Customer Reviews

Broken Image, The: Restoring Personal Wholeness through Healing Prayer

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Payne brings the essential elements of healing prayer ministry into focus within the context of sexual woundedness and the homosexual struggle. Case studies are effective means to show the dynamic results of prayer as well as to examine the psychological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the issue at hand. This is must-read material for those who struggle as well as for those who care and seek understanding.

Before reading the book, I thought that "inner-healing" prayer in general, and prayer for the healing of memories in particular, were charismatic inventions with little or no clinical grounding. Paynes's material, however, was well researched and showed a surprising depth of understanding. In speaking with a secular psychologist about the premise and methods explored in this book, I found that they were cutting-edge principles in the psychiatric community. But beyond the mere clinical aspect, I must commend Payne for the faithfulness of the book to the Scriptures and the character of Christ. It is His message of hope for all who hurt that is extended in these pages so masterfully. This is the most compelling introduction I have found to the subject of inner healing prayer, and should be read by every Christian pastor, counselor, parent, and friend in the post-modern world.

As a therapist who works with people dealing with all manner of sexual addictions, and also as a lay minister and pastoral counselor, I highly reccommend this book to those seeking healing and also those who help them. Obviously for anyone who is of a strictly "Gay affirmative" or "Gay rights" perspective, this book will be objectionable, but for those with open minds to both theological and psychological roots behind sexuality struggles, this book has much insight and also practicle application. It is filled with very readable case presentations and explications of the underlying roots of these important issues of sexuality and emotional pain. Contrary to one's first impression, it is also applicable for those seeking help for other emotional struggles and shame-based mental and emotional afflictions. In addition, Payne's books "Restoring the Christian Soul through Healing Prayer" and "Healing Presence" go into a broader explication of the principles covered in this book. This will be an invaluable resource to any seeking insight into issues of healing prayer, christian theology of the psyche (self), and issues of broken sexuality, from an alternate point of view than those of the gay rights and gay affirmative approaches. It seems that one of the other reviews posted on this sight has come from the gay rights and affirmative perspective (Roy Culver, JR), as his positive review of a gay affirmative book and positive mention of PFLAG on his own amazon.com web site reveal. For those of his persuasion, this book will obviously be objectionable and will be seen to have many flaws, due to the antithetical nature of this book's approach compared to gay affirmative and unorthodox christian outlooks.

Leanne Payne's book brings together the classical views of both orthodox theology believed through the centuries about sexuality and the Healing Power of Christ (see writings of Patristic Fathers such as Irenaeus, St. Basil, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory Nazianzus) as well as psychoanalytic theory predominantly accepted before the removal of Homosexuality from the DSM III (and still developed by practioners today such as Nicolosi and Socarides, among others). Those who are of the more recent Gay Affirmative persuasion (i.e. the last 20 years or so) and who espouse the complete impossibility of change or reorientation for those whose values are in conflict with their sexual attractions will disagree with this and may have many vitriolic epithets and accusations for theologians and theorists of the same persuasion as this book. But the theoretical and theological basis of Payne's writings resonate with a broad spectrum of theologians such as Joseph Pieper, Thomas Aquinas, and Donald Bloesch, and with psychological theories drawn from both psychoanalytic and developmental perspectives such as Object Relations and Logos Therapy. As she is coming from a purely Christian worldview, she promotes the transforming and healing power of God through the redemptive work of Jesus in his incarnation, life, death and resurrection. For those who are not espousing this worldview, they may find those aspects of her work objectionable. And for those who espouse some sort of christian worldview that embraces homosexuality as normal and part of God's design, objections may also be strong and passionate. But in a truly tolerant and multi-cultural society, there must be room to agree to disagree, and within that mileu, Payne's work deserves as good a hearing as any soundly researched and founded work would, however particularly founded and researched it is on certain pervasive worldviews and perspectives within the multitude of alternate ones existing in our culture today.

Finally, words of hope for those who have struggled with homosexuality. As I read The Broken Image, I was amazed that Leanne Payne wrote of things that were deep in my heart that I'd never seen in another book. I found healing and comfort in her teaching and then in her subsequent books. I'm grateful that Ms. Payne had the courage to speak some truth into this emotional topic. If I had gone along with the old rhetoric that homosexuals can't change and that you just have to reconcile that between yourself and God, I'd still be bound in the chains of discontent that held me for so many years.

I was a lesbian (homosexual) but got saved through the salvations of Jesus Christ. This book will teach you how to (lead people or yourself) pray and bring the great inner-soul healing and peace for any hardship and hurt that once were hidden so deep in the soul in the past and no one can retrieve it, not even psychologists. Great book, touches my heart and my soul, and help me to get out the homosexuality with a full peaceful heart and totally renewal life.

This book was pivotal in my own healing. The case story of Matthew, mirrored my own life. This book is groundbreaking and fulls much in the gaps of what passes for Christianity today. Recommended for counsellors.

Ms. Payne's insight and compassion as she opens the way for healing of the deepest emotional and identity pain is truly remarkable. If you've ever been inclined to probe your emotional depths by reading or counseling and found any measure of disappointment or lack of closure in your persuit of genuine health, this book is for you. Filled with examples of healed lives and insights that uncover personal truths, this book not only educates but uplifts the broken heart to the real power source of healing and wholeness.

Book about inviting Jesus to do it and to show you what your real need is (i.e. comfort, love, security, a hug, to be held, to be affirmed, etc.) and learning how to "hear" what He is saying and see what He is doing. A little heady reading, but well worth the seeing what its about.

I now have HOPE too because Jesus helped me with my battles with lesbianism and continues to help me- now He's helping me with my anger and frustration that I sometimes display with my children. But you know what?- Jesus is there to help me, to help you through anything whether it's homosexuality or whether its through anger or whether it's through problems with... well, you fill in the blank. He just promises to be there to help because the Bible says that Jesus "came to seek and save what was lost." (Luke 19:10). You ever feel lost? I know I have and I have been so amazed at this Jesus who never gave up and never gives up on me even when I have and think He should. There really is HOPE, my friend. The sadness and always pursuing in other women what I wanted from my mom is and what I wanted to see in me is just engulfing and never satiated or satisfied when I go at it with this route. I just felt like I only hungered for more and more versus ever feeling truly met. Well, now Jesus is teaching me a peace about myself (get that!- too cool as at one point I would never have imagined it) and more and more about sweet friendships and loving women in a deeper way than I ever could before. He's also letting me be loved in a deeper way than I've known before too- Jesus just blows me away. Take care, my precious fellow traveler. I hope you find rest along the way too.

I have found this book to have deep insights into the wounds of identity and intimacy that I have. However, a few years ago, I would not have had a clue as to my newly discovered identity crisis. I discovered this crisis through true Jesus helping me. One reviewers stated that trauma may have happened outside of the family, so the bad parenting is not the culprit. If so, then that reviewer needs to treat the outside trauma(s) as the parent(s) in prayer. Kids are deeply influenced in their youth till 5 years old. Many parents are increasingly clueness on how to be affectionate consistently with their children to the point that the blind are caring for the blind. This book has valuable and very helpful direction to gain inner healing that takes lots of time.

Based neither on pyschology nor what the Bible actually says, this is a book for those whose fear and hatred of homosexuals needs a place to hide its true ugliness.