Praying for Inner Healing with Kids

This post is from a former neighbor of mine, Allison Shorter. We met in California before Allison and her family sold everything they had to move to China and start a non-profit to help girls coming out of orphanages and prevent them from being trafficked. They had a farm there where girls could work, earn money, and learn life skills. Allison has a background in psychology and has spent the last few years focusing on holistic health. She now blogs regularly on everything from organization,  marriage and family and health from their home in Colorado at www.healthylivingincolorado.com.

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Pain is inevitable
One of the joys of being a parent is celebrating your child’s successes. And one of the hardest parts of being a parent is watching their little hearts get hurt. Sadly, feeling hurt at some point is unavoidable however. There are disappointments, harsh words spoken by a sibling or friend, not being invited to a birthday party, and feelings of loneliness just to name a few.

But one of our roles as parents is to learn how we can help our children come out of the pain quickly, and we can do this through prayer. Some people call it inner healing, healing prayer, or SOZO.

Where is Jesus?
One of the best things about Jesus is that he is everywhere all the time. So when your child expresses hurt feelings, you can know that Jesus was with your son or daughter when the painful thing happened. Since He was there with them, you can pray with your child, they can sense or see Jesus in the memory, Jesus speaks truth to them and comforts them, and they feel better. Children are usually very receptive to seeing, sensing or hearing from Jesus in a memory.

For those of you who have never experienced healing prayer, here are a couple of examples from times I have prayed with my own children to help get your started.

I have two daughters who are now 13 and 10 years old. We have moved states and countries a lot, which has left some holes in their hearts. They have lost friends, pets, and a beloved grandmother recently.

Hearing the Truth
When I was praying with one of my daughters, we asked the Holy Spirit to show us why she was feeling sad, and we asked what He wanted to heal in her heart at that time. She then remembered being at church this past weekend and “feeling lost” since she didn’t know anyone. I told her to look around the room in that memory and find Jesus.

She saw Him immediately. He was standing near her. I told her to watch and listen to see what He would do. Then (in her mind’s eye or memory) He scooped her up and said He loved her. She didn’t feel sad anymore, and she knew she wasn’t alone that day, even though she had felt alone. I asked if she still felt sad to be sure she was okay, and she said she felt fine, which I could see in her countenance. It only took 3 minutes, and she was all better.

She brought her pain to Jesus, He spoke truth and offered her love and comfort which healed her heart, and she was well. Sounds like the Jesus we read about in the Bible doesn’t it?

With my other daughter, she really misses China – our home for 3.5 years. I asked her what she missed the most, and she said, “Our farm.” (We still have a farm there.) So I told her to think about somewhere on our farm. She thought of it, and I told her to look around for Jesus. She saw Him after a minute and a couple times of asking Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to her.

I asked her to ask Holy Spirit what she needed to know. He told her, “I know you miss it here (China), but it’s for the best.” She was still sad, so I told her to ask Jesus for a gift. In her mind’s eye, Jesus gave her a small white box with a bow around it. And the label on the box was “Memories.” I let that sink in with her for a minute, then her face changed, and she stopped crying. That was all she needed. She felt better and said she didn’t miss China as much. Her sadness was changed to joy just like that. Again, doesn’t that sound like the Jesus we know from the Bible? He just heals people so well when we bring him our pain.

I hope this helps gives you some ideas of how you can pray for your child when life steals their joy. It’s really a sweet time to see them encounter Jesus like that. Plus it grows their faith and connection with Him, which blesses them and us in the process!