The Healing Power of Prayer: New Expanded Edition

This book offers you the opportunity to experience wholistic healing , and • a greater awareness of the variety of approaches that can be used in meditation to tap into the God within you and to access your spiritual energy for healing and transformation. • a clearer understanding of the value of imagination and prayer in the process of inner healing • a deeper appreciation of inner healing prayer as a powerful tool in dealing with the problems of anxiety, anger, rejection, stress, guilt and loneliness. • a greater realization of the effectiveness and richness of inner healing meditation as a means to nourish your oneness with all creation in the Heart of God. • an increased ability to rely on various approaches to prayer as effective sacred practices for health and vitality. If we are to appreciate the many different approaches to healing prayer, however, we must understand the historical and biblical framework of healing in the church. Part One offers a historical overview and explains Jesus' outlook on healing, the Christian Church's teachings about healing, and the relationship between healing and the presence of the Divine in times of suffering. It also presents a practical rationale for inner healing prayer and suggests ways to find spiritual transformation in everyday life. Part Two presents ten different healing prayer experiences: 1. Healing of Memories Prayer: inviting the Holy One into a painful memory to break through the past with the power of grace in the present. 2. Forgiveness Prayer: asking Jesus to accompany you on a journey to give and receive forgiveness and healing in a painful relationship(s) 3. Journal Prayer: using the intuitive powers of the mind to reveal the presence of the Infinite within you 4. Centering Prayer: passing beyond thoughts, images, and feelings to rest in Divine Love. 5. Scripture Prayer: moving into the details and emotions of a biblical passage to listen to the Holy One speaking personally from within the text 6. Fantasy Prayer (guided imagery prayer): using the imagination to set the stage for a prayerful encounter with an inclusive God who is beyond all names (Creator, Holy Wisdom/Sacred Mystery/Abba/Amma/Christ) and present in every faith tradition and beyond all religions. 7. Relaxation Prayer: releasing stressful situations/relationships to God/ your Higher Power and discovering the Holy One's abiding indwelling, tender presence everywhere 8. Healing Affirmations for Daily Living: affirming messages from the Spirit within you 9. Prayer for Healing Families, Races, Nations, Religions and Earth: expanding consciousness to fully know that all are one 10. Prayer of the Sufferer: encountering Divine Compassion in the midst of pain, unanswered questions, and puzzling mysteries This book does not advocate a theoretical approach that merely teaches about inner healing prayer and meditation. Rather, it attempts to integrate a contemporary theological perspective with a creative experiential approach. This book is written with the conviction that we learn to pray by praying, not by reading or talking about prayer. It is also written from the conviction that healing prayer is an attainable life-changing power. As we experience the abundant love of Divine Presence dwelling within us and energizing us, we can rejoice in our identity as a beloved image of God. We can celebrate a new freedom that liberates us from bonds that limit our spiritual potential, learn to forgive and ask forgiveness with greater courage, become more aware of our own growing edges, and develop greater compassion for others. I hope you will reap rich rewards from this exploration into inner healing prayer and from your experience of the power of grace illuminating your path to the "peace that surpasses understanding." (Philippians 4:7) BRIDGET MARY MEEHAN, ARCWP