Christian energy healing is a redemptive postures topic that I get to talk about a lot. So many different healing methods fall under the umbrella of energy healing and energy psychology that it can be confusing where the spiritual boundary lines fall.
A simple definition for energy healing is any modality that works with the meridian energy system of the body to bring healing.
And when I say energy I mean the literal electric currents and charges to our bodies, not some kind of weird New Age “energy”.
Some healing methods that fall under this category are: reiki, NET, EFT, TFT, tapping, Splankna, acupuncture, and qigong. I’ll discuss three of these methods in this article.
A Redemptive View of Energy Healing
The most important thing to remember with energy healing, and with taking a redemptive posture, is that all healing is God’s healing. Satan can only twist, he cannot create.
So if we see real healing taking place from any method it is because God created that method to work.
Just like medical science heals because God created it to heal, energy healing methods work because God created them to work. As James 1:17 says,
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (NASB)
Father God is the source of every good gift we receive. All the good gifts are His. All. Not some. Not just the ones that we understand. And the research continues to show that energy healing is a good gift, that actually brings healing.
Now does this mean that all energy healing methods are godly? Of course not. But the issue is not with the observation that working with energy can heal.
The issue is with the conclusions practitioners make about energy, the ways to achieve healing, and the spiritual atmosphere they bring to healing.
Energy Healing Methods
Reiki
One of the energy healing methods I get asked about the most is reiki. It originated in Japan in 1922 and has recently become popular in the United States.
In this method the practitioner waves their hands over the client’s body or will lay hands on the body in attempts to correct the flow of energy.
Reiki symbols and a spirit guide are also used to instruct the practitioner in the directions to move their hands. There are a few issues with reiki that make it one of the energy healing methods I do not recommend as Christian energy healing.
1.) Reiki’s definition of “energy” is not the scientific meridian system of energy. What reiki practitioners refer to as energy is more similar to chakras or auras than a literal system of energy that can be researched.
2.) Use of a 3rd party. I know of some Christians that practice reiki and claim that Holy Spirit is their guide in their sessions. And that very well may be true, but anytime a 3rd party spirit guide is involved there is an open door for the enemy to interfere and deceive.
The way reiki uses this 3rd party spirit guide is not like the way we involve Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit in inner healing prayer. It’s more of an open door invitation for possession instead of a relational conversation with the Godhead.
3.) Distance is another concern with reiki. While I fully believe we can pray for healing from a distance and see our prayers answered, the performance of reiki sessions at a distance raises a few concerns.
The practitioner does not actually touch you or see you in person, but somehow manipulates your energy flow by them sending their reiki energy to you via their spirit guide.
Which again, is use of a 3rd party that is likely not Holy Spirit.The issue isn’t so much the distance, but the counterfeit of what we already have access to through prayer and going outside the spiritual boundaries of Holy Spirit/Jesus being our only mediator. (1 Timothy 2:5)
4.) There is no official governing body for reiki practitioners or training. You can cheaply get “certified” online and call yourself a reiki master.
The interesting thing to me about reiki is why people claim that it works. Research into reiki has definitely found that it is mostly a placebo effect, but there are reports of it actually working to heal as well.
A very real way that the energy in our bodies work is negative and positive polarity.
Disease, tumors, illness all produce a negative charge in the body. Some studies have found that by switching the negative charge of a tumor to positive the tumor goes away.
In reiki the palms of the hands are waved over or placed on the client and studies have found that the palms of the hands give off a positive charge.
Perhaps there is a reason scripture tells us to lay hands on the sick and they will be healed that goes deeper than just our prayers (Mark 16:17-18; James 5:14).
I don’t believe it is necessary to receive reiki, to experience the healing reiki claims to bring. My theory is that reiki is simply a twisting of the healing power God has already given us to lays hands and pray for the sick.
EFT and TFT Tapping
More commonly known as tapping, EFT and TFT use acupressure points to clear emotional blocks in the meridian system. EFT (emotional freedom technique) developed from the trauma tapping algorithm found in TFT (thought field therapy).
Both of these methods combine tapping points on the body in specific sequences and focusing on a particular emotion, thought, fear, or trauma that is causing distress.
Practitioners guide you through the order of tapping points while you tap on your own body and focus on the stressor that needs to be released.
Because the practitioner is not touching you, you are doing all the tapping on yourself, this method can easily and safely be done over video calls.
I think of tapping as morse code for your body. Each tap is like a signal to your meridian system to pulse in a certain direction.
Right now the research on tapping hasn’t really explained why it works, but has found that it definitely does have an active effect on healing and is not just a placebo effect.
The VA has even approved EFT as a standard treatment for PTSD because of the progress they have seen with it working with veterans vs just regular talk therapy.
One of the reasons I believe it works is the focus on specific stressors, taking those thoughts captive as scripture tells us to do (2 Cornthians 10:5). This focused thought combined with engaging the body through tapping brings healing that involves the body and soul/mind.
The majority of EFT and TFT tapping does not involve any spiritual practices to be concerned about. Some more advanced versions of the protocols do, but it is easy to strip those faulty conclusions off of what is otherwise a helpful observation about how to bring healing.
For a Christian approach to EFT and TFT tapping checkout Captive Thought Therapy.
Splankna
Splankna is a Christian energy healing approach that incorporates EFT/TFT tapping, NET (Neuro emotive technique), and EMDR combined with prayer and forgiveness to clear emotions stored in the meridian system.
There is no need to process or remember traumatic events to clear the emotional triggers created by that trauma and most sessions are tear-free with very little emotional distress.
Splankna uses muscle testing and a chart of emotions to identify the emotions that need to be cleared related to a specific trauma.
The client then holds the acupressure points on their own body associated with those emotions to clear the emotional block.
Like tapping, Splankna uses the combination of touch and focused thought to resolve blocks in the meridian system. Because muscle testing involves touch (the practitioner touching the back of your wrist) Splankna is a protocol that must be done in person.
What I appreciate most about Splankna and the Splankna Therapy Institute is how Sarah and her team have led the charge for being passionately committed to biblical truth while not allowing the enemy to lay claim to healing methods that were rightfully ours to begin with.
This talk from Sarah does a really great job of explaining the scientific theory behind Splankna and the theological approach she and her team took in developing the protocol. Other articles about Splankna:
What is Splankna Therapy?
Splankna Can Help
Redemptive Postures Series
This post is the seventh in a monthly series. The heart of redemptive postures is that God created everything and said it was good. Redemptive postures looks at various health and wellness topics that Christians have concerns about and seeks to find what if any of those topics can be brought back to the good God originally intended for them.
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