorite hobby.

3. Office

I believe that God wants some of those with demonstrated gifting in such ministries to be appointed to professional offices. An office is an official position, usually involving a salary. For example, ideally, everyone who is a pastor would be appointed to that office on the basis of proven gifting. Unfortunately, there are many people in pastoral and other church offices who have little, if any, gifting in the areas required by those offices.

My major spiritual gift is teaching. Fortunately, this corresponds with what I have been hired to do. I have been appointed by my institution and am paid for the exercising of this gifting within that institution.

There are two points to remember in the matter of gifting: The first is that we all are called and commanded to do what Jesus was doing (see John 14:12). This included healing. We should, therefore, experiment with praying for healing. Only if we find after many attempts that people are seldom or never healed when we pray for them can we conclude that we don’t have that gifting. But even then, I believe we are called to pray with people for healing from time to time in case God decides to click in a healing role for us at any particular time. Praying for healing is a matter of obedience more than a matter of gifting.

The second point to remember shows us a strategy for the first. It is that we need to experiment to discover our God-given gifts and at what level those gifts are to be exercised. I, like many people, have for most of my life simply assumed that God “zaps” people with gifts. It was really surprising for me to hear Wimber teach so strongly on the relationship of experimenting to discovering our gifting. With his encouragement, then, but with fear and trembling, I began to speak healing as in the example at the beginning of this chapter. At first, I found very few for whom I prayed that were healed. When, however, I began to work in deep-level healing, my success rate skyrocketed. But I probably never would have gotten into this area of my gifting if I had let my fear keep me from praying for people and experimenting.

Our Authority

Authority is not something someone simply assumes. It has to have a source, someone who grants it. It also involves someone who makes use of it, someone who has a right given by the source to exercise that authority. Our spiritual authority has at least three important components: (1) it is rooted in God; (2) it is authorized by Jesus; and (3) it is maintained through our intimacy with our Lord.

1. Rooted in God

He is the Source of any authority we have to bring healing and freedom to others. Unless He gives it, we have none. By ourselves, we can heal no one. We can only draw on the One who is both powerful and deeply concerned for those who are hurting.

Who is this God? First of all, He is the Creator of all things and all people. And people are His favorite part of creation. He made us like Him, in His image (see Gen. 1:26). He breathed His own life into us (see Gen. 2:7). Even when we disobeyed and fell, He continued to seek contact with us (see Gen. 3:9).

Second, God is the sustainer of the universe, including humanity. It is He who continues to sustain and give life. He protects the creation, including humanity, against the destruction the Enemy would bring to it.

Third, our God is one who relates to His creatures. He is not far off and unconcerned. Even after the Fall, He sought a relationship with Adam (see Gen. 3:9ff) and with each of his descendants. He walks and talks with anyone who will spend time with Him.

And He has shown Himself to be concerned and compassionate toward us, even though we frequently stray from Him and His path. His concern and compassion have taken Him even to the point of paying the price to redeem us from the Enemy to whom we (in Adam) had given ourselves. In addition, He has forgiven us for our rebellions and wanderings.

Furthermore, God is all-powerful. He has the power not only to create and sustain, but to fix whoever has been damaged and to free whoever has been imprisoned.

2. Authorized by Jesus, Our Lord

Jesus said to His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth,” and then commanded them to go make disciples and teach them “to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:18,20). Furthermore, He also said, “As the Father sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21) and predicted that “those who believe in me will do what I do—yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

In so doing, Jesus authorized His followers to continue working in the authority He had been given to bring freedom to those the Father loves. The Father had sent Him “to bring good news to the poor . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed” (Luke 4:18-19). So He sends us into the world to do the same (see John 17:18). We are authorized by the King of kings to carry on His ministry in the world today.

Think of who it was that Jesus gave all this authority to. Would you have given authority to such doubters as Jesus’ disciples? He apparently felt that even people like the disciples (or us), who continually let Him down, were/are worthy to be entrusted with His authority. Be encouraged, then, that you, with all your failings, are the kind of person that Jesus wants working in His authority.

3. Maintained Through Intimacy with Jesus

Just as Jesus’ authority was maintained through His intimacy with the Father, so is ours. Jesus did not depend on His sonship to maintain His relationship with the Father. He knew that even sonship needed to be nurtured. He constantly fed that relationship by spending time with the Father and by obeying what the Father told Him to do. Jesus maintained His relationship with the Father perfectly. He set an extremely high standard by doing only what the Father wanted (see John 5:30) and what He saw Him doing (see John 5:19), saying only what the Father instructed Him to say and always pleasing Him (see John 8:28-29). Despite the fact that this level of intimacy is beyond us, we are to aim at it.

The Holy Spirit supplies the power for us, as He did for Jesus. From our intimacy with the Father, through Jesus, then, comes the authority to use that power. Jesus found it necessary to spend considerable periods of time alone with the Father to be sure He had His directions straight. He depended on the Spirit for power and on the Father for guidance.

It is not because we are gifted that people are freed; it is because our wills are lined up with God’s in such a way that what we claim is what He desires. This happens as we practice intimate discussion with and dependence upon God. It is probably what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “pray at all times” (1 Thess. 5:17).

I once had a discussion with a friend who was discouraged in her prayer life. It seems that she had prayed for several things “in Jesus’ name” but was not receiving what she prayed for. We discussed some of the possible reasons. Praying in Jesus’ name, I told her, is not so much about how you pray or what words you use in prayer, but more about who you are in prayer.

Many Christians take scriptural instruction like praying “in Jesus’ name” and use it like a magic incantation. They think that if they get the phrasing just right, then the desired answer will follow. My friend needed to understand that praying “in Jesus’ name” meant living in Jesus’ name so that the desires of her heart would be more closely associated with the desires of that “name.” Her desires would be more in tune with God’s desires. Powerful prayer is initiated by those who live and pray in Jesus’ name.

Such intimacy doesn’t have to be a mysterious thing. I don’t think it was for Jesus. We need to spend time in the kind of give and take that cultivates a close relationship. When we talk with God, we usually call it “praying.” This term, however, obscures the fact that talking and listening to God are to be a natural and constant expression, not an occasional ritual. We are prepared for ministry if we practice intimacy with the Father, in Jesus, all day, every day.

Six Types of Prayer

Prayer is an extremely important part of every aspect of deep-healing ministry. There are, however, at least six types of activity called prayer. Though each of these is valid to use at certain times, we need to employ the right type. Each type of prayer is relevant at some time in relation to our authority.

1. Asking Prayer

The first type of prayer is more technically known as petition. What most people think of when we speak of prayer is asking God for things. Jesus invites us to pray this way, saying, “Ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete” (John 16:24). Jesus portrays God as a loving Father who delights to give His children good things and, therefore, encourages us to ask, seek and knock (see Matt. 7:7-11, Jas. 1:17).

This type of prayer is an expression of our partnership with God. He seems to have made a rule for Himself that He prefers not to work in the human arena without a human partner. Asking prayer, then, is joining Him in asking to do what He already wants to do but would not do yet until He has a human partner to do it with Him.

2. Gratitude Prayer

Paul recommends this kind of prayer when he says “be thankful in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18; see also Eph. 5:20). Throughout the New Testament we see an attitude of thankfulness and praise to God exemplified and recommended, even when we’re going through difficult circumstances (see Rom. 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; 9:15; Phil. 4:6; Heb. 13:15).

Worship is a form of gratitude prayer and one of the most powerful weapons we have against our Enemy. Satan hates it when we celebrate and express our relationship with God.

3. Confession

It is important that we who minister to others be clean ourselves. By acknowledging and confessing our deficiencies and the times when we are disobedient, we are able to take advantage of God’s gracious offer to forgive and cleanse us (see 1 John 1:9). In turn, an important part of the healing we seek to bring about depends on those to whom we minister confessing and ridding themselves of all their sin.

In this area, though, it is especially important to not overdo. Some people become obsessed with their sinfulness and are not able to let go of it even after they have confessed it to Jesus. I once worked with a person who had this problem and just could not seem to forgive himself. I asked him at one point to ask Jesus if his sin was still a problem, and Jesus answered, “What sin?” When Jesus forgives, He forgets as well. We need to follow His example and turn our backs on what has been forgiven and forgotten.

4. Intercession

This is a very important type of prayer in relation to authority. In this form of prayer, we enter into hand-to-hand combat against the forces of darkness on behalf of those to whom we minister. In addition, we ourselves need intercessors to support and empower the ministry God has given us. Intercession is the concentrated beseeching of God for any given person or cause. In Scripture, we see Abraham interceding for Sodom (Gen. 18:23-32); Moses interceding for the Israelites (see for example Exod. 32:11-13,31-32; 34:9); Jesus interceding for Peter (Luke 22:32) and for the disciples (John 17:9-19); and Paul interceding for many (Rom. 1:9-10; Eph. 1:16-19; 3:14-19; Col. 1:9).

Satan hates intercessors. They hear from God and move God to act. Though we work with Jesus in deep-level healing, the real battle is waged between the intercessors and the Enemy. Intercessors often work at a level of reality far different from what we usually consider to be “normal.” They see pictures; act out in various ways; even travail as if giving birth, acting often as the Old Testament prophets did in what seem highly abnormal ways. And they defeat the Enemy. The real battles belong to the intercessors; and we are successful in getting people free because of intercessors.

In each of these first four types of prayer, our posture is toward God. That is, we face Him as we ask, thank, confess or intercede. In these next two types of prayer, however, we stand with God, first in intimacy and then in taking authority.

5. Intimacy Praying

Intimacy praying is the most important basis for the authority we have in Christ. This type of prayer consists of spending time with God, as Jesus did when He went off into “lonely places” to pray (see Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28; 11:1; 22:41). In choosing His disciples, Jesus said, “I have chosen you to be with me” (Mark 3:14, emphasis added), to experience with Him the kind of intimacy He modeled with the Father. On this basis, Jesus would send them out “to preach [and to] have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14-15).

In John 15, Jesus speaks of our intimacy with Him as that of branches to a vine. He speaks of the importance of being connected to Him by saying, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4, NIV). He then warns that “apart from me you can do nothing” (v. 5) and that those who do not remain in Him are “like a branch that is thrown away and withers” (v. 6). So intimacy is the basis from which we are able to serve.

This intimacy that Jesus wants us to have with Him is, I believe, what lies behind His promise of rest if we bring to Him our heavy burdens (see Matt. 11:28). Unfortunately, when we spend time with God, we often fill the time with talking. Little of our time is spent listening and simply relaxing in His presence. I picture Jesus relaxing in the Father’s presence and He and the disciples on many occasions simply relaxing with each other. As Jesus’ intimacy with the Father was the basis for His authority, so our intimacy with Jesus is the basis for our authority to bring freedom and healing to others.

6. Authority Praying

With this experience of intimacy as the foundation, and buttressed by intercessory prayer, we are to engage in the same kind of taking authority that Jesus demonstrated. Though I call this “authority praying,” it may be a misnomer, because we are simply asserting the authority Jesus delegated to us. Like Jesus, we are privileged by God to speak authoritatively against demons and diseases (see Luke 9:2), confident that it is God’s will to free people from such problems. In exercising our authority, we posture ourselves with God, speaking on His behalf for or against whatever He leads us to deal with.

Jesus used most of the above types of prayer (except confession) at various times; but when freeing people from bondage, He did not ask, He asserted His authority. He thus demonstrated God’s love through exerting His power. And as the Father sent Him, so He sends us to do the same (see John 20:21). With this authority, we are to work as Jesus did to bring freedom from disease (see Luke 4:39); to bless, protect, bind or loose and forgive (see John 20:23); and to deliver from demons. Jesus is our model.

Ministry Guidelines

Experience shows that there are guidelines and general principles to follow as we work. It would be nice if Jesus would just do the healing without reference to who we are and how able we are to do ministry. He does not, however, do it that way. He depends on us to learn as much as we can in order to do as well as possible in our part of the ministry. When we do our part well, He does His part well. Sadly, if we do not do well, often the help He would want for the person receiving ministry does not happen as well as He would like. We speak of techniques in chapter 13. Underlying these techniques are certain guidelines and principles. Some of these include: (1) making sure the person’s will is engaged before we minister to him or her; (2) working under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and (3) keeping ourselves spiritually strong.

1. Making Sure the Person’s Will Is Engaged

It is very important that the person’s will is engaged before we minister to him or her.

People coming for ministry must come of their own free will or, in the case of children, with the parents’ permission and willingness, under their parents’ authority. Because healing can be quite a difficult process, the individual must be fully committed to it and willing to work with God as hard as necessary to attain it. The very act of the person coming for prayer is a step in the right direction, but many people have misconceptions about what deep-level healing entails. They may be looking for a quick fix and not expect to put much effort into it themselves.

People must often be reminded that we who are ministering through deep-level healing do not have any special gifting or power in ourselves to solve their problems. Rather, we are coming alongside as partners with them and the Holy Spirit in a team effort. Some do indeed receive quick healing. But many require a process, sometimes an extended process, during which the Holy Spirit brings to light layer after layer of experiences that need healing. Their commitment and willingness to work with the Holy Spirit and the ministry team is, therefore, crucial. God does not violate the human will (He has too great a respect for us); but He stands ready to take our hand and lead us when we hold it out to Him.

2. Working Under the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

Though we may have a regular procedure we usually follow (see chapter 13), we need to be constantly conscious that the Holy Spirit may want to do something partially or completely different. There is no step-by-step, “one size fits all” formula to be followed each time we minister. And even if we develop a kind of standard procedure (as I have), we need to be open to Holy Spirit changes within the procedure. There is no good substitute for listening to the Holy Spirit. Indeed, as I mentioned earlier, we must avoid at all costs what I call “the Moses mistake”—our tendency to simply do what we did before instead of listening for God’s direction in each particular situation (see Exod. 17:1-6).

No formula is right for every person every time. It is clear from a study of the ways in which Jesus ministered that He dealt with each person differently. Though there are general principles to be followed to facilitate healing, none is nearly as important as the need to discover the leading of and work in the power of the Holy Spirit. Learning to listen carefully to Him and to obey Him exactly, then, is the most important principle.

Before doing anything else, commit the session to the Holy Spirit and listen for His voice throughout the session. Ask Him to bring to light whatever needs to be addressed. Insight often comes in the form of words of knowledge when the Holy Spirit suddenly leads you to understand something about the person or the situation that you would have no way of knowing unless He revealed it. Such insights must be shared tentatively and with wisdom because we are not perfect receptors of such messages and can easily be wrong. Carefully ask questions to determine if you are on the right track before sharing the word of knowledge, and share it as a possibility rather than a definite “word of the Lord.” No matter how strong our feeling is that the Holy Spirit is saying something, it is best to ask if there is a problem rather than stating what we think the Holy Spirit is stating. I got a lesson in this when what I was sure was a word from the Lord turned out to be wrong. Sometimes what God reveals to us is for our benefit, not for the one receiving the ministry.

A means that the Holy Spirit frequently uses to identify the issues is simply bringing things to the person’s mind when we ask very tentatively about them. There may be long-forgotten incidents or attitudes that will prove to be important pieces of the puzzle. The Holy Spirit usually quickens common sense as well. People who come for ministry are often so wrapped up in the problems they are experiencing that they are unable to see the most obvious truths. Common sense, of both those receiving and those giving ministry, is a gift from God and must never be “shelved” during the course of ministry in favor of more “spiritual” resources. God uses every available means to speak to us.

