Season 1, Episode 6: The Power of Inner Healing Prayer

00:00:02):Welcome to Hardship from Hope, Sally.(00:00:06):If you are just joining us for this episode, I'm so excited to introduce you to Sally Miller.(00:00:14):She is a wonderful woman who I've come to admire so much and Sally has a lot of(00:00:21):expertise in inner healing prayer.(00:00:24):Sally is also an author.(00:00:27):If you don't mind, Sally, would you share about your book and(00:00:33):then we can just dive in and you can share your story and(00:00:38):how you first learned about inner healing prayer.(00:00:42):Well, greetings, everybody.(00:00:44):I'm so glad to be here.(00:00:46):About three or four years ago, the Lord just put it on my heart to write a memoir.(00:00:57):I was not real happy about it.(00:00:59):It's a very...(00:01:06):a difficult thing to do, especially when it's around trauma.(00:01:13):But God was just so faithful in it.(00:01:17):He provided a group of writers, like a little writer's group.(00:01:23):And I had a love-hate relationship with them.(00:01:28):I hated what they would say about my writing.(00:01:32):But it was so helpful.(00:01:35):And then I did an online little thing and my spiritual director actually is an(00:01:43):incredible artist and she gave me some of her art for the cover.(00:01:47):It's called Beyond Beautiful.(00:01:51):The book is, but the art is called The Resurrection.(00:01:57):And that's really what I feel like the Lord did.(00:02:01):in my story. I've read it, Sally. Your cover is beautiful and it's(00:02:09):a story that so many can relate to it really touched my heart and I(00:02:15):will put a link to your book in the show notes for our listeners. (00:02:22):Would you like to share a little bit about how you first learned about inner the(00:02:26):inner healing process? (00:02:30):It's my story,(00:02:32):of course,(00:02:33):the way it plays in,(00:02:35):but I was diagnosed about 35 years old with major depression,(00:02:42):the kind where you can't get out of bed.(00:02:45):And ensued doctors, drugs, psychiatrists, counselors, everything.(00:02:52):My husband and I said I was depressed because I was sick.(00:02:58):But the doctor said I was sick because I was depressed.(00:03:03):So I changed doctors because I did not like hearing that at all.(00:03:09):But this was the bedridden kind of depression.(00:03:13):My worst memory was braiding my daughter's hair every morning for school from bed(00:03:21):because I just couldn't function.(00:03:24):And eventually during counseling, I began to have memories of physical, sexual, and spiritual abuse.(00:03:33):And then more and more just kept coming to light that I had no idea about.(00:03:41):You talked about not having memories of childhood in your last podcast.(00:03:46):And my friends would talk about when they were two years old, they did blah, blah, blah, you know.(00:03:52):And I'm like,(00:03:53):Wow, you know, I hardly had any.(00:03:57):There were two or three that, you know, stood out, maybe a handful.(00:04:03):Yes.(00:04:05):From about three years old to 13.(00:04:09):Yes.(00:04:09):I really didn't have much at all.(00:04:12):I was conscious of the severity of my father's physical abuse.(00:04:19):He was a very severe authoritarian man.(00:04:25):but there was much more that I was totally unaware of and I got in some good(00:04:33):Christian counseling for 12 to 15 years and it was pretty much once a week and(00:04:41):sometimes twice got really expensive and I got better but I did not get well and I(00:04:49):was determined to be well and(00:04:52):And then God brought me to a counselor that was just beginning to use Inner Healing Prayer.(00:04:59):And that's when I really began to get to the bottom of all that had happened.(00:05:07):I mean, the 12 or 15 years of counseling prepared me for what I was about to enter into.(00:05:14):Yes.(00:05:16):But I spent about five more years(00:05:20):Excuse me.(00:05:23):Again, once or twice a week.(00:05:26):And it was pretty horrific memories.(00:05:30):And I thought it was never going to end.(00:05:34):But I finally convinced her that I thought I might be dissociative.(00:05:40):And God gives children this incredible gift of dissociating mentally and emotionally.(00:05:48):kind of leaving your body and watching what is happening.(00:05:53):And that's why some memories can get into your unconscious and your fully aware of them.(00:06:05):The marriage suffered three separations and it was awful for about 10 years.(00:06:13):And the breakup actually in most marriages could be resolved if people would(00:06:18):address their own work,(00:06:20):right?(00:06:21):Do their own inner healing.(00:06:25):Your history is just being triggered by the other person.(00:06:34):And that is unintentional, and often we don't even know that's what's going on, right?(00:06:40):Exactly, exactly.(00:06:42):I had no idea, right?