The Effects of Trauma and How to Deal With It – Jim Banks

This treatise describes a prayer tool that I stumbled across in 2009 by putting pieces of the teachings of three of God’s faithful servants together and adding of couple of others steps. The power of it to virtually eliminate many of the symptoms that victims of trauma complain of is nothing short of miraculous. Over the last 25 years of praying for physical and emotional healing, I have prayed numerous prayers (at least in my estimation) that availed little. But for the last 100 folks, or so, that I have ministered this tool over the relief they have experienced has been both instantaneous and (up to this point) permanent.

In John 16:33b Jesus said. “In the world you have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Note he didn’t say “will have” as though it were some time in the future, but you have it now.

The Greek word for tribulation is “thlipsis” which means pressure (literally or figuratively): – afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.
Note that the verse clearly states that we all have it … not might have, not will have it (as though we are not having it now) nor does it imply potential. Everybody experiences it one way or another.

According to the web site www.trauma-pages.com/trauma.php (David Baldwin’s web resource for all things trauma) states, “Traumatic experiences shake the foundations of our beliefs about safety, and shatter our assumptions of trust.”

Invariably, we find that sufferers of some physical and/or emotional difficulty have experienced significant emotional and/or physical trauma at some point in their lives, which has detrimentally affected their ability to recover from the normal, but difficult circumstances of life, and remain stable. Removing the physical affects of trauma can greatly help an individual achieve or regain the capacity to heal and grow in many areas. It can also eliminate the daily torment of the long term affects of trauma, both emotionally and physically.

“In the healing process, the crucial issue is building enough capacity to stay relationally connected to God over a sufficient amount of time for us to allow the process to be completed.” Arthur Burk

Unfortunately, trauma affects us on many levels, emotional, spiritual and physical. Medically the understanding and treatment of the affects of trauma has been limited primarily to the emotional. And medication seems to have been relegated to insulation from the pain. Traditional medicine seems to recognize that our bodies have many little understood capabilities and one of them is the retention of the memory of trauma at a cellular level, but treatment has not been affective in reversing its effects.

Arthur Burk, founder of Plumbline Ministries, (www.plumblineministries.com) has an understanding that trauma itself is a specific scheme of the enemy to gain access to us for purposes of future torment and emotional torture. His take on it is that when Jesus was on the cross, the darkness that overtook the scene that day was neither a storm, nor the aftermath of a localized earth quake, as many Biblical scholars have tried to reason. But instead, it was every demon in hell coming to take its last best shot at Him; intentional torment and torture. It is little wonder that his death took comparatively so little time on the cross.

Consequently, Jesus’ death on the cross was complete atonement in another aspect of human life in that He took upon Himself all the trauma, torture and torment intended for you and me. We do not have to suffer that again. It is Arthur’s belief that the principle behind this scheme of the enemy is to cause trauma before the cross became affective in the life of an individual for one of two purposes; make it difficult for a person to enter into their full identity; and for the purpose of causing future torment.

The only way that “before the cross became affective” is remotely possible is to remove some portion of the individual to another dimension, time or place and hold it captive there.

Dr. Tom Hawkins, founder of Restoration in Christ Ministries, (www.rcm-usa.org) has noted as a result of ministry to numerous SRA victims that portions of their identity/being can be stuck/captured/imprisoned/delayed in other dimensions, times or spaces through intentionally enforced trauma, which to my mind confirms Arthur’s assertion that a trauma victim’s identity can be messed with by intentionally introducing, or taking advantage of, events that effectively delay development.

You and I live in a multi-dimensional world but are generally only cognizant of four of them; height, width, depth and time. But theoretical scientists working with String and Superstring theory tell us that there are at least 11, and there may be as many as 23 dimensions.

You have to remember that you and I are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and God is light (1 John 1:5 and John 1:1-9) and you are a children of light (Luke 16:8). Scientists tell us that if each organ is broken down to the lowest common denominator it will all be a similar type of cell; same DNA as the whole person but encoded such that it will perform well within the context of that organ. If we break that cell down further, we find a number of atoms. Each atom can be further reduced to its component parts; neutron, proton(s) and electron(s). These elements vibrate at a specific frequency which is in accord with the individual’s DNA. Scientists further tell us that if each individual’s DNA strand is un-twisted it can be played as a melody on a piano; more vibrations.