3. Keeping Ourselves Spiritually Strong

Ministering freedom to others puts us in direct opposition to Satan, who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NIV). He has quite a number of devices to hinder us if we become too great a threat. The number-one rule, then, is to keep close to God, as Jesus did. We should not neglect such disciplines as prayer, Bible reading and study, worship, fellowship with those who help us grow, and devotional reading.

Compassion Toward the Person

Being Ministered To

Over and over, we are told that Jesus had or was “moved with” compassion (see, for example, Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 1:41). It is important that anyone attempting to minister deep-level healing be a person of compassion, deeply moved by the hurts of those he or she seeks to minister to. Perhaps this is the gift of mercy.

There are those who seem to have little or no patience with those who are hurting. Their attitude seems to be, “Why doesn’t Joe get his act together and stop bothering people with his problems?” Such an attitude is un-Christlike. Jesus was moved with pity when He saw people with physical, emotional or spiritual problems. Having the power and authority to make a difference, He helped them. We are to do the same.

We need to be very careful how we go about trying to help people. We should treat others as we would like to be treated (see Matt. 7:12). It is not a pleasant thing for most people to have to admit that they are needy. Our society doesn’t make it easy to admit deep problems. A person with a broken leg will elicit sympathy and not be expected to walk normally. If, however, the problem is emotional, others make the person feel condemned because he is not functioning normally. We need to overcome our judgmental tendencies.

We must put concern for the person first, trying at all costs to avoid as much embarrassment as possible. When we ask for information, we should ask and listen patiently and sensitively, avoiding any unnecessary probing. Seamands advises us to “Watch and pray; wait and pray; listen and pray; probe and pray. But don’t push and pry. It’s supremely important [for people to] freely choose to share with us.”1

As much as possible, we must let people bring up sensitive things at their own speed. Many people feel as if they are being asked to strip naked in front of strangers when they are questioned about their inner life.

However, some people seem to glory in the attention their story elicits. They love to go into long discourse concerning the things that have happened to them. One person who was learning to do deep-level healing shared with me his frustration that the person he was ministering to took so long to tell his story that there was no time left for ministry! My rule is to not let a person have more than 10 or 15 minutes to tell their story. Sometimes I have to break off the talk and start ministry with a pretty good expectation that we’ll eventually get to whatever they haven’t shared. You need the person’s story, but the point is to do ministry.

As the one guiding the ministry session, it sometimes helps to share some aspect of your own experience that relates to the person who is receiving ministry. This usually enables the person to feel more comfortable, knowing he or she is not the only one who has ever faced the problem in question. Be careful not to get carried away with sharing your own experiences, thereby taking time away from helping the person. Sometimes, too, people will encourage you to elaborate on your experience, consciously or unconsciously, using the focus on you as an opportunity to avoid dealing with their own problems. So keep such sharing brief and keep the focus on the person you are trying to help.

Keep your ears open to what the Holy Spirit is saying. “While carefully concentrating on what is being communicated to you, at a deeper level you must be using your spiritual radar to tune in to the discernment of the Holy Spirit.”2 (See chapter 12 for more information on how to hear God in this way.)

Our motivation to minister is compassion for people who are hurting. Seamands, pondering the disturbing fact that many will not come to church leaders with their hurts, states, “The reason is that all too often the atmosphere in our churches, the attitudes of other Christians, and the very way we proclaim the gospel do not create the trust conditions necessary for healing.”3

Be Careful About the Nature of

Your Involvement

Genuine compassion is required if we are to do this kind of ministry in Jesus’ name. There are, however, ways in which our compassion can become counterproductive. Let’s look at three examples.

1. Don’t Get Overemotional

Emotion tends to block ministry, whether it is the emotion of the one you are helping or your own. Often the story you hear will lead you to tears. Frequently, such an indication of your empathy will help the person trust you. If, however, you lose control of your emotions, you probably will lose control of the ministry session. Likewise, much that you hear will make you angry, even angry at God. You must give that anger to God.

Feeling empathy with the person is a very important thing. But getting overly emotional is a hindrance. Keep yourself in check, though not to the extent that the client feels you are not sympathetic to his or her problems.

2. Don’t Let Clients Become Overly Dependent on You

It is easy to make mistakes in this area. Some people are so troubled that we naturally want to take charge of them ourselves. I have heard of situations where counselors allowed clients to move in with their families or paid for their expenses. This level of involvement, though sometimes necessary, is usually not a good idea. It teaches vulnerable people to be dependent on their counselor rather than on themselves and their relationship with God.

One of the more difficult things to deal with is when a client latches onto you like a leech. I experienced this with a lady who telephoned me from the Midwest. She shared her problems with me and told me that person after person to whom she appealed had dropped her. As I continued to interact with her during several telephone conversations, I began to understand why she had been abandoned by other pastors and counselors. She seemed much more interested in the attention I could give her than in getting well. So I terminated the relationship. I hope I helped her in some way, but I’m not sure getting well was really what she was interested in.

3. Be Careful Not to Carry Other People’s Problems

We are to be empathetic and compassionate but not take on the problems of others as our own. I once ministered to a pastor’s wife who had suffered for 30 years with a severe back problem that disappeared when she learned to stop carrying other people’s problems. Worrying about others’ problems is not compassion. We need to learn to cast all our cares on Jesus (see 1 Pet. 5:7), even the cares others have shared with us.

In the couple of thousand cases I have dealt with, I could easily have overburdened myself with any number of problems people shared with me. However, my approach is to be totally with a person when meeting with her or him but not internalize and keep any of the person’s problems once he or she leaves my office. The situations a counselor hears in counseling can seem quite hopeless. But we cannot help anyone by burdening ourselves with those problems.

The Importance of Confidentiality

As we minister, we are trusted with a lot of private information. This is scary to those who come for help. It is important that counselees are able to trust you with their secrets. Love demands that we treat their secrets just as we would like others to treat ours.

One benefit of working with a lot of people is that it is more difficult to keep the details of each person’s life in mind. It is also helpful to have a short memory! People often ask me if I will share their information. I usually reply, “No, I’ll forget it!” Confidentiality, however, is a very serious matter, and we must be committed to it.

Those of us who teach and write on deep-level healing are especially tempted to share information about ministry situations because such information is often very valuable in helping others in their ministries. When illustrations from ministry sessions are used, it is very important to disguise the details so that no one can identify the person. I’ve even found it important to disguise illustrations if the person involved has given me permission to use the material.

It is best not to use illustrations from close to home unless you generalize or give the impression the ministry probably happened somewhere else.

Sometimes we may find that we have failed to protect a person’s privacy, either through carelessly sharing with others something about a ministry session or by not properly disguising the details of a public illustration. If that happens, it is important to apologize to the person involved. The basic rule of thumb is to treat others as you would like to be treated.

FOR FURTHER READING

Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 227-245.

Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992), pp. 79-98.

Fred and Florence Littauer, Freeing Your Mind from Memories That Bind (San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers, 1988), pp. 234-248.

John and Paula Sandford, The Transformation of the Inner Man (South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1982), pp. 401-412.

David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), pp. 149-159.

12

HOW TO DO

DEEP-LEVEL HEALING

Just Learning

When I lead seminars on deep-level healing, I like to bring people to the point where they can lead in ministry with others. The following is a composite story of the first experience of a typical person leading a ministry session while I was an observer.

We’ll call her Mary Jo. We were in the third day of a five-day seminar. She had attended every session, had listened intently and observed as I, and my colleagues, ministered. She was willing to give it a try herself, as long as one of us was nearby to help if something came up she couldn’t handle. Mary Jo set things up as she had seen us do it—chairs in a circle with two chairs in the middle, one for herself and one for the client, a woman named June, in her mid-thirties. Several other attendees at the seminar joined us to pray and pass on to Mary Jo whatever insights they received from God. Mary Jo told them, as she had heard me tell those who assisted me, to write anything that came to them on small slips of paper and hand them to her. No vocal interruptions would be allowed unless she requested it.

Mary Jo then led us in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to take complete charge, to reveal whatever we needed to know and to do what He wanted to do. She spoke against any interference from emissaries of the Evil One. She then blessed June with God’s peace to combat her evident uneasiness. At this, many noticed that June became more relaxed in posture and facial expression.

Mary Jo was loving and kind during the interview. She began by asking what led June to volunteer to receive ministry. The main problem June described was an intense self-rejection that was affecting her relationships with God, her husband, her children and her work associates. Until attending our seminar, June felt there was no hope of overcoming this problem. She had been to several counselors over the years and felt they had helped her a bit, but not enough to justify the monetary cost.

June was the first child of four in a dysfunctional family headed by an angry, “macho” father. She had always felt ignored by him until her teenage years when he began paying attention to her. This resulted in sexual abuse that went on for several years until June’s mother discovered it. When June was 16, her mother kicked her father out of the house. By that time, though, June had become sexually active with several of her schoolmates in order to get their attention; and at age 17, she discovered that she was pregnant. Telling her mother was traumatic. So was the abortion.

June continued her sex-for-attention behavior through college, but much more carefully. She found that it helped a lot with school fees, studies and eventually getting a husband. Now, after 12 years of marriage and 3 children, she described herself as a “basket case,” filled with fear that her husband, out of dissatisfaction with her sexually, would abuse their daughters as June had been abused by her father. Though she had given her life to Christ five years previously, she received little support from her husband for her church activities and feared that even these, though very meaningful to her, were widening the rift between them.

June blamed herself for everything that had happened to her. She reasoned that if only she had not let her father take advantage of her, her parents might still be together. If only she hadn’t given herself so freely to men, she would have more self-respect. If only she could give herself more completely to her husband, maybe he wouldn’t get interested in their daughters.

Mary Jo had learned ministry well. She took June back to conception, using the back-to-the-womb exercise outlined in chapter 13. June was able to experience a bit of who she really was in God’s eyes—a child of the King, a princess, one who was planned and wanted by God Himself from before her conception (see Eph. 1:4). She was able to picture Jesus holding her and to feel His love and care for her. She then was able to picture herself holding “the baby” (herself as a baby) and feel more love toward herself than she could ever remember feeling.

Next Mary Jo asked the Holy Spirit to lead June in seeing and interacting with her “inner children” (for technique, see chapter 13) from the age of her earliest memories all the way to adulthood. In this way, June worked through whatever events came to mind of her childhood, adolescence and young adulthood in such a way that she could experience Jesus’ presence in the midst of them. We all experienced a special joy along with June as she was able to feel and picture Jesus in event after event, including the sexual encounters with her father and other men. Though many of the events, especially the latter, were not pleasant for June to recall, the release she felt in experiencing Jesus in them was tangible to all of us. We all wept frequently as June described the gentleness of our Lord toward her and as she gave Him her right to hold anger, bitterness and resentment toward those who had hurt her. Perhaps the most moving part of the session was when she chose to give Jesus the anger and condemnation she had long felt toward herself.

When Mary Jo sensed the need for help as June recalled her abortion, she asked me to take over for a while. My first concern was to break the spiritual bonding (the soul ties) between June and each of her sexual partners, including her father. This we did, using the procedure outlined in chapter 3. As June renounced these bondings, she remarked that she experienced a wave of release accompanied by a feeling of cleanness she had not felt since before her first sexual experience with her father.

Dealing with the abortion was especially painful. I asked June to picture her baby in her arms, to decide which sex it was and give the baby a name. She felt the baby had been a girl and named her Elisa. She then held the baby, apologized to her and, after further conversation, lovingly handed her to Jesus. Even after all this, June had great difficulty forgiving herself for taking Elisa’s life. After a bit of a struggle, however, she was able to accept an embrace from Jesus and forgive herself. In her picture, she embraced her younger self as a sign of self-forgiveness.

June went away from the session truly renewed in her relationships with Jesus, others and herself. She did, however, need to keep working against the well-entrenched habits of self-rejection, self-doubt and fear in her relationships with others. But because the roots of these attitudes were now gone, she found that dealing with the habits was usually not difficult as long as she remained conscious of them. What we had all observed with June was typical of the kind of release the Holy Spirit brings during deep-level healing sessions.

Preparing for Ministry

Before starting a ministry session, it is important to have several things in place. Among them are having supportive intercessors and having done our own prayer and fasting.

1. Prayer Support

It is important to have personal intercessors and prayer partners to support our ministry in general and to support every specific ministry session. The real battle is a spiritual one and is, therefore, fought and won primarily in prayer. My former colleague at Fuller Seminary, C. Peter Wagner has seen this clearly and has written several useful books on the subject (see Bibliography). In them, he categorizes the types of intercessors needed to support ministry in terms of their commitment and gifting.

“I-1” (= Intercessor level 1) intercessors are those who are most committed to supporting a given minister or ministry. These are the gifted ones who really know how to pray and are willing to commit sizeable amounts of time to interceding for those who minister. Each of us who minister needs one or two intercessors at this level and needs to share with the intercessor(s) most of what is going on in ministry and in our personal lives. Their commitment should be to pray for us at least daily and whenever the Lord puts us on their hearts. We also need several “I-2” intercessors who commit less time but pray regularly for our ministry. Beyond them, we need a larger number of “I-3” prayers—prayer partners who make a significant but lesser commitment to support our ministry.1

These groups of intercessors should be active at all times but especially during times of ministry. They need to be kept informed of ministry times and progress. Their part of the battle is crucial. Wagner states, “I have come to realize [that intercessors] are the elite in the Kingdom of God. They are the Green Berets, the Phi Beta Kappas, the Olympic teams of God’s community.”2

2. Giving Ourselves to Prayer

It is important for us to regularly submit ourselves to God’s will and plan in personal prayer. We need to agree, among other things, that He can do whatever He wants with us, even to the point of embarrassment if He so chooses. In addition, prior to any given ministry event, we need to request a new infilling of the Holy Spirit to provide the right amount of power and authority to deal with whatever comes up. In ministry, then, we need to be constantly in prayer that He will guide our every plan, word and action both during and after ministry.

3. Fasting

If possible, it is advisable to fast before a ministry session, especially if it promises to be difficult. Fasting was practiced by people in biblical times to get close to God when faced with difficulty (see Neh. 9:1; Esther 4:3; Dan. 6:18; 9:3) or when seeking God’s guidance (see Matt. 4:2). Though the Pharisees fasted out of wrong motives (see Matt. 6:16; Luke 18:12) and the frightened sailors taking Paul to Rome fasted superstitiously (see Acts 27:33), we are not to neglect this form of seeking God’s empowerment.

There seem to be spiritual rules in the universe that enable us to hear God more clearly and work in increased authority and power when we fast reverently and from correct motives. Fasting is, however, a discipline that needs to be learned. People should not attempt to fast for several days unless they first have successfully fasted for a shorter time. Also while fasting, one should be sure to drink plenty of liquids.

A Ministry Model

When ministering to a person, it is helpful to follow a sequence of steps. Though it is sometimes advisable to follow a different ordering, the following sequence seems to be the most useful, with frequent repetition of steps 3 through 5. That is, any given ministry session should involve several interviews (step 3), each of which is followed by the development and implementation of another strategy (step 4) and more authoritative prayer (step 5) before the session is finally concluded.

