August 30, 2025 • 20 mins
Leanne is back with Scott and Ketric for another episode of our "Ask the God Pod" series. This week they tackle a question many newcomers to faith share: What does prayer look like?
If Hollywood movies haven't quite given you the full picture, this is for you. This episode dives into the essence of prayer, from heartfelt conversations to quiet moments of reflection.
They explore different forms of prayer and how to connect with God in a way that feels authentic to you. Whether you're curious or already taking your first steps on your faith journey, this episode offers a warm welcome and practical guidance on building a meaningful prayer life.
HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @leanneellington
GUEST: Ketric Newell & Scott Stephens
To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
If you want to go on a journey.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
If you're skeptical, don't worry. Now here to preach.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
I'm gonna keep clean and talk to me and recall
where faith needs stops nature, get in touch with your
creator with a baking.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Love and joke. She even speaks Hebrew.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What's that?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
We'll send that pa talking transformation?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
What's stop?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Hello, and welcome back to What's God got to do
with It? We are here for another episode of Ask
the God Pod. We are here with Ketrick and Scott again.
If you missed the last episode of Ask the God Pod,
definitely go back and check it out. Really a full
question that was sent in, and I believe it will
really meet you wherever you are in your journey, and
(01:06):
it actually segues perfectly into this question which got sent
in from Rebecca, where she asked, Hi, I'm new to
your podcast and have been thinking about being more intentional
with God. I know people pray and I've seen it
in Hollywood movies, but I truthfully don't know what that
looks like or feels like. Would you be able to
explain more about that? And so I'm so glad that
(01:28):
you asked this and I want to before I turn
it over to Scott and Ketrick just really preface it
with this idea that it is so important that you
find your way of connecting with God, but it's so
powerful to also hear other people's experiences and borrow from
other people's practices. But at the end of the day, Rebecca,
what I'm inviting you to do is give yourself permission
(01:49):
that there's no right or wrong way to do it,
finding a way that will work for you and create
that consistency and that connection and that intimacy and allow
you to be all of who you are and come
to God with all of who you are. So that
being said, though, I'd love to turn it over to
the gentleman over here and speak into Rebecca's question directly.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So I would say this a lot of times, even
like what we see in Hollywood or things that she's
talking about in movies, like it's so crazy to me
because I'll see these different movies and go, oh man,
the way I approach praying as I talk to God,
just like I talked to my best friend, And a
lot of times what we see is something different than that.
And so if it doesn't feel like you in a
(02:29):
normal conversation, you might be saying what you think he
wants you to hear instead of actually saying what he
wants you to hear. What he wants to hear. Is
you talking to him just like you would carry on
a conversation without thinking with your best friend. When you're
just in that place with someone that you don't have
to perform for that, you don't have to be someone
(02:49):
you're not like. Whoever you find yourself in a relationship
with in that way, think about that and how you
pray to God and be that person. And the biggest
thing that I think that the enemy with one is
for you not to open your mouth and talk at all. Yes,
so I think that that's a big, massive thing is
(03:11):
when you start talking and for you, I know it
can be awkward. It's just like a first date, like
when you're trying to get to know someone, you're sitting
at the dinner table going you're thinking, you're in your
head so much that you don't you're not even trying
to connect because you're trying to think, what do they
want me to say? How am I coming off? How
am I approaching this?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Are they going to leave?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Are they going to reject, Well, the great thing about
God is in dating God. And what's just really funny
about your scenario and situation as you were learning this,
even for you, Leanna's watching your beautiful relationship with the
Lord as you were even saying like I'm just dating Jesus,
and when you were saying these things of like, and
he was so and we said this in one of
(03:49):
our other part, but it's like he was so patient
with you, and I think he's giggling, like I think
he's giddy. I think he's like they're so cute, Like
they're the cutest thing right now. And even when you
do perform, even when we do mess it up, like
I think that there's a part of God that's like
I love that about them. You're not on trial and
(04:09):
you're not on a speed dating yes or no, God
just wants to be with you.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, just to kind of stack on it, it really
is about like being curious about God. It's like a
curiosity or almost in a way, it's like an experiment.
Like for me, I was like, Okay, I'm going to
try on this whole prayer thing. I'm going to try
on this whole dating Jesus thing. And if it doesn't
serve me, I can, you know, leave it if I
want to, But once I started, I didn't want to stop.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
It's also a meet yourself where you are in the
kind of like modality or way that you learn. So
I mean there's ways to connect with God through music
and worship.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
A big one for me is writing, and I'll talk
about the specificity of that how I kind of connected
and converse with God through the actual you know, pen
and paper, but it could be as simple as reading
scripture and just saying, God, what do you have for
me here?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Right?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
So I think being unattached to what exactly it looks
like and be giving yourself permission to experiment and try
different methods and modalities to see what fits for you.
