The Heart of the Soul

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All spiritual reality is  revealed to the heart before understood by the head.  

Christ-like character in our hearts is formed through:

• The ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; Hebrews 12:11)
• The truth of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16)
• The people and circumstances of life (Colossians 1:11; Psalm 119:67,71)
• The grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Our inner life is more important to God than what we can do for him. Jesus describes this many times when pointing out the hypocrisy of people who still did good works and spoke holy words:  "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  (Matthew 15:8)

 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."  Jeremiah 17:9-10

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23) 

" A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart." (Proverbs 21:2 )

What happens when the heart is sick? "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" ( Proverbs 17:22).  The harmful effects on the body by the state of the heart of the soul are even recognised by many mental health professionals.

How do we guard and heal our hearts?  When you are guarding anything there are two aspects:  protecting the “good”  and keeping the “bad” out. 

Early in life when we respond to wounds in a maladaptive way, we develop thinking patterns of behaviour that cause us to reap in adulthood the very thing that we hate. God commands us to forgive otherwise we can forfeit the forgiveness that He gave us, and it can even lead to torment .(Matthew  18:29-33).  Flesh alone (emotions from a fragmented or wounded soul) cannot be cast out as with deliverance of spirits.

Emotional healing can be assisted by deliverance  only if it is a matter of spirit and not just flesh. Emotional healing can also be helped by renewing of the mind by the Word of God.  The question is which comes first?  For some people  healing prayer  needs to come first before they can receive the strength from the grace of God, prior to deliverance or taking other action in their lives.

Jesus heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3) and He

wants the shepherds to also "bind up the broken" (Ezekiel 34:4).

As part of the sanctification of a Christian's journey  the wounded heart part of the soul cannot be ignored. Counselling based on biblical principles (such as Elijah House Ministries techniques for prayer ministry to the inner man) and trauma informed, evidence based therapies  prepares for an easier deliverance.  

The house of  ones character and spirit can  also  be strengthened (or re-stumped) by sanctification, to produce the fruits of the spirit:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. "

Galatians 5:22-23