John Eldredge says that "the glorious news is that God restores the soul - he heals the broken heart".
Eldredge, author of Moving Mountains, joins other writers in declaring that inviting God into our emotional and spiritual issues can lead to inner healing.
Eldredge and others like Leanne Payne, who wrote The Healing Presence, say that bringing Jesus into the painful incidents of life - past and present - can bring release and peace. They have seen the results in their ministries.
In fact, Jesus referred to the broken-hearted in Isaiah 61:1 when he declared his mission to the world as he shared scripture in his home town synagogue in Nazareth. Isaiah 61:1 speaks of preaching the good news, binding up or comforting the broken-hearted, proclaiming freedom for captives, and release from darkness.
In her book, Payne notes that God says: "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind." (Jeremiah 17:10) Scripture describes the many kinds of heart that God sees.
"These are hearts that are either sinful or wounded and need healing," Payne says. "In their healing, Jesus first of all comes in and stands in the midst of that heart. He who is the Light of the World illuminates it."
She adds: "He then speaks the healing word, one which, if received and acted upon, sets the heart free from all the other dominating voices: those of the world, the flesh and the Devil."
Typically, Payne and the person she is praying with invite Jesus into the emotional problem they are praying about and ask him to reveal the fundamental issue. Sometimes it can be a word which triggers memories.
This can lead to forgiving others or seeking forgiveness. Imaginations and hearts are cleansed.
Eldredge tells the story of an elderly man "who had been experiencing profound, unresolved sadness, which he could not name, nor link to any cause".
As Eldredge and his team prayed, Jesus brought back to the man's memory an incident when he was five years old. The young boy had grown up without a father who had disappeared after his mother had become pregnant outside of marriage.
One day, the five-year-old boy was running from room to room throughout the house. His mother asked him what he was looking for and he said: "I'm looking for my daddy."
That kind of wound can be deep-seated and need healing from Jesus.
I know a woman who has been healed physically and emotionally. The emotional healing took longer, but for her, it was the most important.
I acknowledge that many Christians today believe that divine healing was for the limited time of the New Testament and is no longer necessary now that we have the written scriptures.
I believe God heals today physically, emotionally and spiritually. There are many reports of miraculous physical healings that cannot be explained by medical science.
In my view, healing prayer works best in concert with good medical care - they are both avenues God uses to heal us. For example, there are obviously some chemical imbalances that are best dealt with through medication.
But God does heal the broken-hearted. Let's rejoice in this truth.
Eldredge, author of Moving Mountains, joins other writers in declaring that inviting God into our emotional and spiritual issues can lead to inner healing.
Eldredge and others like Leanne Payne, who wrote The Healing Presence, say that bringing Jesus into the painful incidents of life - past and present - can bring release and peace. They have seen the results in their ministries.
In fact, Jesus referred to the broken-hearted in Isaiah 61:1 when he declared his mission to the world as he shared scripture in his home town synagogue in Nazareth. Isaiah 61:1 speaks of preaching the good news, binding up or comforting the broken-hearted, proclaiming freedom for captives, and release from darkness.
In her book, Payne notes that God says: "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind." (Jeremiah 17:10) Scripture describes the many kinds of heart that God sees.
"These are hearts that are either sinful or wounded and need healing," Payne says. "In their healing, Jesus first of all comes in and stands in the midst of that heart. He who is the Light of the World illuminates it."
She adds: "He then speaks the healing word, one which, if received and acted upon, sets the heart free from all the other dominating voices: those of the world, the flesh and the Devil."
Typically, Payne and the person she is praying with invite Jesus into the emotional problem they are praying about and ask him to reveal the fundamental issue. Sometimes it can be a word which triggers memories.
This can lead to forgiving others or seeking forgiveness. Imaginations and hearts are cleansed.
Eldredge tells the story of an elderly man "who had been experiencing profound, unresolved sadness, which he could not name, nor link to any cause".
As Eldredge and his team prayed, Jesus brought back to the man's memory an incident when he was five years old. The young boy had grown up without a father who had disappeared after his mother had become pregnant outside of marriage.
One day, the five-year-old boy was running from room to room throughout the house. His mother asked him what he was looking for and he said: "I'm looking for my daddy."
That kind of wound can be deep-seated and need healing from Jesus.
I know a woman who has been healed physically and emotionally. The emotional healing took longer, but for her, it was the most important.
I acknowledge that many Christians today believe that divine healing was for the limited time of the New Testament and is no longer necessary now that we have the written scriptures.
I believe God heals today physically, emotionally and spiritually. There are many reports of miraculous physical healings that cannot be explained by medical science.
In my view, healing prayer works best in concert with good medical care - they are both avenues God uses to heal us. For example, there are obviously some chemical imbalances that are best dealt with through medication.
But God does heal the broken-hearted. Let's rejoice in this truth.
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