^"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)" (Ephesians 2:4-5 NLTY).

There was a particularly hot Augusta day when nearly-two-year old CG was playing in the cool river water near a sandy patch of beach. As the afternoon wore on, she didn’t want to stop playing, but her energy began to flag. She wanted the only thing that could satisfy her little toddler heart: blankie.

So she would do what any girl would in her situation: drag her dear pink-and-white blankie down onto the beachy spot where she was playing in the river.

Blankie didn’t stay dry long.

In fact, it was mere moments before blankie was a heavy, sopping wet mess. But CG didn’t let blankie go. She heaved the wet pile of blankie up around her shoulders. The weight made her little body so top-heavy she could barely stand.

How often do we carry the weight of something so heavy we can barely stand too?

Holding the weight of other people’s choices…believing if we had just done something better, something different, there might have been another outcome.

Carrying the heavy weight of lies and hurtful messages about who we are.

Buckling beneath the weight of expectations that come from everywhere but God.

Heavy, destructive things can become familiar. The facade of comfort makes us blind to the mess wrapped around our shoulders

Back on the beach, CG’s sweet little face looked up. “Hold you,” she said, CG-ese for “pick me up.” She reached up her arms, with blankie still around her shoulders.

She didn’t want to let go of the heavy blankie, but she wanted to be held. What she didn’t realize was how much that blankie was actually going to get in the way of what she really wanted — and needed.

Rest. Warmth. Comfort.

It’s hard to move when we’re weighed down by heavy things in this life.

God is going to pick us up and hold us even if we’re still wrapped up in a heavy mess.. But He invites us to set those things down, so there’s more space for Him to care for us. He invites us to surrender all the heavy, hurtful things that we’re used to carrying.

I don’t always know how to surrender. I can grasp all the little pieces and parts of my life, my thoughts, my feelings, my plans… all of it so tightly. But when I’m at my most broken, when it feels like there’s nothing left of me, that’s where He steps in. His great strength begins where mine ends.

Sometimes, surrendering the heavy things means we feel lighter.

But sometimes it means standing on His promises even if circumstances don’t change or we can’t feel His presence.

When life weighs us down, God gives us neverending grace. He invites us to be wrapped in His deep love and incredible mercy.

He’s the real source of rest and comfort we can lean into, even in the hardest, heaviest moments.

Stay Anchored

• What feels heavy in your life right now?

• What might it look like to rest in God’s promises today, even if you’re struggling to surrender what is weighing you down?

• What could it open up for you if you could set even a piece of that heavy weight down to God?

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:15 -17 NIV).

After Hurricane Helene, there was so much devastation. Storm debris seemed small compared to the fractured hearts of devastated communities or people who lost loved ones.

When it comes to our spiritual strength, are we ready for what may come? When the hurricanes of life threaten to drown our dreams and devastate the lives we thought we had, will we be strong enough to recover or will we be washed away? Have we done enough? Will our spiritual strength be enough to drag the long limbs of defeat and the heavy logs of the enemy’s lies to the curb?

We never know how strong our faith is until we’re hit with unexpected pain in life. When another rejection or lie piles on top of deep hurt we’ve barely processed, when people disregard us, or when we’re met with disrespect and are left feeling unheard and unseen and unloved. When we’re looking for answers — and all we keep uncovering are more questions.

In John, Jesus reminds us that we aren’t in this alone. Jesus himself prayed for our protection against the enemy, and tells us that our struggles in this world are because we’re not of the world: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:15-17 NIV).

These verses remind us of the truth that we’re precious, chosen, holy, and beloved. All of our needs are met in relationship with God through Christ. No matter how much studying and praying we do, we can’t do it alone. We’ll never have enough strength apart from God and His power.

Growing our spiritual muscles takes our surrender to God, a desire to give up all the things we can’t control. It takes allowing his truth to penetrate our lives — even if it sometimes feels as slow as only seeing a tiny bit of progress after months at the gym. He can strengthen us and renew us when we bring all that we are to him.

When we’re called in strange, hard, or unexpected ways to show up as the people Christ created us to be, it can feel overwhelming. But our God promises protection from the enemy. He says we can become holy through the truth of his word.

If we seek the truth of his word, God will equip us as he helps us build our spiritual strength. Then we can stand strong in Him no matter what the hurricanes of life bring.

Staying Anchored

• What is one way you lean into the truth of God’s promises today?

• What change in your rhythms with God could bring more truth from His Word into your day?

• Where are you relying on your own strength lately? How could things change if you step back and rest in God’s power instead?

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  Read next:

• Authentic Practices to Inspire Your Prayer Life

• When the Heart Won’t Sit Still

• Grabbing On to God in Loneliness

• How Fear & Prayer Can Relate

• The Notebook War

“Sure, I’ll be right over.” When I asked my son for help with a headboard, he quickly came to help. The instructions said you’d need four adults and a timeframe of 45 minutes, but that just seemed silly. How hard could it be?

It turned out that the headboard had two attachment options, and neither worked in this situation because of the existing bed frame. The holes in the headboard didn’t quite line up with where the bolts should go in the frame. My son suggested a simple course of action: drill new holes and place the headboard correctly.

We proceeded with this plan, only to realize (due to my less-than-perfect visual assessment) that the frame was off-center. Off the headboard went for another try.

Besides the headboard problems, a broken part on the bed frame itself was causing two pieces to separate.

The lack of connection between the pieces made the bed frame unstable.

It might have taken a little longer than initially expected, but the end result was a beautifully attached headboard. And 84 cents and a quick trip to the store later, we were able to fix that separated piece of the bed frame too.

What do headboards and bed frames have to do with God’s heart?

God Is With Us, Even in the Little Things

My son didn’t hesitate to help me when I asked. It wasn’t urgent. But he showed up right away out of love and desire to help me.

How much more does our Heavenly Father show up in His love for us? He wants to bring us good things. He’s with us always — and He’ll never leave us.

When Joshua followed God’s commands to lead the people into the Promised Land after Moses’s death, God reminded Joshua that He was with him. God made it clear that He would never leave or abandon him: “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you”(Joshua 1:5 NLT ).

In Christ, we have the same promise, that God will never leave us and we can be with Him in eternity: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).

God’s Kindness Doesn’t Change, Even When We Don’t Understand

During all of our interactions and some of my silly questions, my son never once treated me like I was anything less than intelligent. He reacted with patience, kindness, love, and respect. (Even though it was my fault the headboard wasn’t aligned correctly the first time.)

Our Heavenly Father loves us. He is always kind and loving, even when we don’t understand. He never walks away from us when we don’t “get it.” He patiently waits, listens, and walks with us to figure out our next step.

Just like the headboard needed some realignment to work, our hearts need to be realigned and connected with God. Because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, He’s already done the work.

We just need to step into the relationship. When we confess our sins, the Holy Spirit can help us realign and reattach to God: “ If we tell Him our sins, He is faithful and we can depend on Him to forgive us of our sins. He will make our lives clean from all sin” (1John 1:9 NLT).

God Repairs, Restores, & Keeps Us Steady

The bed frame had to have a new piece of hardware to get its firm foundation again. Without getting fixed, it would remain wobbly.

I know when we compare this to so many of our situations, there is no easy fix, especially when it comes to the deep wounds of our hearts. Yet God is in the business of restoration.

The bolt on my bed frame now is a little different than the original; it’s not the little specialty piece that was welded on with the curved design in the factory. When we’ve been broken, we’ll never be exactly the same again either.

But the Lord can still repair those broken, separated pieces of our souls that are longing to be connected with Him.

When life feels unstable, God is there to help us realign and reconnect with Him.

He can turn those broken pieces of our hearts into something strong and beautiful.

Wherever you are, whatever you are going through, the Lord knows. And He’s with us: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mathew 28: 20 NLT)

Stay Anchored

There’s no simple, 84-cent fix for what our hearts might struggle with, but the next step toward doesn’t have to be complicated.

Maybe today it’s:

• Looking toward heaven for our next breath

• Surrendering one thing to God

• Listening when the Lord tells us it’s not our battle

• Learning to set a healthy boundary

• Intentionally seeking God when you’re feeling alone

• Resting in God’s promises instead of working so hard to do it all on our own

What would it look like to invite God into the broken places of your heart today? What step might you take toward connecting with God, even if life feels unstable right now?

Read Next: Powerful Prayer Practices

“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.”
Psalm 18:16 NLT

The house had that calm lull when a day of family fun was winding down.

In the quiet, there was a sudden rush of commotion. We heard a rustling noise and a hurried patter of little paws.

Little S, my son’s sweet cat, was running around, darting up the stairs with a purple drawstring cinch backpack wrapped around her legs. While at first the scenario elicited a few chuckles, it quickly turned to empathy for the little sweetheart.

She had been innocently playing, and somehow she became entangled in the bag and got its strings wrapped around her legs. Once attached, she couldn’t move without feeling like she was being chased by something. As she ran, the bag ballooned out behind her — and though she may not have seen it, she could feel it.

The faster she ran, the more like she felt like she was being chased.

Can you relate?

How often do we feel like we’re being chased by something we can’t see? And the more we try to outrun it, the more dangerous it feels?

Something from our past that seemed so benign and now haunts us….other’s choices that have wrapped us in pain and grief….the pressure to always do more and be more that can feel so suffocating….The fear, pain, and uncertainty is real.

