PATTERNS

PATTERNS

I’m sure you have noticed a pattern if you have worked through the first two parts of the Father Ladder (if you haven’t done that click HERE  Part 1 and HERE for Part 2).

Father God relates to our natural fathers and father figures. Our earthly fathers are supposed to provide security, protection and provision for us. Fathers help us to know who we are and give us an identity. When that doesn’t happen our understanding of who Father God is gets twisted and warped.

Jesus relates to our siblings and friends. When we have brothers, sisters and friends we learn how to communicate and relate to others. They help us to get a sense of truth about ourselves. If those relationships are toxic and negative it makes it difficult to understand why Jesus died for us or how we can partner with Him to share His kingdom as friends, brothers and sisters.

What this means is that often the issues we have with being able to have intimacy with our heavenly Father and Jesus is rooted in our relationships with earthly Fathers, brothers, sisters and friends.

That is why it is so important to work through forgiving these folks. Please understand this does not excuse them from what they did to us. I heard someone say yesterday, it is like “we have been so hurt by someone we want to just poison them, so we drink a bottle of poison.” That is what holding on to anger, bitterness and unforgiveness is like. It generally doesn’t affect the other person, but it can create sickness in us and possibly death.

Negative thoughts and feelings actually release harmful chemicals and hormones in our brains that destroy not only parts of our brains; they also affect the rest of our body. The good news is that our brains can be restored with positive thoughts and feelings through forgiving others.

Now before we move on to the third part of the Father Ladder, ask yourself a couple of questions:

1) Do I have a relationship with the Holy Spirit?

2) What does that relationship feel and look like?

FATHER LADDER Part 2

A Prayer for you: Lord, as this dear one who is searching for inner healing continues their journey, I ask that You make Yourself known to them in a special way. Give them Your peace as they go through this process. Amen.

If you have not done so already please go to FATHER LADDER Part 1 and pray through those prayers first.

Again I will lead you through a series of questions to get you thinking and feeling. This time we will focus on your natural brothers/sisters, half brothers/sisters, stepbrothers/sisters, and childhood friends. Sometimes there is quite a long list, especially if your parents had multiple partners or if you moved around a lot as a child.

I suggest you just take a minute and list on a piece of paper or in your journal all your natural brothers and sisters, half brothers/sisters, stepbrothers/sisters, and childhood friends. Let the Lord bring them into your mind. Also you might want to write a word or two about any wounds (emotional/physical) that they were instrumental in you being on the receiving end of. Or if they were a blessing in your life jot that down.

Just allow the Lord to minister to you as you go through this. Have water and Kleenex nearby. Remember to take deliberate breathes occasionally and if you need to get up and move around feel free to do that.



John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. NIV

     
               Did anyone on your list physically abuse you?          Emotionally abuse you?

                    Were you teased unmercifully by anyone on this list? To the point of crying or where you had to strike back or get even?

              Were you abandoned by them at anytime so that you had “to make it” on your own?

                 Do you have emotional or physical pain as these memories come into your mind?

                Do you have a good relationship with them today? If not, what is the reason? Is it on your side or theirs?

    Has what happened with your brother(s)/sister(s) or friends caused you to distrust people and relationships?

I am sure this has stirred up a lot of emotional pain as you have brought these memories back in to your conscious thoughts. Where ever there is pain, there is still a wound that needs healing.

As you go through this prayer I suggest you do it one person and one memory at a time not as a group or blanket prayer. When you have finished with each person and each memory take a red pen and write “forgiven” next to their name on the list you made earlier. If you are unable to finish the list at one sitting keep the paper and come back and finish as soon as possible. Don’t dwell on the misdeeds.

I will be using the words “brothers/sisters” to cover all the “half’s and steps” in the prayer.

Jesus I choose to forgive my brother/sister/friend for list the incident/memory.

I renounce the lie and stronghold that Jesus is like my brother/sister/friend and that Jesus will treat me the same way that brother/sister/friend did. I release them and cancel their debt to me. In the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood, I cancel all of Satan’s authority over me in this memory because it is forgiven.

I receive the truth that Jesus is my Friend. He is a faithful Friend who will never leave me. I receive this truth NOW in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus I ask that You give me new words and mental pictures of You and I receive them now.

Holding onto Bitterness and Anger

Often times we will hold bitterness and anger inside of ourselves because of what brothers/sisters/friends have done to us. Even though you have just gone through forgiving them there is one more step and that is asking God to forgiven you and forgive yourselves for the anger and bitterness. So please finish with the following prayer.

Heavenly Father, forgive me for (the specific sin). I purpose and choose to forgive myself. In the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood, I cancel all of Satan’s authority over me in this sin – I am forgiven. Holy Spirit, heal my heart and tell me Your truth about this situation. Listen …to what the Lord says to you.

Now Go and celebrate your Freedom!

WHY ALL THIS EMPHASIS ON FORGIVENESS?

The most basic reason we need to forgive is because God told us too forgive others. In what is known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’ disciples asked him how they should pray.

Matt 6:9-15

 "This, then, is how you should pray:

"'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts (sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors (people that have sinned against us). And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the 
evil one.”

Jesus goes on to say:

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. NIV

On a physical level I have seen what unforgiveness and bitterness can do in a person’s body and to relationships. As a hospice nurse many times I have seen people when they are dying separated from family due to past wrongs and still be unwilling to make the 1^st move toward reconciliation. It breaks my heart.

