Yesterday we started by using ‘the feeling wheel’ to identify our exact emotions in our given situations. Were you surprised at what emotions you could specifically identify with the help of the feeling wheel? Men, typically, look at their life situations from two basic emotions; anger and joy. Now, in reality this is not to say that men are only feeling two things in life… but, it is commonly the only emotions that we are able to identify. There are as many emotions as there are colors! As we seek to have a healthy and godly understanding of ourselves, it will be important that we are as honest and specific as possible…this will help us identify our actual feelings. You may be surprised to find, as I was when this was shared with me, that it was fear, not anger, that I was feeling about things in my life. For years I expressed my fear, as anger. My wife would often ask me, “why are you mad about that?” But then, in time, as I used the feeling wheel, I learned that my emotional drive was really coming from feelings listed in the fear section. So, while in the midst of life situations, with practice, I began to understand and could express that, “I am not angry, but rather I feel confused or inadequate, etc. This also meant that often I had been trying to solve, with God’s Word, the wrong emotional dilemma. All these years I was trying to solve my anger but I was actually dealing with fear. What does the Bible teach us to do when we are afraid? What does the Bible teach us to do when we are angry? God has two different answers to these questions. This new insight also helped me to grow and gain greater faith in God’s Word and in the direction that He gives. I had been misapplying what God wanted me to do with each situation. Soon I found myself praying the right promises from His Word for solving my fears and for facing my problems. I found my prayers to be more powerful and productive… and God was answering them! When you name a specific emotion and seek the counsel that God gives for that emotion, you will find that it changes and blesses your prayer life!