Step 1: Invite the Holy Spirit to Come in a Special Way

The Holy Spirit is always with you and in you. Indeed, one important part of your pre-ministry praying should be to ask for a new infilling of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. But in addition to His constant presence, we see from Luke 5:17 that He comes in particular ways for special purposes. We need Him to provide a number of specific things in each ministry event. Among them are:

• to lead and reveal His will during the ministry

• to empower whatever happens

• to give you the right thoughts, ideas and words

• to provide protection from the Enemy for everyone involved, plus your families, friends and personal affairs, both during and after the ministry session

This initial prayer time should be followed by continual silent prayer by all involved during the remainder of the session. It is good, however, for them to keep their eyes open while they pray, lest they miss the many clues that come from observing what is happening with the person being prayed for.

Step 2: Bless the Person

Bless the person with such things as peace, freedom from fear or embarrassment, openness to whatever God wants to do, and whatever else the Holy Spirit leads you to say. Often, the person being ministered to is quite nervous, even to the point of shaking, and fearful—not knowing quite what to expect. Blessing the person with peace usually takes care of such things. If not, you may want to spend more time in prayer or in sharing your own or another’s experience, to bring trust and calmness. High emotion usually blocks the working of the Holy Spirit. Bringing in calmness and trust is, therefore, an important part of these first two steps.

Step 3: Interview the Person

In the interview, you are looking for information that can aid you in the healing process. It is helpful to remember that God seems to prefer to lead us through ordinary means rather than through extraordinary means whenever possible. An ordinary interview, then, is usually quite important in the process of bringing healing to a person. While you ask questions, however, you need to be constantly listening for information from the Holy Spirit as well. A major key to successful ministry, then, is to listen to God as you listen to the person.

At the start of the interview, expect God to answer your request that He lead. His leading will usually be through guided “hunches.” Some people seem to think it important to distinguish which information comes from oneself and which comes directly from God. I think such attempts are both unnecessary and potentially distracting. If you ask God to lead and He does lead, what difference does it make where He pulls the information from? Information that God pulls from your experience or even from a demon is just as much from God as information that He gives you directly. He freely mixes information and insight from all three sources as you minister.

There are several possible starting points as you seek to discover what to deal with first. The most obvious starting point is to check out the problem that brought the person to you. This will usually be some fairly surface-level difficulty, but it has roots at a deeper level in the person’s life. As you ask questions concerning that issue, it is important to look for the deeper roots.

Often there will be unpleasant, abusive or at least misunderstood childhood experiences that provide the roots for the present problems. Seamands points out that “children learn a language of relationships long before they can learn a language of words. And the painful memories of unhealthy relationships often cry out so loudly that they interfere with learning the new relationship with God.”3

Family relationships are often involved. It is, therefore, good to question the person concerning his or her relationship with father, mother, siblings, grandparents and others. Relationships with authority figures and peers often need to be explored as well. Much damage occurs in school experiences, both in the classroom and on the playground.

Another frequent source of emotional damage is illness. If the person has been separated from parents in a hospital situation, the result can be intense feelings of abandonment that produce considerable emotional and spiritual disruption in the individual’s present life. We need to search out all such traumatic experiences in early childhood to discover whether they have produced emotional “garbage” affecting the person’s present life.

Such a trauma occurred in the life of a woman I’ll call Charlene. At the age of four, Charlene was left with a babysitter for two months while her parents went on a vacation. They did not tell Charlene they were leaving, perhaps because they felt she was too young even to notice their absence. At any rate, this event left a deep wound in Charlene, a feeling of abandonment that she carried with her into adulthood and for which she needed deep-level healing.

You are looking for events in the person’s life that may possibly relate to present problems. You are also looking for attitudes that underlie his or her response to such events—attitudes that can be healed by the Holy Spirit. Look especially for damaged attitudes toward self, others and God. They are frequently signaled by the presence of such emotions as unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, a critical spirit, self-rejection, fear, inadequacy, unworthiness, worry, anxiety, control, domination, depression, discouragement, rebellion, guilt and shame.

It is usually not a good idea to spend more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time in interviewing those you pray for. If you spend longer, you are likely to forget important things when you turn to prayer. It is ordinarily best to interview for a short time, then go on to the following steps, looping back later to get more information before going on to pray over another set of issues. A typical ministry session, then, consists of several interviews followed by several prayer times before the session is over.

It is of the utmost importance that you be loving and non-condemning as you interview. Responding to questions can be a frightening experience for the person; you are entering his or her secret life. You also need to keep careful control over your motivation for probing. Curiosity has no place in a ministry session. Your objective is ministry, not uncovering fascinating data.

I often quote a West African proverb to my clients in this regard: “When it’s time to bathe, don’t try to hide your belly button.” That is, if they sincerely desire healing, they must be willing to reveal even the most secret parts of their experiences. However, I also tell them that I don’t need to know all their garbage. If they want to hide certain details from me, that’s okay. But they need to recognize that if God has brought something to mind, it should be dealt with, even if simply between the person and God without me knowing the details.

Step 4: Develop a Tentative Strategy

Once you have enough information to enable you to begin the move into prayer, you need to seek the direction of the Holy Spirit. This is the step at which you decide what kind of prayer or other activity you will do next. This is usually done silently so that the session flows from interview into ministry. The information received during the interview gives clues as to where to start and what to do as you go along. All you need to decide at first is where to start. The Holy Spirit will then lead you on from there, even if you do not start having a clear idea of what is to follow.

Often the first thing the Holy Spirit leads you to do is invite the person to forgive everyone who has hurt her or him. Sometimes individuals will need to confess sin or renounce all opportunities they have given the Enemy to gain power over them. Often intergenerational curses or self-curses need to be broken. On occasion, demons need to be challenged, though it is usually best to do this later on in the session.

Though I present below a possible order of ministry, let me caution against planning any set pattern; instead, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:25 tells us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (NIV). Often the Spirit will lead us to do much of what is listed below, but in a different order. Often He will lead you to skip certain parts or lump together several experiences of the same type so that you can deal with them all at once. Frequently, the Holy Spirit will guide the session by bringing suggestions to the person’s mind, rather than to yours. In any event, be careful not to fall into the mistake of following the same pattern in each session—unless the Spirit clearly guides you to do so.

Step 5: Engage in Authoritative Prayer

This step is the ministry proper. Having learned enough about the person’s life to suspect which areas need to be dealt with, and having worked out a tentative strategy, it is now time to pray through the issues and bring God’s healing to the person. Remember that you are working with God in authority over the situations, not begging God for something you’re not sure He wants to do. As Jesus did, you speak healing, you don’t beg for it. A typical sequence might go something like this:

1. Intergenerational: Treat any suspected intergenerational problems such as spirits, emotions or sins that may have been inherited. Though such problems often need to be dealt with specifically, sometimes a general prayer such as “I break the power of ____ in Jesus’ name” will suffice. Many people are carrying demons inherited from their parents. The grip of these demons frequently goes back several generations. People from other cultures often are carrying family spirits. These are usually the result of generations of dedications of children to family gods and spirits. They can be addressed by the family names of father and mother, their power broken on the basis of the person’s relationship with Jesus, and cast out. Intergenerational inheritance of spirits of anger, death, fear, shame and many other negative emotions are also common. So are demons that are the result of cursing, dedications and sinful behavior in previous generations. Their power can usually be broken by claiming the blood of Christ to cover each right given the Enemy in whatever generation through father and through mother. For a more complete dealing with generational spirits, see my book Defeating Dark Angels.

2. Prenatal: Treat any suspected prenatal problems such as emotions and attitudes passed on by the mother before birth. If the person’s mother had one or more miscarriages, deal with these early in the session. As a part of dealing with prenatal matters, it is often helpful to use the back-to-the-womb exercise that will be discussed in chapter 13. With regard to miscarriages or abortions prior to the person’s conception, it is important to deal with them. What I have found most helpful is to ask the person to close his or her eyes and ask Jesus to let him or her picture the lost child. The person, then, needs to hold the child, expressing love to her or him and then give the child a name, apologizing if the child was aborted. Frequently, the person will protest that she or he does not know the sex of the child. I simply have the person ask the Holy Spirit and go with whatever comes to mind.

3. Early Life: Treat early life experiences such as birth, disease, accidents and relationships with parents or siblings. Picturing Jesus in these events or putting the cross of Jesus over them usually brings healing. Working through successive years using the inner child technique is usually very effective (see chapter 13).

4. Adult Life: Move through later childhood, adolescence and adulthood, dealing with such things as school experiences, friendships, sexual development, sexual relationships, emotional relationships, work experiences, accidents and deaths of family members and friends. In each part of the process, it is usually healing to invite Jesus to bring difficult experiences to mind and invite the person to picture Jesus there when they occurred. The techniques dealt with in chapter 13 are usually very effective in this part of ministry.

Step 6: Use Post-Prayer Counseling

The person’s will is at least as important after ministry as during ministry. Just as none of the healing could take place without the active participation of the person’s will, so healing cannot continue without ongoing cooperation. Though the power of the Holy Spirit during ministry releases the person from the roots underlying dysfunctional habits, the habits themselves usually have to be dealt with on a continuing basis. The person needs, therefore, to work earnestly on the replacement of the old habits with new ones. And this takes willpower.

Often the people you minister to expect all their problems to end once they have been prayed for. This is seldom the case. Usually they will need to continue on their own to work on their habits. A good way to start the post-ministry counseling, then, is to bless individuals with the strengthening of their will. Here we should point out the need to resist Satan when he returns to bring back the same old problems or deceive them into thinking nothing has changed.

People need to learn to claim the power of the Holy Spirit over their own problems in the same way you have claimed such power during the ministry session. All Christians have the same Holy Spirit and the same privilege and authority to claim His power at any time. They must learn to take this authority on their own in order to prevent further attacks from the Enemy.

I remember a woman who came to me with severe neck and back pain related to her relationship with her husband. When she dealt honestly with her problem before the Lord and experienced His freeing power, she was healed. I warned her, however, that the Enemy often brings the pain back in an attempt to deceive one into believing that nothing has happened. So I told her that if the pain returned, she should simply assert her authority by telling it or the Enemy to go away.

A week later she reported that the pain had indeed come back several times. Each time, though, she commanded it to go away and it did. “Amazing!” she exclaimed.

In addition, we all need to engage regularly in spiritual disciplines that enable us to grow and be renewed in mind and spirit. We are commanded to be transformed through the renewing of our perspectives and attitudes (see Rom. 12:2). For those in the process of getting healed at deep levels, this usually involves replacing destructive mental tapes with messages that fill the mind with “things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable” (Phil. 4:8; see also Eph. 4:22-32).

They should, furthermore, be spending time alone with God in prayer, meditating on God and the things of God, picturing themselves in Jesus’ presence (for example, on His lap, in His arms or walking together). Bible reading is crucial. It is, however, important to learn to read the Scriptures more to hear God’s voice than just to get new information. In addition, those seeking wholeness need to give much attention to frequent participation in praise and worship, both alone and in groups. Satan doesn’t like praise and worship music and has great difficulty doing his work when praise and worship is going on. We can play praise music in our homes and automobiles as a means of waging war against Satan. The more we fill our minds with praise and worship, the less he will be able to tempt and otherwise harass us.

Another important part of growth is to learn to express love and blessing toward ourselves. As John Wesley once said, “Self-love is not a sin, it is an indisputable duty.”4 As children of the King, we are princes and princesses in the kingdom, chosen by Him and given an inheritance with Jesus (see Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6-7; 1 John 3:1-3). It is good to advise people to learn to thank God for themselves, especially their bodies, and to bless themselves, especially any parts of their bodies they don’t particularly like.

Neil Anderson, in his book Victory Over the Darkness, is particularly helpful in this area. Neil contends that “No person can consistently behave in a way that’s inconsistent with the way he perceives himself.”5 If this is true, we all need to align our self-perception with God’s perception of us. For “self-worth is not an issue of giftedness, talent, intelligence or beauty. Self-worth is an identity issue. Your sense of personal worth comes from knowing who you are: a child of God.”6 See chapter 7 for more on building a healthy self-image.

The support of others is important in the healing process. Ministry sessions provide “spurts” of healing. Individual and small-group support is, however, crucial to undergird the slower continuing process of healing and growth. Close relationships with people who have served on the ministry team are often very helpful.

Finally, it is usually a very healing thing for counselees to begin ministering to others. We are healed for our own sake. But we are also healed to help others, especially those who suffer in the same areas in which we have been helped (see 2 Cor. 1:4). Freely we have received, freely we are to give to others (see Matt. 10:8).

For further information on the steps of ministry, let me recommend both John Wimber’s excellent presentation in his book Power Healing, and my own in Christianity with Power.7

Specific Ministry Approaches

When ministering to those who may have an infected emotional or spiritual wound, there are several guidelines or rules to be conscious of. (Note: Here and in the following sections there will be some repetition of material from earlier chapters because all deep-level healing—regardless of the root problem—involves common approaches to ministry.) Among these approaches are the following:

1. Search the Past for Roots of Emotional and Spiritual Problems

This guideline should be quite obvious by now. Present problems usually have past roots. Our present life is punctuated with automatic, often irrational, reactions to present happenings. These reactions have been learned earlier in life. We don’t make them up on the spot. As Anderson states:

Unlike our day-to-day emotions, which are the product of our day-to-day thought life, the emotional baggage from the past is always there. Years of exposure and experience in life have etched emotional grooves inside you that produce a decided reaction when a certain topic is introduced. In fact, as an adult, you aren’t emotionally neutral about any topic.8

Probing the past to discover how and when we learned these reactions is usually productive in seeking to gain control of them in order to change them.

2. Look for Unforgiveness

This is at least as important as the first guideline. Jesus had a lot to say about the need to forgive. We have already dealt with this matter in detail in chapter 6.

3. Look for Damaged Emotions

Whether the problem is sin or abuse, the reactions to the problem and its effects tend to show up in emotional damage. Much of this book is devoted to dealing with such damaged emotions.

4. Lead Counselees to Discover and Face the Truth

God is a God of truth, and most of a person’s battle with the Enemy is in one way or another a battle over truth versus deceit. Whatever is there must be confronted and worked through if there is to be freedom. Ignoring or bypassing anything allows the Enemy to continue his harassment. When the issue is sin, every sin must be admitted, confronted and confessed to God (see 1 John 1:9). When the issue is abuse, both the abuse and the reaction to it must be accepted as fact and worked through in the presence and power of Jesus. Remember, we cannot change the facts, only the feelings. Changing the facts would be dishonesty.

Whether it is sin or emotional damage through abuse, a person needs to own his of her history and honestly deal with it. Our God does not allow us to skirt difficult events. Healing from infected wounds comes when a person faces another truth, the positive truth that Jesus was there when the difficult events happened to them. His protection of them in the past and His acceptance of them with their present burden are God’s provision for their release to freedom.

5. Deal with the Person’s Self-Concept

As pointed out in chapter 7, the Enemy’s heaviest artillery is often leveled at people’s self-image. He is desperately afraid that they will discover the truth about themselves, so he constantly feeds them lies to keep them from being what God intends them to be and doing what God intends them to do. Learning and practicing the truth in this area is perhaps the most freeing part of deep-level healing.

