Trauma is a side-effect of events we experience which are beyond our control. This is a more recent topic in deliverance ministry circles. Few if any books previous to 2005 contained information about how to minister to trauma victims. Now that the healing community is much more aware of the prevalence of trauma, particularly among soldiers that have returned from wars in Asia, it is receiving much more attention. Examples of possible traumatic experiences include the following:
- roadside accident
- divorce of parents
- war
- falling down stairs
- auto accident
- near drowning
- sexual abuse
- fire
- being robbed
- seriously bad news
- near death experience
- miscarriage
- death in the family
- rape
- health diagnosis
- divorce
- death of a child
- parents fighting
- discharge from work
- extreme humiliation
- abandonment
- unfair treatment
- fear of death
- abortion
- physical abuse
- adoption
Many in Africa experience trauma as a part of conflicts between tribes, (Rwanda) and post-election violence (Kenya). We never plan for these events and our spirits are likewise unprepared for them.
Whenever people go through severe trauma, there is a danger that their extreme vulnerability (at that time) will provide an opening for the enemy to enter the person’s spirit. An example of this occurrence is when a mother is severely traumatized at watching her daughter die in the hospital after a car accident; the “spirit of death” can enter the mother. The event, however, does not affect all persons the same way. For some individuals, this incident is considered and accepted as one of unalterable consequence, while to others it is a life-changing event.
God created us with a spirit, soul, and body. It is impossible for one part of our humanity to experience a traumatic event without the other parts also being affected. Damage can be caused to the inner self (spirit and soul-emotions) through injury or suffering which has occurred to the outer self (body). While the medical profession’s immediate concern is for treatment of our physical body, there typically is no concern over the effects on our spirits (as in extreme cases resulting in emotional instability, suicidal tendencies, and physical disabilities).
One of the ministries of Jesus as identified in Isaiah 61:1 was to “bind up the brokenhearted” (heal). Peter Horrobin (see notation at the end of this paragraph) suggests brokenhearted actually means “shattered into separate pieces.” Not only is our body broken but our spirit may be “shattered” at the same time. The spirit of infirmity (which causes us to “think” we have a physical disability) can enter at the time of the traumatic event and is then locked up within. We may “think” the resulting limitations are the physical result of the accident when it is really are a spirit of darkness that entered at the time of the trauma (which causes the body to give symptoms of a long-time physical injury). When the trauma (locked in the spirit) is identified, released, and healed, and the spirits of fear and infirmity are cast out, the physical symptoms often disappear immediately (from Ministering Freedom to the Emotionally Wounded, refer to Chapter 5—“How Trauma Affects the Whole Person,” written by Peter Horrobin). See also Healing Through Deliverance, Peter Horrbin, Chapter 19 Section on Hurts-Abuse-Rejection pages 396-412, and section on trauma pp 413-415.
The results of these experiences usually include the spirit of death, the spirit of great fear or the spirit of infirmity entering. This results in nightmares, hurts, emotions, bad memories, or panic attacks sometimes categorized as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When an injustice or a serious sin has been committed against a person, particularly against a child (such as sexual, physical, or verbal abuse), or when a life-threatening, frightening, or a highly unsafe experience or traumatic event occurs (such as in a divorce), the one offended remembers the panic, pain, violation, trauma, sense of disloyalty or abandonment, confusion, shame, and guilt, and later revisits the situation over and over again in his or her mind. This recalling of a traumatic memory or PTSD, scientists now believe may be even worse than the disabling physiological response suffered at the time of the initial event. It is believed this recalling of a traumatic memory or event reconsolidates the memory, writing it more strongly into the mind. PTSD is suffered by up to 6% of boys and 15% of girls (for further information on PTSD, please refer to http://www.medicinenet.com/posttraumatic_stress_disorder/article.htm).
If the memory is traumatic enough, it may trigger Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder) where altered parts of one’s personality have been broken off. This occurrence is especially likely of victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA).
A study of DID is beyond the scope of this work. More information can be found in Deliverance from Evil Spirits (Francis MacNutt, pages 223-235), Uncovering the Mystery of MPD, Friesen, James 1997 ISBN 1-56819-062-7 and a discussion in the next chapter.
