Day 4
Meditation #8: Receive The Gift
Welcome to Day 4 of the 7 Day Challenge
Make sure to read everything below before starting your meditation. Enjoy!
The Power of Prayer
Have you ever said a prayer and questioned whether anyone was listening? Maybe in your past, you have tried the whole prayer thing with little or no success. Perhaps you have been praying for some time for a breakthrough but you are still experiencing the same problems. Or maybe you are a living testimony of an abundance of miracles that have happened in your life as a result of prayer.
Prayer is the single most powerful thing we can be a part of. When we pray, we are asking the creator of the universe, who is the single most powerful thing in existence to act on our behalf. We are surrendering to the fact that we are powerless and can’t do it on our own. This act of surrender and faith is the gateway to accessing the greatest power in existence.
However, it is vital that we understand this prayer thing a little better so that we can make the most out of the single greatest resource we have available to us and use it as it was intented.
The Deliverer
In western culture as well as others around the world, a large number of people pray by stating requests, verbally or non verbally, and waiting for God to “fix” their problems. Although making our intentions (prayers) known is a vital step in the process, there is a large piece of the puzzle that many are still missing and in my experience, is the most important part.
What I have learned in the time I have spent alone with God is that he is waiting for us to develop a relationship with him where we have spent enough time with him to know his voice so we can receive the guidance he is trying to show us with clarity. God loves us and wants us to become the children he created us to be and experience abundance in our lives. But, he also knows that we have to experience life and its struggles in order to evolve into the people he created us to be.
God is all-powerful and could at the snap of a finger make all of our problems go away. However, he also knows that there is a reason why each of us is going through the trials we are facing and knows that we need to make changes in our lives in order to overcome them. If God were to deliver us from our problems every time something came up, we would learn nothing and end up right back in the same situation again and again. As a loving Father, he knows that we must face challenges so that we can learn vital lessons while we are here to avoid continually facing the same challenges. He also knows that out of our trials come our greatest strengths.
Praying vs. Listening
For the most part, any time I have sent out a prayer request to God but took no action myself to solve the problem, nothing at all changed in my life. On the flip side of the coin, when I have jumped back behind the wheel and started blindly steering the ship trying to fix the problem on my own, I typically have ended up in an even tougher situation than if I had done nothing at all.
What I have found, is that God is waiting for us to slow down and sit quietly with him so that he can guide us and show us exactly what to do. When I have taken the time to quiet my mind, let my requests be known (prayer), and opened my heart to receive his guidance, I have always been shown exactly what to do. Sometimes this guidance is not immediate, but if I am diligent in seeking, I get clear answers 10/10 times. Using this divine wisdom, I then faithfully follow what was shown to me and miracles happen.
“God is here to show us the path, not walk it for us”
Answered Prayer
The more time I spend with God to learn who he is at a personal level, the more clear it becomes how much he loves us and is waiting for us to spend time alone with him. God truly does want nothing more than to see us live joyous and peaceful lives full of love and laughter.
When we accept this as absolute truth within our hearts, we understand that God is not conspiring against us and wants nothing more than to see us experience abundance. We also begin to see obstacles as opportunities to grow and get closer to God and to become the best versions of ourselves.
Rather than sending out requests and waiting for God to “fix” us, we can begin to shift our focus to receiving an answer as to how we can solve the problem. We become empowered and as we act in faith on what was shown to us, God begins to move in miraculous and often unexpected ways. We take the first step in faith and God begins to move. An overwhelming peace comes over us that helps us get through even the toughest of life’s challenges. And if we have been diligent in following his direction, we will overcome whatever we may have been facing. This may not happen overnight, but if we follow in faith, God always answers our prayers. Just note that it may not be in the exact way you had imagined…
As we continue to act in faith and trust that God is at work in the background while we follow his lead and do what he asks, and we see our prayers being answered, our faith grows even more. Continue to follow these same steps for every problem you face in your life, and even when you are not facing struggles, and miracles will begin to happen all around you.
Preparing For The Meditation
The main thing in preparing for this mediation is to remove limiting beliefs about whether God really does speak to us. You also want to remove any ideas that you have messed up and that you are undeserving of God’s love. Any limiting belief will hold you back from receiving.
You don’t have to necessarily believe that what I am saying is true. You simply have to be open to the ideas and not dismiss them as false.
The Meditation
In this mediation, we are going to shut off our analytical thinking minds completely and open ourselves fully to divine guidance. We will do our normal breathing and relaxing routines, and then open ourselves to receiving anything that God wants to reveal to us.
Once you are relaxed, say the following phrase or something similar in your own words
“I believe that you want to speak to me, and I am open to receiving your guidance.”
Repeat the phrase every time your mind begins to wander and stay open to receiving. You may experience an overwhelming peace that comes over you. Something specific may come to your mind that you know for certain didn’t generate from your own thinking. You may “feel” something deep within yourself and know without a doubt that it is guidance coming from something outside of your mind.
Scriptures
John 10:27-28 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Romans 5:3-5 – Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Jeremiah 33:3 – Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Psalm 27:8 – When You said, “Seek My Face,” my heart said to you, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Tips/Reminders
- Refrain from setting any expectations
- If you do not experience anything profound, do not allow condemning thoughts to enter your mind
- Repeat the phrase and keep your attention and focus
- If you do receive divine guidance, get out a notebook or your phone and jot down what you received