We can feel stuck in cycles that frustratingly play out again and again. The residue of harmful thought patterns and hurtful words that make it hard to move forward. The default behavior patterns we find ourselves somehow stuck in. The whisper of never measuring up.

Always rushing. Always hearing that faint rustling behind us.

Rewind to Little S.

Her loving cat dad wasted no time in gently untangling her paws and restoring her to freedom. Unburdened, she was free to explore and frolic once again.

We have a God that wants to free us from what’s burdening us too.

In our own power, we may never escape the things that feel like they are chasing us. But God can rescue us.

He sees and hears every struggle, every moment of fear. He longs for us to be still long enough to gently let Him untangle us from the things that keep us trapped. Whether it was through our own choices, the choices of others, or just because of this broken world we live in, he wants to remove the fear, pain, and uncertainty that is chasing us through life.

This isn’t an easy process. Our instincts can be to keep running, or try to untangle ourselves. But will we ever be free from the chase until we stop and connect with Him?

There’s freedom to live differently in relationship with Him.

In Psalm 18, David gives us a glimpse into His connection with God, and God’s incredible power and protection:

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.
Psalm 18:16-19 NLT

God is always pursuing, loving, and wanting to pull us out of the deep waters and into the goodness He has for us. He sees us and delights in us exactly as we are.

He wants to rescue us from everything that is pulling us down or pulling us back. Our Heavenly Father invites us in to relationship or deeper intimacy with Him — where we can rest in His strength to rescue and redeem us.

Even more, God longs for us to spend eternity in connection with Him. He wants to be with us and rescue us from fear and pain in this life — not just for a moment, but for all time.

It can start by inviting God into wherever you are today.

Stay Anchored

• What unseen things are chasing you today? Fear, uncertainty, people pleasing? Journal whatever the Lord puts on your heart.

• What would it look like to try to let go of those things?

• What specific action might God be inviting you to take today?

Resources:

Learn more about salvation and relationship with Jesus from Elevation Church

Read further with Psalm 18

Read Next:

Powerful Prayer Practice Ideas

God designed us for connection… which makes the pain of loneliness so real, so deep. And it can take so many forms.

On one end, there might be a lack of people in your life that you can truly connect with or have close relationships with. There’s the loneliness of loss, of people who are no longer here to connect with. There’s a loneliness in the relationships that are broken, disconnected, or in some liminal space we can’t quite identify.

As humans, we have a longing for belonging, and loneliness can creep in when we’re on the fringe. There’s a longing for connection with specific people in our lives, and a deep loneliness that can come when we’re not connected with or seen by them. There’s loneliness in rejection. There’s loneliness in loss. There’s loneliness when we feel misunderstood, misperceived, or unvalued.

There’s an aching pain of feeling alone that has nothing to do with actually being alone.

Psychology Today defines loneliness as “the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one’s desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. Even some people who are surrounded by others throughout the day—or are in a long-lasting marriage—still experience deep and pervasive loneliness.” And as accurate as this might be, I think there’s more.

Nothing about our humanity fits into clean little boxes. Loneliness and disconnection can seep into all the facets of our lives. It can coexist with joy. It can be there when we laugh with our children.

It can be there when we question ourselves and try to figure out the spaces we’re living in. It might be there when we whisper ‘Why?,’ ‘When?,’ or ‘What next, Lord?’

Figuring out how to walk through loneliness can be so challenging, but there are examples in Scripture that can help us on the journey.

The Woman Who Touched Jesus’s Garment and Was Healed

In three of the Gospels, we see a powerful example of a woman being healed when she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment:

“ A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.” Luke 8: 43-44 NLT

Though these verses don’t specifically mention loneliness, I can’t help but think of how incredibly lonely this woman must have been, isolated from others for years.

Along with the hopelessness of spending all she had on doctors and getting no answers about her medical condition, she was forced to live outside the community, cut off from others. She may have had friends and family, but due to cultural laws, she could not be around or touched by others. She didn’t have the connection she might have desperately needed and wanted.

I can just imagine the fear she might have felt as she hid in the crowd to look for Jesus. Scripture says:

“When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.” Luke 8:47 NLT

Did the loneliness, at least in part, drive her to seek Jesus? To do something that might have felt so frightening, so vulnerable? The fear was there; we read that she was hidden, that she fell at Jesus’s feet, trembling.

Yet she wasn’t just healed by Jesus.

He didn’t let her continue to go unseen.

He drew her out, acknowledged her, greeted her with the intimacy of a tender relationship, His daughter:

“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Luke 8:48 NLT

In what might have been her darkest days — maybe desperate, afraid, in pain, deeply lonely— she reached for Jesus.

What will we do when loneliness threatens to engulf us?

Touching the fringe of Jesus’s garment wasn’t the end of the story. It was the beginning.

We have a Savior, a Healer, a Redeemer, a Friend, who knows the depth of loneliness we might carry. He understands what it is to feel rejected, abandoned, and disconnected from others, even those closest to Him.

In turn, He promises the most tender, gentle place to rest: in Him and His heart.

The Bible doesn’t say we’ll never experience disconnection or rejection or the deep pain of loneliness that can stem from all sorts of places. But again and again, God does promise that He is with us through it all:

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31: 8 NLT

The cracked spaces of our hearts that are parched for connection are real. But instead of turning away, today we can reach for the One who can fill in those cracks with His love.

Stay Anchored

Reflect and Journal

• Where are you experiencing loneliness in your life today?

• What fears or other emotions might be intertwined with it?

• What would it look like for you to reach for Jesus when you’re experiencing loneliness?

A Prayer for Loneliness and Feeling Alone

Lord God,

I know you see each one of our hearts. In this broken world, there is the pain of deep loneliness, often associated with disconnection, rejection, lack of belonging, or lack of being seen and known.

Remind us today that you alone know the depths of our hearts in a way that no human being ever can.

Help us to turn and reach for you.

Help us to pour out the ache of our loneliness to you instead of trying to make it on our own.

Please give us the comfort, resources, and strength we need to make it through.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

References

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/loneliness

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%208&version=NLT

https://www.gotquestions.org/woman-issue-blood.html

https://faithgateway.com/blogs/christian-books/galilee-woman-healed-touch

As we close out this month’s series on prayer, I’m beyond excited to share some insights, encouragement, and practical wisdom from a few other incredible writers and content creators I’ve connected with. These are ladies with a deep heart for Christ and a tenderness for the Holy Spirit.

The authentic prayer practices they share below remind me that just as God created each one of us so uniquely, our relationships with Him and our prayer lives are incredibly unique too.

Prayer doesn’t have to look one certain way.

Our Holy God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Friend…He is the author of everything, from the breath of life to infinite creativity. What happens if we expand the possibilities of what our prayer life could be instead of putting it in a box?

I pray that the ideas below uplift you and inspire you in your own prayer lives and intimacy with God. All the creators below aim to support and encourage others on their life journeys with the Lord. To support their work or learn more about their content, subscribe to their Substack or website, follow their podcasts, or buy their books using the links in each section.

Kerry-Ann Scheidegger, Soul-Deep Conversations

Finding Joy by Praying With Intentionality, Surrender, & Gratitude

“After spending some time in the Word, I pull out my journal and begin to write to the Lord. I thank him for His goodness and grace, and then I pour out my heart on the pages, all the things that are taking up space in my heart and mind. I hold nothing back, and I lay them at his feet as an offering. Some days this is a page in my journal; other days it’s five or six.

After surrendering my heart to Him, I lay the day that is before me to him with some variation of the following words:

“Father, I surrender this day to you, empower me to do the work that you have called me to do, and the wisdom to focus on what matters most.”

I then end my prayer journaling time with a prayer of gratitude, intentionally thanking God for at least five things that I am thankful for. Practising gratitude has brought so much freedom and peace to my heart.

There was a season that I was really frustrated with our living situation, being a family of five in a rather small flat. I felt bitterness towards God for not bringing the breakthrough I wanted in this area. After over a year of intentionally thanking God for the blessing of living in this flat, contentment and joy began to grow. I now love our little flat that has become our little sanctuary, the place where God has formed us into a family.”

Kerry is a writer, Bible teacher, and local church leader whose ministry is shaped by God’s transforming grace. She is passionate about helping women discover their identity in Christ, walk in freedom, and boldly embrace their God-given calling. Through Soul Deep Conversations on Substack, Kerry writes about Scripture, theology, spiritual formation, and everyday faith, believing that everything changes when we truly know who God is. She is a wife and mum of three who was born in South Africa and now calls Switzerland home.

Jessica Byler, Raisin Little Disciples

Rhythms of Prayer Throughout the Day That Create Deep Peace

“Prayer. Oh, the many forms for me. Sometimes it’s cries of desperation, pleas for strength, a begging for hope in a moment of frustration.

Other times it’s a casual conversation like with an old friend, sparked from the reflection of a blessing.

Prayer through worship songs throughout the day, keeping me grounded in the joyful chaos of motherhood. And bedtime prayers with our four littles hold a big space in my heart. They usually chime in a request, often a family member or pet… typically Nini and Swat.

It’s in those moments with little voices talking to their Heavenly Father as if they are talking to a friend that peace greets me. The same peace that hits me throughout the day through worship songs and the moments I cry out to God for help.

The peace that tells me He is there. He is always there. He hears me. He sees me. He’s got me.”