Ministering to persons with DID requires the highest levels of experience and education in this field. It is best to refer these individuals to Christian counselors who are familiar with inner healing and deliverance ministry.
Prayers for inner healing are needed. They are discussed in detail in the Healing of memories section. In short, the seeker is invited to recall the hurtful memory, and then the minister prays, asking Jesus to come into the picture and stand between the seeker and the danger. The seeker is then asked what emotions they wish to give Jesus, and what they want from Jesus. The minister prayers God heal the experience, and he casts out all the spirits associated with the emotions mentioned.
Mortal Injury
Another form of post-traumatic stress disorder is called “moral injuries”. These are wounds from having done something, or failed to stop something, that violates a person’s moral code. Moral injuries can result from a person who has killed in war, or didn’t stop innocent killing, guarding prisoners, or watching Iraqis kill Iraqis. They may not have actually done something wrong by the law of war, but by their own humanity, they feel that it is wrong. . Moral injury tortures the conscience; symptoms include: deep shame, guilt, and rage. It is not a medical problem, and it is unclear how to treat it medically. Those who experience this may prefer to call it “inner conflict”. A recent study in Texas asked soldiers seeking counseling for PTSD what their main problem was? It broke down to roughly one third had fear, another third had loss issues, and one third with moral injury. Forgiveness, more than anything seems to be the key to helping troops who feel they have transgressed.
Example of Trauma Healing Prayer – Lord, we ask you to bring to (the person’s name) remembrance the experience that caused the trauma that needs to be healed. We now ask that Jesus come into this experience and stand between the danger and (person’s name). (Ask the person what emotions they wish to give Jesus and what they want from Jesus in return i. e. peace, trust, love.) (The Behold and Beheld prayer discussed in the Inner Healing chapter is useful here.) Lord we ask you to heal the spirit and the soul that were broken, crushed, or damaged in any way during the trauma. We command any spirits of death, infirmity, fear or confusion to go in Jesus name. We close any gates that were opened during this trauma. We pray that all consequences of this trauma be healed, that all fear and panic attacks cease, that nightmares cease, and that the memory of this experience be healed in the name of Jesus. We thank you Lord for this healing. AMEN
The following two articles may help with a better understanding of PTSD.
Post-Trauma Healing – By Nigel Mumford
After the trauma, the battle begins, Post trauma healing, by Nigel Mumford Christian Healing Ministries Newsletter, July, August, Sept 2012 pages 14-16. Book www.ctkcenter.org
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field”. And while they were in the field, Can attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (Gen 4:8). Be kinder than necessary. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. –Anonymous
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or as the US military now call it Post-Traumatic Stress or PTS (they have dropped the word “disorder), has become a household name in recent years primarily due to the wars we have been involved in since Vietnam and horrors of 9/11. Historically it is good to note that before Christ, even the mothers, wives and girlfriends of ancient Greek warriors noticed a change in their loved ones upon return from battle. The individual’s reaction to “combat trauma” has brought new insights to the results of “combat within the domestic household.” Primarily this diagnosis can be triggered from experiencing threat of injury or death, flood, fire, car crash, assault, domestic abuse, prison stay, rap, gang warfare, terrorism or war. This can include the overall threat, real or perceived, of your death, or the death of others. PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder where symptoms can occur even beginning after three years or more from the occurrence. This can happen at any age or with either gender.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 201 caused PTSD in some people who were involved, in people who saw the disaster, and in people who lost relatives and friends. We are currently seeing many combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have been thoroughly and repeatedly traumatized by many return trips to those theatres of war. One man I know has been in both theatres a total of seventeen times!. Another man I know was in WWII and was find until the newspaper headlines of September 11th “Three Thousand Killed.” This set him into full PTSD as he had reckoned he had killed about three thousand people as he called in artillery fire. He was fine for fifty five years until triggered by that horrific news.
The cause of PTSD is unknown. Psychological, genetic physical, and social factors are involved. PTSD changes the body’s response to stress. It affects the stress hormones and chemicals that carry information between the nerves (neurotransmitters). It is not known why traumatic events cause PTSD in some people but not in others. Having a history of trauma may increase their risk for getting PTSD after a recent traumatic event.