Because it's all about resonance.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
The brain scientist in me geek wants to let you
know that whenever you do something and it doesn't feel right,
it doesn't resonate, it actually lays down something called negative
neuro associations. We talked about this in the neuro Faith
episode of this podcast. And what negative neuro associations do
is it essentially sets you up to not have that
practice stay. It doesn't allow your brain to download something
(05:26):
as repetition or become it or create a habit. What
you need are positive neuro associations alongside that habit. So
anything that either like just not resonating is enough, like
as long as it doesn't have a disconnect. But also
if it creates, you know, pleasure or actual resonance or
it feels good, you're going to lay down those positive
(05:46):
neuro associations. So doing the doing isn't as important as
who you're being while you're doing the doing. Are you receptive,
are you open? Are you enjoying it? Are you connecting?
And so give yourself permission to not have that look
a certain way and experiment. I want to hear your answer, Scott,
but then I will come back as well and share
a little bit about some of the specifics that I've
shared with myself and my clients on what it looks
(06:06):
like to talk to God in a journal.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I love that number one. He's always talking. So, however
you go down this road, I want you to start
by saying, God, to know you're always speaking. I'm ready
to listen. You will be amazed at what starts coming
to your mind. The thoughts that you're thinking will be different.
It's funny. This is not probably the movie you were
(06:29):
thinking about, But the movie that came to mind was
Forrest Gump and he's sitting on the park bench and
he has that line right about like life cycle box
of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. I
imagine you Rebecca walking through the park and having some
amazing moments with God, sitting on a park bench, and
I'm telling you right now, you never know what you're
(06:50):
gonna get. Leanna talk about this all the time, spiritual
experiments or spiritual games. I'm just gonna try this out.
Like when you live with a childlike curiosity and you
pursue God, you realize he's speaking. There's a promise. It says,
Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and
you will find. Knock and the door will be open
(07:13):
to you. So like that, that's a promise in the
Bible from this God that you're about to hear and
talk to on the park bench wherever you are. And
the last thing is two things that have helped me
listen to God. One, I look for themes in my life.
I write down songs that have come to mind or
conversations this week. If you're reading the Bible, you know,
(07:33):
starting John. But if you're reading the Bible versus that
stood out, you may not even understand what they mean,
and she's probably going to talk about this. I started
finding themes and then I realized, Oh, that's what he's
saying to me this week, right the other thing. And
we talk about this a lot. The two questions that
are really just transforming in your ability to talk and
listen to God are what do you have to say
about this? Like go sit on the park bench, you know,
(07:55):
talk to him about your job, your relationship. What do
you have to say about this? And then maybe you
want to write down what what comes to mind? And
then what should I do? And then write down what
comes to mind?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
The other thought that I had behind this question too.
Sometimes we're afraid to talk to God, and a lot
of that comes down to our relationships here on earth,
our physical relationships. So let's say if you understood just
that there are the trinity that the Bible talks about,
is that God, She's in the Holy Spirit, Like there's
(08:26):
three of them. A lot of times there's what people
call the Father's ladder, and depending upon who you were
most close to here on earth a lot of times
or not close to, will determine how close you allow
those of the Trinity to close. So you ask about God,
if your own earthly dad was distant from you and
(08:48):
you desire that relationship, If that never happened, you may
think that your heavenly Father is that representation, because that's
what happens, right, Because our earth dad represents God, Jesus
represents our sibling, our friend, and the Holy Spirit actually
represents our mom. And so depending upon those relationships will
(09:09):
determine how close. So say for me, growing up, I
had a really great relationship with my brother and sister
and my family, but I felt really close to my sister.
