About

About prayer counseling

What is Prayer Counseling?

* It flows from the fact that the Heavenly Father completely loves and genuinely cares for every single person on this earth.

* It is a counseling approach based in Biblical Christian faith, activated and applied through prayers prayed aloud by the counselor with all clients. (Statement of Faith regarding the Biblical Basis of Prayer Counseling)

* It is a process, not a method.

* It relies upon Jesus Christ, who is the Truth that sets us free. True healing comes when foundational lies, bitter roots, and inner vows are exposed by divine truth.

* It depends upon prayer to connect us with the power of Jesus to affect change.

* It depends upon the Holy Spirit’s anointing, wisdom, and power to lead and guide into all truth. The Holy Spirit is the primary counselor and the ultimate comforter.

* It focuses on God’s law and God’s grace, which allows true guilt to work, bringing us to true repentance and forgiveness.

* It cooperates with the biblical truths of redemption, justification, sanctification, and transformation.

* It depends completely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, through His resurrection, and His supremacy, seated at the right hand of God the Father.

* It seeks to establish a Christ-centered identity for all sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.

* It enables people to recognize the root causes of their present problems and then, through prayer, to appropriate the power of the Gospel for effective healing at the heart level.

There are many issues that are dealt with in prayer counseling. You are free to bring up any of the issues that are personally affecting or interrupting the flow of your life. Common issues are marriage, family, relational, emotional, spiritual, and sexual. Your trained lay prayer counselor will discern and assess your situation to apply appropriate truth and prayer counseling ministry.

What Prayer Counseling is NOT?

* It is NOT a self-improvement or self-help program, as it does not depend on the person’s own human skills, understanding and effort, but on God’s grace.

* It is NOT surface behavior modification, as it does not depend on the person’s own human skills, understanding and effort, but seeks to get to the root of the behaviors, which in turn will transform behaviors.

* It is NOT a chemical addiction treatment program, even though it may help addicts stay clean after the immediate addiction challenges are overcome.

* It is NOT based on human ingenuity, human reasoning, or psychological techniques. The basis is God’s love, care, and truth, and Jesus’ finished work.

* It is NOT a method that follows preset steps, but rather is a process that seeks to be lead by the Holy Spirit.

* It is NOT based on mental choices, willpower, or human striving to produce change, but rather gets to the root of the issue and appropriates the power of the Gospel to affect change.

It is important for us to communicate as clearly as possible who we are and what we do, with the honest desire to paint a picture of what Freedom House Ministry is all about. So this is why we want to let you know what we do and what we do not do so you can understand who we are.

Do I need Prayer Counseling?

* If you find yourself in pain and need with nowhere to turn to or no one to talk to.

* If you have had a need, pain, or concern for a while, and despite all of your efforts, there has been no change.

* If you have talked and prayed with others, but the change and relief is minimal.

* If you have repeatedly gone forward to the alter in church for prayer, but found no lasting breakthrough or relief.

* If you are seeking godly, biblical, spirit-filled counsel.

* If you have unfinished issues from your past.

* If you cannot seem to find your destiny, your life purpose.

If you recognize yourself in any of these scenarios above, Prayer Counseling would be highly recommended.

What May an Online Session Look Like?

* You will make an appointment with your chosen Prayer Counselor online and will then meet with him or her online through Skype or FaceTime.

* After connecting online, being welcomed and introduced to each other, the session most often will begin with an opening prayer by your Prayer Counselor.

* Your immediate need would be listened to, questions would be asked, and you should feel heard. Your story would be listened to and more probing questions asked. Like a spiritual detective, your Prayer Counselor will seek to discern clues and recognize patterns that would expose the root issues of your problem, depending upon God’s Word and God’s Holy Spirit to light the way. At any time the prayer counselor could be prompted to pray quietly or out loud. The root causes may become evident immediately or might take a few sessions to come into focus.

* Ministry would be applied through prayers, prayed out loud by the Prayer Counselor. Sometimes the Prayer Counselor will lead you, the counselee, in praying out loud, repeating sentence by sentence, following the lead of your Prayer Counselor. These could be prayers for comfort and for healing of a broken heart, prayers of recognition, confession, repentance or renunciation, and reconciliation. All prayers are according to what is needed.

* Prayer is the way God has given us to activate intimacy between Himself and His children. Through prayer, we express our innermost heart to God, and through prayer the heavenly Father releases His love, compassion, healing, grace, and forgiveness to us.

* Sometimes you might be given homework between your sessions. This would consist of things to read, videos/DVDs to watch, or CDs or MP3s to listen to. Also, some devotional or responsive writing could be involved. This is an opportunity for you to speed up the healing process as you participate in these activities between sessions.

* Your Prayer Counselor will take the lead, ask questions and give you directions as to what procedures are recommended. But if you’re uncomfortable with any of these activities, you are encouraged to discuss this with your Prayer Counselor. You are free to decline any activity you are not comfortable with, as long as you communicate this to your Prayer Counselor.