I wrote a personal description of PTSD or “Shell Shock” as it was called in the seventies:
- The mind is witness to a catastrophic event.
- The intellect cannot cope with what it has seen.
- The body reacts physically under duress.
- The heart receives emotional scar tissue.
- The soul weeps
- The mental trauma is a total body reaction to horror.
I have been diagnosed with Shell Shock and was regrettably medically discharged from the Royal Marine Commandos after spending a year in combat and experiencing repeated trauma. The worst event was witnessing the shooting of a friend of mine as I was watching him for a command to cross the street. He was not killed but his wife, upon hearing the news, immediately miscarried. The collateral damage of war!.
The following are some of the symptoms that accompany issues of PTSD taken from PTSD support services. (I remind you that these are normal feelings attached to abnormal situations, the mind, body and souls reaction to the threat of death.)
The person who has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: (1) The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others. (2) The person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. This applies to both military and civilian world.
Isolation
Many who suffer PTSD have few friends. Many who witnessed traumatic experiences complain of feeling like old men in young men’s bodies. They feel isolated and distant from their peers. Veterans in particular feel that most of their non-veteran peers would rather not hear what the combat experience was like; therefore they feel rejected. Much of what many of these veterans had done during the war would seem like horrible crimes to their civilian peers. But in the reality faced by combatants, such actions were frequently the only means of survival.
Depression and Suicidal Thoughts
They feel depressed; “How can I tell my spouse? He/she’d never understand.” They ask, “How can anyone who hasn’t been there understand?” Many report becoming extremely isolated when depressed. Substance abuse is often exaggerated during depressive periods. Self-medication is an easily learned coping response in military combat of issues at home; alcohol appears to be the drug of choice.
Rage
The suffer’s rage is frightening to them and to others around them. For no apparent reason, many will strike out at whoever is near. Frequently, this includes their spouses and children. Some of these outbursts can be quite violent. This behavior generally frightens sufferers, apparently leading many to question their sanity; they are horrified at their behavior. However, regardless of their afterthoughts, the rage reactions occur with frightening frequency.
Avoidance of Feelings: Alienation
An emotional numbness. The spouses of many of the suffers I have interviewed complain that the men are cold, uncaring individuals. Indeed, the sufferer will recount episodes in which they did not feel anything when they witnessed a death of a buddy in combat or the more recent death of a close family relative. They are often somewhat troubled by these responses to tragedy; but on the whole, they would rather deal with tragedy in their own detached way. What becomes especially problematic for these veterans, however, is an inability to experience the joys of life. They often describe themselves as being emotionally dead.
Survival Guilt
When others have died and some have not, the survivors often ask, “How is it that I survived when others more worthy than I did not”. Survival guilt is an especially guilt-invoking symptom. It is not based on anything hypothetical. Rather, it is based on the harshest of realities, the actual death of comrades and the struggle of the survivor to live. Often the survivor has had to compromise himself or the life of someone else in order to live. The guilt that such an act involves or guilt over simply surviving many eventually end in self-destructive behavior by the survivor.
Anxiety Reactions or Exaggerated Startle Response
Many describe themselves as very vigilant human beings; their autonomic senses are tuned to anything out of the ordinary. A loud discharge will cause many of them to react with a violent jump. A few will actually take such evasive action as falling to their needs or to the ground, taking cover. Many become very uncomfortable when people walk closely behind them. One person described his discomfort when people drive directly behind him. He would pull off the road, letting others pass, when they got within a few car lengths of him.
I knew a Sargent who was snoozing while on leave. His five year-old daughter when “Boo” to dad. He was startled and swung out in self-defense and killed his child with his fist! We never saw him again. He was shipped off to the mental institution. Collateral damage!
Intrusive Thoughts
- The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in one or more of the following ways:
- Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions.
- Recurrent distressing dreams of the event.
- Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and associative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated).
- Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
Persistent Avoidance
Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma) as indicated by three or more of the following:
- Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma.
- Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma.
- Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
- Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities, restricted range of affect, sense of foreshortened future (e. g. does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)
- Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two or more of the following: difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, and hyper vigilance.