General Ministry Guidelines

The following guidelines were first suggested to me by George Eckart, a colleague in ministry:

1. Treat the Whole Person

All parts of a person are tightly integrated and need to be treated as a whole entity, not simply as body, emotions or spirit. Look for and deal with any problem in any area, but always in relation to all other areas of the person’s being. And be loving.

2. Never Ask a Person to “Claim” Anything That Hasn’t Happened Yet

There are schools of thought that encourage people to simply name whatever they want and claim it on the assumption that God wants to give us almost anything we desire. I believe this approach is in error. God stands for honesty. If He has healed, it will be evident and we can claim it. If He has not healed, it is not honoring to Him to claim what has not yet happened.

Wonderful things happen when God chooses to work. But we are to serve Him; He does not serve us. Praying is our obedience. Healing is His choice. And we should not try to coerce Him into doing our will by claiming something has happened when it has not.

3. Share “Words from the Lord” Tentatively

God is generous in revealing things to those who minister. But we must be careful how we deal with such insights. We should never lay something on another person in an unloving way. I have heard people who received what they thought was a word from the Lord say bluntly, “The Lord says you are to . . .” Much better is an approach that asks a question such as, “Does ___ mean anything to you?” or that says something like, “I have an impression that perhaps ____. Does that correspond with anything in your experience?” The rule is to always be loving, as you would want others to be loving toward you.

4. Do Not Shout

Neither God, Satan nor most of us are hard of hearing. And contrary to what some people seem to assume, turning up the volume does not increase the amount of God’s available power.

5. Minister in Teams

A team has more gifting, insight and power than a single minister. Furthermore, a team is able to express more love. I’ve found that a team of three or four people works best. When working in a team, it is important that one person be in charge, with the rest speaking out only if invited to by the leader. If team members simply speak out whenever they hear something from the Lord, or worse yet, try to take charge of the ministry, it can get very confusing.

It is my practice, when I lead in ministry, to have the other members of the team write what they hear from the Lord on small pieces of paper and slip them to me. I can then read them and follow the suggestions if I feel led. Sometimes, I will stop and ask if others on the team are getting anything they think I should know. At such times they can contribute vocally.

My coworker Mark White tells how he was in the middle of a ministry session with a team when suddenly his mind went blank. He felt blocked as they tried to work through an event in the person’s past. After trying to “plow through” the block for a few seconds, he felt that someone else in the group had a word of knowledge for the person being ministered to. So Mark stopped to ask the team members if any of them was getting something specific from the Lord. Just at that time, one of the team members received a vision that took the ministry session to the next level. When we minister in teams, God uses the whole team, not just the leader.

6. Be Clear as to Who Is Responsible for What

It is our responsibility to minister, not to heal. It is God’s responsibility to heal and our privilege to help. We are to be faithful in praying for people whether or not God does what we think He should. It is discouraging when nothing seems to happen. But we are to continue being faithful and obedient to what He has called us to do anyway. Don’t let the Enemy work on your discouragement to get you to stop.

Words of Knowledge

There are several typical ways in which God reveals information directly. First, we can simply get an impression. God often leads through what feel like hunches, intuitions or guesses.

Second, God will often put in our minds a word or combination of words. We may think them, audibly hear them or visibly see them written in our mind or in some other place.

Third, God can lead through pictures. Frequently, He puts a picture into our mind to show us what He wants us to know. Sometimes this will be a picture of the person in a difficult situation, such as an abusive event. Sometimes it will be a picture of some event or situation in the future—for example, the person walking in newfound freedom. Sometimes it will be a picture with symbolic meaning.

Fourth, God may reveal information through a feeling of pain or an emotion. Though some people never receive information from God in this way, with others, this seems to be God’s preferred method. A pain in some part of our body or a stirring of our emotions is quite effective as a means of identifying someone else’s physical or emotional problem.

In a recent meeting, during the worship time, a colleague of mine got a burning sensation in both of his ears. He felt he should share it with the group afterward to see if it meant anything to anyone in the group. A woman in the back of the room spoke up, saying that she had experienced the same burning sensation in her ears earlier in the week when she was in a situation of intense emotional and spiritual distress. During subsequent ministry, it became clear that this was God’s way of seeing to it that she got help for some deep-level problems in her life.

Finally, in ministry we often find ourselves speaking words we hadn’t planned to say. This method is sometimes called “automatic mouth.” Without warning, we hear ourselves saying things that seem to be coming directly from the Lord through our mouth.

During ministry, it is important for both leader and ministry team members to let the others know whatever thoughts come to them. Often you get thoughts that do not seem relevant or even intelligible. When leading ministry, I have learned to share even the strangest thoughts, knowing that God often leads us into major insights in this way. On many occasions, I have had team members who received such information without sharing it, only to discover later that what came to them could have aided the ministry considerably. On other occasions, people have shared what seemed to be strange or irrelevant words or pictures and discovered that these provided important keys to the ministry.

A man we will call Dan came to my colleague Mark White for prayer. Dan was having trouble breaking free from the authority of his parents. Though grown up, he still did what they told him to do, even though sometimes he knew better and wanted to do differently. He became angry at his parents and sought to be free of this oppressive part of his relationship with them.

In questioning Dan about his childhood, it was discovered that Dan’s parents had always told him who he was to be and what he was to do. During one of the early sessions, the Holy Spirit gave Dan a strange mental picture. He saw a “football coming out of a womb.”

This seemed to be a strange vision, so Mark questioned him about it: “Have you ever played football?” Mark asked.

“No.”

“Have you ever wanted to play football?”

“Yes,” Dan said, “when I was in high school.”

“What happened?”

“Well, my parents strongly suggested that I join the marching band and play the trumpet! I didn’t even like the trumpet!”

At this time, the Lord showed Mark that the football coming out of the womb meant that He had created Dan and gifted him, in part, to play football. Unfortunately, his parents failed to recognize this as they forced him into music instead. No wonder he had hated the band and resented his parents’ decisions to control him!

After Dan forgave his parents, he was free to seek the things now in his life that are like that football coming out of the womb—those things he was born, gifted and empowered to do by God from the beginning.

To avoid adding hurt to someone who is already suffering, and to help bring about their true healing, we need to express love toward the counselee during every part of the ministry process.

In the next and final chapter, we will turn to helpful ministry techniques to which I’ve alluded throughout this book in the stories of deep-level healing.

FOR FURTHER READING

Rich Buhler, Pain and Pretending (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), pp. 223-269.

John and Mark Sandford, A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992), pp. 127-158.

David Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1986), pp. 123-162.

13

MINISTRY TECHNIQUES

The Problem of Using Techniques

In chapter 4, I introduced the important matter of technique. I mentioned the fact that many people feel that a ministry committed to working with the Holy Spirit to bring healing should not be concerned with technique. Such people seem to feel that techniques imply manipulation and that we should not be attempting to manipulate the Holy Spirit.

They are right that we should not attempt to manipulate the Holy Spirit. They are wrong, however, in assuming that a concern for technique is antithetical to working with the Holy Spirit. We must have some procedures in place. We cannot simply sit there waiting for the Holy Spirit to initiate something. Far better to have some things in mind that the Holy Spirit can guide.

God works with us in partnership and usually chooses to guide us as we minister in terms of some technique, rather than by dumping something completely new into our minds. We consult Him before we start, of course, but our expectation is that He will respond by putting into our mind some technique, something that we have learned that seems appropriate. We then begin with whatever we think we heard from Him, and He either continues to lead us in the direction in which we started or He changes the direction in the process of ministry.

As I pray before a session, the Lord usually leads me to start with the person at conception. The technique I refer to as back-to-the-womb or back-to-conception is described below and referred to several times throughout this book. The rationale for this is that it makes sense to start at the beginning. And our experience is that God uses that little exercise in amazing ways. However, there have been many times when I started with the back-to-the-womb exercise and either God led to something else quite soon after we started or the Enemy began to interfere so that we had to deal with a demon before we could complete the back-to-the-womb part of the ministry. Recently, in fact, just as soon as we sat down to begin the session, a demon began to ridicule me and interrupt our plan. So I could not go on in the way I believed God wanted me to until we broke the power of the demon and cast him out.

So, technique is not a bad thing. Nor is one technique always the final answer. For the power is not in the techniques, it is in Jesus. And He guides the sessions either by working through the techniques we choose or by modifying or changing them.

As I pointed out in chapter 4, our main technique is listening to the Holy Spirit. With that as the key to our ministry, then, there are a variety of other techniques that are very helpful and effective.

Experiencing Jesus in Events

We have already made it clear that memories are a major focus of deep-healing ministry (see chapter 4 and elsewhere). The question here is, What are we to do with the memories? The basic answer is that we are to experience Jesus in each memory.

Much of what we do with clients is similar to what professional counselors do with their clients. But one thing is very different: We want our clients to experience the truth that Jesus was there and active in whatever it is they are remembering. And His presence, especially in abusive situations, usually makes all the difference in changing such events into opportunities for Jesus to heal.

There are two analogies that may be helpful in thinking about Jesus’ presence in hurtful events. The first is to see memories as if they are contained in capsules. Within each capsule, then, are two things: the facts of the experience and the feelings that a client had in reaction to the experience. We cannot be honest if we attempt to change the facts of the memory. What happened, happened. And we cannot change that. The reactions—the feelings—however, can be changed. Anger can be changed to peace and forgiveness. So can bitterness, resentment and shame. Guilt can be changed to feeling forgiven. Rejection can be changed to feelings of acceptance. Believing lies can be changed to believing truth.

The second analogy is that open wounds can be changed to scars. Wounds are painful, scars are not. I have a long scar on my right hand that hurt very badly when I fell as a child and broke a bottle of beads. But that wound has healed and the scar that reminds me of the accident hasn’t hurt for 73 years! I have several other scars on my body, reminding me of other accidents and surgeries. But these don’t hurt either.

Emotional and spiritual wounds, however, don’t heal by themselves. In fact, if they are not dealt with, they fester, like a physical wound that gets infected because it has not been properly cleansed and treated with antiseptic. Some have suggested that the longer the emotional wound goes without treatment, the worse it gets.

Professional counselors can bring emotional wounds to their clients’ attention, but they have to leave it to their clients to bring about whatever healing they can. We can go beyond the self-help to Jesus-help. We can take Him seriously when He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5, NIV; see also Heb. 13:5) or “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV).

But some suggest that Jesus could not have helped them before they got to know Him. To that I reply, “We know what the Enemy has wanted to do to you from conception. His aim is to steal, kill and destroy you (see John 10:10). He was able to damage you but not destroy you. This must mean there was someone stronger than Satan there keeping him from carrying out his desires. That one, then, was hindering Satan from before you turned to Him. That one must be Jesus. He was there and He is on your side.”

“Then why did He let me go through these horrible experiences?” they often ask. My answer is that God has given free will to people, limiting Himself in major ways by doing so. Abusers, then, use their free will to hurt others. This is very sad, and we all regret it that Satan is able to work with such people to hurt others. But that’s the way things are. However, Jesus doesn’t simply ignore our abusive experiences. He is there with us in them. He often doesn’t take us out of such experiences, but He participates with us as we suffer. And He can enable us to turn the abusers over to Him, accepting His promise that He will pay them back (see Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:19).

So, experiencing Jesus in memories is the key to emotional and spiritual healing. He was there. He is here. And experiencing His presence is the most healing thing in life.

Not every experience is hurtful, though. As we minister to people, it is important to help them experience Jesus in the good memories as well. This results in growth-producing gratefulness and cementing of the client’s relationship with Jesus. Experiencing Jesus’ presence is always a good thing. So there is healing in experiencing Him in the good times as well as in the bad times.

Faith Picturing

In chapter 4, I introduced what I have called the “faith picturing” technique. This is one of the most important methods we have to assist in deep-level healing. Since our memories are stored in pictures, it is only natural to expect that in dealing with memories, we need to access them in pictures. It is in pictures, then, that we can carry out the interactions with Jesus to bring about what is sometimes called “healing of memories.”

The most effective way for people to experience Jesus in their memories is through picturing. Most people can quickly picture the events in the memory we are focusing on. When they have that in view, I usually ask, “Where is Jesus, and what’s He doing?” Some see Him immediately. Others have to look around a bit. If they say they just can’t see Him, I ask them to look behind, to turn around, in the picture and He’s usually there. I don’t know why He likes to stand behind people, but He does!

Some have difficulty with faith picturing because they are afraid of imagination. They fear they may simply be imagining what they want to happen rather than really working with Jesus to bring about change. This is a risk. However, I have worked with hundreds of people who have taken this risk and found that Holy Spirit-guided imagination is very effective in enabling healing. Whenever we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in the use of picturing, He really does. Because our experience with picturing in the ministry process is so often positive, then, we make no apologies for using it.

A more serious problem is that a certain number of people find it impossible to picture. This is not a large number of people but includes many who have achieved high academic levels. Some of these, though not able to picture, are able to feel Jesus’ presence. Others may be able to achieve most of the value of picturing by simply thinking the process. (Please review chapter 4 for more on this technique.)

“Back to” Events

In asking people to meet Jesus in their memories, the usual technique is to have them picture the event, let themselves feel what they felt when the event happened and see Jesus in it, giving Him any hurt they felt. This is the simplest form of memory work and the backbone of the longer techniques discussed below.

As already mentioned, we are anxious to see people healed from holding on to negative reactions to life events. So we have the person go to an event, picture it and see what Jesus does with the memory. In some cases, the Holy Spirit seems to lead us to focus in this way on event after event. My usual practice, however, is to first do the back-to-the-womb exercise and then have the person see himself (or herself) as the inner child. In dealing with the inner child, however, we go from event to event in their life, helping them experience Jesus at each age by dealing with the events they experienced at a specific age.

For example, I have had several people who remember the fear they felt when they first went to kindergarten. I invite them to see their five-year-old inner child in the traumatic event of going to class that first day, but with Jesus holding their hand. Then, in the events of class, they often see Jesus sitting next to them. One of these clients even saw Jesus taking a nap with her in her kindergarten class!

This is a basic technique to be used either by itself or with other techniques.

The Back-to-the-Womb Exercise

A tool we have found very helpful is called the “back-to-the-womb” or “back-to-conception” exercise. This procedure enables us to take people back in memory under the power of the Holy Spirit to conception and deal with prebirth experiences that provide roots for present problems. As noted above and detailed in chapter 6, human beings are capable of recording memories even within the womb. These can be powerful forces in their life. Such prebirth experiences as physical traumas, hearing parents fight and experiencing the mother’s negative feelings shape our responses and actions throughout life. Praying through this period can bring great healing to those damaged before birth.

This exercise can be done either with individuals or with groups. When done with a group, it is good to warn people that most will probably have a positive experience, but some may have a neutral or negative reaction. Those for whom this process turns up negative or difficult emotions will need to go to someone for individual ministry.

Negative reactions often result from persons experiencing not being wanted prebirth. It is quite common for persons who were not wanted by their parents to experience it quite strongly. Those conceived out of wedlock or whose parents wanted a child of the opposite sex, or no child at all, will often feel that rejection strongly. However, many with rejection wounds get healed as they go through this exercise, recognizing that although their parents did not want them, they were wanted and planned for by Jesus. They can then take their choice between parental rejection and the fact that Jesus wanted them. Though it may be difficult to make that choice, the right choice results in lots of freedom.

