Tuesday, October 30, 2012

When Prayer Isn’t Enough


This is the story of my journey through the place where faith and psychotherapy co-exist. Throughout most of modern history, the field of psychology has not played nice with the ideas of faith and religion. In the early years of psychology, Sigmund Freud relegated faith to a simple form of neurosis that operated as a form of defense mechanism, which suppresses primitive urges (Rizzuto, 1981). Since then, the American Psychological Association has declared that faith and religion are an important part of understanding an individual’s diversity and ability to cope. In other words, for the first time, psychology and faith are officially not at war. However, that seems to be far from the reality of many churches in our present time.

Several years ago, before I entered the field of psychotherapy, I encountered a personal difficulty that eventually led me to become severely depressed. I found myself sitting at my workstation, staring at the computer screen in a daze for most of the day. I knew things were becoming bad when I would find myself randomly crying while I was driving on the road. On one occasion, I began sobbing so much that I had to pull over to the side of the road until I was calm again. Something was definitely wrong.

I sought the counsel of some church leaders and they gave me scriptural examples and tips on how to get better. I don’t know how many times I heard people tell me that I needed to “Let go and let God.” I am sure they all had good intentions but the problem was that I was not getting better. It seemed like nothing I did was working. It did not matter how much I prayed, how much I read the Bible, or how many church events I went to, I could not get out of my sadness. It was in this valley that I knew exactly what the writer of Psalm 73 meant when he or she wrote, “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.”

I felt like a failure. Where was my faith?

Fortunately for me, though I had no faith, God was faithful. Through a series of events, I was able to connect with a counselor to begin the hard work of healing. I discovered old wounds that had never healed and family secrets that were long forgotten. It was in this raw and real encounter that I finally understood what the Apostle John meant when he wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” When we expose our pain and our darkness to God and his people, the darkness has no chance.

It was through this experience that I discovered that there are no simple answers to each person’s problems. For some, prayer alone is enough. For others, they need to understand a scriptural truth. For others, it’s community. Some are healed by supernatural miracles, others are healed by the miracle of modern medicine. For me, it was the miracle of psychotherapy. Jesus himself did not have one way of healing those around him. He used touch, revelation, a spoken word, and even… mud. Now, I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting a new age definition of Biblical healing, not at all. What I am suggesting is that Biblical restoration was eclectic but there was always a common denominator, truth and love.

So, are you REALLY saying that sometimes prayer isn’t enough? That is exactly what I am saying because, almost always in scripture, prayer causes some sort of reaction. When we pray for healing and God heals us instantly, then our reaction should be thanksgiving and appreciation. Other times, it may mean confessing our own wrongdoing. Sometimes, it may even mean reacting by seeking help. There will be a time in all our lives, where we will need healing. My hope is that, as children of God, we would not limit the power of God’s healing hand to simple solutions. Rather, we would seek the abundance of opportunities to see God work through all the resources he has provided. Yes, even counseling.

Author Description (If you need one)
Andres Chou is a Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology at Azusa Pacific University. Currently, he is working as a Psychology Clerk at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. His passion is integrating faith and counseling to bring restoration to individuals, marriages, and families.

References:
Rizzuto, A. M.  (1981). The birth of the living God.  Chicago:  The University of Chicago Press.

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