So when I came into relationship with my brother, when
I came relationship with Jesus, Jesus was my dude, Like
he was the one I prayed to. He was the
one that I talked to the most because that was
the relationship, and I had really good friends, so that
(09:32):
just became the natural thing. Didn't even know that, but
when I look back, I see the natural relationships in
my life were siblings and friends, and so it made
it real easy to talk to Jesus, but some of
the other ones I wasn't so close to. And a
lot of times that will correlate to our physical relationships
here on earth and determined. So if Dad was distant,
(09:52):
you might go, I want to talk to God, but
I don't know how, because every time I talk to
my own dad, it was weird, it didn't it didn't
out well. And so now you're always in your head
about talking to your dad, which is the same thing
you're talking to God. And so that actually plays a
role in getting in the way of you actually being
intimate with God and knowing that he actually just wants
(10:14):
to be with you.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, that's so good. Yeah, because it might be a
blind spot for you if you are trying to have
this conversation with your heavenly father, if your relationship with
your earthly father, it might feel like a disconnect for
you or like you don't know how. So really meeting
yourself where you are. I think also prayer can come
in the form of asking. I think also prayer can
(10:41):
come in the form of asking, can come in the
form of sharing and telling. Prayer can come in the
form of listening. You know, Prayer can come in the
form of like not knowing any of what you're doing
and just showing up right, and I think just giving
yourself permission again, like there's no right or wrong way.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
To do it.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
It's about building a relationship, you know. So I know
for me, when I first was you know, skeptically dipping
my toes into Jesus and God and all of these conversations,
prayer was also a big, you know, stopping point for me.
I didn't know what it looked like. And for all
of the reasons that we're talking about, I think I
had this idea of what it should look like or whatever.
But one of the things that I first tried on
(11:18):
was this idea of Okay, if I could borrow the
eyes of unconditional love and unconditional acceptance and unconditional grace,
that because that's what I needed spoken into me.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So when it came to just like on the asking
side of it, and I personally really connect with writing,
I didn't always like I always used to hear about
people journaling and I'm like, oh, that sounds great, but like,
how do you have a journaling process? And one of
the reasons I never connected with it is because opening
up a journal with a blank page was very confusing
and overwhelming for me. But if I went in there
with a specific intention or a prompt, even it was
(11:52):
really powerful for me. So, for example, some of the
prompts and you can do this audibly, you can do
it in your head. But I found, you know, writing
is extra special for me. But again, it's about meeting
yourself where you are. But these are things that I've
done with myself over the years and also share with
my clients, like just asking God, if there's a specific
problem or stumbling block that I'm having, like again borrowing
the eyes of unconditional love, acceptance and grace, what do
(12:15):
I need to see right now that I'm not seeing
about this problem?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Right?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
What would the unconditional eyes of grace and acceptance be
telling myself where shame is currently telling me a different story?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Right?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
And like literally just trying on those unconditional loving eyes right.
So it could be asking a question, right, but it
could also just be like saying, like, hey, God, I
don't exactly know what I need right now? Is there
anything you want to tell me? And when you sit
in stillness and silence, it's amazing what happens. But that
doesn't happen when we're trying to rush through it or
think we're doing it wrong, and then we get into
(12:47):
anxiety because we think that we're praying wrong, like there
is no right or wrong way. It's about that stillness,
that silence, that asking. You know, one of the things
that really also helped me because you know, again coming
back to that neuro faith episode, the faith brain connection episode,
and I'll definitely link that in the show notes since
I've mentioned it twice. You know, my brain, especially before
I met Jesus, was wired for looking for what I
wasn't doing, who I wasn't being, what was wrong with me,
(13:10):
all the shame, self rejection, perfectionism story. So what we
talked about in that episode is there something called reciprocal
inhibition where when you are in gratitude, the other part
of your brain that's spewing out shame and you know,
all of the negative toxicity, it cannot turn on. Like
if I'm flexing my bicep because of reciprocal inhibition, my
tricep cannot turn on. It's forced to relax. So I
(13:32):
would literally like because of what I knew about neuroscience,
which as you learn in that episode, is what led
me to the Lord. Okay, God, show me what I
can be grateful for, because my human mind was having
a hard time looking for what I could be grateful for.
But when I was borrowing the eyes of unconditional love
and grace and acceptance, It's like, Okay, what can I
be grateful for?
Speaker 3 (13:49):
What do I have?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Like from like the stuff that people think is maybe trivial,
like a warm bed and toilet paper, right to the
little miracles that were showing up in my life. That
a fly on the wall not I thought was a miracle,
but I knew it was. So that was one side
of it, and the other side of it was being
proud of myself. I would always borrow God's eyes and
like God, because of course, my perfectionistic mind was looking
(14:11):
for what I wasn't doing, or where I wasn't enough,
or where I had, you know, had untapped potential. So
the like acknowledging myself, being proud of myself, bragging on myself,
I was constantly borrowing God to show me that as well,
and little by little it shifted myself image, it shifted
my identity. So now my default is more based in gratitude.
I immediately go to gratitude when stuff doesn't go very
(14:34):
well in my life or when things aren't pleasant, and
I do immediately go into what I call self endorsement
around who I am and what I am doing instead of,
you know, looking for the holes and gaps in myself image.
