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Online Prayer Resolution Course by Mike Banker in 2024.
I want to give you some general guidelines for doing sessions. Prayer resolution sessions are typically 2 to 3 hours. Ideally, they're open ended. Now once we open up a box, an issue or a incident in a session, We try to finish it the same day if possible. But details are important, so it takes time.
Mike Banker:We must be careful not to cut off the session prematurely. And if we stop before we've finished praying, the box is still open. That means that we have to carry the burden along with the wounded one until the issue is resolved. Now if we don't finish an incident or an issue that same day, then we pray and ask God to cover it until we can meet again and finish it. Another practical thing is every person, every hurting one processes differently.
Mike Banker:Some hurting ones want to meet just once a week. Some prefer to work more frequently even every day. The safe helpers need to adjust their schedule to the hurting one as much as possible. If we're going to take their needs seriously, then we need to give them time that they need. And if we don't have the time to give them then it's better that we not start at all.
Mike Banker:Now if you are working with somebody intensively, it's best to work just 4 days a week, not 5, and then take a break. We are human, and there are limits to how much we can do. And we need to rest when we're tired. Now most people that do PR, they're done in weeks or months not years. And based on our experience so far, PR is typically 30 to 60 hours.
Mike Banker:But even though that's average, people can some people may require 100 of hours. Everybody's list is different. And so the amount of time it takes is different. Everybody processes differently, So the amount of time it takes is different. Now the sessions are often very intense and very exhausting for the hurting one.
Mike Banker:And listening, discussing, and praying in a session is also tiring for the safe helper. So each safe helper is also different. Generally, we found that safe helpers can do 3 to 8 sessions on a weekly basis. Some are able to do more sessions for a week or 2, but they need to rest for a longer time afterwards. When we do sessions as a safe helper, we are like the priests in the old testament.
Mike Banker:And the priests in the old testament were not allowed to serve in the temple every day of the year. When they finished their time in the temple, they went home to their families and rested. And so like these old testament priests, God does not ask us as safe helpers to serve all the time without rest. We all need to respect the safe helper's limits and God commands us to rest one day each week as a Sabbath. So you may be able to work.
Mike Banker:Do more sessions in a week and more sessions, you know, do sessions intensively, but then you need to rest. Scripture clearly says that we are supposed to rest at least one day out of every 7. So what do we tell the hurting one to do in between sessions? Generally, we say no homework. We instruct them not to read any self help books.
Mike Banker:We tell them the rest and to leave room for the Holy Spirit to quietly work in their life. The sessions are intense. There's no need to do anything between sessions. And if they do, they may not get the rest they need before the next session. So we really encourage them to do nothing in between sessions except rest.
Mike Banker:And by doing that, they're leaving room for the holy spirit to work. Ideally, both a man and a woman work together as safe helpers with a hurting one. Why? Because men and women each provide a different perspective. With some incidents or issues, it may be more healing to hear it from a man's perspective.
Mike Banker:With other incidents or issues, it may be more healing to hear it from a woman's perspective. And so the ideal team is a man and a woman working together as safe helpers to help a wounded one. This is quite unique. It's not often in the church that you see a man or woman working together. Oftentimes, it's just men talking to men, women talking to women.
Mike Banker:So it's a huge blessing if a man and a woman can work together to help the hurting one. Huge blessing. Now we don't recommend that a man work with a woman, or or or a woman alone work with a man. Why? It's too easy for an inappropriate bond to form.
Mike Banker:When you're talking about these issues in a session, it's quite intimate and it could be misunderstood. For example, I might be the 1st man in her life that was kind to her and that makes me attractive to her. But I am not available. I am married. And so the easiest way to prevent this misunderstanding is just simply have 2 people helping 1 person.
Mike Banker:Or if it's 1 on 1, it's a man helping a man or a woman helping a, a woman, but never a man helping a woman or a woman helping a man. It prevents this misunderstanding of what your role is as a safe helper. It's just the simplest way, the easiest way to deal with it. And I have worked with many sisters who have been mistreated by their pastor or by their counselor of the other sex, these male pastors or male counselors. And so this is a real thing.
Mike Banker:It really does happen. And so to prevent it from happening or even the to prevent it from happening, just meet. Don't meet with a woman alone if you're a guy, and don't meet with a guy alone if you're a woman. It's just the easiest way to handle this.