The Healing Presence: Curing the Soul Through Union with Christ

by Leanne Payne

Leanne Payne explains the basis of her counseling ministry--Christ's indwelling presence that brings the power of the incarnation into wounded lives.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, Psychology, Theology, Prayer

278 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Mrs. Payne has been active in the ministry of healing prayer for over thirty years. She is the founder and president of Pastoral Care Ministries.

Her books include: Real Presence, The Broken Image, Healing the Homosexual, Crisis in Masculinity, Healing Presence, Restoring the Christian Soul, and Listening Prayer.

She has taught for Wheaton College, in the graduate program in Christian Spirituality at Creighton University, as well as for University of the Nations. She holds both a BA and MA from Wheaton College as well as an MA from the University of Arkansas. Mrs. Payne was also a research fellow at Yale Divinity School.

Reviews

[Anita Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spiritual genius. This author gives us some of the most valuable spiritual insights I have encountered in years and intersperses these nuggets with nearly incomprehensible segments of writing. I give her 2 chances :If I can't make sense of it in the first pass, I read it a second time.... but not a third. There's too much good material here to labor over the tough stuff.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of spiritual insight, but is not the clearest or best written. I think the truths Leanne speaks of are deeply profound, and her method of bring healing through God's presence is the ultimate Truth. I just think it could have been clearer in many ways, and also she rarely gives views she disagrees with any chance to tell their "side of the story."

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really insightful, encouraging, deep.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has road the shelf unread long enough, part of my books on inner-healing and deliverance. Payne is at times poetic about how practicing the presence of God allows God to heal our woundedness. She also has some astute psychological and spiritual insights, askewing the mind-heart divide bequeathed to us from Cartesian philosophy.

The final section of this book talks about the use of imagination, symbols and images (mental) in healing. She makes a rather sophisticated argument for 're-symbolizing' our thought life through liturgy and contemplation.

Inner-healing books are typically written by practitioners who emphasize 'what works.' Payne is set a part in that she is really thoughtful about what is true and she critiques models that may 'work' but will ultimately prove unhelpful (i.e. the practice of sitting in proxy for someone else's healing). There is a lot of food for thought here and I can readily appreciate how influential this book is.

This book was originally published thirty years ago (updated about twenty years ago) and I didn't agree with everything she said or described but on the whole I appreciated her insights.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes she is a bit weird, yes she believes she's traveled through tIme, but the Leanne Payne also believes that through Christ individuals can be healed of their deepest wounds, which has given me a lot of hope.

[Bethany R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leanne Payne has lots of experience but her writing style is little hard to follow and the chapter title doesn’t seem to match her flow of thought for content. Learned some good views and values on inner healing but nothing crazy valuable or practical.

[Rob Markley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really rate Leanne Payne's teaching on healing, counseling and prayer. Parts I and II of this book indeed have significant insight to share about the nature of God, of humanity and of healing of brokenness in people. It is almost a manual for prayer ministry. She explains spiritual gifts in a fresh new way, she brings home the incarnational presence of Jesus living in us; and well ahead of her time she address the causes and situations of gender confusion, etc. Payne does a great job of dealing with barriers to healing and wholeness as well as ministry itself. A portion of this material deals with the importance of both baptism and communion, but I didn't necessarily appreciate the full relevance of what she is communicating in these?

However Part III is much harder to appreciate. There are hints earlier in the book this is what she want to do, but it seems the point was to tackle two serious problems Payne sees with prayer ministry. The first of these is to attack the idea of substitutionary prayer whereby it is taking upon oneself the affliction of another - which may be done with the most generous, sacrificial of motives, but is wrong because Jesus Himself is the final sacrifice. The second is to attack Jungian psychology's influence in the church as being a gnostic imposition (which she analyses in depth). Prior to launching these attacks the book spends several, it has to be said, fairly obscure chapters to talk about 'true' Christian symbolism or imagery, versus these alternative ones of substitution or gnosticism. It is all a little too tangental.

Another aspect to the book is that is only superficially relevant is Payne's huge regard and dependence on CS Lewis' writing for much of her material. Evidentially Payne once studied academically Lewis in depth and therefore has a truly deep appreciation for his thinking, but a literary analysis isn't really what her own readers are looking for. Nevertheless what she draws out of Lewis is still very valuable and revealing.

[J. D. Hilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es gibt einige gute Punkte, die mir sitzen bleiben werden von Payne. Aber an und für sich fühlte es sich manchnmal an, als ob die Autorin nicht genau wusste, worüber sie reden wollte, und als ob sie dann eher vieles aus ihren anderen Bücher zitierte. Sie besitzt einen sehr hohen Wortschatz, und vor allem in der zweiten Hälfte des Buches gab es einige Kapitel, die sehr philosophisch und schwer verständlich sind.

[narwhal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does it mean to be a Christian. What does it mean to have incarnational faith & imagination. How do we perceive the human person & the soul as a result of the tradition of thought that has accumulated over the past few centuries? What does it mean to be saved? What does it mean to practice the presence of God? How do we restore the emotional self? What does it mean to be?

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik heb de nederlandse vertaling gelezen. Helder en duidelijk geschreven. Eén minpunt is wel hoofdstuk 13 en 14. Hoofdstuk 13 is contradictioneel aan wat ze zelf leert. En hoofdstuk 14 is een uitgebreid schrijven over Jung en Freud. Dat had mijns inziens niet zo uitgebreid te hoeven zijn. Ik raad het boek aan voor een ieder die die werkzaam is in het pastoraat. Ik zeg er echter wel bij dat je kritisch moet lezen omdat ik van mening ben dat haar manier van denken en werken ook voor schade kan zorgen bij kwetsbare mensen.

[Shelley Warticki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Information

A contrast of modern, thinking with the Christian biblical worldview. Teaching us how Christ can heal spiritually wounds that have damaged us emotionally and physically.

[Martin Edens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in Dutch. The book is filled with wisdom and fascinating ideas and stories. Soms deeply encouraging and transformative, some a bit puzzling or strange (in our time/culture). The book feels a bit all over the place. It was hard to keep track of where she was going.

[Phillip Selfridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read if you struggle in life. Helped me in so many ways

[Meghan Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a woman. I’ve never read anything like this before. I will be thinking and praying about it indefinitely.

[Kirsten Elsa]

Jeff’s recommendation

[Jack Magruder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will change your world. Honestly. Payne is a phenom at blending Biblical theology, psychological scholarship and practical experience into a work that is practically an entire seminary education in just 262 pages. Unbelievable. Admittedly, it was a tough slog (it's so dense!), but it was so worth it!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still learning this book in my soul. I reccomend anything by Leanne Payne for anyone who is struggling with just Being.

[Carol Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of mystical in a Christian way. Relates the cross of Christ to the healing of the soul and the emotions.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lifechanging !

[Gayle Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leanne has left a legacy to the church that must not be missed.She understnad the soul on a deep spiritual level.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good points about relating to people's problems. Not the most grounded source for what I would use to counsel with someone, but definitely some good things to practice personally.

[Carey Oster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! I loved learning about true imagination and how we are most like God when we create. There is so much good about this book that you really need to read it yourself!

[Ed Gavras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. A little difficult to follow at times but a wonderful (simple) look at inner healing. This is in my top .... 10 -15 books.

[Emma Dehoog · Rating 4 out of 5]

a challenging look at life issues and how to bring healing.

[Annamarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very intelligent and thoughtful book.

[Sandy]

I have not started reading this book yet, so I can't rate it yet.