Prayer Walk the Scriptures and Heal

 

Have you ever had days when things just seemed to go wrong? Maybe your husband's boss reduced his work hours or your daughter failed her geometry test and felt stupid. Perhaps the baseball coach benched your son for arguing with him or your elderly Dad called to complain nonstop about his arthritis. Maybe the computer crashed and Kitty barfed on the carpet again! Maybe all of the above occurred in the same week...same day...same hour.   

On those days was it hard to find peace? Perhaps I could offer a solution:  Prayer-walk a Scripture.

As I prayer-walk a Scripture, I connect deeply with God. Prayer-walking is like it sounds. You pray, walk, and meditate on a particular Scripture. The result is an amazing peace, even on bad days. Especially on bad days.

Here at Counselor's Coach, you discover how to help a hurting friend find hope and healing.

Your hurting friend may be tired, physically and spiritually. She may tell herself that she's "not good enough," a belief held tight since childhood. She still feels rotten no matter how many Bible studies she attends, homeless people she serves at the shelter, or Bible verses she memorizes.

You want to share something practical for her to try. The last thing you desire is to add to her to-do list. She already has a list a mile long. She has become the proverbial human do-ing rather than a human being.

She, like many hurting women, tries to get everything right. But everything goes wrong, or so it seems. As her encourager, you let her in on these truths of walking, prayer, and Scripture:

• Exercise pumps the body's endorphins, the feel-good neurotransmitters. Any kind of movement helps. My personal preferences: walking and karate. (Sometimes a girl has gotta hit stuff.)

• Research shows that prayer in itself is healing. In my book Energy Eating (Perigee, 1999), I cite a study in which nearly 400 patients in a coronary care unit were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the intercessory prayer group, which received prayer from designated pray-ers, or the control group, which received no prayer. Neither the patients nor the doctors knew whom received prayer.

The results astonished the researchers. The patients in the intercessory prayer group were less likely to suffer congestive heart failure and had to use fewer diuretics. They were less frequently intubated and suffered fewer cases of pneumonia and cardiopulmonary arrests.

Many studies since this one have also concluded prayer heals. 

• Scripture packs power. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NASB).

What could be better than combining these three truths while healing from hurts? I share the following example so you can see what I mean.

As I begin my walk, I feel out of sorts. A friend has betrayed me. So I decide to recite Psalm 23 and picture the words. This helps me keep my eyes on Jesus. Otherwise my mind may wander.

I say, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want," and picture a sheep slung over the shoulders of the strong, gentle shepherd. I am the sheep. Baa.

I pray something like the following:  Okay, God, you know I'm sick of my minivan. It's ten years old and banged up. I'd love the silver Audi I just passed, but you know my needs. I don't need an Audi. I'm thankful to own a car that runs.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures." My mind's eye sees rolling hills of lush grass and a stream. I utter these words:  Oh, yes, rest! Thank you, Lord, for the reminder that I need rest and that it's good. It's not a luxury. I don't have to run around like a manic squirrel, trying to do everything that people ask. I can say "No" to the book fair coordinator who called for volunteers. I can and should rest.

Later in the Psalm it says, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

I then speak these words:  Not everyone is going to like me, Lord. I know that. I will have "enemies" for one reason or another. Still, I like people to like me. Am I a people-pleaser? Help me to be a God-pleaser only. I can trust You. You are my protector.

Do you sense calm? Your hurting friend will too. Do you sense God-confidence? She will too. What a gracious God we serve!

As she struggles with the condemning thoughts like, "I'm not good enough," let her know that she can replace her negative self-talk with godly self-talk. Show her how to turn Scripture in to prayer, as in my Psalm 23 example.

Incidentally, during inclement weather, feel free to pray the Scriptures in the comfort of home, preferably with dark chocolate nearby. Dark chocolate pumps endorphins too.