Jessica Byler is a daughter of the one true King, wife and momma to four of the greatest blessings. She loves the outdoors, running, and family time. Her Substacks touch on the rawness of motherhood and deepening her relationship with God along the way. To subscribe and read more of her content, visit Raisin Little Discples.

Jocelyn, Clearings

Transformation & Restoration Through Extended Time in God’s Presence

“In the past year, I’ve started a practice of taking quarterly days away to pray. At first, it felt logistically challenging (impossible - ha!) to get a whole day away with three littles at home. But we’ve found a rhythm that works, and it has been so impactful. I like to spend my prayer days at a nearby silent retreat center that has a cabin available for free use and trails to walk.

I usually go into the day with a few topics I hope to pray through and listen to the Lord about. I spend time in the Word, journaling, walking, and sitting quietly with God.

While daily prayer is so essential, I’ve found that extended time in His presence has marked me in a different way.

And honestly, it is physically restorative too; a whole day away from the daily demands of life is such a gift. I often think of Elijah, when the Lord met him with food and rest before anything else, and I try to receive these days from that place too.”

Jocelyn is a believer, a business owner, bookworm, runner, and mom to three little joys! She writes Clearings, a space for honest reflections on faith, grief, mercy, and learning to see God when the landscape of your life unexpectedly changes.

Cara Ray, Pursuing Otium Sanctum (Holy Leisure)

Centering on God by Prayer Journaling, Praying Aloud, & Journaling Prayers Through Scripture

“For prayer practices, I often find that prayer is work for me. My mind wanders, and I want so badly to commune with God, but I struggle (like so many of us do) to stay focused.

So, I find that the only way to still my mind and get my head and heart in sync is to journal my prayers. This has been hugely beneficial to me in keeping me focused, but also keeping a record of God’s faithfulness.

Another thing I do is pray aloud in the car while I’m driving, or taking a walk. Even the scenery changes help me stay engaged.

And lastly, I also have been journaling prayers through Scripture. So I’ll take a passage like Matthew 11:28-30 about Jesus’ yoke being light and easy, and turn that into a prayer for myself:

“Lord, help me to remember your yoke is easy, and your burden is light.”

Cara Ray is a writer, Bible teacher, and founder of The Writers’ Bloc community and podcast. As a former quiet time checkbox checker, she now writes to help others slow down, savor Scripture, and pursue holy leisure. She is the author of Holy Leisure, a powerful pathway to help you transform your quiet time from duty to delight. Visit her website at cara-ray.com or her Substack, Pursuing Otium Sanctum, to get more resources. If you’re a writer, check out Writer’s Bloc at mywritersbloc.com for community and encouragement to crush your writing goals.

Catina Henley, Walking Faithful

The Power of Simplifying Prayer Practices & Resting in Relationship With God

“My prayer practice starts in the morning before work, but it doesn’t stay there. I talk to God throughout the day, the way you’d talk to a friend. Worship music is often the key that opens my spirit, before or after prayer, softening me enough to actually listen and pour out what’s on my heart.

I used to think prayer needed to sound impressive; the right words, the right structure. I even tried keeping a separate prayer Bible, hoping more structure would deepen things. It just became overwhelming.

Now I keep one journal Bible. I highlight, I write in the margins, I stick notes wherever I need to. Lately I’ve started marking a small red cross next to verses I want to come back to in prayer, so I can find them quickly when I need them.

And I’ve learned prayer was never about the words. God doesn’t need eloquence. He wants relationship; the same as any friend who just wants you to show up and be honest.”

Catina Henley writes Walking Faithful, a Substack for midlife women who feel called but stuck — helping them stop starting over and start stewarding what God has already placed in their hands. She’s a former stay-at-home mom, military veteran, and current cabinet shop finisher who believes confidence is built through consistency, not reinvention. You can find her at catinahenley.substack.com.

Marlene Houk, Opening Doors of Truth

Praying Prayers of the Bible & Focusing on Christ to Strengthen Faith

“I love to pray the prayers of the Bible. Prayers such as:

• Colossians 1:9: “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (NLT)

• Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” (NLT)

• Psalm 116:3: “Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.” (NLT)

These prayers help me focus on the Lord rather than myself and remind me of His power and care for me. They also connect to other verses that strengthen my faith.

Praying the prayers of the Bible give me confidence that I’m praying with a focus on Him.

Even praying the imprecatory prayers in Psalms frames my righteous anger at evil from revenge to seeing God exalted.

Beth Moore’s “Praying God’s Word” got me started.”

Marlene Houk opens doors of truth through her passion to resurrect the stories of women in the Bible. Her upcoming Bible study: Essentials for Emotional Resilience: Unlock Secrets from Six Bible Women for Restoring a Godly Perspective, opens doors of truth about managing our emotions biblically. Find out more at www.MarleneHouk.com.

Sydney Stephens, The Good Portion

Using Transitions to Elevate Prayer Life & Connect More Deeply With God

“Motherhood, especially early motherhood, changed how I approached so many things in life. Quiet time is not so quiet anymore, and Sundays are spent in the church nursery instead of sitting in the service. Prayer is no exception when it comes to the parts of my life that motherhood has changed.

When my second baby was born last summer, I swapped my usual excuses as to why I had less time for prayer for a more practical and motherhood-friendly approach. Though I utter many a desperate and tired mom sort of cry to the Lord throughout the day, I craved true time alone with him. So, I used those dreaded nighttime wakes with baby to be intentional in my prayer life. I created a list of people and specific prayers to bring to the Lord while giving my son his 3 a.m. bottle and trying desperately to keep my eyes open (I used the My Prayer Room app to keep track of prayer requests).

I have spent the past 11 months praying over my children, my husband, my church, and my friends in the early hours of the morning. I’ve lifted countless midnight prayers for the persecuted church, the most recent natural disaster, and my friends facing unimaginable difficulties. Turns out, this year of being postpartum and sleep-deprived was also a year of countless prayers because I decided motherhood should elevate my prayer life, not blot it out.”

Sydney is a mom, a writer, and a follower of Jesus who just wants to bring hope to the world through words. On The Good Portion, she blends the editorial magazine-style articles our moms and grandmothers devoured with the truth of God’s Word the modern woman is ravenous for. It’s like a chat with your elderly neighbor who gives you scripture-based wisdom with a side of baking advice.

Find her at Sydney Stephens | Substack or Instagram.

Riley Shour, Abide in the Fire

The Powerful Prayer Practice of Deep Honesty Before the Lord

“I am reflecting on prayer practices while experiencing an all-time low in my life. Transparently, I’ve been crying so hard this morning that my eyes are puffy and bright red. My nose is stuffy from the emotional pain filling my sinuses. My head is aching from the depth of the emotional release I have been experiencing.

In Matthew 11, John the Baptist had nearly given up all hope, and he asked Jesus a question through his friends since he was imprisoned at the time. He was in such a low, depressive state of mind that he was questioning everything, including the validity of the man he had once known with exuberant assurance was in fact the Son of God!

I’m intrigued by John’s boldness to ask Jesus such a vulnerable and ego-emptying question.

It was honesty in a way I believe you only experience through seasons of exhaustive pain. It is in our breaking where we surrender all sense of self and unintentionally invite the Holy Spirit into the realest parts of our lives.

The prayer practice I’ve been leaning on in the last couple of years is deep, guttural honesty.

If the Holy Spirit dwells within our earthly bodies the way Scripture says he does, then He has felt that gasping for air in between the sobs. He groans from the headache caused by hours of tears. He holds space for us in our cars as we fill Starbucks napkins from our glove boxes with snot and dread.

Jesus didn’t get disappointed by John’s gut-wrenching honesty; He celebrated it — publicly! Announcing to the crowd how “no one was greater” than John was in that very moment of fatigue and doubt.

So get honest and know your puffy eyes are also prayers.

So are the tears, headaches, and snotty, crinkled-up Starbucks napkins.

Jesus is not disappointed — He is celebrating.”

Riley Shour is a writer, podcaster, and former educator who spent over a decade walking alongside students before trading the classroom for the page and the mic. She is the host of Abide in the Fire, a podcast offering simple routines to create peace in hard seasons. You can also read more of her writing on staying rooted in Christ when life gets overwhelming on her Abide in the Fire Substack.

Amber Shay, Hymns of the Heart

Deeper Intimacy & Connection With God Through Constant Conversation

“I can’t give a straight answer on how my prayer life looks. Many times we hear “make time in the morning,” or “read the Bible daily,” and think that’s enough, or that’s how we get closer to God. And while this is true, The Word is The Word of God and helps us get closer to Him, and we should absolutely be praying daily, to me it’s much more than that.

It’s easy to go through the motions and read or rant a prayer you’ve prayed continuously, but having a deeper and closer relationship, for me, consists of constant prayer and conversation.

I find myself talking to God in the grocery store, asking Him what I should get, or if there’s someone He wants me to minister to.

I find myself talking to God as I’m on a hike and see a beautiful butterfly and admiring its beauty and the Creator who crafted it.

I find myself talking to God when I’m in the car and a lovely hymn plays and I sing along.

I don’t believe there’s a “right way” to pray. I believe as long as it comes from your heart, as long as it connects you to God, that is prayer.

Much Love and Many Blessings
Shalom 🙏 "

Find out more Amber, and her powerful testimony, writing, and encouragement in Christ by visiting Amber Shay’s Substack, where she aims to be “Real, Raw and here to Speak Truth, Life and Love.” You can also follow her podcast, Motherly Love, where mothers of faith share their stories.

