Prayers for Healing of Addiction

Dear Ones,

We have received many healing prayer requests to help heal addictions. I am so grateful to all of you in the Ananda Healing Prayer Circle for your dedication in praying for those in need.

I offer this article as a sample of the writing I am doing for an upcoming book on healing and prayer. It may offer insights to you as you prayer for those who have this difficulty. I’d love to hear your insights into these prayers, as well, in the comments area.

And since this will be my only newsletter in November, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings,

Mary Kretzmann

Ananda Healing Prayer Ministry

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Healing of Alcoholism and Drug Use

Prayer can be of great help to people who are struggling with addictions, and it often creates a turning point in helping the addict recognize that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Prayers for the healing of addictions, such as to alcohol or to prescribed pain medications, are answered quickly the majority of the time.

Many years ago a woman and her grown daughter visited the Expanding Light and attended a healing prayer class. The mother asked for prayers for her ex-husband, the father of the young woman, for healing of alcoholism. His problem had persisted for over 25 years and was the main reason for the divorce. Two weeks later we received an update that the man had checked himself into a treatment center, having finally admitted to himself and his family that he had a drinking problem.  What is astonishing about this story is that the man was clearly loved, but even the breakup of his family hadn’t triggered a firm resolve to overcome his alcoholism, but somehow the prayers for him had finally broken through that barrier.

If you are trying to help a person to overcome alcohol or other addiction, I would recommend a multi-faceted approach. Have some members of the family commit to saying the Divine Mother healing prayer for the person every day. They should keep this up for at least a year, for it will help the patient to develop positive qualities necessary to sustain this new direction. 

• Divine Mother Healing Prayer Technique: 
• Divine Mother, Thou art Omnipresent. Thou art in all Thy children, Thou are in _________________Manufest Thy healing presence in his/her body, mind, and soul. Then rub the hands together briskly to generate energy. Then hold up the hands and send the energy while chanting AUM three times.
• Video of this prayer technique:

If the patient is openly ready to be healed, teach him to say this affirmation by Paramhansa Yogananda.

• A Daily Healing Affirmation by Paramhansa Yogananda:
• Focus deeply at the spiritual eye, the point of spiritual will, and say three times:  I will with my own will, which flows from the Divine will, to be healthy to be well, to be prosperous and spiritual, to be well, to be well.
• Video of this affirmation:

Some patients have been helped by the book, Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition by Joan Mathews Larson.  (You can learn more about her story at joanmathewslarson.com). People can overcome alcohol addiction without this book, but it may greatly enhance their chances for success.

Harder Drugs: A Deeper Darkness

Harder drugs, such as heroin and meth, also respond to prayer, but it takes a sustained and persistent effort. The spiritual darkness around the harder drugs is more profound, and thus it takes a continued dose of light to effect the change. Once a person is on hard drugs, there is already a history of making negative lifestyle choices. Their whole social structure may revolve around the drugs, and thus it takes something dramatic to get the person’s attention. The patient needs to be receptive, and sometimes this only comes once the person is sitting in a jail cell.

Pray for healing in body, mind, and soul

When praying for a person addicted to harder drugs, ask not only for healing of the addiction, but also for their spiritual awakening. A complete transformation is needed. This seems especially important to overcome meth addiction because 93% of those in treatment centers relapse. It takes a miracle of healing grace to overcome meth addiction.

The few cases that I do know of people who overcame meth addiction straightened out their lives by turning to God. They straightened out and had a complete change of lifestyle both inwardly and outwardly. Pray for this level of transformation for anyone facing addiction to harder drugs.  

Several times I have counseled parents to bring in a small picture of Jesus or Yogananda to their teenager who was in jail facing charges for hard drugs. I told the parents to hand the picture to their teen and give them very simple instructions on how to pray for help. It can be a very simple, yet transformative, prayer from the heart, such as, Please help me to change. It has to start there. The addict is often ready for such things once they are terrified about the way their life is headed.  Some of these kids who were on meth ended up turning toward a conservative form of Christianity because they needed that much spiritual structure to stay off the drugs. This has worked well when the minister was knowledgeable on how to help addicts.  

Letter of Light

Sometimes something relatively simple can have a profound effect on a person if it comes when they are receptive to healing grace.  One day a woman in the Ananda community asked me what she could do for her brother who had a serious problem with alcohol. She believed that he wanted to change, but said he felt powerless in the face of it.  She wanted to offer him something inspirational to read, but she told me that he was not interested in spiritual books.

I suggested that she send him the book, Do It Now, by Swami Kriyananda, which is now  republished as Living Wisely, Living Well, Timeless Wisdom to Enrich Every Day, by Swami Kriyananda. It is a wonderful “thought for the day” book, full of uplifting advice. I thought the short passages would be helpful for her brother. It wasn’t an overtly spiritual book, rather it advises the person on how to be the best version of yourself. We also prayed for him to be receptive to positive changes in his life.

Several months later I took seclusion in a mountain cabin near the Sierra Buttes. I loved that the cabin had no telephone. I used the time to read spiritual books, meditate deeply and take walks in the forest. One morning early I was awakened by a vivid dream in which I received a thank you note written in shining gold script, saying, “Thank you for helping me to overcome alcoholism, with the book, Do It Now.”

One can tell the nature of a dream by the quality of the light in it. The gold letters were radiant, so I knew it was a true, spiritual dream, but I didn’t write that book! How did God get the wrong address for that divine thank you note? Finally, after coming more fully awake, I recalled that I had suggested the book earlier to my friend for her brother. I realized the thank you was not for writing the book, but for inspiring his sister to give him a copy of it. The man’s heart and soul must have sent forth a feeling of gratitude, and I received it in my dream.

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I’d love to hear your  inspirations and related experiences in the comments below.

Blessings to you,

Mary