Feel, Pray, Release

Sometimes we are forced into situations with people that remind us of past hurts. We are reminded that buried pain doesn’t go away, it just finds places to hide. Either deeper inside your soul, twisting and perverting your personality, or in your body, manifesting as sickness. I am encouraging each of us to Feel, Pray and Release whatever has hurt you and allow Jesus to take you through to victory and make you whole again!

My theory is that those that are called to intercession may hurt more than most. The intercessor is naturally sensitive and carries other’s burdens. They “see” things that a lot of other people do not see and can be easily misunderstood. The enemy, knowing full well that his plans are thwarted by praying people, will focus his attacks on the one who prays! (And not just you - your family is a target as well!)

And, because you are called and anointed to pray, you know how important it is to keep a pure heart before the Lord, to better enable you to hear His Spirit leading you in prayer. The intercessor is sometimes left walking a lonely road, traveling paths of physical and emotional pain, while attempting to maintain an attitude of forgiveness toward those who have hurt them.

The religious spirit tells us to run from the pain – to bury it. To put on our “super spiritual” face and pretend the pain does not exist – to suppress our humanity and morph into a Christian prototype of artificial intelligence with a smile glued on our face, all the while dying a little bit more inside.

The Garden of Gethsemane account of Jesus’ struggle in prayer shows me that if even the Son of God can wrestle with surrendering His will, then I am not going to allow others to condemn me for “a lack of faith” when I struggle myself. The religious spirit loves to point its finger, and sling their words as arrows, but my shield of faith can deflect their fiery darts!

In the spirit, I see many who have had many darts and arrows shot at them. These arrows were the judgments, gossip, slander and divisive confusion spoken by insecure and wounded people. These arrows, shot from the bow of those who were supposed to be on our side, drive deeper into our soul than any other.

The enemy, working through a religious spirit, likes to keep these wounds open because he knows they will affect everything we say and do. They will cause us to shut ourselves off from people, and if we are not careful, we will allow the pain of these traumas rob us of the intimacy and connection with God we were created to enjoy with Him.

That is why, contrary to the religious spirit telling us to run, hide and bury our pain, my recommendation is the opposite. I say run toward the pain and the fear and strip it of its power over you!

Allow yourself to FEEL. That's why God gave us emotions! We’re not robots that can just “push past” the things that happen to us. We have to feel, pray over and then, hear this - we have to release them to the Lord. We are not meant to hang on, we’re meant to give it to the One who is able to take it from us. The One who can take off the heavy burden and replace it with His light yoke. The One who can give us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

As someone who carried memories and trauma for a very long time let me say that JESUS is the only one who can heal these types of wounds and the only one who can bring healing to trauma and memories from years ago or from yesterday

Don’t let anyone tell you just to move on like nothing happened - something did happen! And you have to feel it, grieve it, process all the thoughts surrounding it and “take them captive to Jesus”. Allow HIM to decide which thoughts stay and which should go. He will dismantle and demolish the lies of the enemy when they masquerade as your own thoughts, and He will order your own thoughts to decode what it is that you’re really feeling. Because sometimes we really don’t know what we’re feeling, do we?!

God will remove the fear and give you the strength to move on when He knows you are ready. Don’t wallow in anything, but don’t pretend it didn’t happen or that it doesn’t hurt. Your pain is real and you have every right to feel and experience it fully. You are human with GOD GIVEN emotions. Why would He give us emotions as a means of processing life, if He wanted us to bury everything and just soldier on?!

When we refuse to acknowledge our emotions they are pushed down and can create the beginnings of a twisted root system that can quickly take control of our spirit, soul and body, instead of our spirit controlling all.

We were created in God's own image. He feels what we feel and is “touched by our infirmities “ (Heb 4:15). We are spirit soul and body. Let your spirit, controlled by Holy Spirit, rule over all, BUT allow your soul to perform its role! Your mind, will and emotions are unique to you and are given as tools to use to navigate your journey !

Someone shared some wisdom once that said, “God designed your emotions to be gauges, not guides.” They’re meant to report to you, not dominate you. If you remember the purpose of emotions, you can fight more effectively and know when to counter them. An emotion will let you know when something needs to be dealt with. It’s like your car’s “check engine” light. You know when those same old feelings keep bubbling up to the surface that something needs to be dealt with. Learn to read your gauges and respond accordingly.

We know we can't let emotional pain rule over us. That’s why we feel it, pray through it and release it to Jesus. This final act of release will free you from the confinement and bondage that pain ushered into your life. Pain shatters us into many pieces, but Jesus is the super glue that puts us back together again! And it’s remarkable how many times, once we are freed from emotional pain, a physical healing will follow!

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine but broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

In Scripture, God is said to enjoy, love, laugh, take delight, and rejoice, as well as be angry, happy, jealous, and glad, so we should consider that our emotions are derived from God’s. The next time you take out your shovel to try to bury something you should be experiencing in your soul, remember to feel, pray and release, In Jesus Name!

AND, when the Lord brings a wounded soul to you for prayer, PAUSE with them .. give them time to FEEL ... remain with them… acknowledge their wound. THEN lead them to the ONE who is able to heal every wound, every pain, every disappointment, every grief, every trauma. Watch and participate as Jesus leads them out of captivity into freedom.

Abba, I lift each of my brothers and sisters to you this day. I bring them to Your Throne of Grace where I know they WILL FIND HELP for every need they have. You will bind up every wound, heal broken hearts and grant comfort for the grief they carry. I trust YOU, Lord Jesus, to lift every burden off them, allowing them to release everything to you.

We cast the pain of lost loved ones, broken promises, rejection, molestation sickness, spiritual, emotional and physical abuse, financial ruin, betrayal, addiction and abandonment at YOUR feet. You are healer. As we are healed, anoint us to bring healing to others. We ask for Your justice to be executed over us, and Your peace to overtake us.

Family, whatever you are facing, whatever demonic forces have been keeping you down, whatever trauma you are carrying, whatever betrayal you are trying to break free from, whatever past memories you are running from, whatever bitterness you are clinging to - I implore you - release it to Jesus! Allow Him to cleanse you, restore you and equip you to walk in a state of continual victory!

Hebrews 12:1 tells us we have a race to run and the Lord of Armies is here to make sure we finish strong!