Healing Relationships Through Sozo & Prayer Ministry

What is our life without relationships? We are created in the image and likeness of God and as such we are wired for intimacy. When you look to the bible for a description of God we find a definitive answer "God is love." But what is love? Our culture has many sayings about love but what does love look like? Love is all you need, love makes the world go around or love wins.... 

As a Christ follower I believe what love looks is Jesus.  Who he was and is and is to be in the future. Jesus in John chapter 8 said he was the way the truth and the life. The bible teaches us that Jesus was the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. Jesus stepped into the realm of time on our behalf to reveal Father God to us. The Father sent him to reconcile us to himself through his sacrificial death on the cross. He died at the hands of sinful men and for all sinful men. When his body was placed in the tomb so was our sinful nature, but that was not the end!  On the 3rd day as Christ was resurrected from the dead, we were raised to new life with him by the glory of the Father. 

When we receive Jesus into our hearts accepting the work of the cross his blood cleanses us from sin the Holy Spirit enters in as well. God reveals himself to humanity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Godhead meets us in our deepest need for relationship. When we are born again into new life in Christ we are adopted into the family of God. Jesus taught about our heavenly Father, he revealed him through the way he lived his life. Jesus said what I see the Father do or say I do likewise. He said I can do nothing of myself, so what does this have to do with our relationship with others? The Father has accepted us and demonstrated his love for us in sending His son. He has fully embraced us by giving his only begotten son to us. Jesus has fully embraced us by laying his life down for us on the cross inviting us into his death and resurrection no longer to live under the shadow of sin and death. He teaches us that we live through our relationship with a loving Father.

In relationship with the Father through Jesus our savior, with the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us, we learn a Way of life that can bring hope and healing to our relationships. As adopted into the family of God now my spirit cries out Abba which means daddy, my Father.  See Romans 8:15. I learn that I am beloved. I find my identity in the love of the Father.  I grow in the knowledge of his love through reading the bible  and choosing to believe and trust what it reveals to my heart. When I hear in my heart you are my beloved daughter I enjoy spending time with you, it comforts my heart and causes me to feel secure in His presence. Our walk with God is a relationship, listening to his still small voice in our hearts as we pray and express our heart to him causes our "in-to-me-see" to grow.

When we are secure in our relationship with God, it informs the other relationships in our lives. John 3:17 reads For God did not send his son into the world to judge the world but that the world through him might be saved. Saved is the Greek Sozo, Definition: From a primary word sos(contraction for the obsolete, safe) to save that is deliver or protect (literally or figuratively) heal preserve save (self) do well be (make) whole, heal. Jesus came to save, deliver and to heal us.  What does this look like? 

When we receive salvation in Christ we have a foundation to build our life on now as a child of God we know whom and whose we belong to. We have been bought by the blood of the Lamb removing our need to prove our value for the highest price was paid for our salvation. Insecurity in our heart is most damaging to our relationships. When our heart is open and transparent before Father God we can go to him and let Him reveal the lies we might be believing that cause us to feel insecure. Jesus is the TRUTH and he loves us, as we walk with him through life he will reveal any darkness in our heart. But he won't leave us there, he desires that we walk in the light as he is in the light, that we would have fellowship with one another. Fellowship meaning Greek word  koinonia, partnership, that is (literally) participation or (social) intercourse or benefaction, to communicate, contribution. The way of a healthy relationship with others is to walk in the light of God. 1John 1:7 To listen to the direction of the Holy Spirit following his lead in how to respond to others in the moments that make up our lives. Sounds simple doesn't it?  Truth and honesty is the best practice in any relationship and isn't that what we all want? It seems that it is written in our hearts innate to us as being created in the image and likeness of God.

Jesus delivered us from the enemy of our soul by the work of the cross. Our lives are made up of our experiences good or bad, and the way we perceive them affects how we relate to others. An example could be that we are made fun of in gym class and bullied by our peers.  We can feel rejection, shame and anger. The enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy in our lives. He wants to cause us to live under the oppression of  rejection, anger and shame and rob us of our peace with God. So hopefully we have adults in our lives to protect us and navigate an experience like this but sadly that isn't always the case. We can find ourselves as adults still angry, insecure carrying shame that colors our relationship with others and most importantly our relationship with God. So what do we do with an event like this still remains like a shadow over our relationships? We look to the one who came to give us life and if we are not able to work through the pain of the event alone there are prayer ministries available to help. Sometimes we need someone compassionate that we trust that is led by the Holy Spirit to pray with us. But ultimately the connection that matters most is the one we make with God intimately. In the secret place of our heart when he comes in and speaks love and truth to us that causes chains to break. He shines his truth and light in our hearts to remove anything that hinders his love filling our heart . When we repent of lies we have believed and forgive the offender we receive the deliverance that we need to go forward in our lives. When we release forgiveness the lies are replaced with his truth we are set free. We are restored to experience stability and security in our relationship with God and others.

When we experience healing in our hearts it affects the way we relate to others. It builds our history with God and increases our capacity to receive his love. The more we are set free from the darkness meaning the negatives in our lives. Bitterness, unforgiveness, rejection, insecurities ------you fill in the blanks, the more we are able to love others well from a heart that has been saved, delivered and healed.

- Catherine Mailloux