Hey, friends! Today, I wanted to try something a little bit different and that would be talking about prayer just in your everyday life. We often wonder, how to pray, what’s the right thing to do?
There are so many different ways that we’re being told we should be doing it. But what is actually truly right?
So I wanted to touch on that today.
Now, before we dive into today’s episode, I want to invite you into something special. This December, I’m offering a free Journal called The Season of Light: Finding Peace, Purpose & Renewal in God’s Presence.
This guide is designed to help you slow down, reflect, and rediscover the wonder of Christ’s coming-so take some take to slow down from the holiday hustle and reflect 🙂
Now, let’s get into this..
Ok soI want to talk about what I do. I think one of the struggles I’ve always had with “praying the RIGHT way” is because I have my own personal relationship with God.
I’ve always had it. It’s just natural for me. And to be honest, I don’t know the right way to pray.
And I think, in all honesty, the relationship that I’ve built and developed—that God and I have built over the years – has just been very natural. It’s like a friendship.
I can be going through things, I can be angry and I can be happy, I can even be sad…it’s just actually natural and normal for me to carry on a conversation with Him just as I feel in that moment…raw and authentic.
And so to sit down and formally pray, is actually something I am working on again because I want to spend more time truly in His presence, I want to learn more and become who He wants me to be, but…
It’s not natural to me because more often I’m just in constant conversations. In essence, I pray all day long!
When I was driving to work everyday my morning car ride was devoted time to pray and I would always start out praying for my kids and their lives, then I would feel in my spirit who else I needed to pray for and I would ask for help to be a better person that day, ask to see opportunities where I could help or build someone up, etc…and that that would be the start to my day.
But, I still carried on my conversations throughout the day.
Since I’ve been working from home I’ll admit I don’t have that dedicated time in the car to focus, and that is something I want to figure out how to re-implement. I do have times where I feel He is calling me to sit and just be with him, pray and listen, but it’s not a daily thing.
I hope I don’t sound like I’m contradicting myself here 😬
The point that I want to try and get across to maybe help you, is that there is no right or wrong way to talk to God. He just wants that relationship with you. He wants to talk to you. He wants to hear from you.
And even for prayer, He will show you and teach you what He wants and needs from you. He will show you HIS right way.
And you know, relationships, just like any human relationship, are two-way streets, right? In order to make a relationship work, you have to be open and you have to be honest and you have to be heard but also willing to listen
And I think that when we just sit back and look at this relationship with God in a very – what would be the best word – just a natural way without all the rules. That’s what it is. It’s the rules. Because, you know, Jesus was very much, hmm I don’t want to say “go wild”, but rather don’t be so caught up in the rules that you don’t get the relationship right.
I think one of the best times for me is when I’m driving, as I mentioned. Great conversations happen because I’m completely focused.
Or if I’m just walking through the house and I could be trying to think about what I was going to do and I’m like, “Lord, where was I going with this? What was I supposed to be doing?”
I don’t know exactly how to explain it. It’s so weird now that I’m actually talking about it and thinking through it
It’s just out of the blue I’ll say “Okay, Lord, I need help with this or Lord, what do I do?” or even “Okay Lord, keep me grounded because I’m about to lose it on somebody somewhere.”
Or “That was really good. Thank you, Lord.” when something great happens.
It’s automatic and I don’t know when that happened. I can honestly tell you, I do not. But I do know it’s been as long as I can remember.
And I do recall that there have just been so many miracles in my life that I think I want to document them and put it into an episode or two just to share the amazing things that God’s done.
But a couple examples would be…
Hmmm I remember wanting to buy a house and we were getting rejected everywhere because of income and credit. It was getting to that point, you know, where you’re getting very discouraged, even negative, right?
So one day I started going home every day for lunch, I would go home and I would sit and read the bible. I had a few verses that…I can’t remember which ones they were, I’m pretty sure they were Psalms though – but at the time, they were very impactful and very relevant, and very much what I needed to build my faith in that area.
Then all of a sudden this house came on the market and I mean, the price was incredible. And I don’t know what happened but we got the mortgage with no issues. You know it’s right and from God when everything just falls into place, when God opens those doors. And that was amazing. That was just unbelievable. And we had our first house!
And then when I moved back home, I was by myself with the kids and I needed to find a house for us to rent. I didn’t have a job. But that didn’t seem to matter or even come into question at the time, I just believed and expected then after looking around we found THE ONE…
Now looking back, I don’t even know how I got it! That was a miracle all on its own!
Then, the next month rolled around and while I’d been working some temp jobs and putting some time into my own web design stuff which was helping bring in some income. I still didn’t have a job and all of a sudden reality kind of hit me in the face. Like, what am I doing? How am I going to pay the rent?
But you know I didn’t panic. It was such an amazing thing because I just knew.
And, you know, I don’t know about you, but I find God is very good at taking it to the very last minute.
Either way, what happened that time was I had a few web design clients still from before – and I got a call out of the blue from one of them. He was a friend of mine actually and he needed some work done and it just happened to be the amount I needed to cover the rent.
Of course, he paid me upfront because we were friends so he trusted that I would do the work. Literally, probably the day before rent was due, God handed me that miracle.
So, how did I get down this road from just praying naturally (haha)
I guess the point is you don’t need to have a specific prayer thing.
It’s just, it’s not a rule.
I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way to do it.
It’s how you work with God to develop that. He will develop that relationship. He will help you.
I’ve mentioned in some of my past videos that you just need to start with thanking God during the day. Don’t wait to write it down…I’ve tried that.