Discover Amber’s book, where she writes on poetry and her testimony of God’s saving Love, on Amazon here: Hymns of the Heart.

Lectio Divina: A Restoring Prayer Practice for Your Soul

Like other creators here, prayer, for me, can take many forms. It can be in the rare, quiet moments when God shows His glory on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. It can be in the restless ache when my heart just won’t sit still. It can be in the slow reframing of fear into a pathway to get closer to God.

And one of the most powerful ways I’ve also experienced prayer is the practice of Lectio Divina. I was introduced to this practice by a sweet, beautiful friend whose heart yearns for everyone to know the tenderness and kindness of the Lord. The practice itself is simple, yet it can yield deep intimacy with the Lord. It’s an ancient practice originally done by monks, and involves:

• Reading a passage of Scripture slowly several times

• Meditating on the passage and how it could apply to your life

• Responding to the passage by opening your heart, listening to an invitation from the Lord

• Contemplating the new insight or invitation - could also involve taking an action step based on the above

I want to recognize that some view Lectio Divina is a controversial practice. I am not advocating Lectio Divina as a replacement for studying Scripture. I believe God’s desire and design is for us to study the Bible and understand it in its entirety and context:

• In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NLT

• “Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” Luke 11:28 NLT

• “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” Romans 15:4 NLT

• “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT

• “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” Mathew 7:24 NLT

• “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119: 105 NLT

• “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews 12:13 NLT

I also believe Lectio Divina can be a powerful prayer practice to help slow us down and bring us back to communion with God in a world filled with constant busyness, stress, loss, trauma, and overwhelm.

Lectio Divina is a practice that has helped calm my heart, lead me from the constant busyness of my mind to focus on Christ, and rest on His powerful presence. The idea of the Lord bending down to listen to us, as referenced in Psalm 116:1-5, has been a transformational piece of Scripture for me:

“I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!
Death wrapped its ropes around me;
the terrors of the grave overtook me.
I saw only trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Please, Lord, save me!
How kind the Lord is! How good he is!
So merciful, this God of ours!”
Psalm 116:1-5 NLT

Click the link below to join me in a short Lectio Divina prayer practice to refresh your soul.

I pray that these beautiful reflections and prayer practices from other content creators inspire, encourage, and help you draw closer to God.

Love,
Amy

More Resources and further reading:

• Summer Joy Gross - Lectio Divina

• The Upper Room - Lectio Divina

• Psalm 116

• Psalm 116 Commentary

• On the Beach With Jesus - 5 Reflections On Prayer + Journal Prompts

  Thanks for reading On the Beach With Jesus! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Do not fear. Do not be afraid.

Out of all the things God says in His Word, is there anything that feels like a more impossible task?

A thousand “what ifs” can chorus through my mind at any time.

Fear is a shadow that follows humanity around every day…so many levels and layers of fear. The deep, prevailing fear of something happening to people we love. The fear of serious health issues in our lives or those we care about. Fear over job loss, moves, and transitions in our lives.

Fear of others’ responses or reactions…of judgment, criticism, rejection, abandonment. Fear of loneliness, pain, death, conflict, change…the list could go on.

Looking at Some Roots of Fear

Our different fears and levels of fear can be impacted by so many things. Our attachment styles, our childhoods, our past experiences, trauma, and so much more. It’s also more than just mental and emotional — we feel the fear in our bodies too. It hijacks us mentally and physically…the rapid heartbeat, the shallow breath, the tension and tightness we carry…

It can show up differently for each of us, but one thing is certain: fear is no small thing.

Psychology suggests that at the root of so many of our various fears as human beings are two things:

• The unknown

• Lack of control

Often, circumstances surrounding our fear are filled with both — the unknowns and the things largely out of our control. We don’t know what will happen in the future, and even if we can do our best to make good choices for our futures, we can’t really control it all. We don’t know how someone will respond to us — and we can’t control their responses, either.

From the fear of death or injury to the fear of a person’s reaction or response, there are unknowns and a lack of control in almost every element of fear we can imagine.

Fear and Connection With God

But what do we do when the idea of just willing away fear or telling ourselves not to be afraid doesn’t seem to work? When it keeps coming back up in different forms and over different things? When it comes out in our bodies, no matter how many times we’ve tried to mentally ward off the fear?

What if we could reframe fear as a pathway for intimacy with God?

Instead of working in our own spirits to overcome the fears we have, what if we looked at fear as a new prayer pathway?

What if we stopped looking at fear as something we have to push ourselves to overcome, and instead as an invitation to rest in our Heavenly Father?

Psychologists say fear is a natural human response, a way for our bodies and minds to try to protect ourselves.

What if, in that fear, God is whispering for us to come to Him for that protection?

What if, instead of focusing on pushing away the fear, we:

Come close to God.
Acknowledge that we can’t control everything in our lives.
Recognize we can’t know everything.

New Ways to Phrase ‘Don’t Be Afraid’

In the popular verses on fear from the book of Isaiah below, these words are directed at the Israelites, whose cities had been destroyed and were living under foreign oppression:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isaiah 41: 10 NLT

The Israelites’ situation had come about from their own choices, and they may have felt lost. They had legitimate reasons to feel afraid. They may have felt abandoned, rejected, afraid of what their future held. And they were certainly not in control of everything in their lives while living under oppression.

Yet God reminded them that He still loved them, that He longed for connection and relationship with them, and that He wanted so much goodness for them.

If we replace ‘don’t be afraid’ with a different phrase, what might happen?

Let go of trying to control everything, “for I am with you.”

It’s okay that you don’t know the future, “for I am with you.”

Find rest and relationship with Me, “for I am with you.”

A New Invitation & Pathway to Prayer: From Fear to Intimacy With God

Let’s look at these verses again:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isaiah 41: 10 NLT

When “don’t be afraid” feels impossible…

“I am with you” invites us to rest in God’s presence.

“I will strengthen you and help you” invites us to accept the reality that we are not in control.

“I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” invites us to recognize that we don’t know everything… but we do know that God has already won the eternal battle.

Maybe instead of fear robbing us of connection with God, we can reframe it as a way to lean into Him.

We can let it be a unique pathway to prayer where we can find rest and protection in Him

This new pathway, where the beginnings of fear segue into intimacy with God —instead of debilitation, isolation, or harm to ourselves or others — will likely look different for each of us.

But it involves a deeper look at ourselves.
It means a deeper look at who God is.
It will take listening more deeply to God through His Word.

Stepping Into Holy Spirit Power

When we feel fear and we decide to step into God’s presence, acknowledge our lack of control, and accept we don’t know what we don’t know — this isn’t powerlessness. This is empowerment through the Holy Spirit.

Fear not =

1. Draw close to God.

2. Stop trying to control.

3. Accept that we don’t know everything.

4. Rest in His presence and protection.

When I’m afraid, I want to see God with an outstretched hand. I want to hear him saying, ‘Come to Me.’

Maybe, when we see the phrase ‘do not fear,’ He’s gently telling His sons and daughters that we can stop trying to control what we can’t control. We can stop wearing ourselves out from trying to manage what we’re not responsible for.

We don’t know everything, see everything, or understand everything — but He does. And He loves us. He has a place for us with Him. We can rest in His presence. He will protect us in ways we may never understand. He is here with us now, and always. And He has paved the way for us to be with Him forever.

Forcing the concept ‘don’t be afraid’ has felt impossible in the past.

But can we accept God’s invitation to come close?

Can we admit we can’t control everything?

Can we accept that we don’t know the future?

Can we rest in the presence and protection of the One who created us and holds our hearts so carefully and tenderly?

Maybe today, that’s exactly the pathway to deeper prayer and intimacy with God we can embrace.

Love and Blessings,

Amy

Stay Anchored

Questions for Reflection and Journaling

Take a few moments to pray and invite Jesus into the process with you as you explore.

1. Write out the different specific things or areas in your life that cause fear. When you consider these things, where are they rooted? Is lack of control or the unknown underneath? How might they look different if you acknowledged the unknowns or lack of control?

2. If it feels too hard to say you are not afraid, can you reframe with the Lord to accept knowing you can’t control or know everything about the thing(s) you’re afraid of? Does that feel different in your body and spirit?

3. Rather than just pushing yourself to overcome feelings of fear, how might it be different if you replaced the idea of ‘do not fear’ with the invitation from God to ‘Come to Me”?

   For Further Reading: Isaiah 40

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Read Next: Prayer Is…5 Reflections on Prayer + Guided Prayer Practice and Journal Prompts

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Article References:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-neuroscience-perspective/201910/the-neurobiology-fear

https://walkingwithpurpose.com/do-not-fear-really-isaiah-4110/

https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-isaiah/

https://bibleproject.com/articles/what-does-isaiah-4110-do-not-fear-i-am-you-mean/

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-fear-2671696

It’s interesting that visual depictions of prayer are so often peaceful.

Because reality can be a little different.

As I’m reflecting on prayer, heart posture, and God’s heart and presence this month, I’m realizing that while the inherent nature of prayer is simple, the actual practice is filled with the intricate nuances of our souls.

Because we are each so unique, our prayers and prayer practices can look very different. And while God is the ultimate provider of peace, the process of entering into prayer with our Holy God is intertwined with the complete range of experiences and feelings that make up the tapestry of our beings and lives.