The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
Critical Incident Debriefing
To be “debriefed” as soon as possible after the incident can be very beneficial. Helping to prevent the brain from digging a hold for itself! Studies have shown that the closer, time wise, to the incident, the lessoning of the possibility of acquiring this anxiety disorder
What to do if you suspect that you or a loved one might be showing signs of PTSD?
Get help. Go to a therapist and get an evaluation. Talk it out with a Christian therapist. Bring Christ into the memory using inner healing. It is vitally important to receive help. The perceived stigma in seeking help is a huge block in your healing. Please do not allow yourself the misery of thinking about that. Tie prayer with a trained prayer team into your physical and emotional treatment seeking help for your spiritual health.
Fight-Flight and the Flywheel
When in a hyper-vigilant state four hundred percent more blood goes to the main muscle groups to either fight or run away, the caveman survival instinct. The problem is that we cannot fight or run away from the memory. The visual that helped me was of the TSD flywheel, triggered and then halted by the very hands of Jesus.
Observations
I have observed a recent trend. Parents are bringing their daughters who have been raped as young as twelve and thirteen to the healing center for prayer. They are of course seeing a therapist as well. Most people I see tend to be fifty plus who were raped at a young age and did not tell anyone until now!
Bottom Line
Some of the above information is gleaned from the web, some gleaned from personal experience, and some gleaned from my new book on PTSD. My main message here is that God can and does heal today.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Can PTSD be totally cured? Let us not limit God. Myself, I would say I am 99.9% healed. There is a remnant of combat trauma left in me, but I am functioning at 100%. Bring God into the picture with a therapist and if necessary medications. Prayer, Prozac (or the current drug of choice) inner healing, prayer, and gentle persistence can help heal the trauma of the past.
With God all things are possible. (Matt 19:16)
Bio
Fr. Nigel Mumford is an Episcopal priest and former Royal Marine Commando drill instructor. He is the director of the healing ministry at Christ the King Spiritual Life Center, Greenwich, NY. His new book, After the Trauma, the Battle Begins: Post Trauma Healing is available from his web site or from Amazon.com.
Fr. Nigel and his team run a program called “The Welcome Home initiative, a three day free retreat for combat veterans”. healing@ctkcenter.org.
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The Affects of Trauma and How to Deal With It
Jim Banks, House of Healing Ministries
P.O. Box 15514 Asheville, NC 28813
www.houseofhealingministries.org
This treatise describes a prayer tool that I stumbled across in 2009 by putting pieces of the teachings of three of God’s faithful servants together and adding of couple of others steps. The power of it to virtually eliminate many of the symptoms that victims of trauma complain of is nothing short of miraculous. Over the last 25 years of praying for physical and emotional healing, I have prayed numerous prayers (at least in my estimation) that availed little. But for the last 100 folks, or so, that I have ministered this tool over the relief they have experienced has been both instantaneous and (up to this point) permanent.
In John 16:33b Jesus said. “In the world you have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Note he didn’t say “will have” as though it were some time in the future, but you have it now.
The Greek word for tribulation is “thlipsis” which means pressure (literally or figuratively): – afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.
Note that the verse clearly states that we all have it … not might have, not will have it (as though we are not having it now) nor does it imply potential. Everybody experiences it one way or another.
According to the web site www.trauma-pages.com/trauma.php (David Baldwin’s web resource for all things trauma) states, “Traumatic experiences shake the foundations of our beliefs about safety, and shatter our assumptions of trust.”
Invariably, we find that sufferers of some physical and/or emotional difficulty have experienced significant emotional and/or physical trauma at some point in their lives, which has detrimentally affected their ability to recover from the normal, but difficult circumstances of life, and remain stable. Removing the physical effects of trauma can greatly help an individual achieve or regain the capacity to heal and grow in many areas. It can also eliminate the daily torment of the long term effects of trauma, both emotionally and physically.