So wanted to leave you with some of those journal
prompts as well.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Last thing, Rebecca, I just want to say, they're going
to call you Rebecca the receiver. Yes, the best NFL receiver.
The great thing about God is he wants to give.
He wants to get so much. It says he loved
us so much he gave his son, which we know
giving your children for someone else is the ultimate gift.
So that's how much he wants to give you. I
(15:09):
want you to ask him, what do you want to
give me and all of us? It's really this week, God,
what do you want to give me? And then just
receive it? What LeAnn said, don't you know, try to
deflect the compliment right like, oh, just say I received that,
thank you God, and then go to the park bench
next week and do the same thing. Now.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I want to call Scott out for a second, because
when I said reciprocal inhibition. He had a big light
bulb moment. So can you share what went on in
that moment in your brain as well?
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Well. One way that I experienced God is through community
and my friends. And I had a tough week and
there was a day where I was just my thoughts
were not they were not normal, they weren't positive. My
dad sent me and my wife a text from a
verse Philippians four six and seven. Ketrick might have to
read that. I don't have it up, and I read
(16:01):
it differently for the first time. And if you want, really,
if you're if you're already following Christ, rediscover the scriptures.
Rediscovery will lead to revelation. So Ketrick read this verse
for us real quick, and.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
The in Iva it says, rejoice in the Lord always.
I say again, Rejoice, Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your request to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
In Christ Jesus. I'm gonna explain that verse. I just
had another thought for you, Rebecca, another spiritual experiment for everyone.
If you grew up religious, it's actually harder to do this.
So you're you're living, You're starting ahead of most people
spiritual game. I'm gonna read a verse and I'm gonna
believe it. So if you read that and just say,
I don't even know what that means, but I'm gonna belie,
(17:00):
leave it this week, just for one week. It talks
about anxiety, anxious for nothing. I was incredibly anxious, and
it talks about the peace that lands. But the key
word never. I've read this verse hundreds of times. It
says with thanksgiving, and I had never heard because I
skipped that episode from Leanne until just now. And I
(17:22):
called my wife and I said, I don't know what
to do, but I'm gonna show up today and I'm
going to be thankful. And I started by saying five
things I was thankful for about her, and one hour
later my anxiety was completely gone. It is scientific, it
is scripture. It is amazing.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Yeah, I love it. So there's the verse that says
the joy of the Lord is our strength. Okay, that
actually says in the Greek it says that that there's
joy on his face when he sees me, and that
is my strength. So what you're saying is I take
the eyes, however you worded it, say that.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So borrow the eyes of our God and unconditional love
and acceptance.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
That sounds like for some people that may sound like
that's out there, but that's actually what that versus saying
is that the joy of the Lord when he looks
upon me, is my strength. So when he looks at you,
he's joyful about what he made you to be. He's
joyful about what he sees. I can give And mamas
(18:24):
can give the look to their kids and it instantly
suck the joy out of their life, right Like, sometimes
mamas don't even have to say a thing.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
They give the look.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
And you know, well, God is saying when I look
upon you, I'm not looking at you in disgust. When
I look upon you, there's a joy about what I've made,
and how excited I am that it was good?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Ah, so good. I hope that was helpful for you, Rebecca.
Such a powerful question. One thing I'd also just leave
you with is like, don't buy into the lie that
it has to be this like intense thirty sixty minute
a day. Thing like really go with the thought process
of consistency over intensity. It might mean thirty seconds a day,
it might mean, you know, a minute a day. It
(19:09):
might be be like a song that you put on
that fires and wires you to hop into prayer. You know,
But don't buy into this myth that it has to
be this big overarching thing that overhauls your life, because
that's what's going to keep you from getting those reps
and getting that practice in Thank you for joining us.
That is it for Ask the Godpod this week, but
(19:29):
we will be back for more What's God Got to
Do with It? Next week. Bye. We'll be back with
more What's God Got to Do with It? But in
the meantime, I would definitely love to hear from you,
So just tell me where you are in your story
or maybe what questions you have, like where do you
feel you need clarity or support or wisdom in your
(19:52):
own journey. I definitely want to hear from you, So
head on over to What's God Got to Do with It?
Dot com and scroll down to the to share your thoughts,
your questions, your feedback, and you can do that instantly.
So What's God Got to Do with It? Dot Com?