When the enemy messes with us through our own sinful activity or cursed Generational (family) issues, our DNA can be altered by attaching junk to the strand (the science of epi-genetics) or through trauma; our “song” can be changed from a major key to a minor one, simply by slightly altering our frequency. Although our DNA can’t be changed and our DNA is passed on to our children, things riding on it can have a profound affect in a single generation. How can that be done? By removing one small part of us to another domain or dimension.

So how do we set things back in order?

First, by applying the principles of Jesus Christ’s Atonement to the issues of the affects and the residue of trauma in the life of a trauma victim. Jesus’ substitutionary death in our behalf says we do not have to suffer the subsequent torment that trauma victims usually report.

Ministry to traumatized victims is rather easy;

1. Through specific questions (an interview), determine the traumatic events for the client from childhood into adulthood; physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual. Include such things as divorce/deaths/loss of a key loved one, childhood accidents and injuries, rape, abuse, surgeries, frequent moves, moves at key times, major rejections, abandonment, car accidents, major illnesses, broken bones, surgeries and invasive medical procedures, attempted suicide, near death experiences, etc. anything that potentially had a major negative (traumatic) affect on them. Make a list if you need to.

2. First of all, tell your client what you are about to do and get their permission to do it. If they will not give you permission to take authority over their being/body for a few minutes to cut some things off, you do not have the authority to continue.

If your client agrees; In the name of Jesus Christ, take authority over their body (I often use the term “being” which tends to be more inclusive) and command out of it all of the affects of everything that made it on the list, down to the cellular level; all memories of any incident on any level, the results of all trauma; fright, terror, chemicals (drugs, poisons or toxins) the body has either produced naturally and hung on to as a result of trauma, or that were ingested or injected, excess enzymes produced, anesthesia & anesthetics, etc., produced prior to, during and after the incident. This would include fear induced during and following significant medical procedures and surgery(s).

Require that it come out without harm or injury. Bless their lymphatic system and other systems to safely remove all wastes, toxins, poisons, or any other product or by-product of trauma from the body. Include anything that is naturally a foreign agent in the body, that were bonded to, or that the body produced in excess connected with the traumatic event.

3. Take authority over their body and command out of it all of the long and short-term affects of trauma, injuries, stress, tension, worry, anxiety, fear, wounding, etc. Be certain to include the memories of all abuse, defiling touch, incisions, invasive medical procedures, rejection, abandonment, beatings/bruises, harsh words or curses spoken by parents or other significant authorities, etc. I recently prayed for a woman who’s intercession induced secondary trauma to her through attempting to help carry the burdens of others.

In the event of particularly defiling activity such as rape or initial homo-sexual encounters, command out of their body the memory of all smells, feelings, tastes, sounds, vibrations and touch connected with those events.

Do not hurry through this part. You will find that your client may feel things leaving them as the get progressively more relaxed. I have had several clients actually fall asleep toward the conclusion of this section and many more unable to walk out of my office immediately afterward because they are so relaxed.

4. This is important; Ask the Lord to disconnect them from any and all 2nd heaven entities; principalities, powers, dominions, thrones, rulers, etc. that have gained access to them through the traumatic events they suffered, for the purpose of future torment. Ask the Lord to shut down all pathways, portals, and means of access to them for communication or influence.

According to Psalms 115:16 “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens; but the earth he has given into the hands of men.” From this scripture I deduce that there are 2nd heaven entities above our pay grade that the Lord himself should be asked to deal with, but we have been given authority over those demonic entities that touch/affect earth. Those are our responsibility.

I have dealt with them as a higher order of evil, such as a dark power, ruler, throne or dominion and experienced much success with breaking all their tormenting activities by asking God the Father to deal with them. They seem to come out or disconnect whether they are demons (earth bound) or 2nd heaven entities of a higher order.

This step alone seems to cut off all tormenting dreams in 95% of those for whom I have used this tool. And if this is all you are able to pray due to time or opportunity, it will go a long way toward establishing freedom for them.

As Dr. Paul Cox of Aslan’s Place Ministries (www.aslansplace.org) teaches, ask the Lord if there is a specific place where portions of them have been imprisoned; ie, Sheol.

5. Take authority over all pathways, portals, and means of access, marks or markers, or any means of connectivity placed upon them physically or spiritually to track them or gain access to them for purposes of torment, and shut them down in the authority given to you in the name of Jesus.