We start by inviting people to close their eyes while we lead them through the following steps:

1. Realize That We Were All Planned by God

At the start, we focus attention on the fact that God planned us before we were conceived and our parents did His will by coming together to bring about our conception. Whatever our parents’ desires, whether we were planned by them or not, we were planned by God (see Eph. 1:4). It is God who brought about our conception and gave us life. Nothing about us, then, is a mistake from His point of view—not the timing of our birth, our gender, our genetic inheritance and not even our parents.

As with Jeremiah, He says to us, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jer. 1:5, NIV). As David said, “You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb. . . . When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother’s womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there—you saw me before I was born” (Ps. 139:13,15-16).

Not only did He plan each of us from eternity, but He was also there with us, carefully putting us together in that secret place inside our mother. We were not alone even in our mother’s womb. He was with us from the very beginning.

2. Understand That Jesus Was Present at Our Conception

Next, we help people understand that Jesus was present at their conception, signifying it was all right for them to be conceived. We like to ask each person to picture Jesus’ hands outstretched toward him or her with a sperm in one hand and an egg in the other. I often ask people to focus on the fact that Jesus chose that special sperm out of hundreds of millions of sperm and that special egg from a much lesser number of their mother’s eggs.

I ask then that each person signal their agreement that their conception was a good idea by taking Jesus’ hands and pressing them together so that the sperm fertilizes the egg and their life begins. I then ask them to bless their own conception.

This part of the exercise may be very difficult or emotion-laden for those with very low self-esteem, and especially for those who hate themselves. They may have to pause here to forgive their parents for not wanting them or for wanting a child of the opposite sex, and agree with God that they are what He wanted.

3. Take Authority Over Any Satanic Power in the Family Line

As this takes place, I take authority in prayer over the father’s line and then over the mother’s to break any satanic power that may have come to them through inheritance. I usually say something like this:

In Jesus’ name I take authority over your inheritance through your father (mother), to break any satanic influence that may have come down to you by inheritance. I break the power of any dedications, curses or sinful behavior by your ancestors that gave the Enemy any right to influence you. I break this power at the point of your conception, or at any other point at which it may have entered you.

Some feel the breaking of such power over them as these words are said. Others, unfortunately, do not seem to experience the breaking of power during a general procedure like this. They need specific attention to such influences. Others, of course, don’t have such interference in their family lines and, therefore, aren’t affected by this part of the process.

4. Work Our Way Through the Gestation Period

Once we have spoken against inherited satanic power, we journey through the gestation period month by month. We bless the child during each month of development. We take authority over all negative influences the child may have experienced. We speak against any anger, fear, negative self-image, discouragement and the like, as the Spirit leads, that may have come from the mother. We then break any additional curses, dedications or vows that may have allowed satanic power to enter.

Quite often, people will experience intense emotion or even blockage at certain points during this process. They can often feel the very emotions their mother was experiencing at certain times during the pregnancy. Such happenings usually signal the surfacing of some critical issue or event at that time. This may be known or unknown to the person. As I was working with one woman, she felt a poking sensation as we dealt with the third month. This reminded her that her mother had once told her she had tried to abort her, though she had not told her the month. On checking with her mother, the woman discovered that the attempt was indeed during the third month.

When there are such feelings or intense emotions or blockage, they signal the need to work with the person individually (if this is being done in a group setting) to discover what the event involved and to bring healing into it. Whenever such signals point to abuse on the part of parents or others, the person will need to forgive them to gain release from the reaction. If the feelings relate to some traumatic event over which the parents had no control, the person may have to release all anger toward God for letting it happen.

5. Picture Our Birth and See Jesus Holding Us

When it is time for the birth, we invite people to picture their birth. As soon as they are born, they allow Jesus to pick them up and hold them. Most people are able to do this and find it a positive experience as they feel the love, safety and protection of being held in Jesus’ arms. Persons with feelings of unworthiness, though, sometimes find this difficult. They may see the baby and Jesus but not be able to get into Jesus’ arms. Such people need to be worked with individually.

We suggest that people spend as long as they would like in Jesus’ arms, letting themselves feel wanted, noting the pleased expression on His face (if they can see His face—some can’t) and soaking up His love and care for them. We also ask them to look to see if the umbilical cord is still attached. If it is, it is to be taken care of in the next step.

6. Picture Holding Ourselves as a Baby

We then ask people to see themselves entering the picture as adults and holding themselves as a baby. If the umbilical cord is still there, they are to tie and cut it. This often signifies the severing of some unnatural bond (a soul tie) with or overdependence on their parents. As they hold the baby, they should help him or her feel wanted and secure, blessing the child with whatever the Lord leads them to say and committing themselves to love and care for the child (since that baby still lives inside them).

Again, those with feelings of inadequacy or self-hate will have difficulty holding their inner child in this way. One client saw himself throwing the baby on the floor! Once they have worked through such feelings, it is useful to return to this part of the exercise to allow them to experience the change.

On occasion, demons will show up during this or any other part of the procedure. If this happens, the ministry leader may choose to deal with them at the time or may shut them down and deal with them later.

Dealing with Inner Children/Adults

I like to follow the back-to-the-womb exercise with asking the person to find her or his earliest memories, seeing Jesus in them. I usually ask the person to picture herself or himself at each year of life as an inner child. We look for both good experiences and bad ones at each age, always with Jesus there sharing the good times and helping each inner child give Him her or his reactions to the bad stuff. I focus first on the preschool years, then look grade by grade for elementary school inner children who are holding hurts, allowing Jesus to heal their wounds and turn them into scars.

We have the client picture himself or herself interacting with Jesus at each age where something significant happened, positive or negative. We have the person go through each stage of life—early childhood, elementary school, junior high (or middle school), young adulthood and adulthood—looking for significant events that might serve as roots for later attitudes and behavior. We want the person to enter into each significant event with Jesus. Among the early events will be experiences with family, first experiences with school, experiences with teachers and fellow students, and experiences with siblings.

Dealing with puberty and all that involves physically, relationally and emotionally is especially important. Body image as our bodies change presents important challenges, as do relationships with significant others as well as self. Usually the adult will be able to see herself or himself at these ages and show love to the inner parts by informing them about the future (“you’re going to make it”), enabling these younger parts to give their heavy emotional stuff to Jesus. Here and in the next stages, it is important to deal with issues and help the inner children both receive Jesus’ forgiveness and forgive themselves for any indiscretions.

As we turn to the high school inner parts, we look again for difficult experiences and relationships, successes as well as failures, attitudes toward self, others and life. We then proceed to deal with what we might call “inner adults” or just “inner people” or parts, bringing the person up to the present.

What often happens then is that the person can see a large number of inner children and adults happily interacting with Jesus. I often ask if any of them are still struggling and, if so, would they raise their hand so that the adult can see them. If the person sees hands raised, we go to the inner person(s) who is still struggling, find out what the problem(s) is and deal with it. When there are no more inner persons with hands raised, and all of them are celebrating with Jesus, we know this part of the ministry is completed.

As we proceed to work with the various inner parts, we ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the events each part needs to deal with. When the Holy Spirit brings an event to mind, as always, we invite the person to get back into it, with the aim of feeling the hurt and inviting Jesus to take it on Himself as He promised in Isaiah 61:1-3 (see also Luke 4:18-19) where He states, “The Sovereign LORD . . . has chosen me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison. . . . He has sent me to comfort all who mourn, to give [them] joy and gladness instead of grief, a song of praise instead of sorrow.”

As people experience again the hurtful event, I have found it helpful to affirm the validity of their negative feelings toward those who hurt them as the first step toward forgiving. I will often say something like this:

You have a right to be angry, to hate and even to seek revenge for what these people have done to you. But if you exert that right, there’s a law in the universe that says you will be enslaved to those feelings. And furthermore, you will probably never be able to get back at the perpetrators anyway. So Jesus says forgive them and get free.

So we invite them to forgive everyone they need to forgive at the age at which the problem happened. We’ve found that when forgiveness is granted by the inner children/inner adults at the younger age, it is a deeper kind of forgiveness than if they simply forgive as adults.

They usually have to forgive others, self and God. When this is done, the person usually moves into a new relationship with Jesus as He embraces them or shows them His love and acceptance in some other way. And they go free!

We repeat this process for each event the Holy Spirit brings directly to their attention or, through words of knowledge, to ours. Often when one event gets healed, others of the same kind are also taken care of.

The Throne Room

An exercise we do that God uses quite effectively is to invite people into His throne room. We invite clients to close their eyes and picture the throne room of Isaiah 6:1-4 in which the prophet saw “the Lord” sitting on His throne, high and exalted, with his robe filling the whole temple and a multitude of heavenly creatures worshiping and praising God. We like to help clients try to feel the awe and worshipful atmosphere (not just think about it). Then, once people are really into it, I sometimes have them imagine a thump on the door to the room and a whole bunch of kids, themselves among them, running into the throne room.

They can imagine the kids running right past the cherubim and seraphim who are bowing low with their foreheads to the floor. The kids, though, are disrupting the whole worshipful scene, running noisily right up to the King and climbing onto His lap. At that point they can notice that the King loves it, because they are His kids and always have a right to barge into the throne room. Kids have different rules. And we are God’s kids, invited to come “boldly,” any time, into His presence (see Heb. 4:16).

It is often transforming for people to see themselves as children welcomed onto Jesus’ lap, with His arm around their shoulder, and watch Him putting a crown on their head. As this picture sinks in, they can picture themselves growing up in Jesus’ presence, soaking up His love. This part may be more difficult for those with a poor self-concept. They may be able to easily see themselves as children on Jesus’ lap but not in such a favored position as adults. Nevertheless, it is important to work through this part of the exercise until they can experience Jesus’ present acceptance of them.

Still Pictures on a Wall

In chapter 4, I mentioned ministry with a woman I called Judy, who had survived ritual abuse. I asked her to go back to a particularly damaging memory. With tears in her eyes, Judy looked at me and said, “I can’t.” It was obvious to me that the memory was simply too traumatic for her to re-feel it and that if she went back to it, we would be risking retraumatizing her. In desperation, I prayed something like, “What should I do?” and the Lord showed me a technique I had never heard of but now have been able to use successfully on several occasions since that time.

What came into my mind was to ask the Lord to show Judy a series of pictures—still pictures with no action in them—that would represent the abusive events but would not trigger the traumatic reactions we were trying to avoid. This God did.

I asked Judy to take Jesus’ hand and go with Him to the wall with the pictures on it to see what He would do with them. What she saw, then, was Jesus taking her to one picture after another and pouring His blood over each so that each picture disappeared, leaving the wall blank and white.

Other people have seen Jesus scratch out the pictures, pile them up and burn them or take them down and put them in His pocket. In the latter case, I remarked that Jesus must have had big pockets. The person replied, “Yes, He’s wearing a robe!”

Putting the Cross of Christ over the Events

A technique that is often very useful, either in place of faith picturing or in addition to it, is to “put the cross of Christ over” the event or “between” that event and the person being prayed for. With one person we led to picture hurtful events as still pictures on a wall, we used the blood of Christ rather than the cross to cover the event. This has worked well for some.

Though the power that heals is in Christ Himself, not in symbols such as the cross or His blood, it is often helpful to use such symbols to apply that power in a meaningful way. This approach can be especially helpful for those who can picture but have difficulty seeing Jesus in hurtful events. After the person has experienced the hurt, has forgiven whoever he or she needs to forgive and has given Jesus the pain, the ministry leader can say something like, “In the name of Jesus, we place His cross over this event (or put His cross between this person and the event) and claim freedom from all emotional or spiritual damage stemming from it.”

We can also use this method in dealing with inherited satanic interference. For example, when it appears that an ancestor has allowed the Enemy to enter the family line, we can, if possible, identify the ancestor (for example, a grandfather on the mother’s side) and place the cross of Jesus between that ancestor and the person we are praying for. In working with a child, the Sandfords describe their use of this technique as follows: “We place the cross of Christ (the stopping place for all sin) between the child and his parents and his parents’ parents all the way back through his generations, declaring that all of his inheritance be filtered through that cross. This is not magic. It is simply a way of putting the Lord in charge, and of claiming His blessing and protection.”1

I sometimes use this symbolism when obtaining a client’s freedom from a place where terrible things have happened. Sometimes in faith picturing, people will be able to see themselves in a room or a house but find it impossible to picture their escape from that place. Even inviting Jesus in to rescue them doesn’t seem to work. I have, therefore, had them picture me entering that place and leading them to safety. Once we are outside the door, I describe myself as closing and locking the door, then placing the cross of Christ over the door to seal it so that whoever is in that room or house cannot get out. Nor can anyone take the person back into that place.

I also use this symbolism when casting out demons. Once they are gone, I place the cross of Christ and His empty tomb between the client and the demons and forbid them to ever return or send any others.

Separating the Good from the Bad Parts of the Person

Persons who have been abused by someone close to them experience a great deal of confusion in their attitude toward that person, especially if it is a parent who was supposed to nurture and protect them. Both love and hate are there, as well as a desire to be close to that person while feeling an intense fear of him or her. When such a love-hate relationship exists, the process of healing is often helped by guiding people to distinguish between the parts of the other person they like and those they don’t like.

First, as always, we invite the Holy Spirit to direct the whole process. We then instruct the person, with or without the use of picturing, to divide the abuser into two people: the good, loving person and the bad, hurtful person. We invite the person to picture the abuser and ask Jesus to come and escort the good part of the person out of the room, while the bad part remains. The person is then free to tell the bad part of that individual exactly how she or he feels about the abuse, without the risk of hurting the part of that person he or she likes. During such a discussion, the counselee needs both to hold the person responsible for such actions and forgive him (or her).

Later, the good part of the person is brought back and the bad part taken elsewhere. The client can then talk to the good part of the abuser, again without the confusion of having to deal with the other part of the person at the same time. This discussion frequently centers around how much the client loves the other person and desires that he or she prosper.

This technique allows the counselee to express real feelings concerning the abuse, while at the same time acknowledging the special place the abuser may have in the client’s life. Interestingly, when the good part of the abuser is brought in and spoken to, the counselee often sees the abuser as a child. To see one’s parent or another adult abuser as a child is often startling, but it can be remarkably healing for the client. Perhaps this is God’s way of helping the hurting one recognize that there is a wounded child within the abuser, a child that needs love and forgiveness.

Changing Chairs

Not infrequently, especially with people who have been severely abused, memories come back with great intensity. Seamands points out, “The harder we try to keep bad memories out of conscious recall, the more powerful they become. Since they are not allowed to enter through the door of our minds directly, they come into our personalities (body, mind, and spirit) in disguised and destructive ways.”2

Perhaps the most intense form of memory is what is often called a “body memory.” In a body memory, the person experiences the event as a present experience, believing and feeling that she or he is actually in the abusive situation at the present time.

Such memories frequently involve feelings of pain and terror that overcome the person and are not easily stopped through simple reasoning. When such body memories occur, they disrupt the ministry session until they are over. Indeed, they sometimes so exhaust the counselee that little can be accomplished even after the episode is finished.