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(20:12):
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God Got to Do With It is an iHeartRadio podcast
(20:33):
on the Amy Brown podcast Network. It's written and hosted
by me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by Elizabeth Fozzio, post
production and editing by Houston Tilley, and original music written
by Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark
If you want to go on a journey.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
If you're skeptical, don't worry. Now here to preach.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
I'm gonna keep clean and talk to me and recall
where faith needs stops nature, get in touch with your
creator with a baking.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Love and joke. She even speaks Hebrew.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What's that?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
We'll send that pa talking transformation?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
What's stop?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Hello, and welcome back to What's God got to do
with It? We are here for another episode of Ask
the God Pod. We are here with Ketrick and Scott again.
If you missed the last episode of Ask the God Pod,
definitely go back and check it out. Really a full
question that was sent in, and I believe it will
really meet you wherever you are in your journey, and
(01:06):
it actually segues perfectly into this question which got sent
in from Rebecca, where she asked, Hi, I'm new to
your podcast and have been thinking about being more intentional
with God. I know people pray and I've seen it
in Hollywood movies, but I truthfully don't know what that
looks like or feels like. Would you be able to
explain more about that? And so I'm so glad that
(01:28):
you asked this and I want to before I turn
it over to Scott and Ketrick just really preface it
with this idea that it is so important that you
find your way of connecting with God, but it's so
powerful to also hear other people's experiences and borrow from
other people's practices. But at the end of the day, Rebecca,
what I'm inviting you to do is give yourself permission
(01:49):
that there's no right or wrong way to do it,
finding a way that will work for you and create
that consistency and that connection and that intimacy and allow
you to be all of who you are and come
to God with all of who you are. So that
being said, though, I'd love to turn it over to
the gentleman over here and speak into Rebecca's question directly.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So I would say this a lot of times, even
like what we see in Hollywood or things that she's
talking about in movies, like it's so crazy to me
because I'll see these different movies and go, oh man,
the way I approach praying as I talk to God,
just like I talked to my best friend, And a
lot of times what we see is something different than that.
And so if it doesn't feel like you in a
(02:29):
normal conversation, you might be saying what you think he
wants you to hear instead of actually saying what he
wants you to hear. What he wants to hear. Is
you talking to him just like you would carry on
a conversation without thinking with your best friend. When you're
just in that place with someone that you don't have
to perform for that, you don't have to be someone
(02:49):
you're not like. Whoever you find yourself in a relationship
with in that way, think about that and how you
pray to God and be that person. And the biggest
thing that I think that the enemy with one is
for you not to open your mouth and talk at all. Yes,
so I think that that's a big, massive thing is
(03:11):
when you start talking and for you, I know it
can be awkward. It's just like a first date, like
when you're trying to get to know someone, you're sitting
at the dinner table going you're thinking, you're in your
head so much that you don't you're not even trying
to connect because you're trying to think, what do they
want me to say? How am I coming off? How
am I approaching this?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Are they going to leave?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Are they going to reject, Well, the great thing about
God is in dating God. And what's just really funny
about your scenario and situation as you were learning this,
even for you, Leanna's watching your beautiful relationship with the
Lord as you were even saying like I'm just dating Jesus,
and when you were saying these things of like, and
he was so and we said this in one of
(03:49):
our other part, but it's like he was so patient
with you, and I think he's giggling, like I think
he's giddy. I think he's like they're so cute, Like
they're the cutest thing right now. And even when you
do perform, even when we do mess it up, like
I think that there's a part of God that's like
I love that about them. You're not on trial and
(04:09):
you're not on a speed dating yes or no, God
just wants to be with you.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, just to kind of stack on it, it really
is about like being curious about God. It's like a
curiosity or almost in a way, it's like an experiment.
Like for me, I was like, Okay, I'm going to
try on this whole prayer thing. I'm going to try
on this whole dating Jesus thing. And if it doesn't
serve me, I can, you know, leave it if I
want to, But once I started, I didn't want to stop.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
It's also a meet yourself where you are in the
kind of like modality or way that you learn. So
I mean there's ways to connect with God through music
and worship.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
A big one for me is writing, and I'll talk
about the specificity of that how I kind of connected
and converse with God through the actual you know, pen
and paper, but it could be as simple as reading
scripture and just saying, God, what do you have for
me here?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Right?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
So I think being unattached to what exactly it looks
like and be giving yourself permission to experiment and try
different methods and modalities to see what fits for you.