And at times, for me — prayer can feel anything but peaceful.

Sometimes there’s a wrestling. Sometimes there’s a restlessness. Sometimes there’s a scraping away as I ask the Lord to cleanse the unforgiveness, bitterness, and ugliness of my sinful heart.

If I’m honest, prayer at times can feel like a storm. A flash of lightning. A gust of wind. A sudden downpour.

Bringing our full selves into prayer might mean we’re coming to the Lord with a deep (even unnameable) ache…

A sense of desperation…

Fear that rises up as we struggle to release things to God….

Overwhelm…

Internal messages that shout at us as we try to quiet our hearts….

Physical exhaustion…

Questions that whisper …

Is my prayer enough? Am I enough? Can I trust God with this? Even for the most faithful…. the barely-there wondering that creeps in… IS God listening? Does He hear me?

Sometimes it might feel like we are walking through the fog — yet God’s righteous, loving hand is holding ours. (Isaiah 41:10)

At the end of a prayer, we might not have an answer to the thing that’s taking up so much space in our hearts. We might not have clarity on the decision that seems to hold the most weight at the moment.

Sometimes, even in our praise, we might feel far from God. Our circumstances might not change. Our struggles might still be there when we open our eyes.

But we’re being held by a God whose fierce love isn’t going to let us go.

God loves us when little broken pieces of prayer escape from our hearts throughout the day. He loves us when we take the time to settle and humble ourselves before Him. He loves us when we pour out our anger and frustration and confusion to Him. He loves us our prayers are a trail of questions that never seem to stop.

He loves us when we know and see that we are His truly Beloved, His precious children. And he loves us when we question if He hears us at all.

He loves us when we see the beauty in all He’s created. He loves us when we miss it — and when we mess up. Again and again and again.

God doesn’t call us to pray to check off a box or get something right. He calls us to pray because above all else, His heart longs for a real relationship with us.

Our Creator longs to be with us in all the messy moments of this life. And while He still loves us in our sin and disobedience, He knows that when we follow Him and try to reflect Him, it’s for our good.

Is prayer a synonym for peace? I’m not sure that the process or practice of prayer actually equates to peace itself. But it connects us intimately with the One who can provide it — in a way that we’ll never understand in our humanity.

God promises that we can have true peace in Him:

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John16:33 NLT

As we sit in the unanswered questions, the lack of clarity, the wrestling of our hearts, and the constant process of surrendering the broken pieces of humanity, something happens.

It’s not the storm anymore.

It’s a gentle rain. A refreshing mist. A cooling breeze. A hint of sun that peeks out and shines on our face. The God of the universe gives the type of peace that surpasses all understanding. (Phillippians 4:7)

God is the source of all peace, and in His deep love, one that He gives it as a gift to His beloved children:

“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27

It’s the type of peace that doesn’t rest in answers, or circumstances, or human relationships, or things. It’s the peace of God Himself.

He is Yahweh-Shalom. (Judges 6:24)

Stay Anchored

Reflection Questions on Prayer

1. What are your biggest challenges when it comes to prayer? Reflect and journal.

2. How might God be calling you to view prayer differently today, in light of His love?

3. God longs to provide us rest and peace. What is one way you might you stop striving when it comes to prayer and instead use it as a practice to find rest for your soul?

For Further Reading: Judges 6; John 14; John 16

Read Next: 5 Reflections on Prayer + Guided Prayer Practice and Journal Prompts

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When I think about prayer, so much comes to mind. A single breath. Tears. Laughter. Silence. Nature. Stillness. Friends. Family. The ache of tragedy across the globe. At times, restlessness. Often, wonder.

But most of all — connection. At its heart, prayer is about relationship.

It’s about seeking God and being with Him.

It’s noticing and being in His presence.

It’s sharing our hearts and thoughts with Him in an intimate, authentic way.

It’s resting in Him and knowing His love in the deepest places inside of us.

In this season, my prayer life blends intentional alone time with God, untidy thoughts and feelings falling out of my heart throughout the day, and beautiful time spent praying with others. I sit in awe of the generosity of a God who has blessed me with incredible people in my life to pray with. Their prayers encourage, inspire, and help keep me centered in Christ. There’s power in the connectedness of prayer.

There’s a flow of prayer throughout my day — and I’m also working on the spiritual discipline that I may spend the rest of my days trying to perfect… quieting my heart before the Lord. Though many things have shifted for me over the past few years, if I’m honest, getting my heart to sit still is still a struggle at times.

In fact, sometimes my prayers seem to come more easily as I’m walking, driving, or doing the most mundane things. But sometimes when I’m still and focusing on putting my heart before the Lord, that’s where things start to come out that can’t be put in neat boxes.

It’s when the messy emotions, the cascade of thoughts, and the longings of my heart start to emerge in a way I can’t ignore — but I can pour them out to God.

What comes up for you when you think about prayer? Do you have more questions than answers? Does your prayer life need to shift in this season?

As we dive into prayer this week, let’s look at a few things from the Bible…

1. Prayer Is Described in the Bible More Than It Is Defined

Biblical scholars don’t suggest that there is a single definition of prayer or one that is based on a single verse or piece of Scripture. However, there are 650 prayers mentioned in the Bible, and we can find a multitude of references that describe prayer and the different aspects of it.

We do see, though, that at the heart of prayer is connection and communication — it’s about the relationship: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4: 6 NLT Prayer is connection, conversation, and communion with our holy, loving God.

In Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Tim Keller writes: “What is prayer, then, in the fullest sense? Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.” Prayer is about much more than words, patterns, or actions. It’s simple but also complex; always, at its heart, is a relationship with God.

Instead of giving us a one-size-fits-all definition, God invites us into the joy and adventure of seeing the different nuances of prayer in Scripture. He invites us to see the people and circumstances — the struggles, the reflection of His love, and His incredible power.

Instead of giving us one singular definition of prayer, God extends an invitation into understanding, connection, and relationship. He invites us to experience it.

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2. Prayer Is Sincere

One of the core references for prayer is Mathew 6:5-13, where Jesus gives the disciples teaching on prayer. He tells them that prayer should be sincere and genuine: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.” (Mathew 6:5 NLT).

Prayer is connecting with God in a real, genuine way. He made us. He knows us. He loves us. We can come to Him with every raw and real thought and emotion we have.

3. Prayer Is Meaningful

Scripture also says that prayer should be meaningful: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.” Repeating words without meaning doesn’t equate to prayer. When our heart is behind our words, and we’re seeking to connect with God, that is prayer.

TLDR; Scroll down to the end for a short audio prayer practice and two free PDFs! Guided prayer practice from Mathew 6:9-13 and 8 Journal Prompts on Prayer.

4. Prayer Is God’s Presence and Being Present With God

Prayer is also about God’s deep, abiding presence in our lives and being present with Him. God is always with us, but we might not always notice or recognize His presence.

I love the depth and beauty with which Summer Joy Gross approaches prayer. She focuses on attachment, presence, and God as Emmanuel — God With Us. Her work on prayer includes contemplation, reflection, and the power of Scripture — “the Word becomes a portal for prayer.”

Spending time in God’s Word can be one of the most powerful ways we can engage in prayer. It might mean praying specific Scriptures, slowing down and repeating a verse or phrase with intention, soaking in what the message is and reflecting on it with the Lord…. It can take so many different forms.

5. Prayer Is In the Rhythm of Our Lives

God invites us into the beauty of connection with Him as part of our continual rhythm of daily life. He invites us into prayer with Him and in community with others. Ephesians 16:8 says: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” We can pray in every circumstance and about everything in life. And the God who created the universe hears us.

Common Question: Who should we address our prayers to? Jesus’s teaching in Mathew 6:9 exemplifies prayer addressed to “Our Father in heaven.” Yet God is also a Triune God. Though tradition, denomination, and different theologies might have slightly different takes on how to address our prayers, the Bible is clear that God is the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. There are examples in Scripture of prayers to Jesus and Holy Spirit as well as the more typical pattern of praying to God the Father.

Stay Anchored

At its heart, prayer is simple. God longs to be in relationship with us, to love us and be present in our lives. Our deepest longing as human beings is also to be in relationship with God.

There are also so many beautiful layers of prayer to explore and ways we can pray and experience God’s presence.

May we never stop seeking the beauty and wonder of being with our Heavenly Father.

Where do you feel called to explore deeper prayer or make a shift in your prayer life? I have two free resources below to help you — some reflective journal prompts about prayer and a simple prayer practice surrounding Mathew 6:9-13 for a fresh way to look at prayer today.

Free downloadable resources to go with this post on prayer:

1. Guided Prayer Practice

Listen to the audio alone or use it with the PDF for the prayer practice below.

Prayer Practice PDF: Mathew 6:9-13

2. Journal Prompts

8 Journal Prompts on Prayer PDF

Read Next: The Popcorn Popper

Article References:

​​https://www.athirstforgod.com/the-presence-project/

https://faithgateway.com/blogs/christian-books/what-does-the-bible-actually-say-about-prayer

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/4320623-what-is-prayer-then-in-the-fullest-sense-prayer-is

https://newspring.cc/articles/do-you-pray-to-the-father-son-or-holy-spirit

https://www.gotquestions.org/pray-Father-Son-Spirit.html

When not-quite-two-year-old CG lifts up her tiny arms, there’s no mistaking it: she wants to be picked and held. And if it’s humanly possible, the people who love her (like her Nini — me) will put aside whatever is in front of them, pick her up, and wrap her in their arms.

