Betty: You’re doing a good job. You can really finish this for yourself, because you’re entering into repentance. See, thinking does not bring about healing. Analysis does not bring healing. It does help understanding, but understanding itself is not healing. You really have to pray when this stuff comes up. You have to sit there, look at it, find your repentant heart that wants to be one with Jesus, and let that part pray. Otherwise, the Perfectionist just gathers it up as analysis. It’s one more reason for her to be proud because she understands. But that’s not healing. You don’t want to give her more. You want to bring her in humility before the Lord who alone can set you free with your cooperation. So, that has to be included in every healing prayer. Analysis does not free. It increases understanding, but the Perfectionist can take it as more things to be proud of. Bringing it to resolve and repentance, invoking the name of the Lord, that is what helps to bring about healing. Some people don’t understand that. But that is the difference between healing prayer and analysis. 

AM: “Lord, there’s a battle going on inside. I want to be a repentant, merciful person. I don’t like that mean side..”

Betty: Don’t stand there and hold on to it to be proud and beat yourself up with it. That’s not healing.

AM: So, I either act it out, or I hold on to it and beat myself up?

Betty: And that’s part why you went into this stage where you stopped writing. Because I think you were moving and understanding, but then getting more discouraged and beating yourself up.

That’s why they say, “Too much analysis can lead to paralysis.” You get yourself in those paralyzed places. Analysis that is brought into the crucifixion, the reason why Jesus suffered and died was to help us get free of these demonic games we play. So, sending it to the cross means you let it go. Jesus paid the price. It was in his suffering. You’re acknowledging the role of the redemption. But then you have to bring repentance and cooperate with Christ in forgiving yourself. Then you can send it to the cross.

AM: So, acknowledge it, repent, and then send it to the cross.

Betty: You’re acknowledging the truth that you were holding back with your denial. Jesus is truth. You can’t really accept it as true unless you identify with He who is truth. So, in order for us to be in union with Him, we have to stand in truth.

We have to leave denial, because that’s Satan’s territory. And Jesus does not want to be one with Satan. Satan has already made up his mind that he doesn’t want to be one with the Lord. So, we have to give up that critical, judgmental, shaming, condemning part. I don’t see a Perfectionist in Jesus Christ. 

AM: I’m getting better at recognizing it. At least I see the Perfectionist.  But then it’s dealing with all the mistakes.

Betty: Yeah, but in a prideful, judgmental way. It doesn’t want to give it up, and I think that door that’s open to Satan here sees it as power that you have over yourself to condemn yourself. It doesn’t want to give the power up.

AM: And so he keeps me in it by having me keep going back to it?

Betty: Yeah, it’s the refusal to forgive. I think you’ve got yourself to a good place. You learned more about how to pray which you really needed. Because I think when you’re distracted, you just leave it in analysis, and you don’t get the full benefit.

Do you find yourself stuck in analysis rather than coming to the Lord with a repentant heart?