T. D. Jakes - Healing the Wounds of the Past

I dedicate this book to the memory of my father, the late Rev. Ernest L. Jakes Sr. Dedicated to my father, it is also in memory of my mother, Mrs. Odith P. Jakes, whose unfailing love defined motherhood and was my first encounter with excellence. To my sister, Jackie, who kissed away my childhood tears, and finally, to my lovely wife, Serita, whose gentle breeze has often kept my sails full of the wind of destiny.

This book is the heart of the Father ministering to the people of His Sons Body. Literally thousands of men and women have been set free by the anointed word of T.D. Jakes. Its mind-challenging, life-changing, and spirit-transforming truth. Your life will never be the same after reading this book.

Pastor Carlton Pearson
Higher Dimensions Inc.
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Every person in this country needs to hear the message that God has given Bishop Jakes. It is impossible for someone to hear this message and not be encouraged, delivered, and transformed forever. I know that because of this word from God, my life will never be the same.

Dr. Debbye Turner
Miss America 1990
St. Louis, Missouri

Our church, The Center of Hope, in Oakland, California, has been greatly impacted by this mans ministry. I want to highly recommend this book to every person in this country. You will be blessed!

Dr. Ernestine Cleveland Reems
President, E.C. Reems Womens International Ministries
Founding Pastor, Center of Hope
Oakland, California

And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, Woman, you are loosedfrom your infirmity (Luke 13:11-12).

T he Holy Spirit periodically lets us catch a glimpse of the personal testimony of one of the patients of the Divine Physician Himself. This womans dilemma is her own, but perhaps you will find some point of relativity between her case history and your own. She could be like someone you know or have known; she could even be like you.

There are three major characters in this story. These characters are the person, the problem, and the prescription. It is important to remember that for every person, there will be a problem. Even more importantly, for every problem, our God has a prescription!

Jesus opening statement to the problem in this womans life is not a recommendation for counselingit is a challenging command! Often much more is involved in maintaining deliverance than just discussing past trauma. Jesus did not counsel what should have been commanded. I am not, however, against seeking the counsel of godly people. On the contrary, the Scriptures say:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful (Psalm 1:1).

Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).

What I want to make clear is that after you have analyzed the condition, after you have understood its origin, it will still take the authority of Gods Word to put the past under your feet! This woman was suffering as a result of something that had attacked her 18 years earlier.

I wonder if you can relate to the long-range aftereffects of past pain? This kind of trauma is as fresh to the victim today as it was the day it occurred. Although the problem may be rooted in the past, the prescription is a present word from God! The Word is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore (see Heb. 13:8). That is to say, the word you are hearing today is able to heal your yesterday!

Jesus said, You are loosed. He did not call her by name. Jesus spoke to the person she could, and would, have been. I believe the Lord spoke to the twinkle that exists in all people. He spoke to her God-given uniqueness. He spoke to her spirit.

Her problem didnt begin suddenly. It had existed in her life for 18 years. We are looking at a woman who had a personal war going on inside her. These struggles must have tainted many other areas of her life. The infirmity that attacked her life was physical.

However, many men and women also wrestle with infirmities in emotional traumas. These infirmities can be just as challenging as a physical affliction. An emotional handicap can create dependency on many different levels. Relationships can become crutches. The infirmed person then places such weight on people that it stresses a healthy relationship. Many times such emotional handicaps will spawn a series of unhealthy relationships. Jesus says in John:

For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly