Prayer Resolution is a guided prayer technique that relies completely on our heavenly Father for resolution power, Jesus for authority, and the Spirit for guidance. The goal is resolution, not coping. We don’t believe that coping or surviving are Biblical concepts. As we come to the Father according to His terms, He answers our prayers and heals us of our emotional and spiritual wounds. This has a profound effect on our ability to live, minister and enjoy God.

Jesus in his death and resurrection provided more than just a ticket to heaven. Based on what Christ provided at the cross, the Prayer Resolution tools provide direction in how to pray in a way that allows the heavenly Father to answer.  The Gospel really is good news!

Read the latest post “Who can help another?” God can answer our prayers  but only when we pray or guide another in prayer.  The first time is never easy when helping another person but we will miss a blessing if we don’t step out..

The Christian world widely uses the term “prayer counseling.” On the Internet there are thousands of sites offering “prayer counseling” but the term means different things to different people.

For some, it means opening a session in prayer and then talking about an issue before closing the time in prayer. For others, it means bringing up an issue and then the Christian counselor, pastor or priest prays for the person. Some sessions are intended for the Christian to share his or her feelings with the counselor or with a group. Some sessions try to get the believer to feel his or her emotions and ‘let them out.’ For others, it means ‘claiming victory’ over an issue through Jesus. Some are cognitive based; others (faith) believing based; still others are interventions by one or more Christians. Some focus heavily on the work of the Holy Spirit, others on Jesus. Some quote scripture at people’s problems without lifting a finger to help them bear their burden.

Is Prayer Resolution a form of prayer counseling?

Short answer: No.

Prayer Resolution may look similar to counseling in the traditional sense — one individual being helped by talking with and being advised by others. However, none of our Safe Others are licensed counselors, so this is not counseling, nor should it considered as such.

Prayer Resolution incorporates the act of prayer from beginning to end, not just as ‘bookends’ in a session, as if to sanctify what comes between. In Prayer Resolution we invite the Spirit of God’s participation so that forgiveness is extended and received and the consequences of sin broken, as a force, in the believer’s life.

The Safe Others act more a guides or priests (in the biblical, not modern, sense). They help the Hurting Ones approach their heavenly Father accord to His standard. They assist the Hurting One in understanding and presenting these wounds to our Father. It is God’s response to our prayers, not our understanding or our discussion that brings the power for change.

What makes Prayer Resolution unique?

Prayer Resolution incorporates many of the insights and methods of both secular and Christian counseling but there are perspectives that, when taken as a whole, set it apart from all other methods of prayer or counseling. We consistently try to learn from other methods in order to help us minister more effectively, but Prayer Resolution remains very unique in certain aspects.

Prayer is the vehicle for God to resolve those issues that hinder a person from an effective and satisfying life. It is more than mere ‘bookends’ to a session.
Prayer Resolution provides the how-to-steps to resolution.

Here are some distinguishing principles of Prayer Resolution:

1.  God is our Father and we are his children but all the Godhead is involved in resolution. So our prayers are to the Father, through Jesus the Son and under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

2. In Christ our primary identity is that of a son or daughter of God. So our prayers are not to the Lord or Creator God but to our Heavenly Father

3. The Prayer Resolution team consists of a man and a woman (ideally). Except for extremely sensitive issues, there are normally two mature believers with one hurting person.

4. The Prayer Resolution team prays with, not for, the hurting one. The team guides the hurting one but he or she is the one who does the praying to his or her Heavenly Father.

5. The Prayer Resolution team prays in agreement with and as witness to the prayer of the hurting one—adding the power, authority and assurance of answered prayer that Christ promised.

6. Prayer Resolution is solution oriented. God provided through Christ’s death and resurrection all we need to have an abundant and victorious life but Christ’s sacrifice must be applied to bring to an end the harmful effects of sin.

There must be resolution. Resolution can only come when God acts on the believer’s behalf to complete a heavenly transaction that influences current living. Only God’s intervention and power can break the on-going force and power of sins.

7.  Prayer Resolution is dependent on the Holy Spirit to guide, to reveal the issues to be handled during a session and to bring long-buried issues to light.

8.  Prayer Resolution deals with one topic at a time: sexual issues, authority issues, words of power, occult practices, etc., and the related issues that come with the topic.

9. Only when we present our needs to God with focus, presenting specifics, can he answer in specifics. In Prayer Resolution there is a need to be as specific as possible; details are important. Understanding is both useful and needed but only God can bring healing and closure to the issues.

10. As issues come up during the sessions, there is much teaching that takes place if there is inadequate knowledge or distortions about God, Christ’s sacrifice, the role of the Holy Spirit, sin, forgiveness, and other topics.

Before prayers are made, the person must be fully aware of what he or she is asking of God, as Father, to do.

11. What others have done against us must be dealt with, but this does not lessen our own responsibility for wrongdoing. Therefore, forgiveness is a central issue: forgiveness of others without excusing their actions and confession of one’s sins without excusing them. Forgiveness is defined as trusting God enough to believe that he will see that justice is done on my behalf to the extent that even my sense of justice will be satisfied.

12. In Prayer Resolution, the grounds and roots for sin are recognized and God’s intervention sought.  So initially sin is the focus but the goal is to get rid of sin so that truth and righteousness become the focus.

13. Prayer Resolution requires significant time blocks — ideally, three to four hour sessions, mornings and afternoons, for five days then a two-day break before starting again. Most people finish in eighty hours or less.

14.  The Prayer Resolution sessions can be quite intense with grief, tears, and anger, even rage surfacing as the person begins to see the issues from God’s perspective and with greater under-standing.

15. Prayer Resolution provides tools for obtaining resolution. The believer should come away with a greater appreciation and knowledge of prayer and the ability to help others in prayer – even if limited, until he or she attends a training workshop.

16. Prayer Resolution is a supplement to, not a replacement for, other approaches. It is not in competition with other prayer or counseling techniques. Whatever techniques or schools of thought are used, the tools of Prayer Resolution are needed to bring resolution.

What does it cost?

We consider Prayer Resolution as part of the gospel and although we do not charge for this ministry it does not mean it is free. If costs someone for the time, effort, expenses and sacrifice put forth.The workman is worth his hire (1 Tim 5:18 among others).

The ministry is supported 100% by donations. Safe Others (counselors) are paid out of whatever donations come designated for them. Donations are not predictable month to month. Whether they are full-time or function as Safe Other in their ‘spare-time’, those who do so at a cost to themselves and their families. With this in mind and while we have never turned anyone away for lack of money, we do enter into with certain assumptions:

• That they recipient of the ministry will be appreciative of the sacrifices made to be ministered to and will want to give a gift to cover the time spent: suggested is at least $20 a session hour per counselor. There may be partial or whole scholarships available.

• That the recipient will be thankful for what God has done in their life, want others to have the same opportunity and therefore will choose to contribute regularly to the ministry.

• That the recipient will want to assume responsibility for all expenses incurred during the time, whether they go to the Safe Other: room & board (suggested $50-75/day), airport pick up, gas, etc.; or the Safe Other comes to them: airfare, housing etc.

• That there are those who see the need for this type of ministry and want to partner with us so that others might be helped: help provide financial financial support for Safe Others, general expenses, pay for printing, office expenses, scholarships and other needs.

What to expect?

Thinking about signing up to go through Prayer Resolution but unsure of what to expect?

Prayer Resolution goes very in-depth in to your life. You get very personal and pray through the most difficult and painful things from your past. It’s worth it. Out of all the healing, deliverance and counseling methods out there, this method is very holistic, in-depth and, consequently, time consuming. It usually takes 60-80 hours to pray through someone’s entire life. Sometimes it can take much longer than that. It really depends on how much stuff needs to be resolved.

You really need to be ready to commit to this. It can be a very difficult process to go through considering the personal aspect of the process. If you are ready, it will be the most life-giving and healing thing you’ve ever experience (in my biased opinion!). Our heavenly Father is always faithful to complete His work with the time we give Him to accomplish it. At the end of this process we expect you to be able to think back to painful memories without having any harmful emotional connection with those memories. We also expect our heavenly Father to establish specific truths in your life to replace lies that you have been “taught” growing up. This is a strong foundation to stand on in your spiritual walk.

Each session is 3-4 hours long. Everything that gets started in a session, we want to finish in that same session so that you aren’t walking away with you “guts hanging out.” Many people have expressed frustration with certain counseling methods that leave them feeling like this. If you meet once a week, you can expect to be in this process for roughly 6 months, but again it may take longer than that.

There are ways to speed up the process. One: Take off two weeks of work and commit 6-8 hours a day for two weeks. Usually we are able to pray through someone’s entire life during those two weeks. Two: Consider doing one session Friday night and two sessions on Saturday. This focused method allows us to gain a lot of momentum and we will save “catch up” time that is usually necessary each week. Three: Prioritize this in your life. The less sessions you miss, the faster you will be able to complete. We understand that life happens, but for your sake, if you really want to do this, do it all out.

Safe Others

Bark Kirk
Barb is the most experience Safe Other in the twin cities and is an employee under Cross Resources. As such she is considered a supervisor of the PR community in the Twin Cities. She is a trainer, working with other Safe Others who are just starting out in this ministry. She is also a teacher, presenting the principles of PR in a class-room setting. Prayer resolution is her full-time job and she is supported by the Body of Christ to accomplish this work. She works out of her home in South Minneapolis.

Gary & Amanda Nisius
Gary & Amanda have been doing Prayer Resolution for some time now. Gary works full-time as a doctor and they both do PR on the side when available. They have been an instrumental part of the leadership team within PR in the Twin Cities. They are both trainers, working with less experienced Safe Others. They work out of their home in Plymouth, MN.

Mike & Denise Banker
Mike and Denise Banker have been doing Prayer Resolution for some time now. ….. under construction

Forgiveness Class

We currently have several trainers who are willing and available to come to your church, small group, or bible study to teach on Forgiveness. Forgiveness is central to resolving our past wounds. Our class on forgiveness is extremely practical. The intention is to give you tools that you can use on your own and with others who need help resolving past wounds. This class is roughly 1 hour long to teach and another hour for questions or practical application.

Please contact Barb Kirk (612-810-5153 MN), Ed & Joy Smith (253-350-3111 (WA), Brian Goodman (419-705-1043 OH)  to discuss availability or request a teaching.  It is their joy and privilege to teach and encourage the body of Christ. Please pray about whether your group is able to help support their ministry in response to their time and energy.

“Safe Other” Prayer Resolution Training

Prayer Resolution is a tool for Christian believers to bring concerns in their lives before their heavenly Father to have them resolved.  Justice is satisfied, forgiveness extended and received, distortions of perception are transformed, leading to new life.

Prayer Resolution can free believers to live out who they were created to be.

The workshop, “Introduction to Prayer Resolution”, was held at City Church, Minneapolis MN, during the month of April, 2015. This was the first workshop that did not have Connie or Richard Smith, the founders, teach! Barb Kirk, FHP taught the course; her first time doing all the teaching–though she did an excellent job teaching the last half of the training in 2013 in California. The first night was a 3-hour overview of the ministry of Prayer Resolution and anyone could attend.

Here was the teaching schedule but future seminars may differ in the times

Friday               6pm – 9pm
Saturday          9am – 5pm
Mon. – Fri.      1pm – 9pm
Saturday         9am – 5pm

The Seminar cost was $300

Books written by Richard D. Smith, PhD, co-founder of the Prayer Resolution tools were also available for sale during the seminar.

Who Is Barb Kirk: Barbara Kirk has delighted in being a Family Nurse Practitioner for 32 years, primarily working in the Emergency Department.  She trained to do Prayer Resolution in 2001 and worked part-time as a “Safe Other” until 2010, when she transitioned to full time ministry. She has worked with individuals from all corners of the world.  Barbara provides ongoing training opportunities for those interested in becoming involved in Prayer Resolution.  She continues to practice part-time as a Nurse Practitioner.

bkirk.pr@gmail.com or call 612-810-5153

We will let you know the times and places for future Prayer Resolution workshops as we know!

Testimonies

“Prayer Resolution challenged me to open up and to let God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, expose the lies I had grown into and also the ungodly attitudes that I didn’t know were in my heart. I also encountered the beauty and the love of God and my lord Jesus Christ who encouraged me to surrender ALL of my life to him and to trust in him to take care of my burdens and my needs. Jesus replaced the lies with new truths and the reality of who I am. After PR I felt so light, so peaceful and different that I can’t even explain how amazing the changes feel. When you open your heart to the living God, he’ll transform your life in amazing ways that you’ll never be the same! Praise Jesus.”

“I’m still amazed at how differently I look at situations in my life now. Everyone deserves that kind of peace. It’s awesome.”

“Even my dreams have changed. I’m simply more healthy now than I have ever been.”

“I’m constantly overwhelmed at the changes that God has brought about in me. I look back at my past, my bitterness and misery and rage, and I can’t even begin to fathom how I lived like that for so long… Prayer Resolution was the best thing I’ve ever done, and I can’t thank you enough…” 

“She was only 17 and a believer just six months. On the first day at a new school, a man pretended to be a teacher but kidnapped her and raped her. She escaped but still was in bondage. She felt dirty but showers wouldn’t wash it away. And in her soul she felt tied to him though she didn’t want to be…” read more.

