When Giving Counsel to Others - Stop and Pray First!


One of the books I consulted in my preparation to train the members of CIDEL in the Central African Republic to do biblical counseling is the excellent little book, Transformed in His Presence: The Need for Prayer in Counseling. The book's authors (Roger Peugh, a veteran European missionary and a professor of missions at Grace Seminary and Tammy Schultz, Department chair of the Graduate School in Counseling at Grace College), have done a powerful job arguing for the need of prayer in counseling. Please take a moment and read the following excerpt from the preface to their book:

"Counselors, pastors, teachers, social workers, student development staff, lay helpers, volunteers are deluged daily with overwhelming human need. As the demand has increased, education programs have responded to meet this challenge. Most Christian caregivers have received beneficial training in skills, theories, and practices of counseling. However, exceptional methodology alone doesn't change lives. It is our conviction that so many of us are trying to do naturally what can only be done supernaturally. God never intended for us to help people in our own strength. God designed us to ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7-8) for every breath we take, and especially when we seek to help people when life is hard" (emphasis is that of the authors).

Well said! And a good reminder for all of us.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

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