TWO BASIC TYPES OF EMOTIONS:

FACT-BASED EMOTIONS: Jesus demonstrated the emotions of grief, anger, sadness, and disappointment. Since he was the Son of God and could not have any irrational or distorted thinking, His emotions were not caused by irrational or distorted thinking, but were caused by events around Him. It is the same for us. When we experience feelings of grief, anger, sadness, guilt or disappointment, they are not caused by irrational thinking. In order to overcome these five emotions, which will be described, below.

BELIEF-BASED EMOTIONS: There are many other emotions that are caused by irrational or distorted thinking, including: fear, shame, aloneness, hurt, helplessness, and hopelessness. There are many different names for emotions, but most of them can be categorized as one of these six emotions. There is another principle for overcoming these six emotions, which is described, below.

TWO BASIC PRAYER PRINCIPLES:  These two different types of emotions have to be released in different ways. Fact-based emotions include Grief, Anger, Sadness and Disappointment and they can be resolved using the two-step process identified below, by making a list of the reasons for the emotions, and then by praying and giving God your feeling. Belief-based emotions include the feelings of Fear, Shame, Helplessness, Hopelessness, Hurt, and Aloneness which are caused by your beliefs. The only way to resolve them is by receiving truth from the Lord to set you free from them. When trying to resolve your feelings, you must first identify the emotions you are feeling, and then select the prayer principle that is appropriate for that emotion.

EMOTIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD

Emotions are important to each of us and they are important to God! Biblical evidence of this is found in Galatians 5:22-23 where nine fruits of the Spirit are listed and the first three are emotions: Love, Joy, and Peace. The nine "fruits" are nine evidences of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the implication of the placement of love, joy and peace at the head of the list is that these three emotions regulate our ability to demonstrate the last six "fruits" in our lives. Although we should learn to be obedient to the Word of God regardless of our feelings, the truth is that even the most devout believers will not remain obedient to the Lord if they feel emotional pain for long. This is why the Lord desires us to experience genuine peace in our lives, so that it will sustain us under difficult circumstances.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PEACE

Jesus said in John 14:27, "My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." In this passage, and in many others, the Lord makes it clear that He desires us to experience genuine peace. This is not just a theoretical peace that we sing about in hymns, it is a practical peace that sustains us even when we experience difficulties in our lives. We cannot experience this peace when we are full of anger, sadness, fear, grief, depression, or other strong emotions. In order to experience the peace of God, our negative feelings must be removed and replaced with love, joy, and peace, which then lead us to have a gentle and quiet spirit. This website can help you identify the negative feelings you carry and to learn how to remove them.

THE GOAL OF A PEACEFUL HEART

The Lord does, indeed, desire us to have peace in our heart but the ultimate reason for this is not so that we can passively sit around enjoying God's peace as the world collapses around us. The disciples of Jesus were saddened when He told them that He was leaving them (John 16:6-7) but He told them that they could experience His peace so that they would not be fearful (John 16:1-2) or stumble. Ultimately, He wants us to experience His peace so that we will boldly step out and carry the gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the entire world (Acts 1:6-8). This is why Jesus said to the disciples, when they asked if He was getting ready to restore the kingdom to Israel, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." The Lord wants us to experience His peace in ALL circumstances (2 Thessalonians 3:16) so that we can live for Him unimpeded by our past and by our emotional inhibitions. May you come to know the "God of Peace" in your life as you explore this website. 

    One of the first steps toward healing is to be honest about your feelings and then identify the various feelings you have so you can focus on one at a time. One man stated that he parents never expressed their feelings to one another and never allowed him to express his feelings. When he became upset his mother often told him, "You don't really feel that way" or "It's wrong to feel that way." He would simply go to his room and throw a tantrum but he then felt that something was wrong with him. This man's father was a funeral director and his family lived above the funeral parlor and the children were required to be very quiet during services, when they could hear people weeping in the chapel. It made this man feel sick to his stomach when he heard such crying and he developed a fear of others thinking badly of him when he showed emotions. 

    After some prayer about this he concluded that it is okay to weep at times and to feel strong feelings because Jesus did. Many people have so many emotions that they are confused and do not know what they feel. Their feelings are like a tangled fishing line or a ball of yarn, with each strand representing a different emotion, and as they unravel the yarn it exposes additional strands or layers of emotions. This section of the website is intended to help you identify the emotions you are experiencing so that you can begin removing them, one at a time. Read the descriptions given to help you identify the various emotions you are feeling, then go to the section on "Steps to Peace" to learn how you can resolve or remove the negative emotion you are feeling.

    Some people need help from others in identifying their feelings so that they can know how to pray about them. If you are this way and have difficulty identifying your feelings, find a friend who can help you figure out your feelings, then use the principles given on this website for resolving those feelings.