I bought a gratitude book… and okay, I know I sell a gratitude journal. But I think It’s a little bit different because it’s prompted and I feel like it’s more in line with a bit of a daily Bible study, a little bit of a daily reflection.anyway 😅
So back to the book…I’ve tried the gratitude journals and I say….okay, I am going to start my mornings and I’m going to just sit down and I’m going to have my coffee and I’m going to write down everything I’m grateful for and start my day right.
But what happens in that moment?
Well, I think, “Okay, well, I’m thankful for my car. I’m always thankful for my kids. I’m always thankful for my health.” And while there’s nothing wrong with it, it becomes somewhat robotic.
And I think we are missing so many amazing opportunities that happen throughout the day.
And to make another point on that: when you start saying thank you, you actually start to see more good things, things that you might not have noticed in the past. All of a sudden, even the smallest thing can be, “Wow, you know, thank you Lord.” But it opens your eyes to see God working in your life, to see the amazing things that are happening no matter how big or small.
But oftentimes we’re just so busy and trust me, multitasking is a problem, right?
You’re doing a million things. You can miss so many opportunities. But once you get to that point where you’re just doing it throughout the day saying,
“Hey, thank you Lord.” as you get off a good business call. “Thank you Lord. That went really well,”
Before you go into the business call, “Thank you Lord, you got my back. Help me have the words I need for this meeting,”
So I think you should try it and you’ll start to see how you really do notice even the smallest things. “Wow, I made it up the stairs and my knees didn’t crack.” It could be anything, right?
Constant gratitude is one thing that is so important because it will really open you up to seeing how God works in your life and it will help you build that relationship with Him.
It will also change your mindset, you’ll notice yourself becoming more positive and grateful for the things you have already. It takes your focus off of what you don’t have.
And you know what? Don’t be afraid to be upset. I mean, I wouldn’t curse and swear, you know, not that kind of upset. But if you’re frustrated, don’t be afraid to be who you are, to voice that frustration.
If you’re angry – I’ve been sooooo angry, and I’ve found He takes that moment to show me a lesson, to maybe see a side of myself that needs some work, some improvement, maybe helps me see my side in a situation.
Say I’ve had an argument with somebody or I’m angry at somebody because they have done this or that. So you’re talking it out with God and all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh, okay, I could have done that. Yeah, maybe had I done this, maybe if I didn’t say it that way.”
He teaches you lessons. And it’s not necessarily an audible voice. It sits in your spirit, it’s a thought planted in your mind. Whether it’s an idea, whether it’s a lesson. It’s just the continuous relationship and conversations… just as if He was a friend.
I feel that it builds a really strong, not just relationship but faith and understanding and builds your… core… person.
Because that’s all God wants to do.
He wants to help us become who He intended us to be. He wants us to reach our full potential.
But there are steps that we are going to need to take and there are lessons that we are going to need to learn. So, the best way to do that is just take that time, take quiet time just to sit and listen.
Sometimes, sometimes if you just sit and think, let your mind wander, all of a sudden a thought of something that bothers you will come into your mind and you’ll start to roleplay…I don’t know if you do this, maybe not…but I do all the time!
You’re talking and you’re giving your response. It’s always better in my head. It never comes out of my mouth as good as it goes on in my head. I don’t know if you can relate to that, but I wish I could record my brain sometimes.
Anyway, even though it might seem a little crazy, the roleplaying I mean, I’ll be working through it and all of a sudden it hits me, “Oh, uh huh. Yea I could have done this differently. Or hmmm maybe this will work. You get the point..
The really big point is the whole thing about prayer is yes, you want to thank Him, you want to worship Him, you want to give Him all the glory.
But He wants that relationship. He doesn’t want the rules. He knows who you are. He made you. He knows your personality, He knows your struggles, He knows your weaknesses. He just wants that relationship.
So I think, if it helps you at all , if you just go back and practice some of the things that I’ve discussed in my past episoded where you just say thank you randomly throughout the day.
Get into that habit. It always puts Him first, keeps Him in your mind. You’re always thinking about Him. He is there all the time, right?
You’re not putting Him on the back shelf and maybe talking to Him when it’s convenient or maybe only talking to Him…could you imagine having a friend who only talked to you when they wanted to complain or wanted something from you? That’s the way so many of us treat God.
And yes, He wants to be there and He wants to help. But let’s be real. I’m not saying He wouldn’t…I’m not going to speak for Him in any way… I’m just saying we wouldn’t want a friend doing that to us. Why would we do that to God?
So just building that daily, that regular ongoing conversation with Him all the time. It’s just strengthening that relationship. It’s showing Him that He’s always with you. He’s always on your mind. He’s your priority.
He wants to help you. He wants to hear you. He wants to help you grow and learn and become the best person no matter… who you are…where you are…how old you are. That’s what He wants.
And, you know, if we are not seeing that progress, It’s not on Him, it’s on us.
It’s on us backing off.
It’s on us walking away.
It’s on us being too busy.
You know what I mean?
Anyway, thank you for listening, this was really sitting on my spirit to share, I just felt it to be important
And hopefully, you give it a try and just see how it works.
It takes time.
It’s not going to be tomorrow.
Actually, I can’t even say that because, you know, God works in crazy mysterious ways. And when you open yourself up to Him and start talking to Him, it could be something as simple as just feeling peace. It doesn’t have to be a physical miracle…It could just be peace, it could be joy, it could be excitement. It’s worth a shot!
Anyway, that’s it for today. Thank you for listening. Share this video if you thought it was helpful and have a great week. We’ll talk to you next time. God bless.
