The first thing I want you to know is: don’t ever run from your pain!

Don’t try to live with your discomfort by adjusting superficially to it or rationalizing it away.

Do yourself and God a favour by accepting it.

You see, you can’t heal what you don’t first accept.

But once you do accept it, your pain becomes a raw diamond.

Here’s the thing, however:

A raw diamond can’t sparkle until it’s cut.   

And this cutting doesn’t happen on its own.

It requires a knowledgeable and skilled craftsman to do it.

In the case of human pain, only God can be that craftsman.

He’ll cut that raw diamond until it sparkles with radiant beauty.

And, at the same time, the help of an effective spiritual guide can bring even quicker results.

Later on, on looking back at this raw time in your life, you’ll be amazed at how skilfully God, helped by effective spiritual guidance, took care of the sparkles!

Only God possesses that depth of knowledge and skill!

Here’s the question though:

How can you place yourself in a position where God can begin His healing work?

You practise each day for a few minutes (5 – 10 – 15 - 20 minutes, as you choose) a form of praying called ‘prayer of the heart’. 

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I want to reassure you that even if, at the moment, you didn’t have the ‘know-how’ to connect or re-connect to the Lord, the Lord honours your desire to do so.

In fact, it’s your desire to connect to God that actually keeps you connected to Him —even though you might not feel that you are!

Then, by following through on your desire by discovering how to pray with your heart, you’ll discover a simple, effective, and guaranteed way to come close to God.

This special, ancient, and time-tested way of coming close to the Lord will enable you to forge the fresh connection, or re-connection, with Him for which you’ve been searching.

You Are NOT ALONE!

I also want to reassure you that you’re not alone.

It might feel to you that you are the only one going through this soul-shattering experience.

But I can assure you that you are not the first one to experience the Lord’s apparent ‘absence’ just when you need Him most.

Countless others through the ages can also testify to the same experience.

And 37 years ago, I was there too! 

3 Steps to Healing Your Pain

1. Acknowledge and recognize your pain.
   Without this acknowledgement, genuine and lasting healing can’t begin.

2.  Respond right away to the Lord’s invitation to get closer to Him so that you can actually EXPERIENCE FIRSTHAND FOR YOURSELF His healing love and peace. 

Remember: God wants to find YOU far more desperately than you want to find Him!

3. Practice for a few minutes each day a guaranteed way to get close to the Lord, by experiencing, firsthand for yourself, God’s HEALING presence, LOVE, and rest (peace) —whenever you want or need to.

God’s LOVE is the most powerful energy in the world.

It’s always His LOVE that heals you.

How to Hear God Speaking to You

When You are Hurting or Confused

How can you hear the Lord speaking to you if you are hurting badly, are scared, or are confused?

How can you hear the Lord’s voice if you can’t even feel His Presence?

How can you hear the Lord’s Voice if your accustomed two-way communication with Him seems stone-dead?

Here’s how:

When you enter into God’s Presence for a few minutes each day or each week you will also experience His love.

When you experience His love, you will learn to trust Him.

In the safety of His love and trust you will experience His rest (peace).

These 3 experiences together will give you the confidence to start a conversation with God.

You’ll be able to present your problems and anxieties to Him honestly, holding nothing back.

You’ll gradually, but very surely, develop the confidence to ask Him questions and then EXPECT Him to answer you.

This is how you begin to hear, really hear, God’s voice speaking to you.

Gradually, your conversation with God and His with you becomes automatic.

Prayer of the heart will become your # 1 ‘go-to’ resource when you’re experiencing any kind of pain.

 

Helpful Excercises

Here now are 2 simple exercises. They’ll help you …

• get in touch with your feelings
• then express these feelings directly to God himself

Both are very important when you’re dealing with pain.

                           

Exercise 1

Read s-l-o-w-l-y (reading aloud is helpful) these words of the psalmist, David.

Read them slowly twice.

Replace ‘us’ with ‘me’.

Replace ‘we’ with ‘I’.

Replace ‘our’ with ‘my’.

 

…you have rejected and humbled us (ME)…

You made us (ME) retreat before the enemy…

You gave us (ME) up to be devoured like sheep…

All this happened to us (ME),

Although we (I) had not forgotten you

Or been false to your covenant.

Our (MY) heart had not turned back;

Our (MY) feet had not strayed from your path.

But you have crushed us (ME)…

And covered us (ME) over with deep darkness.

…Why do you hide your face…?

Psalm 44: 9-11, 17-19, 23-24, 26 NIV

                                                   

Now jot down fairly brief answers to the following questions.

 

1. Which of David’s emotions can you relate to at this stage in your life right now? Be specific.

 

2. Can you feel David’s sense of rejection?

 

3. Which words in these verses express David’s feeling of rejection most convincingly for you?

 

4. Why exactly did David feel that the Lord was treating him unjustly?

 

5. Do you feel that God is treating you unjustly?

        Be honest. Be as specific as you can.

       

6. Reflect for a few minutes on what you have written

        down.

 

Exercise 2

Now write the Lord a letter.

Ask Him anything you like.

Ask Him the same question David asked: …Why do you hide your face…?

Tell the Lord how you feel about Him right now.

Tell Him why you feel this way.

Be honest and hold nothing back.

Be as specific in your letter as you can.

Thank the Lord for anything, no matter how small, that you are grateful for.

Try to thank Him for at least 2 or 3 things.

Close your letter by asking the Lord to reveal Himself to you in a way that you’ll know it’s really Him and not just your imagination.

Ask Him to give you the faith to receive that revelation.

Believe as much as you can that He will.

Ask God to give you the faith to leave everything to Him.

When and how God will reveal Himself to you is up to Him.

He created you.

He knows what and what time is best for you.

As you practise praying with your heart in the Lord’s presence for a few minutes each day, you’ll find that your trust and faith in the Lord will get stronger.

At this point, I recommend that you use the ‘Breath Prayer’  to help you even more to receive this faith.

3 Points Worth Noting

1. When you cry, God cries too! When you hurt, God hurts too. Always remember this. Perhaps you’re not aware of this.

 

2. Trying to go forwards without being able to experience firsthand for yourself, one-on-one, God’s love, is like trying to walk on one foot.
   You might possibly manage OK when life is easy and straightforward.
   But when really tough times and crises arrive, you’ll start to wobble and get tired. You might eventually stumble.
   This is why this firsthand experience of God’s love for you is so vital.

 

3. God is the Lord of the present moment, not just of the past and future!
   So, it’s important to know how to connect to Him in a real way —especially when you’re in pain —whenever you want or need to.
   As with any meaningful relationship in your life, it’s important to be able to maintain your relationship with the Lord no matter what’s going on in your external circumstances.

Remember This Simple Way

If you forget everything else in this article, remember this simple, guaranteed way to experience God’s presence, love, and rest.

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Read Part 1 of this article here 

Read Part 3 of this article here 

 

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