I believe many diseases and psychological disorders are related to unforgiveness and bitterness. Science and the medical field are speaking out more than ever about how what we think and feel affects our bodies. The last statistic I read was that over 90 percent of our illnesses and diseases are rooted in our psychologically thinking as it relates to stress.

As you have been reading this did you think of any other male authority in your life that you need to forgive? Or did you remember another past wrong that was committed against you by someone you have just forgiven? Let’s clean this out now and get forgiven also.

Please pray this prayer with me:

In the name of Jesus, I purpose and choose to forgive 

(name of person) from my heart for (what they did). 

In the name of The Lord Jesus,

I cancel all their debts and obligations to me.

Dear Lord, I ask You to forgive me for my bitterness toward 

(name of person) in this situation.

In the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood, I cancel

Satan’s authority over me in this situation because I have forgiven.

In the name of Jesus, I command that all the tormentors that have been assigned to me because

of my unforgiveness to leave me, now.

Holy Spirit, I invite you into my heart and to heal me of this pain.

Please speak Your words of truth to me about this situation/person.

Take a moment to Rejoice in your Freedom!

What a Gift to Give for Christmas!

One of the greatest means of inner healing is forgiveness. Right now, today, think about people in your life that you are still holding anger and bitterness against. Make a list of those people with what they did.

I know some of you are saying, “I forgave them all ready.” When you think of that person does it still hurt you on the inside? Then you have with held some forgiveness.

In future articles I will discuss how unforgiveness affects our bodies and minds. But for right now, make your list then pray these prayers with me and give the gift of forgiveness for Christmas.

Heavenly Father, I purpose and choose to forgive . . . (the person for what they did). I release them and cancel their debt to me. In the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood, I cancel all of Satan’s authority over me in this memory because it is forgiven. Now tell me Your truth about this situation. Listen …..

Write down in your journal what the Lord is saying to you.

Heavenly Father, forgive me for withholding forgiveness from . . . (the person). I purpose and choose to forgive myself. In the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood, I cancel all of Satan’s authority over me in this sin – I am forgiven. Holy Spirit, heal my heart and tell me Your truth about this situation. Listen …

Write down in your journal what the Lord is saying to you.

Rejoice in your freedom!

Matt 6:14 For if you forgive men (and women) when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. NIV

HOW TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:

God loves you whether you are a “Christian” or not! He loves you so much that He provided a way for you and Him to be together both now and after you physically die.

If you have lived in this world very long you must realize that you (and everyone else) have done things that are: wrong, immoral, mean spirited, full of anger, jealousy, bitterness and the list goes on. These kinds of things separate us from having a relationship with God.

God is Holy; He cannot allow us (humanity) to have access to Him for eternity in the state we are in. Because He loves us, He planned from the beginning of time to provide a way for us to call out to Him and to change our relationship with Him so that we can always have access to Father God. It requires our choice though; God wants us to want an intimate relationship with Him.

For any intimate relationship to work well, you need both sides to be honest and open in their communication. They both have to want to be with the other person. It always requires some sacrificing of one’s own needs or wants for the other person in the relationship.

So God decided to come to earth as a man, Jesus. Father God called Jesus – Son of God. As previously stated intimate relationships require sacrificing our own needs for another. Jesus came to sacrifice himself so that we could have an intimate relationship with Him and Father God.

You might be asking; what do I have to sacrifice for this relationship with God? There is the beauty of what God did for you and me. All we have to do is acknowledge that we have not always acted in love toward other people or toward ourselves for that matter. We do have to believe that Jesus came in the flesh here on earth as the Son of God to provide the sacrifice that is required for us to have an intimate relationship with God. How simple is that!

Read through this with me:

God I want to know You and have a relationship with You. I am sorry for the way I have treated other people & how I’ve thought about myself in the negative. I want that to change. I believe that You sent Jesus, Your Son to earth to sacrifice His life for me so that I can have that intimate relationship with You & Jesus; now and in eternity.

CONGRATULATIONS! You are now in relationship with Father God and Jesus, welcome to the Family of God.

THE BONUS PACKAGE:

When you spoke to God and read that paragraph with me, you got a bonus package also. God’s Spirit came into your heart to live there permanently. His Spirit put a label (seal) on you that says you now belong to God. It’s like having a living breathing person/passport/ATM card living inside of you. Now it is up to you to learn how to communicate (talk) with God, allow Him to teach you about Himself and show you how to live a life full of joy and peace.

A good place to start is to get a bible in a language you can understand, like the New Living Translation or New International Version. I would suggest you start with the Book of John which is in the second part of the bible called the New Testament.

What does this all have to do with inner healing? It will be much easier now for you to be able to receive healing in those deep places of your soul because God is living in you. Often times people find that they have received a lot of healing by just doing what you did, beginning that relationship with God.

Please allow me to say a blessing over you: Father, I bless this dear one that has just joined our Family. What an adventure you will have with Father God, Jesus and the Spirit. Lord I ask that You protect their relationship with You and grow it in ever greater intimacy day by day.

Father's Love Letter

Father God love's you with an everlasting love.  So before you start your journey of inner healing please watch or read what God says about and to you:

AN INTIMATE MESSAGE FROM GOD TO YOU

My Child,
You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

 I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

 Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

 In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

 I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

 I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

 Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications Copyright 1999-2010 www.FathersLoveLetter.com