I wonder why, so often, I don’t lift up my arms like CG when it comes to our Heavenly Father.

I can turn my back, run away, throw a tantrum, or reach somewhere else that’s only going to end up hurting me in the end. And so many times, I don’t even realize what I’m doing in the moment that I’m doing it. Maybe I justify an ugly heart posture, push down my feelings, or even try harder — as if somehow that will make up for it.

Except when I get to end myself. Like a toddler who exhausts herself with her cries, I finally lift my tear-stained face to my Heavenly Father and ask him to pick me up.

What stills my heart is that even if — and when — I didn’t… in the years and moments that I kept my tear-stained face turned away, when I wasn’t looking to Him, He was still there. He was whispering His love, pursuing me.

He’s there with a love that has no limits.

In the book of John, we not only see a man desperate for healing, but a vivid picture of God’s heart:

“Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches^. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!...”
John 5: 1-9 NLT

The man was looking in the wrong place. He was looking at a pool he could never get to, people who were always ahead of him, and even at his own inability.

Instead, he needed to look to Jesus.

Yet even when the man was looking in all the wrong places, Jesus saw him. He came after him in the crowd to heal him.

When looking in the wrong places and trying harder doesn’t work, God is there with an invitation to try differently. To look to Him.

God’s heart is for us. Scripture is full of examples that call us not to keep trying harder or in our own strength, but to rest in Him and try differently. To look at things differently. To make decisions differently. To see ourselves and others differently in light of His love.

When all our thoughts keep circling back to what pulls us down, God invites us to look up and see an expanse of sky that’s impossibly beautiful.

When fear and anxiety threaten to keep us tied up in knots, God invites us to step into the safety of knowing He’s our Defender and Protector.

When anger and bitterness put a chokehold on our souls, God invites us to release them so we can breathe.

When the harm from others’ choices or our own insecurity tries to rip our hearts to shreds, God invites us to know a love deeper than anything we can imagine.

Stepping into a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean trying harder. It means we can lean into the invitation to try differently. To stop looking to what will never heal or sustain us, and instead look to the One who can.

He is a God who can redeem, restore, and make things new.

He is Jehovah Rapha.*

Stay Anchored

Where are you looking in the wrong places for what you need today? What might shift if you look to God instead?

How is God inviting you to try something differently today?

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*Exodus 15:26

For further reading: John 5

Read Next: When the Heart Won’t Sit Still

I have struggled with decision-making for as long as I can remember. It’s still a work in progress, but as I’ve been learning to walk in the gentleness and love of our Heavenly Father, it’s changing.

I still catch muself far too often on my own agenda, or trying to work through things on my own. I need to keep surrendering where I’m desperate for clarity. But despite the stubborn hamster-wheeling of my mind, God keeps breaking through.

It’s the loving whisper when Jesus reminds me of the cross. He’s bridged the gap so we can be in a relationship with our Holy God.

It’s the deeply humbling knowledge that the God of the universe delights in us. And there’s nothing we can do to make Him love us more.

It’s in the almost incomprehensible idea that a God with all power would sit with me and beckon us into His arms.

He’s with us now, in this very moment.

As I consider my struggle with decision-making, I realize a few things that have begun helping me as I walk with Jesus….

1. Listen to Your Body

Learning more about the body and the nervous system can be integral to making good decisions with Jesus. God made our bodies — unique and wonderful and intricately connected. We have a lived experience that involves all parts of us.

Our bodies aren’t entities that are completely separated from our hearts, minds, and spirits. I’ve learned valuable practices involving my body to facilitate decision making, like:

• Noticing where I’m carrying tension in my body

• Honoring my body and what it’s carried

• Allowing my nervous system time to calm down after it’s been activated

When it comes to decision-making, I’ve learned that our bodies can give invaluable cues as to what might be the right option in a given situation.

2. Invite the Holy Spirit In

It’s no surprise that in our hurry-up culture, we can make decisions quickly. Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum (that I often find myself in) — overthinking. Being thoughtful and intentional, taking time for important decisions, is good. And sometimes we’re even meant to wait.

Yet too often the freight train of my mind will keep steaming ahead with thoughts, scenarios, and “what ifs” that keep me stuck in indecision. Inviting the Holy Spirit in can help slow that train, bringing peace and wisdom.

Instead of wrestling through the weight of indecision on my own, I have a Friend, Comforter, and Guide. Scripture says, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Romans 8:26 NLT

We might not always have total clarity, but the Holy Spirit can be our strength when we feel weak or indecisive. Through the Holy Spirit, we take a small step, walk through a waiting season, or gain the help we need to sort through bigger decisions.

3. Crack the Door to Creative Solutions

I’m awestruck by the words in Genesis as I imagine the beginnings of creation: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 NLT). We need to only look around at this massive planet for a second and recognize the infinite creativity of our Heavenly Father. He is the author of infinite knowledge and creative power.

Instead of thinking that every decision has to look a certain way, walking the path of decision-making in life with God can help us tap into our creativity and expand our idea banks to come up with new options.

4. Talk Through Decisions With Someone Who Reflects Jesus’ Heart

The power of a conversation with someone we trust, and who can reflect the love and character of Jesus, is priceless. So often, these individuals can help show us things about God and ourselves that make us think — or pose questions that reveal something we hadn’t thought of.

There might be emotions, thoughts, or beliefs underlying our decisions that we may not even see ourselves. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and a good conversation with a safe and wise person, these things might come to light. It can reveal what’s on our hearts that might really be underneath our difficulty in making a certain decision.

We’re not meant to walk through life or decision-making alone. Jesus is longing to show us His love as we walk through the process with Him.

I hope this post encourages and blesses you! For a more in-depth guide and reflective question prompts to help you work through different areas of decision-making, subscribe to On the Beach With Jesus.

“See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.”
Isaiah 49:16 NLT

For a while, I was at war with my notebooks. I was on a quest to find just the right system to organize my thoughts, ideas, and things I was learning. And even though I love organization, it doesn’t come naturally to me. In fact, it always seems a little bit elusive.

I shouldn’t be surprised – my handwriting is an awkward mix of print and cursive. My thoughts can spill out like a messy bucket of paint or feel like splintery lines of poetry or trail off like feathery wisps of clouds. Emotions can throw off my concentration like a thick fog or a blinding light. Can you relate?

The notebook war might sound insignificant, but it pointed to something bigger. I think somewhere deep inside, I was feeling that if I could just manage all my thoughts, if I could organize the things I was learning from groups, messages, speakers, studies, and friends with more wisdom and knowledge than I had — then…somehow, something would unlock. An answer, a key, a magic formula for what my heart was struggling with.

But when I reflected on things I’d learned over the past few years, what I remembered most wasn’t the notes.

It was the heart behind them.

It was the sincerity of a friend’s words and prayers as we studied the book of John together.

It was in hearing quiet questions asked — when people didn’t just ask to ask, but really wanted to hear your answer.

It was in conversations with my teen and adult children where they held love and honesty in careful balance.

It was in the way a group leader mama-beared a roomful of ladies while enduring her own hardships.

I read Aundi Kolber’s book Try Softer and later saw her speak in person. The book? Incredible. Yet one of the things I remember most vividly was the genuine look on her face as she shared what trying softer really meant for her. The way her heart so clearly reflected the desire for wholeness and healing for others.

I don’t have a record of all the words a friend said to me when I entered into one of the darkest seasons of my life. But I know she echoed God’s heart when she kept reminding me to speak and seek truth.

Learning and growth matter. Order and organization can facilitate our growth and learning, too.

But what I remember most from different situations is about more than the concepts, however good, that I could pin down in a notebook. It’s about what it really looks like to reflect back to others the heart of something good and beautiful and real.

Being genuine isn’t something easily faked.

Nurturing someone’s spirit can’t be done without real care.

Holding space for someone else’s pain or grief or joy isn’t something we can multitask.

Cultivating relationships isn’t something we can delegate.

It has to be real.

That brings us back to the heart of God. Because all the beautiful ways that people can mirror His character are a dim reflection compared to the depth and width and infinite power of the way He loves us.

Scripture says in Isaiah 49:16 (NLT): “I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.” The exiled Israelites were in discouragement and despair, and God’s response was to remind them that He did not, and would not, ever forget them. Like the Israelites, as God’s children, we are always on His mind.*

Even when it feels like the world is too much, or that He doesn’t see or has forgotten us, He is there. He wants to give us mercy, healing, wisdom, comfort, guidance, peace, revelation, and provision.

We all fall short.
Yet God made a way for us to have abundant life and live in eternity through Jesus.
He’s longing to be in real relationship with us.

More than the words on a notebook, we can shift from what we can accomplish and control and look to the Lord. We can look at the words engraved on our Father’s hands.

They are our names.

That’s the reflection of His heart.

For further reading: Isaiah 49

Overview of Isaiah from the Bible Project: Part 1 & Part 2

*For reference: Isaiah 49:16 Commentaries on BibleHub.com

Read Next: An Ordinary Tuesday

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens.

Psalm 8:1 ESV

I’m sitting in the sun on a Tuesday afternoon. I feel lonely. Sharp needles of grief hit me in rhythm with the afternoon breeze. Grief from choices, circumstances, and things that can’t be changed. These are things that I would like to bury. And not to say I haven’t tried — yet they resurface when I least expect.