“In the healing process, the crucial issue is building enough capacity to stay relationally connected to God over a sufficient amount of time for us to allow the process to be completed.” Arthur Burk
Unfortunately, trauma affects us on many levels, emotional, spiritual and physical. Medically the understanding and treatment of the affects of trauma has been limited primarily to the emotional. And medication seems to have been relegated to insulation from the pain. Traditional medicine seems to recognize that our bodies have many little understood capabilities and one of them is the retention of the memory of trauma at a cellular level, but treatment has not been effective in reversing its effects.
Arthur Burk, founder of Plumbline Ministries, (www.plumblineministries.com) has an understanding that trauma itself is a specific scheme of the enemy to gain access to us for purposes of future torment and emotional torture. His take on it is that when Jesus was on the cross, the darkness that overtook the scene that day was neither a storm, nor the aftermath of a localized earth quake, as many Biblical scholars have tried to reason. But instead, it was every demon in hell coming to take its last best shot at Him; intentional torment and torture. It is little wonder that his death took comparatively so little time on the cross.
Consequently, Jesus’ death on the cross was complete atonement in another aspect of human life in that He took upon Himself all the trauma, torture and torment intended for you and me. We do not have to suffer that again. It is Arthur’s belief that the principle behind this scheme of the enemy is to cause trauma before the cross became affective in the life of an individual for one of two purposes; make it difficult for a person to enter into their full identity; and for the purpose of causing future torment.
The only way that “before the cross became affective” is remotely possible is to remove some portion of the individual to another dimension, time or place and hold it captive there.
Dr. Tom Hawkins, founder of Restoration in Christ Ministries, (www.rcm-usa.org) has noted as a result of ministry to numerous SRA victims that portions of their identity/being can be stuck/captured/imprisoned/delayed in other dimensions, times or spaces through intentionally enforced trauma, which to my mind confirms Arthur’s assertion that a trauma victim’s identity can be messed with by intentionally introducing, or taking advantage of, events that effectively delay development.
You and I live in a multi-dimensional world but are generally only cognizant of four of them; height, width, depth and time. But theoretical scientists working with String and Superstring theory tell us that there are at least 11, and there may be as many as 23 dimensions.
You have to remember that you and I are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and God is light (1 John 1:5 and John 1:1-9) and you are a children of light (Luke 16:8). Scientists tell us that if each organ is broken down to the lowest common denominator it will all be a similar type of cell; same DNA as the whole person but encoded such that it will perform well within the context of that organ. If we break that cell down further, we find a number of atoms. Each atom can be further reduced to its component parts; neutron, proton(s) and electron(s). These elements vibrate at a specific frequency which is in accord with the individual’s DNA. Scientists further tell us that if each individual’s DNA strand is un-twisted it can be played as a melody on a piano; more vibrations.
When the enemy messes with us through our own sinful activity or cursed Generational (family) issues, our DNA can be altered by attaching junk to the strand (the science of epi-genetics) or through trauma; our “song” can be changed from a major key to a minor one, simply by slightly altering our frequency. Although our DNA can’t be changed and our DNA is passed on to our children, things riding on it can have a profound affect in a single generation. How can that be done? By removing one small part of us to another domain or dimension.
So how do we set things back in order?
First, by applying the principles of Jesus Christ’s Atonement to the issues of the affects and the residue of trauma in the life of a trauma victim. Jesus’ substitutionary death in our behalf says we do not have to suffer the subsequent torment that trauma victims usually report.
Ministry to traumatized victims is rather easy;
Through specific questions (an interview), determine the traumatic events for the client from childhood into adulthood; physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual. Include such things as divorce/deaths/loss of a key loved one, childhood accidents and injuries, rape, abuse, surgeries, frequent moves, moves at key times, major rejections, abandonment, car accidents, major illnesses, broken bones, surgeries and invasive medical procedures, attempted suicide, near death experiences, etc. anything that potentially had a major negative (traumatic) effect on them. Make a list if you need to.
First of all, tell your client what you are about to do and get their permission to do it. If they will not give you permission to take authority over their being/body for a few minutes to cut some things off, you do not have the authority to continue.
