The right kind of prayer plays a major role in the healing journey. We are hopelessly and helplessly bound to our issues until we bring God into the picture. It is humanly impossible to free someone from a spiritual prison. This is what the cross is all about. This is why Jesus was willing to lay down His life. He gained the authority and power that was needed to set the captives free. He died so we could live. If you talk to Jesus about your garbage, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by His compassion and concern. He watches people self-destruct through their pride and pain, but he can’t do anything for them unless they get real. If something is killing us, we need to be honest enough to say, “Jesus, this thing is killing me”. The same is true when the feelings are the exact opposite. When it comes to things like drugs and perversion there are “good” feelings involved that many people are not willing to admit to. We need to be just as honest about those feelings as any others. The sooner we admit that we actually like those feelings, the sooner Jesus can begin helping us with them.
Sadly this is not a common or popular form of prayer, and many people are encouraged to simply stay positive and put on a brave face rather than digging into the root of their issues (which is almost always a painful endeavor. It isn’t “fun” to talk about/relive how you’ve been hurt, or the sinful acts you enjoy). This is what I call Christian denial. To quote a verse of Scripture, sing a happy song and act like everything is fine when in fact you are completely miserable on the inside, well let’s just say that’s not my definition of freedom or living victoriously.
Many believers become trapped with things like anger and perversion because they don’t know how to “get real” with it. Whenever they experience these emotions, something inside says, “This is wrong and sinful, don’t tell anyone about it.” Though it may be sinful, telling someone who knows how to deal with it is not. If you feel like knocking someone’s head off (which is a very high level of anger), you need to figure out why you feel that way instead of trying to deny those feelings or run them off with a verse of Scripture. Religion will give you a bunch of rules to follow; Jesus can/will heal you. Which one do you prefer? Help is just a prayer away.
Being a “believer” doesn’t mean all of our deep-rooted issues will disappear overnight, but it does mean we now have someone who can/will help us deal with them (it requires a willing participant). When we identify our issues/traumas and bring them to Him, He can do amazing things. God loves to take what Satan meant for evil and use it for good. Learning from our mistakes (and even the mistakes of others) is a concept that should be embraced. Restoration is not possible for someone who is thinking, “I’ve got it all together. I’m God’s gift to the world!” Real and true freedom comes when we’re willing to say, “I am not the finished product. God is still working on me”. This kind of humility opens the door for God to do powerful things in a person’s soul, and it all starts with some honest/sincere prayer.