I could have filled this afternoon with a thousand different things to push away the feelings. But I felt the need to sit and be still for a moment. To seek the presence of God and let the quiet of the afternoon work on my heart.

My unsettled soul and swirling thoughts are hard to untangle. I need to invite God into this moment.

I visualize another cup of coffee next to mine. I whisper, ‘Jesus will you join me?’

In the unusual warmth of this ordinary afternoon, He moves my thoughts toward His majesty. I’m in awe of the impossible number of colors in the landscape of the universe. The intricacy of every living thing He has ever created. The breath of life He’s given us.

I breathe in the way He’s wrapped our souls so carefully, tenderly, and beautifully in Him.

He doesn’t make mistakes, and there is nothing He doesn’t see. Sin isn’t stronger than His mercy, love, or master plan.

He stills my heart, and I can do nothing in this moment except revel in His goodness and lift my head towards the expanse of sky He reigns over.

Stay Anchored

• What might help give you the courage today to invite Jesus into your feelings of loneliness or grief?

• How has Jesus shown mercy in those hard places? How might that help you live more compassionately towards yourself and others?

Prayer Pause

Father God,

My words, even my highest praise, pale in comparison to your majesty. Your presence is a gift. Please let me never take for granted all you’ve done and can do. Just as you can calm a raging sea or the strongest wind, you can calm our hearts.

Thank you for the immeasurable ways you bring your goodness and beauty into my life. Let it fill me so I can walk forward in whatever way you’ve called me to bring honor and glory to you.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

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“But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Mathew 28:32 NLT

So often we live in the pauses — and they always carry weight. They can be full of expectation or heavy with uncertainty. Often, they hold both.

These pauses, these temporary stops, are happening continuously in our lives. We see them in the times when we’re not sure how to respond. We can feel them in the hesitations before we take the next step or in the lulls before a new idea starts to take shape. They sit in the unanswered questions of our hearts.

It might be a moment.

It might be an hour.

It might be three days.

After the last supper, Jesus said to the disciples:

“But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Mathew 28:32 NLT

Jesus gave the disciples His promise that He would return and meet them. Yet in the moments surrounding Jesus’ death, I can only imagine the overwhelm they might have felt. The unanswered questions mixed with their grief. The cacophony of events as their world changed.

The world went dark.

The Earth shook.

The Savior was placed in a tomb.

God could have made the resurrection happen immediately. But He didn’t. There was a pause. One that may have felt frightening and chaotic. When the angels appeared, their first words were “Don’t be afraid!”

Although this three-day pause wasn’t easy, it carried weight in a way nothing else could. If Jesus rose after three days, His death couldn’t be disputed.

And if His death was real, so was His power to defeat it.

The space between the days when Jesus died and rose again was heavy. Yet it was necessary, and ultimately revealed the power of a God who would give everything to save us.

Sometimes we choose to pause, and sometimes it’s out of our control. Yet we can live in these spaces with the certainty that we are loved by a God who sees everything. He sees all of our dreams, all of our fears, and all of our questions.

In the pause, we can reflect, listen, and ask God to prepare our hearts for whatever is coming next.

We can rest in the pause with hope. Because His power comes after the pause.

For reference:

1. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.” Mathew 28:5 NLT

2. What Was the Significance of Jesus Being Dead Three Days? GotQuestions.org

Stay Anchored

Where is the pause (or pauses) in your life right now? Name them and share your feelings about them with God.

What might God be doing in this pause that you might not see? What growth, redemption, or hope might be on the other side?

For further reading: Mathew 28

Read next: Unfiltered: 5 Ways to Live Authentically in Christ

There’s a girl inside me
who is so tired
from fighting against
the layers
that keep her wrapped up
in fear

in the belief
that she is nothing
in the shame
of taking up space in this world

She’s tired
from always trying
to make herself
_{smaller
and
smaller}

How can it feel
so hard
to breathe?

Wrapped up too tight
to break free

She waits.
She walks.
She cries out.
She listens.

In the whisper of the wind,
She hears God…

‘I’ve already carried the weight.
I’ve created the space for you.
Let me wrap you in my love instead.

Today,
You can breathe again.’

_______

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

1 Peter 2:24 NIV

"Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear."
Isaiah 65:24 NIV

When my kids would crawl into my lap when they were little, I felt like it was the closest thing to heaven I’ll ever experience on this Earth. Sometimes they would wrap their tiny arms around my neck, or lay their heads on my shoulder.

My youngest is now a 16-year-old young man (though with the same sweetness in his eyes as when he was little). When he was a toddler and would sit in my lap, he would even reach up and grab the bottom of my ears for comfort.

I was holding on to him, and he was holding on to me.

There was nothing that made my heart fuller than those moments with my babies.

For those brief minutes (sometimes seconds? I had four, after all), there was nothing to fix. Nothing taking my heart away from the precious, sacred human being I was holding on to. A moment of rest. A moment of comfort. I didn’t have any expectations of them.

There was nothing they could do to disappoint me. And nothing they could do to make me love them any more than I did in that moment.

How often I forget that that’s how God views us — His precious children, who He just wants to hold, to be with, to love.

To listen to.

When my little son would softly grab hold of my ear lobes, it never dawned on me how much we need someone to listen to us. To listen to our deepest needs. To lean in to the cracking sound of our heartaches. To hear the fragile whispers from our souls as we try to make sense of this life.

Sometimes I listened to the rise and fall of my children’s breath as they slept when they were little. But I didn’t always listen to or attune to what they needed as they grew. That will remain one of my deepest regrets – and also hits me with an even deeper level of gratitude that we have a God who listens and desires to connect with us on every level.

The God of the universe is always listening with love.

He can sit with us in hushed silence, waiting to hear what we have to say — He wants us to call on him with the pain, the joy. To pour out the layers of uncertainty that can try to make their home in our hearts.

He hears the unsaid prayers, the silent heart cries, the soul words that never make a sound.

His ears hear it all.

Stay Anchored

• What is the prayer of your heart that you need God to hear today? Spend some time with Him, silently offering it up, journaling it, or praying it out loud.

• Notice the ways He might be responding through His word and your communion with Him.

For further reading: Isaiah 65

Does it feel hard to just sit with the Lord sometimes? Read When the Heart Won't Sit Still next.

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When our emotions are overwhelmed, our window of tolerance has reached its limit, or we’re faced with unexpected triggers, it can leave us reeling. Yet life doesn’t stop.

While taking time to work through emotions and process the parts of our stories that need attention can be important to our mental health, we can’t always do that in the moment.

Sometimes the practices below go out my metaphorical window, and I react in ways that hurt the people I love the most. Yet as I continue to work toward emotional health and wholeness in Jesus, I'm learning and trying to use simple, practical tools like the following:

1. Use Supportive Touch to Reduce Stress

The idea of supportive touch is rooted in science — a recent study in Stress Health suggests it can reduce stress, fatigue, and loneliness. In moments of high stress or anxiety, a supportive gesture like placing your hand over your heart or crossing your arms and gently squeezing your shoulders may help calm you.

You can pair this with a phrase such as:

• God is with me.

• God is for me.

• God is my Protector

Or, any other phrase or verse you find helps you to focus on Christ and calm your soul.

2. Listen to Grounding Music

If there are certain songs that help you recenter on Christ, create a grounding playlist so they are easily accessible to listen to for a few moments when needed. This might be instrumental music, a favorite worship song, or any music that reminds you of God’s love and provision.

You Already Like Me by Citizens is one of my go-tos, as well as instrumental worship music by Marcelo Cacilias.

3. Grab a Truth Verse

When we’re feeling overwhelmed, it might be hard to think clearly or remember different verses. Seek out a specific truth verse from Scripture that is meaningful to you that you can turn to.

You can memorize it, put it on a small card, on your phone background, or in some other way that’s easily accessible in the moment. This can be a short verse that speaks to you and what you need most in moments when you’re struggling.

For example, this verse from the Psalms about God as our Hiding Place reminds me God is always there to shelter, protect, and envelope me with His love:

“For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory.”
Psalms 32:7 NLT

4. Use a Tactile Object for Sensory Grounding

Place small tactile objects on your nightstand, in your pocket, in your purse, or even on your person (such as jewelry). It can be especially helpful to reorient you to the present if these have a specific texture or obvious edges. A few things I use are: shells from the beach, a small textured rock that symbolizes Jesus’ resurrection, and a bar necklace that says “Chosen” on it.

You might pair this exercise with a simple breath prayer, for example:
Breathe in: Lord Jesus Christ
Breathe out: You are with me.

5. Visualize Jesus in a Soothing Posture Toward You

Visualizing Jesus in a comforting posture toward you might also be something you try in moments of high stress or emotional overwhelm. Imagine Jesus in a place in the room and in a stance that feels comfortable to you. Maybe He’s across from you, maybe He’s next to you.

How might he be speaking to you, looking at you, or even hugging you? He is the God of all comfort. Imagine how He might comfort you in this challenging moment.

Staying Healthy & Strong

Having a few tools in our emotional regulation arsenal and inviting Jesus into those hard moments can often help. Yet please keep in mind that these momentary tools aren’t substitutes for getting support from a mental health professional when needed.

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“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:13-15 NIV

There isn’t much that isn’t infinitely better when you do it with a friend.

Laughter is sweeter.

Exercising feels like fun.

The little things that are grating on us become more bearable.