If your client agrees; In the name of Jesus Christ, take authority over their body (I often use the term “being” which tends to be more inclusive) and command out of it all of the effects of everything that made it on the list, down to the cellular level; all memories of any incident on any level, the results of all trauma; fright, terror, chemicals (drugs, poisons or toxins) the body has either produced naturally and hung on to as a result of trauma, or that were ingested or injected, excess enzymes produced, anesthesia & anesthetics, etc., produced prior to, during and after the incident. This would include fear induced during and following significant medical procedures and surgery(s).
Require that it come out without harm or injury. Bless their lymphatic system and other systems to safely remove all wastes, toxins, poisons, or any other product or by-product of trauma from the body. Include anything that is naturally a foreign agent in the body, that were bonded to, or that the body produced in excess connected with the traumatic event.
Take authority over their body and command out of it all of the long and short-term effects of trauma, injuries, stress, tension, worry, anxiety, fear, wounding, etc. Be certain to include the memories of all abuse, defiling touch, incisions, invasive medical procedures, rejection, abandonment, beatings/bruises, harsh words or curses spoken by parents or other significant authorities, etc. I recently prayed for a woman whose intercession induced secondary trauma to her through attempting to help carry the burdens of others.
In the event of particularly defiling activity such as rape or initial homo-sexual encounters, command out of their body the memory of all smells, feelings, tastes, sounds, vibrations and touch connected with those events.
Do not hurry through this part. You will find that your client may feel things leaving them as the get progressively more relaxed. I have had several clients actually fall asleep toward the conclusion of this section and many more unable to walk out of my office immediately afterward because they are so relaxed.
This is important; Ask the Lord to disconnect them from any and all 2nd heaven entities; principalities, powers, dominions, thrones, rulers, etc. that have gained access to them through the traumatic events they suffered, for the purpose of future torment. Ask the Lord to shut down all pathways, portals, and means of access to them for communication or influence.
According to Psalms 115:16 “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens; but the earth he has given into the hands of men.” From this scripture I deduce that there are 2nd heaven entities above our pay grade that the Lord himself should be asked to deal with, but we have been given authority over those demonic entities that touch/affect earth. Those are our responsibility.
I have dealt with them as a higher order of evil, such as a dark power, ruler, throne or dominion and experienced much success with breaking all their tormenting activities by asking God the Father to deal with them. They seem to come out or disconnect whether they are demons (earth bound) or 2nd heaven entities of a higher order.
This step alone seems to cut off all tormenting dreams in 95% of those for whom I have used this tool. And if this is all you are able to pray due to time or opportunity, it will go a long way toward establishing freedom for them.
As Dr. Paul Cox of Aslan’s Place Ministries (www.aslansplace.org) teaches, ask the Lord if there is a specific place where portions of them have been imprisoned; ie, Sheol.
Take authority over all pathways, portals, and means of access, marks or markers, or any means of connectivity placed upon them physically or spiritually to track them or gain access to them for purposes of torment, and shut them down in the authority given to you in the name of Jesus. Cancel all assignments of familiar spirits made against them as a result of traumatic incidents.
If your client has been frequently tormented by violent or sexually oriented dreams, this will usually kill them. But if you are uncertain or just want to cover the ground, ask the Lord issue a “cease and desist order.” If these tormenting dreams persist, and you have tried a number of other ministry avenues and feel you have exhausted your efforts, you might want to try a technique called “Convening The Court of Heaven” from Psalm 82 created by Dr. Tom Hawkins, founder of Restoration in Christ Ministries, (www.rcm-usa.org). A teaching CD set is available from his ministry which covers this tool clearly.
If they have had violent or tormenting dreams ask them if there is a theme or pattern to what happens to them in the dreams. Sometimes this will give you a clue as to other issues you need to deal with in a subsequent ministry session.
Ask the Lord that if there is any portion of their being that has been delayed, trapped, captured or imprisoned in another time, another space, dimension or place, as a result of trauma, would He please cause it to be released and rejoined with their core being in this current time, space and dimension. I also ask the Lord to re-unify those portions with the core person. If prompted by the Holy Spirit, walk them through a reunification of these fractured parts by walking them through each dimension or through each year of their lives.
See Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”
(Remember that prisoners are there because of something they have done. Captives are imprisoned through no fault of their own.)