Because it's all about resonance.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
The brain scientist in me geek wants to let you
know that whenever you do something and it doesn't feel right,
it doesn't resonate, it actually lays down something called negative
neuro associations. We talked about this in the neuro Faith
episode of this podcast. And what negative neuro associations do
is it essentially sets you up to not have that
practice stay. It doesn't allow your brain to download something
(05:26):
as repetition or become it or create a habit. What
you need are positive neuro associations alongside that habit. So
anything that either like just not resonating is enough, like
as long as it doesn't have a disconnect. But also
if it creates, you know, pleasure or actual resonance or
it feels good, you're going to lay down those positive
(05:46):
neuro associations. So doing the doing isn't as important as
who you're being while you're doing the doing. Are you receptive,
are you open? Are you enjoying it? Are you connecting?
And so give yourself permission to not have that look
a certain way and experiment. I want to hear your answer, Scott,
but then I will come back as well and share
a little bit about some of the specifics that I've
shared with myself and my clients on what it looks
(06:06):
like to talk to God in a journal.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I love that number one. He's always talking. So, however
you go down this road, I want you to start
by saying, God, to know you're always speaking. I'm ready
to listen. You will be amazed at what starts coming
to your mind. The thoughts that you're thinking will be different.
It's funny. This is not probably the movie you were
(06:29):
thinking about, But the movie that came to mind was
Forrest Gump and he's sitting on the park bench and
he has that line right about like life cycle box
of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. I
imagine you Rebecca walking through the park and having some
amazing moments with God, sitting on a park bench, and
I'm telling you right now, you never know what you're
(06:50):
gonna get. Leanna talk about this all the time, spiritual
experiments or spiritual games. I'm just gonna try this out.
Like when you live with a childlike curiosity and you
pursue God, you realize he's speaking. There's a promise. It says,
Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and
you will find. Knock and the door will be open
(07:13):
to you. So like that, that's a promise in the
Bible from this God that you're about to hear and
talk to on the park bench wherever you are. And
the last thing is two things that have helped me
listen to God. One, I look for themes in my life.
I write down songs that have come to mind or
conversations this week. If you're reading the Bible, you know,
(07:33):
starting John. But if you're reading the Bible versus that
stood out, you may not even understand what they mean,
and she's probably going to talk about this. I started
finding themes and then I realized, Oh, that's what he's
saying to me this week, right the other thing. And
we talk about this a lot. The two questions that
are really just transforming in your ability to talk and
listen to God are what do you have to say
about this? Like go sit on the park bench, you know,
(07:55):
talk to him about your job, your relationship. What do
you have to say about this? And then maybe you
want to write down what what comes to mind? And
then what should I do? And then write down what
comes to mind?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
The other thought that I had behind this question too.
Sometimes we're afraid to talk to God, and a lot
of that comes down to our relationships here on earth,
our physical relationships. So let's say if you understood just
that there are the trinity that the Bible talks about,
is that God, She's in the Holy Spirit, Like there's
(08:26):
three of them. A lot of times there's what people
call the Father's ladder, and depending upon who you were
most close to here on earth a lot of times
or not close to, will determine how close you allow
those of the Trinity to close. So you ask about God,
if your own earthly dad was distant from you and
(08:48):
you desire that relationship, If that never happened, you may
think that your heavenly Father is that representation, because that's
what happens, right, Because our earth dad represents God, Jesus
represents our sibling, our friend, and the Holy Spirit actually
represents our mom. And so depending upon those relationships will
(09:09):
determine how close. So say for me, growing up, I
had a really great relationship with my brother and sister
and my family, but I felt really close to my sister.
So when I came into relationship with my brother, when
I came relationship with Jesus, Jesus was my dude, Like
he was the one I prayed to. He was the
one that I talked to the most because that was
the relationship, and I had really good friends, so that
(09:32):
just became the natural thing. Didn't even know that, but
when I look back, I see the natural relationships in
my life were siblings and friends, and so it made
it real easy to talk to Jesus, but some of
the other ones I wasn't so close to. And a
lot of times that will correlate to our physical relationships
here on earth and determined. So if Dad was distant,
(09:52):
you might go, I want to talk to God, but
I don't know how, because every time I talk to
my own dad, it was weird, it didn't it didn't
out well. And so now you're always in your head
about talking to your dad, which is the same thing
you're talking to God. And so that actually plays a
role in getting in the way of you actually being
intimate with God and knowing that he actually just wants
(10:14):
to be with you.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, that's so good. Yeah, because it might be a
blind spot for you if you are trying to have
this conversation with your heavenly father, if your relationship with
your earthly father, it might feel like a disconnect for
you or like you don't know how. So really meeting
yourself where you are. I think also prayer can come
in the form of asking. I think also prayer can
(10:41):
come in the form of asking, can come in the
form of sharing and telling. Prayer can come in the
form of listening. You know, Prayer can come in the
form of like not knowing any of what you're doing
and just showing up right, and I think just giving
yourself permission again, like there's no right or wrong way.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
To do it.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
It's about building a relationship, you know. So I know
for me, when I first was you know, skeptically dipping
my toes into Jesus and God and all of these conversations,
prayer was also a big, you know, stopping point for me.