The pain we carry might feel a little less heavy when someone else holds space for it with empathy and compassion. All in all, true friendship is a priceless gift — and a balm for our souls.

Real friendship involves honesty, intimacy, even sacrifice — and Jesus is the ultimate example of this.

He knows us completely. He wants to spend time with us. He wants to soothe all the pain of our souls, from the minor aggravations to the deeper issues we’re wrestling with.

He invites us to share the brokenness of our souls. Alone, that brokenness can threaten to destroy us — and the people we love most.

Yet with him, we can begin to break down what’s underneath our pain and listen to His Holy Spirit inside of us. We can trust Him to be the balm our souls need as we walk through the hardest parts of this life.

A dear friend told me that she never ceased to be overwhelmed by our friendship, the way that God brought us together.

God knows we need real, live human friendships. Yet more than anyone else, we need Jesus.

He’s the Friend who will never leave us or forsake us. He’s the Friend we can trust with everything. He’s the Friend who can take our offendedness, our wrestling, our arguments. He still welcomes us in our anger, bitterness, or confusion. He's waiting even in our questions and chaos.

And His response? It’s always love, compassion, mercy. He longs to provide the comfort and protection we need against this life.

I’m longing to grow deeper in friendship and intimacy with our Lord Jesus. Like so many things when it comes to our relationships, there’s no perfect formula to make it happen. But I’m trusting Him to show me the next step.

It might look like…

• Whispering the frustration I feel in a hard moment to Jesus so I can speak with kindness.

• Making a commitment to spend more time talking to God throughout the day.

• Setting aside consistent time to be with God for the sole purpose of enjoying his friendship.

• Increasing my reciprocity in our relationship — altering the balance from listening less to listening more.

• Meditating on the ways God surprises me with unexpected gifts in this life.

• Writing down the ways God is showing up as my greatest Friend, Defender, and Protector.

• Acknowledging the ways He equips us to live life as our most beautiful selves in His image.

• Handing Jesus the painful pieces I’m carrying — over and over and over again.

• Sitting with Jesus in His Word out of love.

God knows the different ways we’re hurting each day — all the layered, twisty parts. He knows the pain that’s front and center, and what’s buried so deep sometimes we don’t even recognize how it’s showing up in our actions or reactions.

The healing might not be instantaneous. But it can start with the balm of His friendship.

Stay Anchored

Journal Time:

1. What comes up for you when you think of when you think of friendship with Jesus? For many of us, it can feel a little strange. Journal about your feelings surrounding this idea.

2. How might your relationship with Jesus look different if you embraced the friendship aspect?

Take a Step:

Choose one idea from the list above, or come up with your own, that would help you gain more intimacy with Jesus this week.

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Peals of laughter break out in a conference room late at night. A small group of tired women sits around a table, eyes streaming from laughing so hard. Real. Authentic.

A moment of freedom.

When the body senses safety, it can begin to relax. The need to analyze every word and action stops. The fear of how we might be perceived fades.

Our unfiltered selves have a chance to just be.

I can be weird and self-conscious and overthink almost everything — but in the conference room that night, it was okay. I was free to be myself. I could laugh with abandon.

That late-night laughter is a sacred reminder of how God created us, meant to live in joy and without shame. Part of our freedom in Christ comes from knowing that we’re safe, loved, and accepted — and we don’t have to work so hard to be some version of ourselves that’s anything more than what we already are.

Being authentic to ourselves and who we are in Christ can be challenging. Questions, insecurities, impostor syndrome — all these things can overshadow our hearts.

We also have to learn to be balanced, discerning who we can trust and really be ourselves with, because not everyone is emotionally healthy. And we don’t have to be vulnerable to everyone. Living in freedom as God’s children and as our authentic selves means resting in the security of His love and promises, but also using discernment in who we share our stories with — and how much we share.

As we consider all the complexities and messiness of this wild journey with Jesus and living our authentic selves, practical steps can help. Here are five simple practices that are helping me on this journey to live authentically in Christ and keep myself emotionally healthy as well:

1. Remember that the results of your quiet time take time.

Continuing to put God’s Word into our hearts and seeking the Holy Spirit doesn’t always produce the instantaneous results we’d like, but He promises that His Word will accomplish His good purposes:

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT

It takes time, but the more we put God’s Word into our hearts — and spend time sitting in the truth of what He says about who we are — the more we can embrace who we are in Him and live authentically. If you don’t have what you need in the moment, look back — What has God shown you a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, that could help you now?

2. Know you won’t mesh with everyone — and that’s totally okay.

Psalm 139 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, but it never says everyone will love our uniqueness. The way author and podcaster Leslie Vernick puts it — we can’t be everyone’s favorite flavor of ice cream. That doesn’t mean anything is wrong with our unique tendencies, but it’s okay to acknowledge that not everyone is going to love and accept those things the way God does.

3. Get curious about the hearts of others.

When you’re interacting with other people, especially those you don’t know well, try to put aside your concerns about how you’ll be perceived and ask God to replace them with a genuine curiosity.

If you tend to be introverted like I am, this can take some of the pressure off. Asking non-invasive questions can help you see what a person is really like — and you might even connect in an unlikely way.

4. Consider what you’re carrying today.

In her book Strong Like Water, author and therapist Aundi Kolber invites us to consider our ‘container’ and identify what we are holding, mentally, physically, and emotionally. A container can only hold so much before it can’t take any more — and neither can we.

There is so much that can diminish our capacities. What is your body and mind carrying today? Recognize and honor that. You don’t have to be the life of the party, carry on the most captivating conversations, or even be the world’s best listener when you’re carrying too much.

5. Rest in the fact that God’s love isn’t a place to get to — it’s where we already are.

He has us. He’s holding us, equipping us, guiding us. I have struggled in social situations forever, but starting from a place where I can hear the whisper of God’s love makes it a little easier. Zephaniah 3:17 says: “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Can you hear him singing over you today?

What our God delights in is already there. The uniqueness of our souls. The sound of our breath. Our hearts’ desires to connect with others. A longing to create something beautiful in this world. The way our minds and bodies relax when we can take in for a moment the idea that we’re safe in Him.

Learning to live in the freedom of who we are in Christ, in that holy, beautiful space of God’s love and acceptance, is an incredible thing. Resting in that love and learning to take practical steps to stay true to ourselves not only helps us grow in who we are — it can help the love of Christ to flow through us to others.

As I stepped into the cafeteria/auditorium, the unmistakable smell of popcorn hit me. The room was buzzing with energy from the evening’s student stars, and the freshly popped popcorn filling the air added to the festive atmosphere.

The elementary school talent show performances that night were so sweet, with students showcasing their skills and creativity.

Yet there was an unlikely star behind the scenes — the popcorn-popping teacher working in the back of the room.

A lunchroom table served as a makeshift snack stand, surrounded by a crew of tiny students. Some were carefully pouring lemonade or sweet tea into plastic cups. Others were filling bright red-and-white-striped bags with popcorn.

The teacher managing the popcorn stand that night didn’t have the luxury of a large, full-size popcorn machine like a bigger school might have. She was using a small, household-size air popper, continually transferring the popcorn to a large plastic bowl for the students to scoop.

The little popcorn popper produced more than enough; it just took longer than a giant machine.

We don’t always have the perfect tool for the job. Sometimes what we have feels too small, too slow, too inadequate. Yet we have assurance that God always prepares, equips, and provides:

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
2 Peter 1:3 NLT

He calls us to Him. He’s our provider, our sustainer. He gives us what we need to face the struggles, fears, and hurts of this life.

It doesn’t always feel like it in the moment. When the waves of grief keep on crashing. When the wounds of the heart feel like they’ll never heal. When the fear threatens to tear us down and keep us in dark places.

But darkness isn’t God’s way. His way is abundant life:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
John 10:10 NLT

Sometimes it takes a slower pace, a smaller tool, or a little longer to get the results of what God has for us.

This concept isn’t new. In fact, we’re often experts at using the resources we have to help others, even if they’re limited. We make it work. We do whatever it takes to make the situation better or solve the problem when it comes to serving others.

But we might not always do it for ourselves.

So for today, where can you lean into the resources God’s provided to face the challenges and struggles?

• The wise and loving friend who gently checks in on you — call her.

• The nudge you keep getting to take a ten-minute break — take a walk and breathe deeply to calm your body.

• The scripture that’s whispering at the edge of your thoughts — stop and sit with it.

One moment, one breath, one prayer. God promises He will stand with us, protect us, and equip us.

The verse below from the Psalms has been a resource for me recently. As I step into learning what it means to really live in the sweetness of God’s love, I’ve read it again and again. I’ve listened to it. I’ve sat in silence and let it wash over me.

I remember He gave everything to save me.

It’s a profound reminder that God’s heart cherishes us, to the point He bends down to listen:

“I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!”
Psalm 116: 1-2 NLT

He’s listening, Dear Friend. He feels our hurt. He understands our confusion. He’s meeting us when we don’t feel like we have enough to make it work.

And He’s there to remind us that we have enough in Him.

Stay Anchored

Consider what you’re facing today. Where is God already providing a resource — even if it’s small?

This could be anything you can reach for to help you calm your mind and body and stay centered in Christ — a verse, a reminder of His love, a simple practice like breath prayer or Lectio Divina.

Ask God to reveal it to you. Even if it’s something that feels tiny right now, it can lead to abundance in Him.

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