Juice Box Discipleship

Inner healing prayer as a missing ingredient

While driving truck for a living, my nephew decided to lose weight—a challenge, no doubt, when on the road eating at truck stops. So he made Chrystal Light and Special K snack bars his daily fare, sometimes for all three meals!

Did he lose weight? Yep. Incredibly so. Having been a bit chubby all his life, he looked like a different person the next time we saw him. Once back to his usual regimen, however, the slim version vanished. Diet drink mixes and granola take one only so far.

Similarly, discipleship programs which lack certain dynamics will slim one down for a season, but may not necessarily produce lasting life change. Integrating inner healing prayer can make a huge difference. This is especially true for those captivated by secret sexual sin.

Discipleship diets have evolved over the past 60 years. Prior to my years at Hope College, standard fare was Sunday worship and Sunday school. My first introduction to formal discipleship was with a campus ministry of the Navigators. Having begun in the Navy during World War II, the “Navs” had developed a highly structured discipleship pipeline. As young Christians, we took deep dives into scripture, door to door evangelism, and training in prayer. There were very few mentions of sexual struggles and only meager fare on the power of the Spirit to transform. Nonetheless, spiritual growth accelerated until I reached a glass ceiling.

Discipleship in seminary was more thorough, especially regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. Opportunities to talk intimately about sexual issues, however, were scarce. My struggles with lust and other debilitating behaviors remained.

Not for lack of trying, mind you! I memorized verses, meditated on Romans 6, 7, & 8, surrendered my life habitually, and counted myself dead to sin and alive to Christ. As for seeking God’s power, I was disciplined in my devotional life and often prayed for the filling of the Spirit. Friends would lay hands on me and pray for freedom from these issues—yet the struggles remained.

Quite honestly, I preached about the “victorious Christian life” as a young pastor, yet all the while simply limped along. Though I’d read many books about the Spirit-filled life and prayed every prayer I knew to pray, ongoing defeat still seemed the sad norm. Eventually, I concluded that in this already-but-not-yet kingdom of God, we are destined to stumble our way forward into eternity.

The turning point

In 2001, feeling led to receive doctoral training to help pe the sexually broken, I entered studies determined to guide others to freedom. To my surprise, however, God wanted to heal me! By the power of the Holy Spirit, I found release from key wounds and lies which fueled the struggles with lust and one other besetting sin—people pleasing. A significant shift was immediately noticeable. Victory was far more consistent.

For today’s church to stand out against a culture which places sex at the center of the universe, simply informing new believers will always fall short. I’ve long argued for a robust theology of sexuality which is easy to communicate, but that by itself will not suffice. Enabling them to actually live out those teachings remains the greatest challenge before us. Inner healing prayer can play an integral part toward their eventual freedom.

A daunting challenge

As mentioned previously, the early church transformed the Roman Empire by committing to a transformational catechism. More than information and spiritual disciplines, they baptized only those followers of Christ who actually obeyed the teachings of Jesus, especially regarding sexual practices. A three year process of mentoring, prayer, and eventual exorcism brought clear life change.

With each transformed life, people took note. Look at this summary of Justin Martyr’s observations as found in Alan Kreider’s The Patient Ferment of the Early Church:

The Christians’ habitus thus offered new options to society. For example, many contemporaries noted that the Christians were committed to sexual purity, and they admired this. Justin prioritized it. In his First Apology he begins his presentation of the sayings of Jesus as they applied to the Christians’ life by discussing sexual continence (sōphrosynē). He underscores the urgent importance of this by citing, in his summary of teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’s command to his disciples to cut out the roving eye that misleads into incontinence (Matt. 5:29). He points to Christians in Rome “and in every nation” who have repudiated adulterous glances, avoided second marriages, and committed themselves to lifelong continence. Justin maintains that the Christians’ sexual discipline attracted to the faith an “uncounted multitude of those who have turned away from incontinence.”

For many, the pernicious and stubborn sexual habits conditioned by internet porn and developed at early ages will require far more than catechism and coaching. We can’t simply refer an entire generation of young believers to therapists and recovery programs. And there’s a demonic level to the darkest forms of sexual practices which gifted leaders can address if trained. While there’s no silver bullet to overcome these addictions, the practice of inner healing prayer can be a critical tool for discipleship.

As our culture continues its slide into paganism, there’s no apologetic quite like the testimony of a transformed life. Incorporating inner healing prayer practices will make a difference.

Interested in hearing more? Leave a comment below or contact me at ongley01@icloud.com.