I didn't know what it looked like. And for all
of the reasons that we're talking about, I think I
had this idea of what it should look like or whatever.
But one of the things that I first tried on
(11:18):
was this idea of Okay, if I could borrow the
eyes of unconditional love and unconditional acceptance and unconditional grace,
that because that's what I needed spoken into me.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So when it came to just like on the asking
side of it, and I personally really connect with writing,
I didn't always like I always used to hear about
people journaling and I'm like, oh, that sounds great, but like,
how do you have a journaling process? And one of
the reasons I never connected with it is because opening
up a journal with a blank page was very confusing
and overwhelming for me. But if I went in there
with a specific intention or a prompt, even it was
(11:52):
really powerful for me. So, for example, some of the
prompts and you can do this audibly, you can do
it in your head. But I found, you know, writing
is extra special for me. But again, it's about meeting
yourself where you are. But these are things that I've
done with myself over the years and also share with
my clients, like just asking God, if there's a specific
problem or stumbling block that I'm having, like again borrowing
the eyes of unconditional love, acceptance and grace, what do
(12:15):
I need to see right now that I'm not seeing
about this problem?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Right?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
What would the unconditional eyes of grace and acceptance be
telling myself where shame is currently telling me a different story?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Right?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
And like literally just trying on those unconditional loving eyes right.
So it could be asking a question, right, but it
could also just be like saying, like, hey, God, I
don't exactly know what I need right now? Is there
anything you want to tell me? And when you sit
in stillness and silence, it's amazing what happens. But that
doesn't happen when we're trying to rush through it or
think we're doing it wrong, and then we get into
(12:47):
anxiety because we think that we're praying wrong, like there
is no right or wrong way. It's about that stillness,
that silence, that asking. You know, one of the things
that really also helped me because you know, again coming
back to that neuro faith episode, the faith brain connection episode,
and I'll definitely link that in the show notes since
I've mentioned it twice. You know, my brain, especially before
I met Jesus, was wired for looking for what I
wasn't doing, who I wasn't being, what was wrong with me,
(13:10):
all the shame, self rejection, perfectionism story. So what we
talked about in that episode is there something called reciprocal
inhibition where when you are in gratitude, the other part
of your brain that's spewing out shame and you know,
all of the negative toxicity, it cannot turn on. Like
if I'm flexing my bicep because of reciprocal inhibition, my
tricep cannot turn on. It's forced to relax. So I
(13:32):
would literally like because of what I knew about neuroscience,
which as you learn in that episode, is what led
me to the Lord. Okay, God, show me what I
can be grateful for, because my human mind was having
a hard time looking for what I could be grateful for.
But when I was borrowing the eyes of unconditional love
and grace and acceptance, It's like, Okay, what can I
be grateful for?
Speaker 3 (13:49):
What do I have?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Like from like the stuff that people think is maybe trivial,
like a warm bed and toilet paper, right to the
little miracles that were showing up in my life. That
a fly on the wall not I thought was a miracle,
but I knew it was. So that was one side
of it, and the other side of it was being
proud of myself. I would always borrow God's eyes and
like God, because of course, my perfectionistic mind was looking
(14:11):
for what I wasn't doing, or where I wasn't enough,
or where I had, you know, had untapped potential. So
the like acknowledging myself, being proud of myself, bragging on myself,
I was constantly borrowing God to show me that as well,
and little by little it shifted myself image, it shifted
my identity. So now my default is more based in gratitude.
I immediately go to gratitude when stuff doesn't go very
(14:34):
well in my life or when things aren't pleasant, and
I do immediately go into what I call self endorsement
around who I am and what I am doing instead of,
you know, looking for the holes and gaps in myself image.
So wanted to leave you with some of those journal
prompts as well.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Last thing, Rebecca, I just want to say, they're going
to call you Rebecca the receiver. Yes, the best NFL receiver.
The great thing about God is he wants to give.
He wants to get so much. It says he loved
us so much he gave his son, which we know
giving your children for someone else is the ultimate gift.