When such episodes occur, we have learned to invite the client to change chairs as a means of obtaining release from the experience. I often explain that the chair the client is sitting in is “the past” and invite the person to move from that chair to my own chair, which I have labeled “the present.” The change of chairs usually results in the person coming out of the body memory into the present. Then, by claiming the cross of Jesus over the memory, much of the pain of the memory may be healed. Even when healing of the memory doesn’t happen, however, this technique has worked dramatically in extricating the person from the body memory and returning him or her to the present.

Praying for Young Children

Very young children can be ministered to as they sleep or as they are being held. Parents and others authorized by the parents can take authority over any satanic interference in a child’s life while the child is asleep, talking aloud to any emissaries from the Enemy and claiming the child for Jesus. It is very important to assert our authority over the child in this way so that no one in the universe is in any doubt as to who’s in charge. At the same time, we should dedicate and commit the child to Jesus.

Sometimes the results of this kind of ministry are surprising. I joined the parents of an 18-month-old boy in praying with authority over him while he slept, and the release was so great it woke him up. Not only that, but he felt so good that he stayed up and kept his parents from sleeping the rest of the night!

It is good to do this on a regular basis, dealing both with satanic interference and with early (including prebirth) emotional influences and biological inheritance. Often, parents can speak in this way to a child’s spirit. If the child was unwanted, parents need to apologize to them in this way for not wanting them initially—say, when an unexpected pregnancy occurred to which their first reaction was, “Oh, no!” Then the parent(s) can tell the child they changed their mind and really want the child now, asking the child’s spirit for forgiveness.

This is a good thing to do as well (with children who were initially unwanted) when the child is a bit older and not asleep. One mother came to me during a seminar reporting that she had shared with her four-year-old daughter that she didn’t want her initially. The daughter replied, “I know it.” The mother then apologized profusely and let the little girl know in no uncertain terms that she had changed her mind. The resulting bonding was truly gratifying.

When using all of these techniques, we must always remember to let the Holy Spirit lead us. That means we must be prepared to lay aside whatever technique we have in mind at any time. After all, they are only tools. What we are after is deep-level healing, and the Holy Spirit is our guide.

Our Charge to Minister Healing

We are called to minister as Jesus did. Like Him, we minister freedom. Both the authority to minister freedom and the aim of that freedom lie in intimacy with God, something that Jesus demonstrated continually. At the end of His career on Earth, He promised His followers they would do as He did (see John 14:12) and commissioned them, saying, “As the Father sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). To minister effectively, we can do no better than to imitate the One who laid aside His divinity, working only under the power of the Holy Spirit, to show us how to do what He did.

Jesus, our model, limited Himself to saying and doing what He heard the Father saying and saw the Father doing (see John 5:17; 8:26-29). To maintain this standard, He received empowerment from the Holy Spirit (see Luke 3:21-22) and continuously maintained an intimate relationship with the Father. These should be our aim in seeking to minister deep-level healing.

I bless each of you readers with the ability to follow Jesus’ example of intimacy, empowerment, love and skill in ministering so that you may be able to claim with Jesus:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to [victims]. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will [rescue] his people (Luke 4:18-19).

ENDNOTES

Introduction

1. Charles H. Kraft, Christianity with Power (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1989), p. 211.

2. Gary Collins, Innovative Approaches to Counseling (Waco, TX: Word, 1986), p. 73.

3. Siang-Yang Tan, Lay Counseling: Equipping Christians for a Helping Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991), p. 14.

Chapter 1: What Is Deep-Level Healing?

1. David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 54.

2. Betty Tapscott, Inner Healing Through Healing of Memories (Kingwood, TX: Hunter Publishing, 1987), p. 13.

3. Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992), p. 141.

4. Daniel L. Schacter, Searching for Memory (New York: Basic Books, 1996).

5. Charles H. Kraft, Confronting Powerless Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2002).

6. David A. Seamands, Healing Grace (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1988), p. 7.

7. Rita Bennett, Making Peace with Your Inner Child (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1987), p. 174.

8. Siang-Yang Tan, Lay Counseling (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991).

9. Seamands, Redeeming the Past, p. 139.

10. Ibid., p. 181.

Chapter 2: The Aim Is Freedom

1. David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 54.

2. John and Paula Sandford, Transforming the Inner Man (South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1982), p. 261.

3. Charles H. Kraft, Christianity with Power (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2005), pp. 77-90.

4. Ibid., pp. 1-9.

5. George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1959), p. 48.

6. David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), p. 138.

7. David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), pp. 52-57.

8. John and Paula Sandford, God’s Power to Change (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2007), p. 14.

Chapter 3: Who Needs Deep-Level Healing?

1. John Sandford, God’s Power to Change (Lake Mary, FL: Strang Communications, 2007), p. 126.

2. Neil T. Anderson, Victory over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), p. 77.

3. John and Paula Sandford, Transforming the Inner Man (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2007), p. 91.

4. Sandford, God’s Power to Change, p. 91.

5. Rich Buhler, Pain and Pretending (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), p. 35.

6. David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), p. 9.

7. Buhler, Pain and Pretending, pp. 101-102.

8. Ibid., pp. 76-77.

9. David A. Seamands, Healing Grace (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1988), p. 155.

10. Buhler, Pain and Pretending, pp. 124-125.

Chapter 4: Present Problems Are Rooted in Memories

1. Rich Buhler, Pain and Pretending (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), p. 159.

2. David A. Seamands, Healing of Memories (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 38.

3. Daniel L. Schacter, Searching for Memory (New York: Basic Books, 1996), p. 17.

4. Alan Baddeley, Your Memory: A User’s Guide (Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2004), p. 20.

5. Fred Littauer, The Promise of Restoration (San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers, 1990), p. 185.

6. Ibid., p. 192.

7. Ibid., pp. 7-8.

8. Gary Smalley and John Trent, The Language of Love (Pomona, CA: Focus on the Family, 1988), p. 24.

9. David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), p. 28.

10. John and Mark Sandford, A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992), p. 52.

Chapter 5: Dealing with Wounds from the Past

1. David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), p. 106.

2. John and Mark Sandford, A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992), p. 295.

3. Ibid., p. 296.

4. Ibid., p. 117.

Chapter 6: Reactions Are Usually the Main Problem

1. John T. Noonan, “The Experience of Pain by the Newborn,” in Jeff Lane Hensley, The Zero People (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant, 1983), pp. 141-156.

2. Thomas Verny, M.D., with John Kelly, The Secret Life of the Unborn Child (New York: Dell Books, 1982). Quote was taken from Francis and Judith MacNutt, Praying for Your Unborn Child (New York: Doubleday, 1988), p. 3.

3. David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 21.

4. John and Paula Sandford, Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1985), pp. 40-42.

5. Ibid., pp. 34-37.

6. Ibid., pp. 42-43.

7. Ibid., p. 44.

8. Ibid.

9. David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), p. 11.

10. Ibid., p. 138.

11. Ibid.

12. Rich Buhler, Pain and Pretending (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), p. 62.

13. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things, p. 116.

14. Buhler, Pain and Pretending, p. 196.

15. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things, p. 46.

Chapter 7: Healing of a Damaged Self-image

1. David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), pp. 52-57.

2. John Bradshaw, Healing the Shame that Binds You (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1988), p. 143.

3. Ibid., p. 66.

4. Sandra Wilson, Released from Shame (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), pp. 67-68.

5. Ibid., pp. 67-68.

6. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions, p. 49.

7. Ibid., p. 120.

8. Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), pp. 43-44.

9. Colin Brown, ed., Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1976), pp. 821-822.

10. Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness, p. 34.

11. Bradshaw, Healing the Shame that Binds You, pp. 201-202.

Chapter 8: Healing from Loss

1. David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981), p. 44.

2. Jack Hayford, I’ll Hold You in Heaven (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), p. 84.

3. Susan Stanford, Will I Cry Tomorrow? (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1987), p. 135.

4. Francis and Judith MacNutt, Praying for Your Unborn Child (New York: Doubleday, 1988), p. 133.

5. John and Paula Sandford, Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1985), p. 442.

6. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions, p. 44.

Chapter 9: Healing for the Inner Family

1. Richard Schwartz, “Our Multiple Selves,” in The Family Therapy Networker (Washington, DC: The Family Therapy Network, Inc.), March-April 1987, p. 80.

2. Ibid., p. 26.

3. John Rowan, Subpersonalities (New York: Routledge, 1990), p. 8.

4. Eric Berne, Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy (New York: Grove Press, 1961).

5. Richard W. Dickinson and Carol Gift Page, The Child in Each of Us (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989).

6. Rowan, Subpersonalities, p. 9.

7. Schwartz, “Our Multiple Selves,” p. 27.

8. Ibid., pp. 20-29.

9. From a personal communication with Dr. David W. King, a Christian psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who has extensive experience in counseling clients with dissociative disorders, August 9, 1993.

10. James Friesen, Uncovering the Mystery of MPD (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock 1991), p. 114.

11. Ibid., p. 31.

12. Ibid., p. 42.

13. Ibid., p. 164.

14. Doris Bryant, Judy Kessler and Linda Shirar, The Family Inside (New York: W.W. Norton, 1992), 71.

15. Friesen, Uncovering the Mystery of MPD, 54.

16. Bryant, Kessler and Shirar, The Family Inside, pp. 158-59.

17. Friesen, Uncovering the Mystery of MPD, p. 178.

18. Ibid., p. 222.

19. King, personal communication, August 9, 1993.

20. Ibid.

Chapter 10: Dealing with Demonization

1. Charles H. Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992), p. 70.

2. John and Mark Sandford, A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992), p. 112.

3. C. Peter Wagner, The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publication, 1988), p. 76.

Chapter 11: An Orientation for the One Who Ministers

1. David A. Seamands, Healing of Memories (Wheaton, IL: Victory Books, 1985), p. 165.

2. Ibid., p. 133.

3. Ibid., p. 44.

Chapter 12: How to Do Deep-Level Healing

1. C. Peter Wagner, Prayer Shield (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1992), pp. 119ff.

2. Ibid., p. 161.

3. David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 109.

4. David A. Seamands, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982), p. 114.

5. Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990), p. 43.

6. Ibid., p. 34.

7. John Wimber, Power Healing (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987), pp. 198-235.

8. Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness, p. 194.

Chapter 13: Ministry Techniques

1. John and Paula Sandford, Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1985), p. 47.

2. David A. Seamands, Redeeming the Past (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 39.

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Smalley, Gary, and John Trent. The Language of Love. Pomona, CA: Focus on the Family, 1988.

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INDEX

abandonment, 60, 67, 73, 78, 96, 97, 99, 101, 109, 117, 120 121, 141, 169, 210, 221, 225, 245, 253, 254

Charlene (case study), 253, 254

Jenna (case study), 78

Lila (case study), 96, 97, 99

abortion, 54, 117, 155, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 173, 175, 218, 248, 249, 256, 273, 287

June (case study), 248, 249, 250

abuse, 21, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 46, 49, 54, 55, 63, 67, 69, 70, 71, 74, 92, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107, 111, 132, 134, 135, 136, 143, 145, 176, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204, 205, 216, 218, 221, 222, 225, 248, 253, 260, 263, 267, 268, 273, 277, 279, 280, 291

Abby (case study), 195, 196, 197

brings rebellion, 46, 102, 222

Donald (case study), 92

Ellie (case study), 40

forgiving, 190

from addictions, 103, 143

in Multiple Personality Disorder, 185, 186, 187

June (case study), 248

Nancy (case study), 106

Ollie (case study), 224, 225

physical, 102, 136, 218

ritual, 21, 171, 194, 201, 204, 277

spiritual, 34, 35, 37

in subself, 180, 181, 186, 189, 190, 193

verbal, 102, 111, 136, 187, 218

addictions, 76, 103, 143, 144, 145

to alcohol, 76, 101, 103, 144, 187

to approval, 144, 145

adopted person, 120, 121, 149

alcoholism, 3, 11, 101, 103, 144, 187

Julie (case study), 52

alternate consciousness, 185, 195

alter personalities discerned from demons (chart), 207

Anderson, Neil, 51, 59, 76, 94, 147, 149, 153, 227, 246, 259, 283, 285, 286, 287

anger, 19, 21, 22, 24, 32, 35, 45, 46, 47, 54, 55, 59, 62, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 82, 83, 85, 88, 92, 93, 96, 97, 100, 101, 102, 105, 106, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 123, 125, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 145, 151, 155, 156, 160, 162, 163, 166, 170, 172, 174, 180, 187, 191, 196, 200, 213, 217, 218, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 244, 249, 254, 256, 267, 273

as sin, 46, 47, 54, 55, 59, 62, 70, 105, 129, 134, 160, 174, 218

at God, 24, 67, 75, 134, 244

at self, 75, 132, 134

giving it to God, 85, 93, 130, 131, 135

in Multiple Personality Disorder, 187, 200

Jamey (case study), 24

Larry (case study), 120, 121, 123

Lila, 96, 97

Paul (case study), 19

prayer for, 58, 254

produces fear, 72, 75, 101, 118

responsibility for, 46, 55, 125

Sally (case study), 133

unforgiveness brings, 22, 45, 46, 54, 55, 62, 67, 75, 83, 85, 97, 101, 121, 129, 130, 131, 133, 151, 196, 200, 213, 218, 222, 227, 254

anti-psychology movement, 11

approval-addiction, 145

authority, 30, 31, 32, 33, 37, 39, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 58, 59, 62, 63, 68, 72, 73, 80, 102, 110, 112, 135, 136, 147, 151, 164, 174, 179, 205, 215, 216, 217, 222, 224, 225, 226, 227, 230, 231, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 243, 251, 253, 255, 257, 258, 264, 272, 273, 280, 281, 287, 289

in prayer, 32, 272

problems with, 46, 72, 102, 179, 253, 255

spiritual, 45, 49, 216, 226, 234, 236, 240, 243, 251, 281

Dan (case study), 264

taking, 30, 37, 39, 47, 59, 62, 68, 80, 110, 112, 135, 136, 147, 151, 164, 174, 217, 224, 225, 226, 227, 230, 231, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 257, 258, 272, 273, 280

back-to-the-womb exercise, 96, 120, 150, 248, 256, 266, 270, 274

Bennett, Rita, 26, 179, 209, 283, 287

Berne, Eric, 177, 285, 287

bitterness, 54, 59, 62, 67, 70, 75, 82, 93, 97, 100, 106, 113, 114, 125, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 151, 156, 160, 207, 213, 218, 222, 225, 249, 254, 267

giving it to God, 62, 70, 82, 93, 97, 106, 114, 125, 129, 131, 133, 134, 135, 249