What Are the Benefits of Doing Online Sessions?

* Convenience – By using Skype or FaceTime for your Prayer Counseling sessions, you may enjoy the convenience and comfort of remaining in your own home, your office, or your favorite chair.

* Save Time – By using Skype or FaceTime for your Prayer Counseling sessions, you will save traveling time to and from your appointment. If you are from out of town, you may even save days of travel.

* Save Money – Skype and FaceTime are free apps found online. By using these services for your Prayer Counseling sessions, you will save traveling expenses and any meal costs. If you are from out of town, you will also save your housing charges as well.

* No Weather Issues – Being located in the Chicago area, the weather here can greatly impact your ability to get to and from your appointments, given the freezing snowy winters or the stormy spring and summers. By using Skype or FaceTime, you are safe inside, away from the elements.

* No Traveling Stress – An additional advantage is that you will avoid the stress that comes with driving in Chicago traffic given the frustrations of delays that could cause you to be late for your appointments. This beneficial online technology can help you escape crowded public transportation. If you’re from out of town, you can avoid planes, trains, and automobiles altogether.

* World Wide Availability – By doing your Prayer Counseling sessions online, you can do it from anywhere in the world, from any country in the world; wherever you are you can keep your appointment, as long as you have a good Internet connection.

* Access A Specialist – Maybe your hometown or the rural area where you live do not have a trained and experienced Prayer Counselor available. With a good Internet connection and a computer, tablet, or smart phone, you can immediately access a Prayer Counselor as if they were right next-door.

What Might an Office Session Look Like?

* You will make an appointment with a trained lay Prayer Counselor and meet with him/her or a couple in their office or their home. After being welcomed and introduced to each other, very often the session begins with an opening prayer.

* Your immediate need would be listened to, questions would be asked, and you should feel heard. Your story would be listened to and more probing questions asked. Like a spiritual detective, your Prayer Counselor will seek to discern clues and recognize patterns that would expose the root issues of your problem, depending upon God’s Word and God’s Holy Spirit to light the way. At any time, the Prayer Counselor could be prompted to pray quietly or out loud. The root of the problem might take a few sessions to come into focus, or may become evident immediately.

* Prayer is the way God has given us to activate intimacy between Him and His children. Through prayer, we express our innermost heart to God, and through prayer the heavenly Father releases His love, compassion, healing, grace, and forgiveness to us. Sometimes these prayers will be accompanied by the Prayer Counselor laying his/her hands on your head or on your shoulders, or asking to hold your hand while praying with you. Such actions will only be done with your approval.

* In some cases you will be anointed with oil on your forehead or on your hands when you are prayed for, special music or a song might be played to minister to you along with prayer or an appropriate teaching video might be watched to illuminate the subject discussed. Again, such actions will only be done with your approval.

* Sometimes you might be given homework between your sessions. This would consist of things to read, videos/DVDs to watch, or CDs/MP3s to listen to. Also, some writing could be involved. This is an opportunity for you to speed up the healing process as you participate in these activities between sessions.

* You might be uncomfortable with some of these things in the beginning, and that is okay. All you have to do is tell your Prayer Counselor.

What is a Trained Prayer Counselor?

* A trained lay Prayer Counselor is a common Christian man or woman who is a whole-hearted follower of Jesus Christ. This is someone who has personally benefited from Prayer Counseling in their own life, and now feels God’s call to minister to others with a heart of compassion and a spirit of love.

* All Freedom House Prayer Counselors must be graduates from Freedom House’s training program, using Elijah House’s video facilitated curriculum entitled Course 201 and Course 202.

* Our students must also go through Freedom House’s internship training program including classroom hours along with observation hours and other ongoing training opportunities provided by Freedom House.

* The minimum time of training of our lay Prayer Counselors is 3 years.

Who Can Become a Lay Prayer Counselor?

* Any common Christian man or woman who is a whole-hearted follower of Jesus Christ, who is in some form of service to others, and who has a heart of compassion and a spirit of love can enter the training. Someone who is willing to go through Freedom House’s three-year training program.

* They must also submit for personal prayer counseling to deal with their own issues and receive healing for their own hearts, making sure they have experienced their own lifestyle of sanctification and ongoing transformation.

* Freedom House’s school leadership promotes trained and talented students to become Freedom House Prayer Counselors, with Freedom House Board of Directors confirming by their vote who will be chosen to become a Freedom House Lay Minister of Prayer Counseling. Some of our Prayer Counselors are ordained ministers, but this is not a requirement.

What does a session cost?

Individual, 1 Counselor, 1 Hr – $110
Individual, 1 Counselor, 1.5 Hr – $165
Individual, 1 Counselor, 2 Hr – $220
Couple, 1 Counselor, 1 Hr – $130
Couple, 1 Counselor, 1.5 Hr – $195
Couple, 1 Counselor, 2 Hr – $260
Family, 1 Counselor, 1 Hr – $145
Family, 1 Counselor, 1.5 Hr – $217.50