A Prerequisite to Christian Counseling?

As I was thinking about the amount of time spent by elders, and lay people for that matter, in counseling Christians; the thought entered my mind as to whether or not those seeking counseling spend much time in communion with God.  I think it is easy for those of us who counsel to begin to think that people need us in order to grow in grace.  It somehow feeds our own need to be needed.  I think one of the main reasons is that we (modern Christians) spend little to no time in communion with God.

Would it be unkind to have a prerequisite established before counseling is offered?  And what would that prerequisite be?  J.C. Ryle has some suggestions:

Regular and habitual communion with the Lord Jesus, is absolutely essential to growth in grace! I mean that daily habit of communion between the believer and his Savior, which can only be carried on by faith, prayer and meditation.

 

It is a habit, I fear, of which many believers know little. It is possible to have "union" with Christ--and yet to have little "communion" with Him.  Communion implies a habit of daily application for things needed, and of daily pouring out and unburdening our hearts and minds. It is getting close to Him and laying hold on Him with confidence--as a loving, personal Friend.

 

Now I believe that no man will ever grow in grace, who does not know something experimentally of the habit of communion. We must seek to have personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus, and to deal with Him as a man deals with a loving friend. We must realize what it is . . .

  to turn to Him first in every need,

  to talk to Him about every difficulty,

  to consult Him about every step,

  to spread before Him all our sorrows,

  to get Him to share in all our joys,

  to do all as in His sight, and

  to go through every day leaning on, and looking to Him!

So there you have it--your prerequisite.  Before a person can seek counseling they must first say honestly that they have:

turned to Him first in every need,
talked to Him about every difficulty,
consulted Him about every step,
spread before Him all our sorrows,
get Him to share in all our joys,
do all as in His sight, and
go through every day leaning on, and looking to Him!

What do you think might happen if all those who requested counseling were told that they must first do all of the above for an entire month, before they would receive counseling?   I think there would be a drastic reduction in counseling requests!