(00:06:47):And it's interesting.(00:06:48):He never did much counseling.(00:06:50):I mean, he did some here and there, but he didn't do the kind of work that I did.(00:06:58):And we were both coming out of it.(00:07:01):horrible stories, just horrible stories.(00:07:05):So anyway,(00:07:09):when I got with that counselor,(00:07:11):she had started doing the inner healing prayer,(00:07:15):like I said,(00:07:16):just beginning.(00:07:18):And so I kind of tracked with her.(00:07:26):and we kind of grew in it together.(00:07:31):But that was probably my basic introduction to it.(00:07:40):Thank you.(00:07:41):That's a lot of time to go through that journey and walk through that journey.(00:07:47):But it would never end.(00:07:50):Yes.(00:07:50):Never.(00:07:51):That's when I told the Lord I had(00:07:53):More tears in a bottle than anybody else.(00:07:58):Wow.(00:07:58):Yeah.(00:08:00):What are the components of inner healing prayer?(00:08:03):And how do you believe it differs from other methods that are used to help with trauma?(00:08:10):Okay.(00:08:12):I had, you know, cognitive behavioral therapy that 12 years.(00:08:18):I even had some EMDR.(00:08:21):And they were all helpful, you know.(00:08:24):to a point, but then I would plateau with all the counselors.(00:08:30):I would just hit this place where they couldn't help me anymore.(00:08:35):And talk about discouraging.(00:08:38):That was discouraging.(00:08:41):But the elements are, I'll kind of go through the steps of it, but it's simply as a caregiver,(00:08:51):You're being fully present to a person and positioning them to present them to the(00:09:00):healing power of Jesus,(00:09:02):right?(00:09:05):And hear from him for themselves.(00:09:10):And that's how the healing takes place.(00:09:13):It's paying attention to what he is doing.(00:09:18):and allowing him to do the healing the way he chooses.(00:09:23):And that's so different than most counseling.(00:09:30):Like when I did it with people,(00:09:32):I would never ever suggest anything or lead them or guide them in any ways that I(00:09:42):was thinking.(00:09:44):Because only he knows what the person needs and can bring the healing in the(00:09:51):emotional space where they experience the trauma.(00:09:56):So that's kind of introductory.(00:09:58):But there's six steps that I would work through with people,(00:10:04):which is a whole seminar,(00:10:06):by the way,(00:10:07):or a whole training that people go through.(00:10:10):But I'll just be brief and highlight each one.(00:10:14):So the first step I imagine,(00:10:16):I help them imagine a safe place in their imagination,(00:10:22):which is a sacred imagination.(00:10:25):And they can be there alone at first and just get comfortable.(00:10:31):It can be an imaginary place or a real place that they just love to be.(00:10:37):Mine was always a waterfall and a brook(00:10:42):And I'd be sitting beside it in the grass or on a rock or something.(00:10:47):A lot of people had the ocean.(00:10:49):I did.(00:10:50):Mine was the beach.(00:10:52):Yeah.(00:10:54):So you imagine that safe place.(00:10:58):And then if they want to, if the person wants to...(00:11:02):I ask them if they want to invite Jesus into that place.(00:11:07):And some people will not.(00:11:09):Oh, that's interesting.(00:11:11):Yeah, they don't feel safe with Jesus.(00:11:15):So I ask them maybe if they see like a lamb or something, a flower that would represent his presence.(00:11:26):And they can usually do that.(00:11:28):But then...(00:11:31):When they're ready, I ask him to tell them his thoughts toward them in that place.(00:11:41):And it is always,(00:11:43):every time,(00:11:44):the sweetest,(00:11:46):gentlest,(00:11:47):kindest voice of love,(00:11:51):of compassion,(00:11:54):encouragement,(00:11:55):just what you would imagine his heart towards them.(00:12:01):And there's lots of silence in a session,(00:12:05):uh,(00:12:07):because the person is listening and I'm just sitting there while they listen.(00:12:13):But,(00:12:14):um,(00:12:16):at that point I might ask if there was a recent event,(00:12:23):uh,(00:12:23):where they were,(00:12:24):had an overreaction or an underreaction.(00:12:30):And I would ask Jesus if he wants to highlight an emotion that happened recently.(00:12:39):And I want to emphasize that about paying attention to your reactions.(00:12:46):Because if your reaction is not equal to an event, you can know your history's been triggered.(00:12:55):Right?(00:12:56):Yes.(00:12:56):You might have an overreaction is what we think of, but you also might have an underreaction.(00:13:03):I would always shut down.(00:13:06):Just go silent, get safe, whatever I needed to do away from the situation.(00:13:13):I could never talk it out or write through in the moment.(00:13:20):So I asked the Lord to highlight the emotion that came up in that event.