I have on several occasions had the Holy Spirit have me walk them slowly forward from the age of one, two or three years, year by year, until we reached their current chronological age, pausing when prompted between years to allow the Holy Spirit to re-integrate them. More recently, I have included the period from conception to birth as well when their birth mother experienced trauma herself or planned to abort the child. I also asked Him to mature each re-integrated portion to the client’s current age. This doesn’t seem to take any more time, but I believe it is worth the effort.
I have not had the opportunity to use this tool in behalf of an abused child, but I have no doubt that it would be equally as effective as it is with adults, and perhaps even more so.
It is always proper to coach your adult client to be aware of his/her body and report to you the changes they sense or feel as you are walking them through each year of the process. Don’t get in a hurry.
Pray that the Lord will re-establish the connection between the hemispheres of the brain. Often heavily traumatized clients live predominately out of the left hemisphere of their brain and need the right side to be stimulated. Pray that the Lord will re-establish and synchronize both explicit memory and implicit memories and to reactivate any connections required to retrieve memories needed for complete healing.
If prompted, I will place my hands specifically in the area near the amygdala and then the hippocampus and ask the Lord to restore them, repair them or enhance them so that their healing can progress rapidly. There are five specific organs in the human brain that are damaged by wounding and trauma. These will have to be addressed later in order to assure complete healing.
I usually ask if I can place my hands of the head of my client while praying this section of the tool and it usually accompanied by a strong anointing. So don’t freak out if this happens to you as well.
Ask the Lord to re-establish for them the appropriate sleep patterns the Lord designed for them, and to establish for them a sweet undisturbed, rejuvenating, regenerative rest. Proverbs 3:24 “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Ask the Lord to begin or re-establish Godly dreams, visions and angelic visitations in the night seasons, both to enlighten, instruct and direct them.
I have had numerous clients report that following the ministry session that they fell asleep immediately, stayed asleep and were not awakened by dreams the entire night for the first time in years. The immediate restoration of sleep patterns happens for 90% of my clients. And re-establishment of Godly dreams for only about 70% initially. I believe this is because of the re-establishment of sound sleep which has usually been deprived for years.
Ask the Lord to begin to dismantle all automatic human responses gained as a result of trauma; i.e., abnormal fright responses, triggers, fears and phobias, etc. Pray over their brain for the Lord to rebuild, re-establish, re-create any electrical or chemical any connections broken or improperly re-connected, as a result of trauma so that the individual can operate once again within normal limits of high and low stimulus, and can remain in control emotionally when the stimulus exceeds those limits.
I have had numerous clients report that following the ministry session that they no longer have most (or all) of their long term exaggerated fright responses. This is a very common experience.
Then instruct the client to instruct his/her human spirit each evening before going to sleep to turn its face to the Father during the night, while the body and soul are out cold, and receive everything he/she needs for the coming day. Psalms 16:7 “I will bless Jehovah, who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.”
Dr. Mike Hutching’s Material
If you know someone or have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder commonly known as PTSD, there is healing through Jesus Christ. PTSD can affect anyone who has experienced a life-altering, traumatic experience.
PTSD has affected so many of our military personnel who have come off the battlefield after serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The men and women who have served so bravely have come home devastated for the effects of these conflicts. Their families have been traumatized as our veterans try to assimilate back into civilian life. But there is hope! They don’t have to suffer any more. Jesus is our healer and He is healing PTSD today.
The Lord has given Dr. Mike Hutchings a model of healing prayer to bring emotional, spiritual and physical healing and freedom for anyone suffering from PTSD. Dr. Mike has equipped hundreds to use this prayer model with results of many documented testimonies of soldiers, veterans and civilians receiving freedom through the power of prayer. In these videos, you will be equipped to understand the causes, effects and symptoms of PTSD. Dr. Mike will take you through the steps to pray for those experiencing PTSD. You will see several testimonies of God’s healing power and witness transformed lives. He has prepared a 2 DVD set of how to pray for those with PTSD. This is probably the most effective and useful material now available anywhere on this subject
Dr. Mike Hutchings, Healing Prayer Model for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder . Order from Global Awakening book store at: https://globalawakeningstore.com/Healing-PTSD-DVDs.html