Monday, April 29, 2013

TUESDAY TAP: prayer tapping on pain


9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez,[c] saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.--1Chronicles 4


The Bible has a complex relationship with pain. From the early writings in Genesis 3 which cite God as sending pain upon Adam and Eve for disobeying the Holy, to Jesus healing anyone who was within his reach...and a few that were beyond his reach. The early faith community believed that God was the cause of everything that happened to us. If we were happy and healthy, that was God smiling on us. If were sad and in pain, that was God showing displeasure to us. It made God a bit of a tyrant to work for, but a lot of people bought it. A LOT OF PEOPLE.

A few people wondered if maybe God wasn’t about the pain part of life. Perhaps God was in the healing from pain that came from other sources. The environment. Accidents. Other people. Our own choices. For those people, God was/is loving and caring and aware of our hurting. God is a witness to what has happened to us from the very beginning, and God is always eager to help us go back and clean up the messes we find ourselves in.
I’ll be honest. I’m in the second camp when it comes to pain, and as someone who has found great relief from tapping prayer, I was hopeful that prayer tapping would alleviate  some of the suffering I see in the world around me.
Now, to be doubly honest, I didn’t really believe that tapping prayer could bring about this cure. I doubted. I hedged. I put a limit on God working on this particular issue.
Fortunately, for me and those who have since experienced the benefits of prayer tapping on pain, I try to practice what I preach. It really bugged me that I couldn’t minister around pain, and I was doing some prayer tapping on “doubt” when I asked God to help me with this issue. I was praying:
Top of head: This doubt.
Eyebrow: This limiting belief.
Outer eye: It could never be true.
Under eye: It couldn’t happen.
Under nose: I have this doubt.
Under lip: I have this inability to believe this...
Collarbone: I’ve gotta see it to believe it.
Underarm: I need evidence.
Wrists: I have evidence that my disbelief is holding me back.
Top of head: I have evidence that I am not as peaceful as I’d like to be.
Eyebrow: I have this limiting belief.
Outer eye: Maybe I know where it came from.
Under eye: Maybe it is connected to fear.
Under nose: Maybe it is connected to sadness.
Under lip: Maybe it is limiting me like it limited the people who taught it to me.
Collarbone: I have this doubt.
Underarm: I didn’t ask for it.
Wrists: I wonder if I need it?
Top of head: What would happen if I let it go?

And as I tapped on my doubt around healing physical pain, God healed me. I was able to let go of my limiting belief around God working on this issue through tapping prayer. I was willing to give it a try. I felt peace.

The approach to prayer tapping on pain is similar to praying for other issues. If you are new to tapping prayer read my basic recipe by clicking here. When you feel ready and willing to try applying God’s healing love to your pain, continue reading.
First, identify a pain in your body. You may be experiencing pain in many parts of your body, go ahead and make a list of everything that hurts,and then try to focus on one area at a time. Once you have identified an area of pain take a moment to ask yourself: “What emotion is connected to this pain?” Research has shown a strong connection between feelings and pain. Identify that connection for you, as best you can. If you can connect the emotion to an event, all the better. You will be adding specificity to your prayer so that as God goes back to clean up your hurt, you will both be aware of the place the Holy is attending to. The more specific you can be, the more effectively God can target and relieve the problem.
Once you have a person or an emotion connected with the pain, try saying out loud,
“I have this (emotion) (pain).” An example would be: “I have this angry sharp pain in my neck.” or “I have this sad pain in my feet.”  Rate how true or strong that statement is for you on a scale of 0-10. Write that number down. It is called a Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD). You will use this number after you pray to identify how the spirit has moved within you around this issue.
When you are ready to pray, please take responsibility for your participation in tapping prayer, and let’s pray!

Karate Chop: This is ridiculous, God. I have this........................and I’m calling on you to attend to it by tapping while I pray. I doubt it will work. It doesn’t make sense. I’m going to try it anyway, because quite frankly I’m tired of living with this............................... Even though I have this..................I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though I feel..........about my pain, I am wildly loved and extravagantly accepted by God. Even though I’ve been living with this....................for some time, I am completely loved and deeply accepted by God.
Top of Head: I have this.................
Eyebrow: It hurts so much.
Outer eye: It feels like.................and reminds me of..............
Under eye: I have this..............
Under nose: This pain is ongoing and ranks a SUD of …..........
Under lip: This..................
Collarbone: I doubt tapping prayer can help this................
Underarms: I can’t believe God could heal this..................
Wrists: I have all this..................

Top of Head: Even though I have all this...............I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Eyebrow: I consider that God could alleviate some of this................
Outer eye: This …..........makes it difficult to enjoy my life
Under eye: Living with this …............disrupts some of my relationships.
Under nose: I'm afraid that I’ll always have this..............
Under lip: I wonder what life would be like without this...................
Collarbone: I am so tired of living with this.......................
Underarms: But I guess I’m stuck with it.
Wrists: Maybe I’m not stuck with it, and I’m deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of head: Maybe God has something different in store for me.
Eyebrow: I wonder if part of me is holding on to this.............because healing would mean I had to do things differently.
Outer eye: I wonder if there are any benefits to living with this.................
Under eye: There are no benefits to living with this................., it stinks!
Under nose: I have this terrible.....................and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Underlip: I don’t have this terrible...............and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Collarbone: I am living with an awful case of..............................
Underarms: Maybe I could forgive myself and anyone else who contributed to me experiencing this................even if I believe it might be God.
Wrists: I have this........................

Top of head: Even though I have this (SUD number) of.................I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Take a deep breath.....and thank you God for moving into that painful place in my body. Thank you for sending your spirit to move me in new directions with love. Amen.

Try saying: “I have this (emotion) (pain).” and check the SUD. Did it move? Up? Down? Are there any new thoughts or feelings that have surfaced around your pain? If the number went down, but is not at a 0-2, try to identify what is keeping it at a higher number. Do you have some belief about your pain that is keeping it from a full blessing and peace? If your SUD went up, try and identify what the new issue is that has the higher number. In either case continue prayer tapping until you experience peace and healing around the pain you have brought before God.
It is important to note that sometimes the pain will move from a 10 to a 6 or a 4. While that is not the 0-2 of complete peace, it is a lot easier to live with than a 10! Give thanks to God for any progress and relief and allow the experience to deepen your relationship with the Holy.
God is here to help you. God wants you to feel whole and at peace. By working alongside of God, we focus our attention and God’s will on the pain that keeps us from these gifts. I believe that God’s hand is with you. God will heal you from harm so that you can be liberated from pain.

Peace,
Todd

Check back for the THURSDAY THUMP: prayer tapping on anger.

1 comment:

  1. What good timing. I am having a procedure on my foot today and will do this before and after. Will let you know how it helps manage the pain!
    Carla

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