Reading time: 2 minutes
Healing – Become Like A Child
If you want to experience healing, we must first become like a child. Jesus said we are to become like little children if we are going to enter His kingdom (Matthew 18:1-6). What does it mean to become like a child? What does this have to do with healing?
God’s Design: Our Neurobiology
God made our brain. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). Our brain is sophisticated enough to be self-healing. You’ve probably heard of someone who has suffered an injury, but through intentional effort, the non-damaged portion of the brain picks up the functioning of the damaged portion. Our brains our always changing, based on what we experience every day. God designed our brains to be relational. Parts of the brain are dedicated to bonding, attachment, and even pre-verbal experiences. These parts provide us the emotional capacity to:
- Give and receive love
- Regulate emotions
- Establish empathy in relationship
These developments begin foundationally in the womb! The brain, body, and mind of a pre-verbal developing child is God’s design for the reception, interpretation, and response to His love and invitation to life.
From the very beginning we are wired to be receptors of God’s love!
God’s Design: As A Child
We are to become like children. What are children like? They are:
- Totally dependent
- Open
- Aware
- Vulnerable and unguarded
- Receptive
- Capable of being soothed
- Responsive
- Joyful
- In the present moment – naturally contemplative
If you have unpleasant feelings in the present – if you are having difficulty “becoming a child” – it is in part because of how you been treated and how your brain has correspondingly been (mis)wired. Through counseling and healing prayer, you can work through these hurts – healing your brain in the process. If you want to experience this type of healing, contact us at New Reflections Counseling.
Reflections
The journey of the child, experienced during the earliest and most formative months and years of life, prepares the heart and mind for spiritual bonding and attachment as an adult.
– Anne Halley
Our neurobiological system has been designed for God.
– Anne Halley
Resources
Matthew 18:1-6
3 Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Read the entire passage on Bible Gateway
Psalm 139
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Read the entire passage on Bible Gateway
Matt Pavlik is a professional counselor, author, and devoted follower of Christ. With decades of experience in Christian counseling, he writes with theological depth and everyday clarity. His resources—centered on salvation, identity, marriage, and emotional healing—are anchored in Scripture and guide believers to discover the freedom of their identity in Christ and the security of their salvation in Him. He and his wife Georgette, married since 1999, live in Centerville, Ohio, and have four adult children.
Leave a Reply