Lila (case study), 97

prayer for, 58, 151

responsibility for, 59

unforgiveness brings, 54, 67, 75, 129

blood of Christ, 94, 256, 278

Bobgan, Martin and Deidre, 10, 287

Bradshaw, John, 142, 143, 152, 285, 287

Browne, Marti, 7

Bryant, Kessler and Shirar, 200, 201, 202, 209, 285, 287

Buhler, Rich, 64, 70, 81, 127, 130, 137, 265, 283, 284, 287

cancer, spirit of, 217

Came, David, 7

Cappachione, Lucia, 179, 287

Child in Each of Us, The, 178, 285, 288

Christian counselors, 194, 208

Christian Science, 68, 79

Christianity with Power, 11, 43, 51, 259, 283, 289

Cole, Star, 87, 88, 288

Collins, Gary, 12, 283, 288

compulsions, 76, 213

conditions resulting from prebirth experiences, 96, 101, 114, 116, 118, 130, 270

confession, 38, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 63, 126, 127, 238, 240

in prayer, 34, 46, 47, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 90, 112, 126, 127, 141, 143, 160, 163, 168, 238, 255, 260

lack of, 56, 58, 66, 126, 127, 128, 218

confidentiality, 245, 246

confusion, 9, 10, 53, 75, 102, 103, 144, 160, 180, 182, 206, 207, 215, 217, 222, 262, 279

Connell, Jeanie, 7

control, 18, 43, 45, 62, 73, 74, 76, 90, 97, 99, 102, 103, 118, 133, 158, 173, 180, 181, 187, 195, 213, 221, 223, 232, 244, 254, 260, 264, 273

conversion, 18, 34, 104, 105, 124, 214

accepting Jesus, 18, 34, 105, 124, 188, 190, 204, 214

with Multiple Personality Disorder, 190

only a beginning, 104, 105

problems after, 124

counselee, 10, 27, 28, 55, 59, 78, 79, 109, 110, 134, 155, 164, 178, 208, 215, 227, 245, 259, 260, 265, 279, 280

authority of, 110

as minister, 259

needs to experience Jesus, 109

reparenting, 191, 192

counseling, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 110, 160, 181, 194, 208, 226, 245, 257, 283, 285, 285, 288, 291

internalizing problems in, 71, 99, 111, 125, 163, 245,

lay, 151, 189, 207, 208, 283, 291

pastoral, 30

post-deliverance, 226

post-prayer, 257

prayer in, 255, 256, 257

counselor, 10, 12, 27, 28, 60, 80, 135, 151, 160, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 200, 205, 207, 280, 209, 221, 245, 248, 267, 268

gains intimacy, 48, 50

overdependence on, 245

cross of Christ, 277, 278

used against Satan, 226, 278

curses, 28, 30, 67, 68, 80, 132, 142, 143, 144, 151, 152, 156, 157, 217, 222, 255, 256, 272, 273

death, 36, 44, 57, 75, 80, 89, 99, 101, 103, 116, 117, 119, 127, 130, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 202, 212, 217, 221, 256, 257

abortion, 54, 117, 155, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 173, 175, 218, 248, 249, 256, 273, 287

adult, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167

Elsie (case study), 158, 165

healing the loss of, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 173

infant, 155, 159, 160, 161

Jenny (case study), 156

Larry (case study), 173

miscarriage, 27, 101, 117, 119, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 256

Randy (case study), 155, 156, 157

spirit of, 80, 173, 212

deep-level healing, 9, 10, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 38, 40, 42, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 65, 68, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 88, 95, 110, 112, 113, 123, 126, 129, 136, 155, 157, 158, 159, 160, 163, 164, 167, 170, 171, 173, 179, 180, 185, 188, 194, 199, 202, 205, 208, 209, 212, 213, 222, 223, 225, 226, 229, 230, 231, 233, 234, 238, 240, 241, 242, 246, 247, 250, 254, 259, 261, 265, 269, 281, 282, 283, 286

borrows insights, 28, 33, 85, 241, 247, 253, 261, 264

of Christians with demons, 213, 214

confession, 38, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 63, 238

and counseling, 9, 11, 12, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 110, 160, 181, 194, 208, 226, 245, 257

curses, 80, 143, 144, 151, 255, 272, 273

defined, 20, 21, 22

demons, 210, 211, 212, 231, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227

distinguishing features, 31, 32, 33

forgiveness, 22, 36, 38, 45, 46, 47, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 66, 74, 85, 93, 101, 112, 114, 125, 126, 129, 130, 132, 141, 151, 160, 167, 168, 168, 170, 171, 181, 183, 190, 193, 218, 267, 275, 276, 279, 281

from loss of death, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 172

holistic, 26, 32

Jamey (case study), 24, 25

Julie (case study), 52, 53, 55, 121, 122

leads to freedom, 9, 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 57, 63, 66, 78, 83, 85, 97, 104, 106, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 116, 122, 125, 131, 132, 135, 147, 151, 152, 153, 157, 162, 163, 164, 166, 170, 189, 192, 218, 219, 220, 221, 226, 231, 233, 234, 235, 239, 240, 242, 252, 260, 263, 271, 275, 278, 281, 283

method, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265

Paul (case study), 18, 19, 20

of persons with Multiple Personality Disorder, 32, 172, 185, 186, 187, 189, 190, 193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 208

power of Holy Spirit, 21, 28, 65, 205, 241, 257, 270, 281

of relationships, 19, 23, 27, 29, 30, 31, 48, 53, 57, 63, 65, 109, 110, 136, 147, 192, 249, 269, 276

sexual sin, 61, 62, 168, 171, 188, 249

of sin, 55, 56, 60, 158

of sinners, 46, 53, 56, 143

to inner child, 113, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 195, 200, 207, 224, 249, 257, 270, 274, 275, 276

wrapped in love, 32

Defeating Dark Angels, 31, 33, 61, 68, 123, 153, 175, 204, 209, 212, 215, 222, 228, 256, 283, 286, 289

demonization, 32, 40, 68, 172, 173, 203, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 286

Demon Possession and the Christian, 214, 288

demons, 9, 10, 28, 30, 31, 39, 42, 43, 44, 60, 61, 63, 68, 71, 79, 80, 91, 93, 121, 123, 133, 166, 172, 173, 174, 175, 196, 197, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 231, 233, 239, 240, 255, 256, 274, 278

Abby (case study), 196, 197

Allyson (case study), 210, 211, 212, 213, 216

casting out, 9, 30, 278

demonized alters, 203, 204

Diane (case study), 204

disrupting ministry, 175, 224

from Freemasonry, 68, 79, 80, 215, 217

from Satanic ritual, 205

getting them out, 225, 226

Herb (case study), 205

ignorance of, 174, 211, 213, 215, 220, 221

in Christians, 212, 213, 214

in Multiple Personality Disorder, 172, 203

in puberty and adulthood, 123

in Western worldview, 219

inhabiting a place, 174, 175

inhabiting through unconfessed sin, 218

inherited, 79, 80, 212, 217, 255, 256

internal garbage gives access to, 220

inviting, 81, 173, 215, 216, 222

Irene (case study), 206

leading to suicide, murder, 173, 174

Larry (case study), 121, 123, 172, 173

Margaret (case study), 173, 174

Nancy (case study), 106, 107

Nate (case study), 216, 217

Ollie (case study), 223, 224, 225

within person, 212, 213, 214, 215, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227

depression, 20, 21, 45, 74, 96, 97, 117, 118, 138, 160, 225, 254

Lila (case study), 96, 97

desire to escape, 103

diabetes, spirit, 217,

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, The, 287

Dickason, C. Fred, 214, 288

Dickinson, Richard, 177, 178, 285, 288

dissociative disorders, 194, 208, 285

warning for counselors, 208

divination, 79, 162

divorce, 25, 40, 99, 111, 154, 155, 158, 168, 169, 170, 171, 210

Eckart, George, 261

emotions, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 36, 40, 41, 45, 46, 48, 52, 60, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 75, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 98, 100, 101, 102, 105, 110, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 122, 123, 124, 126, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 137, 141, 142, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 166, 167, 172, 177, 179, 180, 182, 185, 187, 191, 192, 194, 195, 199, 201, 202, 204, 212, 214, 215, 217, 218, 221, 222, 223, 226, 243, 244, 246, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 259, 260, 261, 263, 268, 271, 272, 273, 275, 278, 281, 283, 284, 285, 287, 290, 291

damage in childhood, 122

health, 65, 179

hurt, 82, 94, 98, 150, 215

mother’s, 115, 161

emotional problems, 22, 26, 31, 74, 75, 105, 204, 263

after birth (chart), 116, 117, 118

rooted in past, 259, 260

rooted in womb, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121

in Sandford family, 119, 120, 121

Enlightenment, The, 11

envy, 35, 59, 115, 140, 141, 146, 151, 199

facing the past, 107, 108

fasting, 49, 133, 139, 143, 170, 250, 251

fear, 20, 21, 38, 43, 45, 46, 53, 67, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 83, 85, 88, 89, 92, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 112, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 123, 125, 134, 141, 142, 144, 154, 157, 161, 166, 183, 184, 187, 189, 191, 197, 202, 207, 213, 215, 217, 218, 221, 222, 225, 226, 234, 248, 249, 252, 254, 256, 269, 270, 273, 279

June (case study), 248, 249

responsibility for, 124

spirit of, 226

feelings, 18, 19, 21, 24, 26, 34, 43, 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 70, 73, 75, 78, 82, 83, 84, 85, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 99, 100, 103, 106, 107, 111, 113, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 126, 127, 128, 131, 133, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 147, 160, 161, 167, 172, 177, 181, 185, 188, 191, 193, 195, 198, 199, 200, 202, 203, 204, 207, 208, 215, 218, 223, 224, 242, 244, 248, 249, 253, 254, 260, 263, 267, 270, 273, 274, 275, 276, 279, 280, 287

inferiority, 20, 47, 73, 140

releasing, 131, 134

Feia, Beth, 7

flashbacks, 74, 86

forgiveness, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 36, 38, 39, 40, 45, 46, 47, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 65, 66, 70, 74, 79, 85, 92, 93, 101, 106, 112, 113, 114, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 141, 143, 151, 160, 163, 165, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 181, 182, 183, 190, 192, 193, 197, 201, 204, 218, 224, 235, 238, 240, 249, 255, 260, 267, 272, 273, 275, 276, 278, 279, 281, 291

as releasing others, 135

as basic, 129

authority to forgive, 58, 59

Dan (case study), 264

difficult, 93

in divorce, suicide, and rebellious separation, 170, 171

June (case study), 249

of abuser, 190

of the dead, 167, 168

of the guilty, 132

of the Lord, 46, 47

of self, 127, 132, 133, 134

Paul (case study), 18, 20

separation, 168, 171

freedom, 9, 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 57, 63, 66, 78, 83, 85, 97, 104, 106, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 116, 122, 125, 131, 132, 134, 135, 147, 151, 152, 153, 157, 162, 163, 164, 166, 170, 189, 192, 218, 219, 220, 221, 226, 231, 233, 234, 235, 239, 240, 242, 252, 260, 263, 271, 275, 278, 281, 283, 288

from death’s power, 157

from demons, 224, 225

from Enemy, 45

Holy Spirit’s role in bringing, 106, 109

Jesus gives, 36, 37

Jesus invites to, 11

leads to intimacy, 47

not instant, 104

through prayer, 124

to choose sin, 63

Freeing Your Mind from Memories That Bind, 246, 289

Freemasonry, 68, 79, 80, 215, 217

Friesen, James, 197, 198, 199, 200, 202, 206, 209, 227, 285, 288

fusion, 202, 203

Gazzaniga, Michael, 176, 177, 288

grief, 37, 159, 165, 166, 167, 275

guilt, 18, 20, 21, 24, 35, 38, 45, 46, 47, 53, 56, 60, 61, 67, 73, 74, 75, 85, 92, 97, 100, 102, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 126, 127, 128, 129, 132, 133, 139, 141, 142, 154, 155, 160, 161, 163, 165, 168, 169, 172, 183, 191, 204, 213, 218, 222, 225, 254, 267

Amy (case study), 111, 112, 113

pain connected with, 128, 129

Terry (case study), 128, 129

unconfessed sin brings, 126, 127, 128, 129

victim’s feeling, 127, 128

habits, 20, 45, 46, 47, 55, 60, 62, 83, 90, 110, 112, 122, 123, 124, 127, 139, 145, 151, 152, 167, 174, 198, 199, 226, 227, 249, 257

Halloween, 219

hate, spirit of, 217

Hayford, Jack, 159, 175, 285, 288

healing, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 116, 118, 119, 123, 125, 126, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 136, 137, 138, 141, 143, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 194, 196, 199, 200, 201, 202, 205, 206, 208, 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 218, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 250, 252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 273, 274, 275, 276, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292

brings intimacy, 50

Charlene (case study), 254

combined with gospel, 39

Dan (case study), 264

Donald (case study), 92

Ellie (case study), 40

facing the past, 107, 108

God’s power for, 105

hindrances to, 106, 107

inner healing, 9, 11, 20, 21, 33, 45, 60, 77, 93, 110, 125, 173, 178, 187, 189, 191, 194, 196, 211, 212, 223, 224, 225, 226, 228, 233, 283, 290, 291

Jamey (case study), 24, 25

Jenna (case study), 77, 78

June (case study), 248, 249, 250

loss of death, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167

love underlies, 38, 39, 40

ministry, 25, 30, 48, 158, 232

of physical medicine, 29, 30

pain, 230

proclaims the kingdom, 39

responsibility for, 262, 263

rooted in spiritual problems, 26

surface-level, 39, 40, 253

trauma of murder, 171, 172

willingness to work at, 241

woman in her fifties (case study), 92

Healing Grace, 51, 76, 153, 283, 284, 291

Healing the Shame That Binds You, 152, 285, 287

Healing the Wounded Spirit, 20, 175, 228

Hixson, Gary, 7

Holy Spirit, 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 33, 40, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 56, 61, 62, 65, 77, 78, 79, 85, 86, 90, 91, 96, 97, 104, 106, 107, 109, 126, 143, 155, 164, 165, 170, 178, 182, 189, 197, 205, 213, 214, 220, 224, 227, 232, 233, 236, 240, 241, 242, 244, 247, 249, 250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 257, 264, 266, 267, 269, 270, 275, 276, 279, 281, 286, 291

demons in persons with, 213, 214

leads to a subself, 189

prayer to, 251, 252

present in healing as technique, 281

work under guidance of, 241, 242, 251

homosexuality, spirit of, 217, 218

hurts (see “wounds” and “pain”), 21, 25, 36, 46, 50, 54, 74, 81, 84, 85, 93, 98, 107, 150, 165, 168, 192, 215, 242, 244, 274, 289

Peter’s, 37, 38

protection from perpetrators of, 135

illness, 25, 63, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 116, 130, 155, 160, 163, 165, 217, 253

psychosomatic, 75

relational, 71, 72

spiritual, 66, 67

imagery, 11, 90, 94, 202, 207

indecisiveness, 102

inner child, 99, 113, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 195, 200, 207, 224, 249, 257, 270, 274, 275, 276

apology to, 191

Jenny (case study), 181, 182, 183, 187, 188, 191

Jerry (case study), 181, 183, 187, 188

reparenting, 191, 192

inner family, 176, 177, 179, 208, 285

integration with Self, 178

technique in working with, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193

inner healing, 9, 11, 20, 21, 33, 45, 60, 77, 93, 110, 125, 173, 178, 187, 189, 191, 194, 196, 211, 212, 223, 224, 225, 226, 233

psychology and, 11

techniques of, 11

insecurity, 77, 102, 117, 144, 187

interviewing, 12, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255

intimacy, 20, 23, 35, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 61, 66, 73, 75, 234, 236, 237, 239, 281, 282, 290

from ministry, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

in prayer, 239

Joy (case study), 49

with Lord, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

Jashinski, Tracy, 7

Kearney, Ellyn, 7

King, Dr. David, 7, 191, 208, 285

kingdoms (God’s and Satan’s) at war, 43, 44, 45

Kluft, Richard, 202, 289

Ladd, George Eldon, 44, 283, 289

Lay Counseling: Equipping Christians for a Helping Ministry, 12, 27

left brain orientation, 89

listening, 31, 32, 34, 79, 92, 161, 192, 219, 227, 237, 239, 241, 243, 247, 252, 267

