I have read that if flies are placed in a jar with air holes in the lid, they will fly around frantically, banging into the lid, desperately trying to escape from their prison. If left there long enough, eventually they will stop hitting the lid. Later, if the lid is removed, they won’t even try to escape. Somehow they have been conditioned “to feel and believe” that there is no escape. They just keep circling in the cramped jar.

In some ways, many people are like this. Some- where in their past, through a frightening and traumatic experience, such as being raped, sexually, physically, or emotionally abused or rejected as a child, they have been conditioned to believe at an unconscious feeling level that they, too, are trapped and that there is no way out of their dilemma. And they end up going in circles with their life and/or relationships.

To be freed from this endless cycle of defeat, those of us who have been abused need the healing touch of God. As a general rule God uses other people to bring us this healing and deliverance. For the Christian, deliverance begins with acknowledging our problem (often best detected by the symptoms we have), genuinely wanting to be healed with a willingness to face the agony of these painful damaged memories and doing what we need and can do to be healed. And most important of all, starting with praying the right prayer such as the following:

“Dear God, thank you that you care about my pain and where I have been hurt in my past. In many ways my life (or parts of it) is/are in chaos (or tormented, or in disarray) and I have failed miserably in my closest relationships. Please give me the courage to face these painful memories, connect to them and bring them to the light for your healing and deliverance. Please lead me to the help that I need whatever that may be. Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

By Dick Innes, Daily Encounter www.actsweb.org/detoday . Used by permission.