Talking Therapy Part 1: Prescribing Prayer

As a Doctor, one of the most common conditions I’ve had to deal with is anxiety and depression. I would often recommend to my patient to what is called talking therapy also known as psychotherapy – a form of therapeutic conversation with a trained professional that enables behavioural change and recovery.

It is simplistic to assume that a believer is impenetrable to anxieties, fears, doubt, and overwhelming sorrow or depression. We see this all through the bible from Moses and also Elijah asking God to end their lives; David being afraid for his life; even our Lord Jesus faced a moment when his heart was exceedingly sorrowful to the point of death (Mathew 26:38), and Paul mentions being hard pressed on every side but not crushed (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

One of the most important tools God has given us is Prayer. I find prayer to be the most accessible and effective talking therapy we have. Make no mistakes about it, we received the life of God when we were born again and this life is indestructible by the circumstances of life. However, God did not promise us a trouble-free life but He gave us the Holy Spirit as our strengthener and makes a way of escape in any trouble so we are not overwhelmed. We access this help through prayer.

In Mathew 26:38 Jesus was so sorrowful to the point of death. What he did was to take three of his disciples to pray with him and then went alone to pray. Apostle Paul tells his formula in Philippians 4:8 “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand”. Hallelujah!

I learnt early in my life to use this tool of prayer whenever I am afraid or anxious or going through crisis that I cannot understand what to do. It has never failed me. I would prescribe prayer to you as the ultimate talking therapy for the believer. What better professional than God could understand even the deep secrets that you cannot tell anyone and can soothe you in ways no one can?

However, some of us pray but feel like we are not getting the full benefits of our divine prescription. Every medication needs to be taken in a certain way for its full benefit to be achieved. I have listed 4 practices that could help us in our prayer therapy:

1. Embrace your Vulnerability

The bedrock of psychotherapy in my opinion is our willingness to engage and be vulnerable to another person. Sometimes we come to God in self-defense as though He does not already know us or the details of the events. Like the Pharisee in the story in Luke 18:9-14, we come trying to justify ourselves or give excuses for our shortcomings while we hold other people in contempt and unforgiveness. Hebrews 4:13 tells us that nothing is hidden from God’s eyes. I learnt to confess my anxieties and shortcomings in prayer openly and honestly before God. Jesus was not afraid to tell His Father about his desire not to go through the sufferings of the cross. He was vulnerable enough and open to God’s correction or will.

Are you willing to look at that situation through God’s eyes or you are stuck in your own ways? I know you have been hurt and you want to react or may have reacted already, but are you willing to hear God’s opinion? Like Adam, most of us would rather blame others and hide from our hurts than face our true fears and pain. For me this is a gift in prayer. I start by being open to God’s searchlight to search my deepest desires and help me deal with the log in my eye before looking at the speck in another’s eye.

I am not talking about coming to God to tell Him that you are a sinner. NO! Some use it as a religious rhetoric to gain sympathy. No! God does not call us sinners, we are God’s Holy nation. However, we constantly repent (renew our minds) in prayer by allowing God to show us the mirror of our true selves so we become more like Him in everything.

2. Practice Gratitude

Often, we are anxious, doubtful, fearful or sad because we are focusing on the things that provoke these emotions. Paul admonishes us to mix our prayer with thanksgiving. David told us to enter God’s gates with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving switches our focus from the difficulties and reminds us of the good things around us. It reminds us of God’s goodness and magnifies God above the challenges. It gives us hope. When I remember how God has brought through situations in the past, it gives me hope that “this too shall pass”. I can see the light in the tunnel. Learn to write down things you are grateful for and say it in prayer.

3. Journaling in Prayer

Many people journal their life’s events but have you tried journaling what you pray for and the thoughts that came to you in prayer? David wrote down his prayers which is reason we have access to them in the Psalms and other parts of the Bible. Jesus’ prayer for the Church in John 17 was written down for us to know. Some people pray and then forget what they prayed about. Then they come back to pray for the same thing again repeatedly. I am not saying you cannot repeat a prayer point but you should start from where you stopped. Prayer is not a mindless talk with someone who is not there. Jesus told us that when we ask something in prayer, we should believe we have received and we will have it.

Journaling our prayer helps us to remember what we asked God, keeps track of the answers we receive , strengthens our faith and makes our joy to be full. It is also therapeutic because it relieves our minds of the burden of later trying to recall everything we prayed for. Practice having a prayer journal. Make it your diary with God.

4. Practice Listening in Prayer

This particular point revolutionised my prayer life. A lot of people do prayer as a one-way conversation. They come, talk and then go away. They do not listen to their hearts for God’s answer. Philippians 4:7 tells us how God answers us – Peace.

I recently faced a moment of anxiety when what I had applied for seemed not to go through. I felt sad but I withdrew to pray. While praying, I noticed that some scriptures started coming to my heart and I began to say them out. Each time I spoke those scriptures, a peace welled up inside me and I knew this was God’s answer and policy direction for me. He makes a way when there seems to be no way. Sometimes it is a song that comes through to you. Speak them out and write them down.

Don’t rush away after you’ve finished saying your part in prayer. Listen for answers in your spirit. Make it a practice and you’ll realise that God has been speaking to you all along but like Samuel, you did not know how to hear Him. Then His peace will settle, protect and preserve your mind from adverse events of life.

Next, in Part 2 we will look at prescribing the Word of God in talking therapy.