Prayers That Heal the Heart - Session 8 - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

Key wellness & healing strategies (from Session 8)

1) Recognize “traumatic pictures” as controlling triggers

• Past events can leave vivid mental images that keep replaying.
• This replay makes it hard to move forward and can contribute to sustained emotional strain and even physical strain.
  • Example link: anger contributing to arthritis symptoms.

2) If a prayer/approach isn’t working, switch methods

• Don’t force one technique if it isn’t producing healing.
• The speaker emphasizes there are many ways to pray (their ministry lists ~60+ “ways to pray”), and you can try different ones until you find the right fit.

3) Use “Inner Healing Prayer” to replace false mental imagery with truth

• Core idea: inner healing happens when God replaces the images (“pictures”) in your mind.
• The goal is to move from:
  • a picture that contains a lie (e.g., “Jesus wasn’t there”)
  • to a picture that contains the truth (e.g., “Jesus is present”)
• The speaker frames this as “fixing your eyes on Jesus,” since biblical transformation is tied to what you focus on internally.

4) Understand emotions as byproducts of mental pictures

• Emotions are described as flowing out of the pictures you hold.
• If you don’t like your emotional state, the solution is not “command yourself to stop feeling,” but:
  • ask God for a new picture
  • replace the scene
  • expect emotions to shift accordingly.

5) Replace fear-driven scenarios with calming, faith-based ones

• Example:
  • Imagining worst-case outcomes when a spouse is late → fear/terror
• Alternative:
  • Ask for a different “scene” (e.g., traffic jam, spouse okay) → peace

6) Adopt “Godly imagination” rather than “evil imagination”

• Godly imagination: imagining in line with Scripture truth—especially Jesus present with you.
• Evil imagination: picturing lies that push you backward emotionally and health-wise.

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The Inner Healing Prayer process (3-step methodology)

1. Briefly re-enter the hurt
   • Go back to the painful scene for 2–3 seconds (don’t fully re-live it).
2. Invite Jesus into the scene
   • Focus on where Jesus is and invite Him to be present.
3. Invite Jesus to move freely and speak/show truth
   • Watch and listen for what Jesus does/says to replace the lie with truth.

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Practical journaling & scene-mapping method

Scene list identification

• Identify painful scenes that produce pain (on a “scene list”).
• Prompt:
  • “Lord, what negative pictures or people/experiences am I holding that contribute to this heart wound?”

Limit writing detail per scene

• Record each scene using ~three words (e.g., age + location + person).
• Rationale: vivid replay can re-traumatize and intensify the imagery, anger, or fear.

Progress gradually

• Start with less intense scenes to learn the process.
• Move toward the hardest scenes later.

Example format

• “Age 7 / Kitchen / Mom”

During the session

• Begin prayer with Scene 1.
• Invite Jesus into it.
• Record what Jesus reveals.

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Coaching posture cues (memorized phrases)

• Keep the person:
  • “looking for Jesus”
  • “tuned to flowing thoughts and flowing pictures”
• Repeated instruction:
  • “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus” to prevent drifting into the old story.

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How you know it’s healed (definition of healing)

• A hurt is considered healed when you can see the gift God produced through the experience.
• Then respond with:
  • thanksgiving (and implicitly release the old narrative)

Example gift

• Being “thrown out” of a job became the catalyst to fulfill destiny (road/teaching).

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Physical & spiritual integration: healing beyond emotions

• The speaker links inner healing to physical recovery.
  • After replacing the traumatic picture, arthritis pain reportedly improved quickly and later resolved long-term.
• Also includes examples of praying for:
  • cellular trauma after medical trauma (e.g., heart surgery)
  • injury memory (e.g., ligament/knee)

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Additional short practices mentioned

• Use “honor” to replace resentment
  • Viewing people who hurt you as “instruments in God’s hand” leads to emotions like honor/respect/joy rather than rage.
• Choose the new picture going forward
  • Healing requires refusing to re-gaze at the old painful image, otherwise emotions return.

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Presenters / sources mentioned

People

• Mark Virkler (speaker)
• Rita Bennett (provided the definition-style framing for “inner healing”)

Bible authors/figures referenced

• Abraham
• King David
• Peter
• Paul
• Jesus (Emmanuel)

Scripture references mentioned

• Hebrews 12:1–2
• Genesis 15:5–6
• Jeremiah 7:24
• Psalm 16:8
• Acts 2:25
• Matthew 26
• John 18
• John 21
• Psalm 139:7–8
• (Plus others mentioned in passing)