Story of God’s healing and conquering lies:

Jill was the family’s Cinderella. She did all the work around the house. Her dad didn’t know how to act around girls, so she was discarded. He was very closed off emotionally, and she never heard him say, “I love you.” She did hear him say, “Oh look, I have another son,” after she came home from an already traumatic trip to a barber. Her step-mom had had all her hair cut off. Her mom didn’t know how to raise a girl either and through many subtle and not-so-subtle actions & words gave her the message, “It’s not okay to be a girl.” Her dad’s lack of affection and powerful words strongly reinforced that idea. In fact, she felt like she never belonged, even in her own family. She was now much older, but still lived in that pain. She still didn’t feel like she belonged and had developed the idea, subconsciously, that the only place it was okay to be a girl was in the bedroom. Everywhere else, she had to be manly in order to have any level of acceptance and to protect herself from abuse.

After accusing and forgiving the people who had taught her this lie, she rejected the lie that she was not acceptable as a girl and asked her heavenly Father to give her a truth.

She saw a massive, ancient, leather bound book lying open in front of her. The pages were turning. She loved books from the time she was very young. She saw the book close and her heavenly Father’s hand resting on top of it. She realized that she had not been living what He had written in the book and that she needed to stop living her own fairy tale and live according to his truth. Her heavenly Father spoke this truth to her, “You are who you are supposed to be.” Finally she felt like it was okay to be a girl, because that was how her Father had written her story.

If you do want Prayer Resolution sessions, please consider a donation for the time spent with you and also consider giving monthly support of the ministry and in grateful response to the work that God will be doing in your life.

The other path to getting involved is to take the Prayer Resolution Seminar (approximately 40-50 hours) and as a  “Safe Other” have the prayer tools to help others. For most people this workshop will allow them to guide another who is hurting and help that one get closure on an issue. The workshop is not intended to make you a full-time Christian worker but to make you a more valuable member of your church and help to your pastor. For a few others, this is the beginning of a full or part-time ministry of Prayer Resolution.

Normally, before or after the training seminar you will have had “safe others”  guide you in dealing with your hurtful or harmful life issues using the Prayer Resolution tools.

Invite one of us to come to your church, small group, or bible study to teach on Forgiveness. Forgiveness in central to resolving our past wounds. Our class on forgiveness is to give you tools that you can use on your own and with others who need help resolving past wounds. Ideally this is a one hour teaching with time afterwards for questions or practical application.

Please contact Barb Kirk (612-810-5153 MN),   Ed & Joy Smith (253-350-3111 (WA), Brian Goodman (419-705-1043 (OH) — Richard or Connie Smith (602-315-2632 (FL)

Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions about Prayer Resolution. This is an active, growing list so feel free to comment below and contribute your own questions.

1. What does it cost?

We consider this work closely associated with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As such, at this point there is no established cost for going through your own life in prayer with a set of PR Safe Others. At the same time, our Safe Others are giving much of their time and energy to help you heal. There is an expectation that you will respond in generosity and acknowledgment of their work well done. Please ask your heavenly Father what you can do to bless them in return. We recommend $20/hr for each Safe Other.

2. Where does it take place?

Usually you will meet in the home of one of your Safe Others. We look for comfortable, relaxing and private meeting places to help ease the anxiety that may be present when starting such a venture. PR is very relaxed, with both the hurting one and safe others often lounging on sofas wearing sweat pants or jeans. The idea is to be as comfortable as possible.

3. How long does it take?

Each session is 3-4 hours. It usually takes 60-80 hours to pray through someone’s entire life. This can vary immensely depending on the hurting one’s life.

4. How do I sign up?

The easiest way to sign up is to contact Barb Kirk (612-810-5153 MN), Ed & Joy Smith (253-350-3111 WA), Brian Goodman (419-705-1043 OH) — Connie Smith (602-315-2632 FL) or the Cross Resources office (602-579-5397 AZ)

5. How long is the waiting list?

This is a tricky question. It really depends on how long it takes each person to pray through their whole life. It also depends on the availability of our Safe Others. Right now we have over 20 people on the waiting list. It would be reasonable to expect to be on the list for a year before being able to start. We do prioritize people who are able to commit to two weeks, full time, 8 hours a day. However, we only have two Safe Others who do this full time. It is possible that we would be able to start with those people within three months.

6. What are we going to talk about as I go through PR?

Simple answer: everything. We start at the beginning and pray through everything that we know needs to be covered and whatever the Holy Spirit reveals. You will be getting quite personal and sharing your deepest wounds, but God is faithful to heal. Consider how a person who is sick may require surgery in order to fix the problem. Although the idea of being cut open doesn’t sound great, being healed, on the other hand, is a great prospect.