(00:13:28):And then the question becomes, when was the first time they felt that same emotion?(00:13:37):And would Jesus help them to go back to that place where they first felt that emotion?(00:13:45):And sure enough,(00:13:48):two years old, four years old, 10 years old, something of that same emotion happened.(00:13:58):And for me, I actually had memories in the womb.(00:14:05):Wow.(00:14:06):Yeah.(00:14:07):Because even in the womb, you have an awareness of your surroundings, like hearing people fighting.(00:14:15):Yes.(00:14:15):Noises, yelling, stuff like that.(00:14:19):And you take that into your spirit, right?(00:14:25):So we go for that root place where they first felt that.(00:14:30):And then...(00:14:33):What's important is,(00:14:35):I mean the memory's important,(00:14:38):but what's more important is what you came to believe about yourself,(00:14:45):about others,(00:14:46):or about God in that memory.(00:14:51):And that's huge, just really huge.(00:14:54):And most of us take in lies.(00:14:58):about ourselves about others or about god in that place but there's also things(00:15:04):like pronouncements something somebody spoke over you like you'll never amount to(00:15:10):anything yes right you're stupid whatever it was um and you can also be carrying a(00:15:19):burden(00:15:21):Right?(00:15:21):A burden that you're not meant to carry.(00:15:24):Like, especially if you have a single mother, you might become the spouse in a marriage, right?(00:15:33):Yes.(00:15:34):And that's a burden you're not meant to carry at all.(00:15:43):In my situation, I felt responsible for my little brother.(00:15:54):Okay, so you had to parent him.(00:15:57):I felt that I did(00:16:03):Out of those beliefs, you know, you might make vows also.(00:16:08):Like, I vowed to never be like my mother.(00:16:13):But out of those beliefs, vows, lies, burdens...(00:16:19):whatever, you develop a strategy to do life.(00:16:25):And so my strategy was if I was perfect enough, I would not get hurt.(00:16:35):What a hard thing to live up to.(00:16:38):Well, I could do it until I was about 35.(00:16:40):Right.(00:16:41):And then(00:16:44):It's a gift from God to let it all fall apart, right?(00:16:49):To not be able to do it anymore.(00:16:51):So we're dependent on him.(00:16:56):But once we've identified the beliefs in the process again,(00:17:03):I say a prayer with the person and we break off the lies.(00:17:09):So I just say a prayer like I break the lie that(00:17:14):blah, blah, blah, or I break the vow that I'll never be like my mother.(00:17:19):And I pray some other things in that prayer, but they just repeated after me.(00:17:23):And after we're done breaking it, the healing comes when I ask him to reveal truth about(00:17:35):in the place where they came to believe the lies, the vows, the pronouncements, whatever it was.(00:17:44):And he always, every single time, and I've met with, I think, at least 100 people over the years.(00:17:56):It's exactly what they need to hear.(00:18:00):And see, I could never come up with that on my own.(00:18:03):I could tell them.(00:18:05):what they should believe, right?(00:18:08):And it might be the right thing, but when they hear it from Him in that place, it is profound healing.(00:18:20):And only He can do it.(00:18:25):And I say it's like having a foundation of building blocks.(00:18:30):So each one is a lie about pronouncement, strategy, whatever.(00:18:36):And you pull them out and you replace them with truth.(00:18:42):Right?(00:18:44):And then you have a foundation of truth.(00:18:48):I love that.(00:18:48):That's so true.(00:18:51):It's exactly what it is.(00:18:55):So that's kind of a brief overview of the process.(00:19:00):And it's hard work for that person, isn't it?(00:19:04):Very.(00:19:05):I call it emotional surgery.(00:19:10):Because you can come out of there just wiped clean.(00:19:14):Yes, I remember that feeling just being exhausted.(00:19:18):Exhausted.(00:19:21):Because there's a lot that you're just digging through and a lot of pain that(00:19:24):you're sharing with the Lord and that one other person.(00:19:29):Yes.(00:19:30):But it's so freeing.(00:19:32):It might take you a couple days to recover.(00:19:36):Yes.(00:19:38):And sometimes...(00:19:41):When it's really a significant session or memory or whatever, I ask them to commemorate it somehow.(00:19:52):And they'll always know how they want to commemorate it.(00:19:56):I mean, God will show them, like, buying a little something.(00:20:02):Or if you're an artist, just painting something.(00:20:09):will remind them yes that was then that's a beautiful idea. So(00:20:21):who benefits from inner healing prayer and can you expand on that a bit? I(00:20:31):really literally say everyone(00:20:35):No one got through childhood without some kind of trauma or dysfunction at least.(00:20:43):And I also just say we are all on a spectrum.