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!

FATHER LADDER Part 1

Before we start, ask someone you know to be praying for you as you go through this process. Click HERE to go to an Opening Prayer.

With this first step in SOZO (see A Bit of Personal History for an introduction to SOZO) I’ll first lead you through a series of questions to get you thinking and feeling.

As you read the following questions you will need pencil, pen and paper to write down your thoughts and feelings, so that we can come back to your descriptions and memories further on. Plus if you are journaling, this will give you a record of your healing.

Choose several or all of the following questions to describe your relationship with either Father God, your natural father or the main authority male figure in your life as you were growing up (i.e. stepfather, uncle, pastor, youth leader, etc.)

Often times just thinking about these memories can bring on strong emotions so take your time and be as honest with yourself as you can. If you are feeling anxious be sure you take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly. Have a glass of water nearby so can start flushing out any toxins that get released through this process.

(Remember God loved you even through your painful past and He loves you right now.)

What do you think of Father God or your natural father, or the main authority male figure in your life as you were growing up (i.e. stepfather, uncle, pastor, youth leader, etc.)?

How do you see him? Is he close or distant? Is he smiling or stern?

What do you feel in his presence?

What do you think he thinks of you?

What was your relationship with your father or male authority figure

like as you were growing up? What is it like now?

Describe your most painful and/or positive experience with your father (father figure).

Okay, are you ready to go on?

Read back over what you have written down. Now take a red pen or pencil, go back over it and circle every word that has a negative description to it. Examples would be: mean, never there for me, hit me, sexually or verbally abused me, etc.

Now go back over your answers to the questions a second time using a blue pen or pencil and circle all of the positive descriptive words, fun times, supportive, etc.

On a separate piece of paper make 2 columns, one titled Negative and the other one Positive. Under the Negative column list all of the words circled in red that described your relationship with your father, Father God or main male authority figure in your life.

Now do the same in the Positive column with the words you circled in blue.

Most people’s lists have more words in one column than the other, this is normal.

Now I want you to just get up, stretch and drink some water.

Alright let’s get back to this, have your paper that has the 2 columns of words on it in front of you.

Just quickly read through the following prayer of forgiveness once. Now I want you to put whatever you called your father (male authority figure) (example, Dad) in the prayer where it says natural father (father figure) and then in the area after the word “for” insert the list of negative words in your column.

Make a fist of one of your hands and place it over your heart. Now pray this prayer.

Heavenly Father I choose to forgive my natural father (father figure) for ___________.

I forgive him for misrepresenting You Father God by treating me in ways that You would not.

I cancel all his debts and obligations to me and I release him from my judgment. Open your fist away from your heart.

I renounce the lie and stronghold that my Heavenly Father is like my natural father (father figure).

I receive the truth that God my Heavenly Father loves me just as I am.

I receive the truth that God my Heavenly Father will take care of me and He is a very safe Father.

He brings security, protection and provision into all the broken places of my heart. My Heavenly Father will provide for every single one of my needs.

I command every shattered place in my heart and my true identity to come into wholeness NOW in the Name of Jesus Christ.

If you have a list in the positive column and they are true go on to pray this by adding your list.

Thank you Father God for my natural father (authority figure), because he was able to love me in these ways_______. I ask that You would bless him.

Heavenly Father I ask that you give me new words and mental pictures to describe You and I receive these new words and pictures of You now.

Click HERE to go to a Closing Prayer.

Now go and Rejoice in your Freedom!

(Feel free to make comments I will respond as soon as possible!)

A Bit of Personal History

When I first started on this Inner Healing journey I went to a school in Redding CA at Bethel Church. They have a ministry called SOZO meaning total healing spirit, soul and body. As a nurse I believe that is what we need to sustain a healthy life.

Most everything related to Inner Healing has these components: forgiveness, repentance and cessation (stopping) from harmful and/or sinful behaviors (internal as well as external). There are many ways to accomplish Inner Healing (which is what this website is about).



I was pretty convinced that I personally didn’t need inner healing, because 1) I’d been a Christian for many years and I looked pretty good from the outside. 2) I had worked as a psychiatric nurse on an inpatient ward and believed that they, the patients, were what it looked like if you were in real need of inner healing. This is to just name a few of the false beliefs I held. Needless to say, denial is an interesting coping mechanism and it is not always a healthy one.

In order to take the class at Redding all attendees had to go through a SOZO ministry session prior to going to the classes. That is probably where I first realized I had some pretty big issues that needed healing (Duh!).

In the next few blogs I’ll be leading you through what I learned from SOZO and how to get started on your inner healing journey.

This link will get you to the SOZO Bethel site if you are in the area and want a live inner healing session. http://www.ibethel.org/site/sozo-personal-ministry

For those of you that are leading others through an Inner Healing journey, this link will get you to some great resource for SOZO. http://www.bethelsozo.com/

Explanation for delays

There was a big gap between my last post and the one before it. As I began to plan the steps of Inner Healing I got overwhelmed with the project (I probably needed more healing also). How do I lay out a simple yet effective map (so to speak) of the process of inner healing? Especially since there are so many ways to accomplish healing!

Then the holidays put me into a different time consuming mode. During this period I have been praying about what God would want for you, the reader, the seeker of healing. So after the first of the year I will start re-laying out a plan of inner healing for you.
 

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.