Cancel all assignments of familiar spirits made against them as a result of traumatic incidents.

If your client has been frequently tormented by violent or sexually oriented dreams, this will usually kill them. But if you are uncertain or just want to cover the ground, ask the Lord issue a “cease and desist order.” If these tormenting dreams persist, and you have tried a number of other ministry avenues and feel you have exhausted your efforts, you might want to try a technique called “Convening The Court of Heaven” from Psalm 82 created by Dr. Tom Hawkins, founder of Restoration in Christ Ministries, (www.rcm-usa.org). A teaching CD set is available from his ministry which covers this tool clearly.

If they have had violent or tormenting dreams ask them if there is a theme or pattern to what happens to them in the dreams. Sometimes this will give you a clue as to other issues you need to deal with in a subsequent ministry session.

6. Ask the Lord that if there is any portion of their being that has been delayed, trapped, captured or imprisoned in another time, another space, dimension or place, as a result of trauma, would He please cause it to be released and rejoined with their core being in this current time, space and dimension. I also ask the Lord to re-unify those portions with the core person. If prompted by the Holy Spirit, walk them through a reunification of these fractured parts by walking them through each dimension or through each year of their lives.

See Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”

(Remember that prisoners are there because of something they have done. Captives are imprisoned through no fault of their own.)

I have on several occasions had the Holy Spirit have me walk them slowly forward from the age of one, two or three years, year by year, until we reached their current chronological age, pausing when prompted between years to allow the Holy Spirit to re-integrate them. More recently, I have included the period from conception to birth as well when their birth mother experienced trauma herself or planned to abort the child. I also asked Him to mature each re-integrated portion to the client’s current age. This doesn’t seem to take any more time, but I believe it is worth the effort.

I have not had the opportunity to use this tool in behalf of an abused child, but I have no doubt that it would be equally as effective as it is with adults, and perhaps even more so.

It is always proper to coach your adult client to be aware of his/her body and report to you the changes they sense or feel as you are walking them through each year of the process. Don’t get in a hurry.

7. Pray that the Lord will re-establish the connection between the hemispheres of the brain. Often heavily traumatized clients live predominately out of the left hemisphere of their brain and need the right side to be stimulated. Pray that the Lord will re-establish and synchronize both explicit memory and implicit memories and to reactivate any connections required to retrieve memories needed for complete healing.

If prompted, I will place my hands specifically in the area near the amygdala and then the hippocampus and ask the Lord to restore them, repair them or enhance them so that their healing can progress rapidly. There are five specific organs in the human brain that are damaged by wounding and trauma. These will have to be addressed later in order to assure complete healing.

I usually ask if I can place my hands of the head of my client while praying this section of the tool and it usually accompanied by a strong anointing. So don’t freak out if this happens to you as well.

8. Ask the Lord to re-establish for them the appropriate sleep patterns the Lord designed for them, and to establish for them a sweet undisturbed, rejuvenating, regenerative rest. Proverbs 3:24 “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Ask the Lord to begin or re-establish Godly dreams, visions and angelic visitations in the night seasons, both to enlighten, instruct and direct them.

I have had numerous clients report that following the ministry session that they fell asleep immediately, stayed asleep and were not awakened by dreams the entire night for the first time in years. The immediate restoration of sleep patterns happens for 90% of my clients. And re-establishment of Godly dreams for only about 70% initially. I believe this is because of the re-establishment of sound sleep which has usually been deprived for years.

9. Ask the Lord to begin to dismantle all automatic human responses gained as a result of trauma; i.e., abnormal fright responses, triggers, fears and phobias, etc. Pray over their brain for the Lord to rebuild, re-establish, re-create any electrical or chemical any connections broken or improperly re-connected, as a result of trauma so that the individual can operate once again within normal limits of high and low stimulus, and can remain in control emotionally when the stimulus exceeds those limits.

I have had numerous clients report that following the ministry session that they no longer have most (or all) of their long term exaggerated fright responses. This is a very common experience.

10. Then instruct the client to instruct his/her human spirit each evening before going to sleep to turn its face to the Father during the night, while the body and soul are out cold, and receive everything he/she needs for the coming day. Psalms 16:7 “I will bless Jehovah, who has given me counsel; Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.”

Jim Banks, House of Healing Ministries
P.O. Box 15514 Asheville, NC 28813
www.houseofhealingministries.org