Emotional release
Jesus was a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. We can trust our Saviour to deeply understand and sympathise with us when people hurt, reject or neglect us. God’s promise is that we can boldly approach His throne of grace to confess our anxieties and ask the Holy Spirit to comfort and heal us, and to guide us on our emotions. Unfortunately, most of us have grown up unaware of this and continue to carry painful emotional baggage that may be decades old. By suppressing and ignoring our feelings for so long, our hearts become hardened. Over the years, we gradually lose the ability to connect to and understand the ever-growing layers of negative emotions buried deep in our souls. Due to the build-up of emotional toxicity inside us, we are quickly triggered by present-day circumstances. When left unaddressed, such emotional pain can even manifest as physical disorders. Here is a prayer to invite the Holy Spirit to help us identify and confess our suppressed pain so that we can seek God for healing for our hearts, minds, and bodies. He is the God who heals our entire being.
Isaiah 53:3-5 NKJV He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Exodus 15:26 NKJV and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
Also see Emotional suppression is ungodly and harmful.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me life. I am here to acknowledge that I have sinned against the body You created for me by suppressing and neglecting to acknowledge unpleasant emotions inside me and muzzling my heart, as a way to cope with shock, anger, embarrassment, humiliation, disappointment, sadness, and pain. I have unconsciously silenced and suffocated my own heart! Lord, please forgive me, I now repent unreservedly.
I also say sorry to my own heart. Heart, you will find your voice again.
Luke 6:45 NKJV A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
I repent of using my mind to think through and deal with stressful circumstances, rather than be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart at all times.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NKJV Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Thank you, Lord, that You created every emotion in my heart as a signal for me to run to You for wisdom, counsel and comfort. I did not know this and relied solely on my own human understanding and strength. As a result, I have not been able to freely experience the fruit of Your lighthearted love, joy, peace, and freedom (Galatians 5:22-23).
Jeremiah 4:19 NKJV O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace…
Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Jesus, thank you that You offer us abundant life (John 10:10). Please heal my soul, comprising my emotions, mind and will.
Psalm 41:4 NKJV I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul…
In Your loving kindness, You ask every follower of Jesus to humble ourselves and cast every anxious care upon You because You care for us. Today, I choose to obey Your commandment. I renounce the lies that I need to “suck it up”, “just move on”, “not cry”, “handle it on my own,” (please list whatever else comes to mind) and that “there is no point talking about it,” “it’s so long ago,” “emotions don’t matter”, (please list whatever else comes to mind.) Lord, forgive me for the protective mechanisms I have adopted that have hardened my heart and shut out Your voice as a result.
1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Holy Spirit, I give You permission to search every part of my heart for latent and hidden pain and sorrow. I choose to be totally honest with myself and face up to how I truly feel inside so that I may bring it to my loving Saviour for healing. Lord, please hold my hand as I do this, as I don’t know what to expect and it frightens me.
Psalm 139:23 NKJV Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
Now, please remind me of the ways people have behaved grievously towards me and wounded my soul (i.e. my emotions, mind and will) so that I can confess the long-buried sorrows in my soul. I humbly come before You and ask for Your comfort. Please help relieve my heart and deliver me of the heavy burdens my heart has been carrying.
2 Corinthians 1:3 NKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
(Important: Pause and wait on the Lord here. Then confess all the emotions you felt for each and every individual memory, as the Holy Spirit brings them up one by one. Weep as deeply as you need to. This is an important aspect of healing. As a mighty warrior and king, David wept often without hesitation. This was a source of his strength and resilience. See 1 Samuel 20:41, 4:16, 30:4, 2 Samuel 15:30, 18:33.)
I now choose to unreservedly forgive everyone who hurt me and command every spirit of heaviness, pain, condemnation, and sorrow connected to what I have just confessed to leave me in Jesus’ name. I cut all ungodly soul ties with these people and commit my heart to my Saviour, to be led by Jesus alone. Jesus, I take Your yoke upon me. Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. It is through You that my soul will find my rest.
Isaiah 61:3 NKJV To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for reviving my heart. (Take a few deep breaths here and rest as the peace of the Holy Spirit fills your body and soul.)
Isaiah 57:15 NKJV For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”