This is the 29th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can access the rest of the articles by clicking here.

Many people are apprehensive prior to their first Personal Prayer Ministry session because they do not know what to expect. It is natural to fear the unknown, but thankfully we can trust Jesus to be kind, gracious, and patient with us. He is the safest person in the universe. Anyone who would voluntarily die for us is certainly not going to treat us poorly.

PPM likely is going to be different from any other kind of counseling or ministry you have ever received. The goal of PPM is to deliberately make room for Jesus to be the Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).

In order to accomplish this, we emphasize the following principles.

• Relax. No one is under any pressure to “perform.” If nothing comes out of these sessions except that we spend time in prayer and listening to the Lord, it will be time well spent. However, it has been my experience that Jesus is far more interested and committed to our being set free than we are.
• Turn off your analytical brain and listen. Many people have trained themselves to analyze everything. This goes back to the Garden of Eden and Adam’s first sin. We try to figure out the reasons for our bondage and how we can get free. While there is certainly a time and place for that, it is not during the listening portion of PPM. As we “wait upon the Lord,” we want to hear what Jesus has to say to us. His words and insights will set us free, not our analysis.
• Don’t filter anything. This one is difficult for analysts. As we wait on the Lord, he often brings to mind memories of past events. It is important that we not filter out anything, thinking it is irrelevant. We don’t yet know what is relevant. You will be asked to share everything that comes to mind – the good, bad, ugly, silly, and the seemingly irreverent or irrelevant. The PPM minister will help decide what is or is not from the Lord and the meaning. This is important. The part you may be tempted to ignore could be critical. If you think something is not from the Lord, share it anyway. Your minister will help judge such things and determine what to do with it. Before ministry, we always pray that the only voice we will hear is from the Lord. We trust him to oversee the entire process.
• Be open to the Lord communicating in various ways. We never know how Jesus may communicate with us. First of all, it is perfectly okay to get nothing at all. However, when all obstacles have been removed, it is usual for the Lord to speak often and clearly. He communicates through memories, visions, Bible verses, thoughts, impressions, feelings, and bodily sensations. Do not discount anything. Feelings of confusion must be felt, likewise pain, fear, etc. You will be expected to be an open book to share everything you are receiving. Remember, we are holistic beings, not mere intellects.

Opening Prayer

I begin every PPM session with prayer, covering the following points.

• Acknowledge that Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. We turn over the entire process to him. We ask him to direct every facet of the ministry.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to fill us afresh and be Christ’s administrator of the session. We pray that he will inspire us and enable us in every area.
• We proclaim Christ’s victory and authority over every form of bondage. We declare his authority over every demon, bondage, lie, generational issue, and sickness. We command any evil spirit that may be somehow involved to be bound and silent, unless directed by Jesus to manifest in some way that will contribute to the deliverance. We command every voice but that of the Lord to be still.
• We “clothe” ourselves with Christ’s authority and righteousness, recognizing that we have none of our own. Our competency and authority to minister come from Christ.
• We invoke Father God’s presence and love to permeate everything.
• We thank Jesus what we can safely trust him to direct and protect every aspect of the ministry. We can be as little children in our confidence that nothing weird or harmful will take place as we depend on his guidance and oversight. We will only hear the Shepherd’s voice.

Jesus Directed

Deciding where to begin is important. The application form will likely give us clues, but we will pray asking Jesus to show us where he wants to start. This will be a continuing practice throughout the ministry times. We will always be going back to Jesus in prayer making sure we are on the same track as he. Sometimes we may need to back up and go in a different direction. This normal and to be expected. We are seeking to follow him, not direct the show.

Many Faceted

Bondage usually has many tentacles, and we want to make sure we leave no stone unturned. During the course of ministry, we will be covering bitterness issues, generational devastation, traumatic inner pain, embedded lies, and demonization, not necessarily in any specific order. We want the Spirit to lead us, but we will do our best to cover everything.

Session Duration

Sessions usually go for around two hours or until it seems like a good time to stop. The number of sessions depends on the person, but you can expect at least three or four, but perhaps more.  I have seen things go quickly, but sometimes there is a lot of work to do. We usually know when we have done all we can do. Remember: no one gets completely set free prior to the resurrection. We will

Between Sessions

In the gap between PPM sessions, the Holy Spirit does not stop his ministry. You will be asked to keep a journal of your interactions and conversations with the Lord and bring it to the next session. One of the great benefits of receiving PPM is developing your ability to hear the Lord for yourself. One goal of PPM is to help you learn to receive directly from Jesus without needing someone else to help you; although, from time to time we probably can all benefit from getting some outside help.

Conclusion

I hope this series of articles has helped you better understand PPM. If after reading it, you wish to receive ministry, please contact me, and we can discuss it. I am also open to helping train others to do this ministry.