(00:20:48):Might be mild and not much there but might be real severe.(00:20:54):Yes.(00:20:57):Yeah, I would agree with that.(00:21:00):Everyone does have some level of trauma.(00:21:02):I mean, the science backs that up.(00:21:04):There are so many statistics about it.(00:21:07):It's interesting because children raised in homes where trauma exists as part of(00:21:14): daily life will typically have multiple forms of trauma—(00:21:21):adverse childhood experiences and the way that it impacts their lives is it's(00:21:28):incredibly significant whether we're talking about emotional mental health or(00:21:34):physical struggles there's just so much. Are there (00:21:45):any final thoughts you would like to share with the listeners?(00:21:51):Well, I want to say that the very best training is receiving for yourself.(00:22:00):Yes.(00:22:01):Right.(00:22:02):Which we both have.(00:22:03):Yes.(00:22:04):That's the best training to help someone else.(00:22:10):There's a couple organizations that I recommend.(00:22:15):Nationally, it's Terry Wardle and his Healing Care Ministries.(00:22:21):Another one is Deeper Walk International.(00:22:26):I got training through both of them.(00:22:28):The Navigators locally actually do a two-day seminar and I got training there too.(00:22:38):And Renee Skruitzky with Soaring Wings, she's also local and I mentored her in the process.(00:22:49):But she's someone I really trust.(00:22:52):But the main reason for doing it is your intimacy with Jesus.(00:23:00):Yes, yes.(00:23:01):I absolutely agree.(00:23:04):During inner healing prayer was the first time I ever admitted to him that I was angry with him.(00:23:15):And that took a lot of...(00:23:17):To work through.(00:23:18):Right.(00:23:19):But it does draw you so much closer.(00:23:21):And when you see him able to reintegrate those parts of you that really used to be(00:23:29):all one,(00:23:29):it is miraculous.(00:23:32):It is.(00:23:33):Right?(00:23:35):Right in front of your eyes.(00:23:37):It's such a privilege to sit with someone.(00:23:40):Tammy and just...(00:23:44):Yeah, it's just so humbling.(00:23:50):His heart is to remove anything and everything that hinders, blocks, or interferes with that intimacy.(00:23:58):And so that's why I could say it was a gift that he allowed me at 35 not to be able(00:24:04):to continue to function in the perfectionist performance strategy,(00:24:11):right?(00:24:12):Yes.(00:24:12):Right.(00:24:14):And I always say he wants to speak to you more than you want to listen.(00:24:20):That's wonderful, and that's true.(00:24:24):We have to slow down intentionally to listen.(00:24:28):And if you're miserable, that's not what God has for you.(00:24:33):There's so much help, hope, and healing available.(00:24:37):Just pursue it, and he will lead you where you need to go.(00:24:41):I didn't know where to go for help, but he did it for me.(00:24:47):And he came to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free.(00:24:53):And when I cried out, he more than met me.(00:24:59):He comes looking for the ones that... Scripture tells us he will not snuff out a candle, right?(00:25:08):Yes.(00:25:09):And he will not break the bent reed.(00:25:12):Yeah, that is truly his heart.(00:25:15):And people like you and me have experienced his restoration in our lives.(00:25:24):I just want people to know that's there for them.(00:25:28):Thank you so much for sharing about that.(00:25:31):You're very welcome.(00:25:32):I'm going to plug in those links about healing so people can reach out to those(00:25:39):different resources you shared.(00:25:43):So look for those on the Substack podcast if you're a listener.(00:25:48):And would you like to(00:25:52):finish up by praying for our listeners today?(00:25:55):Sure.(00:25:56):Thank you.(00:25:57):Yes.(00:26:02):Well, Lord, I just know that you see the listener today.(00:26:11):Lord, you see the lost sheep and we are all lost in one way or another.(00:26:23):And so thank you that you seek out each and every one,(00:26:30):each and every individual,(00:26:32):Lord,(00:26:33):that your heart is toward them and your heart is for them.(00:26:40):And you want to accomplish great and mighty things,(00:26:44):Lord,(00:26:45):and help them to walk in their purpose,(00:26:49):what they were born for.(00:26:52):for what you have planned for them, Lord, and that abundant life is available to them.(00:27:01):So thank you.(00:27:04):Thank you for Tammy and her heart to bring this podcast to others and help those who are hurting.(00:27:13):In Jesus' name, amen.(00:27:15):Amen.Reads and ResourcesBeyond Beautiful by Sally MillerA Guide for Listening and Inner-Healing Prayer: Meeting God in the Broken Places by Rusty RustenbachHealing Care Ministries with Terry WardleHealing Care House with Renee Scruitsky This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tammykennington.substack.com/subscribe