THURSDAY THUMP: prayer tapping on family

2 Timothy 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Timothy was fortunate. He had a good mother.  A good grandmother. Supportive extended family, including the author of this letter. The author (probably not Paul, but someone who was familiar with the firebrand and his concern for Tim) wrote these encouraging words of faith from prison.Tim was, like the church of his day, going through some hard times, and the scribe wanted Timothy to know that he was not alone. That things would get better. That the love that Tim’s family had told him about, was real!

Not everyone has that kind of system to sustain them. In fact, family can be a source of a lot of pain and distress. Old wounds, still infected by years of reopening and pouring salt on them, can drive us to derision.

--You’ll never amount to anything.

--You’re such a disappointment.

--I knew you couldn’t do it right.

Words like this spoken to a child can set the stage for a lifetime of self defeat, low expectations, and unhealthy relationships.

What if God could heal some of those hurts? What if the Holy could take the sting out, so that instead of reflexively recoiling at the sound of a siblings voice, we could listen to hear if anything had changed? We could watch to see if there was an opportunity for reconciliation? We could calmly respond by not engaging in ways we that we always engaged before?

Tapping prayer offers us a healing alternative to the knee jerk response most of us are conditioned to experience. God’s spirit can give us options that we could never even imagine before.

Before you begin today’s tapping prayer, think back to an incident that happened long ago...something somebody said or did that is still buried deep under your skin. Try and remember an event that still gets your blood boiling when you think of your parent or sibling or cousin or....saying it to you. On a scale of 0-10, how upsetting is that incident when you think of it? Write that number down. It is your Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD) for this family event and you will use it later to see how God’s spirit has moved in you during the time of prayer.

If you are new to tapping prayer, read this basic recipe here and then continue.

Family can affect us in ways that outsiders cannot. Family usually know our buttons. If while you are praying you feel like the issue has suddenly shifted to something more frightening or disturbing, either stop and consult a professional counselor on this issue, or move your prayerful attention toward the new issue and focus God on this new concern.

When you are ready to begin praying, please take responsibility for your participation in tapping prayer, and let’s pray!

Karate Chop: I know that Sister Sledge sings that We are Family, God, but sometimes I wish the folks I’m related to would go away! They have hurt me with words or deeds, and I am still recovering every time I am in their presence. The event I am remembering in particular is very painful. Just thinking about it registers a SUD of ….... I need your help. I need your healing spirit. Because I know that even though I have this painful event in my past, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though...........hurt me, I am completley loved and deeply held in God’s constant care. Even though I remember............I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of head: I have this pain.

Eyebrow: It’s so embarrassing to remember.

Outer eye: I don’t know why.......did that to me.

Under eye: It really hurt me.

Under nose: i can still feel the pain from when.....did......to me.

Under iip: I am hurting.

Collarbone: This pain is getting in the way of my joy.

Wrists: This hurt is keeping me from peace.

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

Eyebrow: I wonder why........did that to me?

Outer eye: I can consider forgiving.......for hurting me. (Maybe)......didn't understand how they made me feel.

Under eye: I can consider forgiving myself for feeling hurt by what.......did.

Under nose: I was only a child when.....hurt me. I had no power in that relationship.

Under lip: Even though it happened awhile ago, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Collarbone: God can heal my younger self. God can tend to my old wounds. God saw what happened.

Wrists: I am hurting because of what happened.

Top of head: Even though I am hurting because of what happened, i am deeply loved and completely cared for by God.

Eyebrow: I wonder how my relationship with.....might change if I am healed from this pain?

Outer eye: I wonder what boundaries I would need to feel safe in …............’s presence?

Under eye: Even though I don’t feel safe with.....I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God

Under nose: ….....is deeply loved and completely accepted by God, even if God doesn’t condone what.......did to hurt me.

Under lip: Maybe.....needs healing, too.

Collarbone: I feel ashamed of this hurt I am feeling. I feel like maybe it was my fault that.......hurt me. Even though I was hurt as a child, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Wrists: I am hurting because of what......did to me when I was a child.

Top of head: Even though......hurt me, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

And take a deep breath....Thank you God for being with me in my pain. You were there when it first came upon me as a child, and you are here with me now as I seek your assistance in healing from that hurt. Amen.

Check your SUD on the incident you were praying for help with. If the number has gone down, are there any issues that remain which keep you from reaching zero? If so, try bringing those remaining issues to God using the same format for the prayer. If your SUD went higher, note the issues that spiked the SUD and attend to those with prayer. God will be with you in your healing and help you to bring those SUD’s down to a manageable level.

