Are You a Lazy-Ass When You Pray?

Take the Next Visible Step

Hidden Path – Door County, WI
Take the Step You Can See…
The Next Will Be Revealed.

When there is no clear path,
life requires of us
the courage to take the next visible step.
Tweet This Quote

This quote comes from my book, An Imperceptible Spark: Finding the Courage to Live a Life of Joy.

When I wrote this, I was confused, unclear and felt lost. Everything seemed to be out of my control. Have you been there?

I hated my job. Life seemed to be going nowhere–fast! That’s when the breakthrough happened.

I’ll do what I know to do, I thought.

Clarity is Key

Often when life feels out of control, it is because you are unclear. I know I was.

My life sucked. My job was sucking the life out of me–almost literally, and I didn’t know what to do. Or so I thought…but that is when I learned another valuable lesson: You always know what to do.

A Prayer Worth Praying

I just finished Elizabeth Gilbert’s hit book, Eat, Pray, Love–for the second time. In it, she talks about learning to pray at an Ashram in India.

Half the benefit of prayer is in the asking itself, in the offering of a clearly posed and well-considered intention. – Elizabeth Gilbert

There are times to throw yourself completely on the grace of infinite Love (God), but most of us are just lazy. (Tweet This)

We want to dump responsibility for our lives off on God’s door step and then we act hurt, betrayed and angry when life unfolds chaotically.

You are infinitely supported by never-ending Love. The steps of your path are cushioned with grace. (Tweet It!) And the wisdom of your purpose lies deep within your soul.

You always know.

The Fear That Must Not Be Named

In the story of Harry Potter, the evil Lord Voldemort is referred to as “He who must not be named” because people fear that even speaking his name lends him power to terrorize the speaker of it. (What they fail to recognize is that by not speaking his name, they are terrorized by their fear).

The Fear that you dare not name is the fear of yourself.

You are terrorized by the fear of your own wisdom, power and courage.

You are afraid that if you get still–truly still–with yourself, you will be unable to maintain control of your life. You are right.

The Fear that you live in terror of will obliterate you–the ego ‘you’. But then again, control–like the security those in the Harry Potter world think they gain by refusing to name their fear–is a myth.

The Secret

The secret is stillness.

When you exercise the courage to be still, you begin to approach the power of your self. This is the beginning of all true clarity and focus.

Be still with yourself. Learn at the feet of your own wisdom. Pray accordingly. (Tweet This Quote)

You got this!

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Note: This post is part of the 31-post Ultimate Blog Challenge. During the month of July, 2012, I will be posting 31 times. Since this is a lot of posts over a short period of time, I prepared a special page where you can catch any you may have missed.

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High Octane, Low Bullshit

kebbabuckleybutton

Steve, how wonderful! Thanks for a great post! My favorite quote from you (so far): “We want to dump responsibility for our lives off on God’s door step and
then we act hurt, betrayed and angry when life unfolds chaotically.” What’s your twitter handle? Blessings! –Rev. Kebba
- http://www.KarmicKappuccino.com Steve Rice
  
  Thanks so much for the kind comment. Glad that specific insight connected. That’s what I try to do…wrap an idea in a coat of words which will help it make an impact. My twitter handle is @stevenerice So glad to have connected with you on the UBC
Melinda

Being still is such a good way to connect with the Lord. I wish I could acheive that real stillness more often. Thanks for a great post!

Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God.
- http://www.KarmicKappuccino.com Steve Rice
  
  I agree, Melinda. Stillness is the power of God. Achieving the stillness is not really necessary…sitting in the stillness, will allow it to fill you up and inhabit you. I encourage you to continue to look for (and make) opportunities to experience stillness.
  
  For me, this comes now sitting on my patio in the quiet evening or walking through my neighborhood on what I call my “gratitude walks”. You don’t have to be inert to experience the stillness of God is my point. Your mind doesn’t even have to be completely quiet. Mine is often quite active, but it is filled and focused on gratitude…and peace–deep, profound peace is the product…at least in my experience.
  
  Thanks again for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. BTW…Love that Scripture.
ThandiweW

Steve, Loved this. I spend a lot of time writing and thinking about prayer. I particularly liked you calling it like it is, when you write ”
The Fear that you dare not name is the fear of yourself.” We’ve got to learn to get out of our own way and release ourselves to be blessed.
I’m a fan!
Peace and good to you.
- http://www.KarmicKappuccino.com Steve Rice
  
  Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I especially appreciate you sharing which parts most connected with you. I know that the thing I’m often most afraid of is the fear of my own expression. I worry what people will think/say or what me–without reservation–will look like to the world around me. That’s where that idea comes from.
  - ThandiweW
    
    Steve,
    That “worry what people will think/say or what me” is something I’ve struggled with, but thankfully, am pretty much over (for the most part). I attribute it to a little gray hair, and a little more concern about what I think of myself (whom I see in the mirror, whom my children see, what I want the world to know really matters) and a better relationship to whose I am (but Lord knows I am certainly a work in progress).
    
    ________________________________
    From: Disqus
    To: chelle@treatmetoafeast.com
    Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 10:58 PM
    Subject: [truespiritualawakening] Re: Are You a Lazy-Ass When You Pray?
    
    Steve Rice wrote , in response to ThandiweW:
    Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I especially appreciate you sharing which parts most connected with you. I know that the thing I’m often most afraid of is the fear of my own expression. I worry what people will think/say or what me–without reservation–will look like to the world around me. That’s where that idea comes from. User’s website
    Link to comment
    - http://www.KarmicKappuccino.com Steve Rice
      
      Me too! I can so relate. With maturity comes a certain ability to discard the opinions of others when we realize that they have no more an idea of what to do than we do.
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