Littauer, Fred and Florence, 85, 86, 87, 246, 284, 289

loving abusers, 132

lying, 52, 53, 61, 90, 105

Julie (case study), 52, 53

Paul (case study), 18, 19, 20

MacNutt, Francis and Judith, 94, 162, 175, 284, 285, 289

Making Peace with Your Inner Child, 179, 283, 287

masturbation, 18, 19, 76, 139

Matzat, Don, 10, 289

medicine as curse, 30

memories, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 33, 35, 38, 46, 53, 62, 70, 71, 74, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 106, 107, 108, 109, 114, 121, 150, 151, 166, 167, 170, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 188, 194, 195, 196, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 208, 211, 224, 227, 246, 249, 253, 267, 268, 269, 270, 274, 277, 279, 280, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 291

body, 280

in subself, 186

in womb, 270

June (case study), 247, 248, 249, 250

methods for retrieval of, 87, 88

retrieved, 85, 86, 87, 88

revealed in picture, 89

technique for healing, 279, 280

unhealed, 74

messiah complex, 145

ministry (of healing, of prayer) authority for, 233

blockage in, 262

compassion in, 242, 243, 244

deliverance, 30, 31

developing a heart for, 25

emotions in, 244

guidance of Holy Spirit, 241, 242

guidelines for, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263

leading to intimacy, 50, 51

learning, 247, 248, 249, 250

need for spiritual strength, 242

openness to Holy Spirit in, 244

practice ministry (Mary Jo ministers to June), 247, 248, 249, 250

prayer in, 31, 32, 151, 152

prayer support for, 250

steps in, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259

to child, 280, 281

to Christians with demons, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228

to inner family, 176, 191

to the grieving, 161, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167

to multiple personalities, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193

willingness of person necessary for, 240, 241

miscarriage, 27, 101, 117, 119, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 256

Bob (case study), 161

Jim and Penny (case study) 154, 156

Judy (case study), 27

mood altering, 143

Mormonism, 68, 79, 215,

Moses mistake, the, 31

mourning, 37, 159, 160, 161, 163, 275

Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), 32, 49, 172, 185, 186, 187, 189, 190, 193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 208, 209, 227, 285, 288, 290

Abby (case study), 195, 196, 197

demonic activity in, 203, 204, 205, 206

hate, 199, 200

ministry to, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203

Nancy (case study), 106

murder, 59, 75, 89, 159, 171, 172, 173, 174

distraught mother (case study), 171, 172

Esther (case study), 172

Margaret (case study), 173, 174

Mark (case study), 171

names, 43, 80, 142, 154, 173, 196, 221, 256

New Age, 11, 33, 79, 89, 90, 215, 216

Noonan, John T., 114, 284, 290

ouija board, 79, 215

pain, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 35, 36, 38, 51, 52, 55, 64, 70, 75, 77, 78, 81, 82, 86, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 97, 98, 101, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 114, 118, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 134, 137, 142, 143, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 163, 164, 166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 173, 180, 181, 182, 183, 187, 188, 193, 197, 201, 215, 223, 224, 230, 249, 253, 258, 263, 265, 267, 278, 280, 283, 284, 287, 290

of adult death, 163, 164, 165

of infant death, 159, 160, 161

Pain and Pretending, 64, 70, 127, 137, 265, 283, 284, 287

palmistry, 79

perfectionism, 74, 100, 102

performance orientation, 74, 75, 76, 100, 116, 144

picturing, 18, 27, 33, 62, 85, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 154, 162, 164, 167, 183, 184, 193, 215, 257, 258, 269, 277, 278, 279

faith-picturing, 18, 27

people with difficulties in, 92, 93, 94

Satan’s interference with, 91

pornography, 61, 76, 103, 217, 222

and demonic activity, 222

spirit of, 217

Power Healing, 254, 286, 292

prayer, 9, 18, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 45, 48, 49, 50, 53, 58, 60, 67, 78, 79, 86, 87, 90, 94, 96, 101, 103, 114, 116, 118, 119, 120, 122, 124, 127, 129, 130, 139, 143, 147, 152, 154, 164, 165, 170, 173, 175, 181, 194, 197, 200, 208, 209, 211, 212, 225, 227, 232, 233, 234, 237, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 247, 250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 257, 258, 261, 262, 264, 266, 270, 272, 277, 278, 280, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 291

as magic, 236

authoritative, 251, 255

for grieving, 165, 166, 167

personal, 250

prebirth experiences, 96, 101, 114, 116, 118, 130, 270

Promise of Restoration, 86, 284, 289

Promise of Restoration Workshop Manual, 87

psychology, 10, 11, 12, 13, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 34, 47, 74, 89, 140, 177, 178, 185, 187, 188, 189, 193, 194, 195, 197, 201, 202, 208, 221, 285, 287

anti-psychology movement, 11

Christian, 11

Enlightenment, The, 11

New Age, 11

occult, 11

pro-psychology, 11

Putting Away Childish Things, 51, 69, 137, 153, 179, 209, 283, 284, 286, 291

Putnam, Frank, 202, 290

rage, spirit of, 217

Rainey, Barbara, 123

Rationalism, 11, 42

reactions (emotional), 21, 74, 83, 126, 192

Amy (case study), 111, 112, 113

fear, 20, 21, 38, 43, 45, 46, 53, 67, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 83, 85, 88, 89, 92, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 112, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 123, 125, 134, 141, 142, 144, 154, 157, 161, 166, 183, 184, 187, 189, 191, 197, 202, 207, 213, 215, 217, 218, 221, 222, 225, 226, 234, 248, 249, 252, 254, 256, 269, 270, 273, 279

feeling unwanted, 19, 120, 139

guilt, 18, 20, 21, 24, 35, 38, 45, 46, 47, 53, 56, 60, 61, 67, 73, 74, 75, 85, 92, 97, 100, 102, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 126, 127, 128, 129, 132, 133, 139, 141, 142, 154, 155, 160, 161, 163, 165, 168, 169, 172, 183, 191, 204, 213, 218, 222, 225, 254, 267

in puberty, 122, 123

in the womb, 114, 115, 116

Jill (case study), 122

lethargy, 119

loneliness, 117, 119, 138, 166, 187, 192, 224, 239

poor self-image, 121, 122

rejection, 20, 21, 45, 74, 75, 83, 85, 92, 99, 100, 113, 115, 116, 120, 121, 123, 133, 139, 151, 169, 187, 192, 204, 213, 217, 218, 221, 223, 225, 226, 247, 249, 254, 267, 271, 288

responsibility for, 124, 125

shame, 21, 45, 52, 56, 71, 73, 75, 83, 85, 92, 97, 100, 102, 106, 111, 112, 114, 117, 120, 123, 125, 126, 138, 142, 143, 144, 150, 151, 152, 172, 183, 187, 191, 195, 208, 213, 222, 225, 254, 256, 267, 285, 287, 292

rebellion, 43, 46, 73, 75, 102, 140, 149, 170, 222, 235, 254

Recovery of Your Inner Child, 179, 287

rejection, 20, 21, 45, 74, 75, 83, 85, 92, 99, 100, 113, 115, 116, 120, 121, 123, 133, 139, 151, 169, 187, 192, 204, 213, 217, 218, 221, 223, 225, 226, 247, 249, 254, 267, 271, 288,

spirit of, 217

relationship with God, 35, 47, 65, 66, 73, 109, 147, 237, 245, 253

relationships, 35, 47, 48, 53, 62, 65, 67, 69, 71, 72, 73, 102, 103, 120, 138, 144, 155, 157, 158, 168, 198, 247, 249, 253, 256, 257, 259, 275

affected by poor self-image, 72

bonding, 157, 158

broken, 72,

broken by death, 156, 157

broken by divorce, 168, 169, 170, 171

broken by rebellious separation, 168, 169, 170, 171

broken by suicide, 168, 169, 170

family, 168, 169, 253

intimacy achieved in, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

setting boundaries in, 135, 136, 137

to fetus, 159, 160, 161

wounds from, 97, 98, 99

Released from Shame, 144, 285, 292

reparenting, 191, 192

resentment, 19, 20, 46, 47, 54, 69, 75, 97, 100, 101, 112, 113, 114, 115, 125, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 218, 225, 249, 267

and unforgiveness, 131, 218

giving it to God, 131, 132

responsibility for, 124

responsibility, 36, 46, 52, 53, 55, 63, 65, 100, 113, 117, 118, 124, 125, 156, 262

Rowan, John, 9, 177, 209, 285, 290

Sandford, John and Mark, 33, 93, 104, 107, 216, 228, 265, 284, 286, 290

Sandford, John and Paula, 20, 21, 33, 36, 48, 51, 58, 60, 61, 76, 94, 110, 116, 118, 119, 137, 153, 166, 167, 175, 228, 246, 278, 283, 284, 285, 286, 290, 291

Satan (the Devil, the Enemy), 11, 12, 13, 18, 22, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 52, 54, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73, 79, 80, 90, 91, 101, 105, 110, 112, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 133, 134, 135, 136, 140, 141, 143, 146, 147, 148, 149, 151, 154, 156, 157, 158, 165, 169, 173, 174, 175, 204, 213, 214, 218, 219, 220, 227, 230, 231, 235, 237, 238, 242, 252, 255, 256, 257, 258, 260, 261, 262, 263, 266, 268, 272, 278, 280

allowed to hurt, 134

as victimizer, 64, 65

defense against, 146, 147

followers of, 11

harassment by, 67, 68

powers that serve, 43

power in womb, 272, 273

strategy of, 110, 140, 141, 146, 147, 156, 157

Satanic Ritual Abuse, 21, 201, 204

Sally (case study), 205

Satanism, 79

Schwartz, Richard, 176, 177, 179, 180, 208, 209, 285, 291

Scientology, 68, 79, 215

Seamands, David A., 20, 29, 33, 36, 45, 47, 51, 69, 71, 76, 82, 90, 94, 98, 110, 115, 124, 126, 127, 128, 131, 137, 153, 154, 179, 209, 243, 244, 246, 253, 265, 279, 283, 284, 285, 286, 291

Secret Life of the Unborn Child, The, 115, 284, 291

secularism, 10

Seduction of Christianity, 89, 287, 288

self-image (self-perception, self-concept), 19, 35, 40, 51, 61, 71, 72, 111, 120, 122, 137, 138, 141, 142, 143, 146, 148, 149, 151, 259, 261, 273, 277, 284

Amy (case study), 111

and Scripture, 148, 149

John (case study), 138, 139, 142

Julie (case study), 122

Marge (case study), 138

Sally (case study), 133

self-approval, 143, 144, 145, 146

target of Satan, 140, 141

self-talk, 71, 102, 122, 146, 147, 148, 152, 153

self-worth, 47, 140, 150, 259

separation, 154, 155, 158, 159, 161, 164, 168, 169, 171, 185, 186

shame

Donald (case study)

John (case study)

Shame That Binds You, The

Siang-Yang Tan, 12, 283

sin, 18, 21, 45, 52, 56, 71, 73, 75, 83, 85, 92, 97, 100, 102, 106, 111, 112, 114, 117, 120, 123, 125, 126, 138, 142, 143, 144, 150, 151, 152, 172, 183, 187, 191, 195, 208, 213, 222, 225, 254, 256, 267, 285, 287, 292

cause of spiritual illness, 66

obsession with own, 143

providing entry to demons, 218

sexual, 18, 61, 158, 216

Smalley, Gary, 89, 284, 291

Spangler, Ann, 7

spiritual, 10, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43, 45, 48, 49, 53, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 73, 74, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 90, 101, 120, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 141, 146, 147, 154, 156, 157, 159, 161, 166, 169, 171, 194, 197, 199, 212, 215, 219, 222, 225, 226, 231, 232, 233, 234, 240, 242, 243, 244, 249, 250, 251, 253, 258, 259, 263, 268, 278, 288, 290, 292

illness, 66, 67

problems rooted in past, 259, 260

Stanford, Susan, 160, 175, 285, 291

Sturgis, Barbara, 7, 149

Subpersonalities, 176, 179, 209, 285, 290

Gene (case study), 180

suicide, 103, 168, 169, 170, 173, 174, 208, 211

Margaret (case study), 173, 174

Sutherland-Dodd, Molly, 7

Tapscott, Betty, 20, 283, 291

tarot cards, 79

Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, The, 220, 286, 291

Thomas, Nancy, 7

Transactional Analysis, 285, 287

Transformation of the Inner Man, 20, 51, 110, 137, 246

Trent, John, 89, 284, 291

truth, facing the, 46, 106, 260

Uncovering the Mystery of MPD, 209, 227, 285, 288

unforgiveness, 21, 22, 45, 46, 47, 54, 55, 57, 61, 62, 67, 75, 83, 85, 91, 93, 97, 101, 121, 129, 130, 131, 133, 151, 168, 181, 183, 196, 200, 213, 218, 222, 227, 254, 260

giving it to God, 131, 132

in Multiple Personality Disorder, 200

prayer for, 151

Verny, Dr. Thomas, 115, 116, 284, 291

victimization, 63, 64, 65, 71

Victory Over the Darkness, 51, 76, 94, 147, 149, 153, 227, 246, 259, 283, 285, 286, 287

visualization (see “picturing”), 33, 88, 89, 90, 94, 153

Wagner, Peter, 26, 27, 220, 250, 286, 291

war, cosmic, 43

Wesley, John, 258

Wesleyan renewal, 104

White, Mark H., 4, 7, 181, 262, 264

Wilson, Sandra, 144, 285, 292

Wimber, John, 232, 234, 259, 286, 292

witchcraft, 79, 212

Witte, Paul, 7

words from the Lord, 242, 261

words of knowledge, 91, 224, 241, 242, 262, 263, 276

worldview, 23, 41, 42, 43, 72, 219, 220

“worm theology,” 47, 141

wounds (spiritual), 259, 268

and demons, 217, 218

from divorce, suicide, and rebellious separation, 170

healing from, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110

infected, 106, 260

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One:

A N I NTRODUCTION TO D EEP -L EVEL H EALING

1. What Is Deep-Level Healing?

2. The Aim Is Freedom

3. Who Needs Deep-Level Healing?

4. Present Problems Are Rooted in Memories

Part Two:

S PECIFIC I SSUES IN D EEP -L EVEL H EALING

5. Dealing with Wounds from the Past

6. Reactions Are Usually the Main Problem

7. Healing of a Damaged Self-Image

8. Healing from Loss

9. Healing for the Inner Family

10. Dealing with Demonization

Part Three:

H OW TO D O D EEP -L EVEL H EALING

11. An Orientation for the One Who Ministers

12. How to Do Deep-Level Healing

13. Ministry Techniques

Endnotes

Bibliography

Index