Family often know us at our most vulnerable places. Their words and deeds can lift us to great heights or dash us into rocky pits. Call on the Holy to lift you up when family has let you down. Who knows the kinds of choices you’ll discover when the hurts of the past have experienced God’s love?

Peace,

Todd

THURSDAY THUMP: Prayer tapping on negative people in your life

9 Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.

10-11 Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?” --Matthew 9

Sometimes you just can’t get a break...even when you get a break! There is somebody nearby who wants to take the wind out of your sails. Poor Matthew wasn’t the most trusted guy in Bethlehem, but Jesus saw something in him that led him to dine with Matthew. Jesus saw the possibility for Matthew to draw closer to God. Maybe find some healing. Perhaps become a messenger of his Good News. Who knows, he might even write about his experiences with Jesus some day!

But the negative nellies who represented the established religion of the day couldn’t cut Matthew any slack. They couldn’t cut Jesus any slack either, presuming that they understood the situation at hand better than he did. The naysayers had a fit. They lit into Jesus’ followers. They complained, “What kind of example is this from your teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?”

I’m sure those cruel words did wonders for Matthew’s self esteem, let alone his imagining himself as something better than he already was!

Everybody makes mistakes. Some are real doozies. Everybody has a bad day now and then. We usually don’t need people to remind us of our failures or our humanity. But there they are. On the telephone. In our email. On our news feed. Squawking through Twitter.

You blew it! You’ll never amount to anything. You’re a loser. You’ve always been a failure...you always will be.

If you have a negative person in your life, try and remember a time when their negativity really hurt you. Try and recall how their words or actions created a barrier to your growth as a human being. Assign that person or event a SUD of 0-10. If you don’t know what a SUD is, or you are new to tapping prayer, read my basic recipe by clicking here.

When you are ready to focus God’s healing spirit on the hurt that negative person has brought into your life, please take responsibility for your participation in tapping prayer, and let’s pray!

Karate Chop: Dear God, you know I’m human. You know I make mistakes. You’ve been there for all of them. Hoo boy. It’s a bit embarrassing, and to add insult to injury, I have this negative person in my life who keeps reminding me of how I messed up. I try to make amends. I try to move on. They keep me locked in that moment of humility. They label me “a hopeless case,” and they are getting other people to believe them. I’m starting to believe them. I need your help.

Even though this negative person calls me a hopeless case, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though this naysayer continues to hoist my past into full and humiliating view of the public, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by you. Even though this negative person is holding me back, I am completely loved by you...and I am completely accepted by you.

Top of head: I have this negative person in my life.

Eyebrow: This negative person.

Outer eye: This person who labels me a loser...a ne’er do well...riff raff.

Under eye: This person who pushes me down every time I try to get up and move on.

Under nose: This naysayer is really bugging me.

Under lip: This person’s negativity has started to get to me.

Collarbone: People are believing this person’s negative talk about me.

Underarm: I don’t know what to do. I feel trapped.

Wrists: I may be believing some of this negative person’s beliefs about me.

Top of Head: Even though this person is saying negative things about me, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Eyebrow: Even if I’m as bad as this person is saying, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Outer eye: I’m probably not THAT bad.

Under eye: This negative person is relentless.

Under nose: I don’t know why they are relentless.

Under lip: When I was a child and someone behaved like this s/he was called a “bully.”

Collarbone: This bully is deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Underarm: When a bully hurt someone when I was a child, I could find an adult to resolve the issue.

Wrists: Perhaps God can resolve this issue through this tapping prayer.

Top of head: I wonder what’s in it for me to continue my relationship with this person? Maybe I could change this relationship.

Eyebrow: Maybe I could put some limits on this relationship.

Outer eye: The negative person might get upset.

Under eye: I’m upset.

Under nose:I can consider letting go of this negativity.

Under lip: I can consider claiming my own truth.

Collarbone: I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Underarm: I can consider that I am free from this negative person’s remarks and behavior.

Wrists: I have this negative person in my life.

Top or Head: Even though I have this negative person in my life, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Take a deep breath...and thank God for being with you as an advocate and healer regarding this bully in your life. Check your SUD and determine if the spirit has shifted any when you think about this naysayer who has been bringing you down. If there are any new issues that came up while you were praying, write those down, give them a SUD, and try prayer tapping on those issues.

When Jesus heard the naysayers complaining about Matthew, he let them know that they had it all wrong. He affirmed that Matthew was on the right track and that it was the religious leaders who had some “‘splaining to do.”

Peace,

todd

ps. Check out next week’s Tuesday Tap: prayer tapping on not having enough time to do everything.