So that's how much he wants to give you. I
(15:09):
want you to ask him, what do you want to
give me and all of us? It's really this week, God,
what do you want to give me? And then just
receive it? What LeAnn said, don't you know, try to
deflect the compliment right like, oh, just say I received that,
thank you God, and then go to the park bench
next week and do the same thing. Now.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I want to call Scott out for a second, because
when I said reciprocal inhibition. He had a big light
bulb moment. So can you share what went on in
that moment in your brain as well?
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Well. One way that I experienced God is through community
and my friends. And I had a tough week and
there was a day where I was just my thoughts
were not they were not normal, they weren't positive. My
dad sent me and my wife a text from a
verse Philippians four six and seven. Ketrick might have to
read that. I don't have it up, and I read
(16:01):
it differently for the first time. And if you want, really,
if you're if you're already following Christ, rediscover the scriptures.
Rediscovery will lead to revelation. So Ketrick read this verse
for us real quick, and.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
The in Iva it says, rejoice in the Lord always.
I say again, Rejoice, Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your request to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
In Christ Jesus. I'm gonna explain that verse. I just
had another thought for you, Rebecca, another spiritual experiment for everyone.
If you grew up religious, it's actually harder to do this.
So you're you're living, You're starting ahead of most people
spiritual game. I'm gonna read a verse and I'm gonna
believe it. So if you read that and just say,
I don't even know what that means, but I'm gonna belie,
(17:00):
leave it this week, just for one week. It talks
about anxiety, anxious for nothing. I was incredibly anxious, and
it talks about the peace that lands. But the key
word never. I've read this verse hundreds of times. It
says with thanksgiving, and I had never heard because I
skipped that episode from Leanne until just now. And I
(17:22):
called my wife and I said, I don't know what
to do, but I'm gonna show up today and I'm
going to be thankful. And I started by saying five
things I was thankful for about her, and one hour
later my anxiety was completely gone. It is scientific, it
is scripture. It is amazing.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Yeah, I love it. So there's the verse that says
the joy of the Lord is our strength. Okay, that
actually says in the Greek it says that that there's
joy on his face when he sees me, and that
is my strength. So what you're saying is I take
the eyes, however you worded it, say that.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So borrow the eyes of our God and unconditional love
and acceptance.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
That sounds like for some people that may sound like
that's out there, but that's actually what that versus saying
is that the joy of the Lord when he looks
upon me, is my strength. So when he looks at you,
he's joyful about what he made you to be. He's
joyful about what he sees. I can give And mamas
(18:24):
can give the look to their kids and it instantly
suck the joy out of their life, right Like, sometimes
mamas don't even have to say a thing.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
They give the look.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
And you know, well, God is saying when I look
upon you, I'm not looking at you in disgust. When
I look upon you, there's a joy about what I've made,
and how excited I am that it was good?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Ah, so good. I hope that was helpful for you, Rebecca.
Such a powerful question. One thing I'd also just leave
you with is like, don't buy into the lie that
it has to be this like intense thirty sixty minute
a day. Thing like really go with the thought process
of consistency over intensity. It might mean thirty seconds a day,
it might mean, you know, a minute a day. It
(19:09):
might be be like a song that you put on
that fires and wires you to hop into prayer. You know,
But don't buy into this myth that it has to
be this big overarching thing that overhauls your life, because
that's what's going to keep you from getting those reps
and getting that practice in Thank you for joining us.
That is it for Ask the Godpod this week, but
(19:29):
we will be back for more What's God Got to
Do with It? Next week. Bye. We'll be back with
more What's God Got to Do with It? But in
the meantime, I would definitely love to hear from you,
So just tell me where you are in your story
or maybe what questions you have, like where do you
feel you need clarity or support or wisdom in your
(19:52):
own journey. I definitely want to hear from you, So
head on over to What's God Got to Do with It?
Dot com and scroll down to the to share your thoughts,
your questions, your feedback, and you can do that instantly.
So What's God Got to Do with It? Dot Com?
You'll find all the ways to do that. And if
you like this podcast and want to hear more, go
(20:12):
ahead and follow, like, and subscribe wherever you listen to
podcasts to get your weekly dose of What's God Got
to Do With It? New episodes drop every single Tuesday,
and while you're there, be sure to rate and review
to show your support. It really means so much. What's
God Got to Do With It is an iHeartRadio podcast
(20:33):
on the Amy Brown podcast Network. It's written and hosted
by me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by Elizabeth Fozzio, post
production and editing by Houston Tilley, and original music written
by Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark
Feeling Things with Amy & Kat News
Host
Amy Brown
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