Spiritual Growth – Page 190 – REACHING HURTING WOMEN MINISTRIES

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ~ Romans 8:26-27

By working the Twelve Step process we are gradually learning what we want to achieve. To protect what we have learned, we must continually seek God’s will for our lives. Through a regular practice of prayer and mediation the burden of our painful past is released in daily increments.

Prayer and meditation are difficult for some. Whether we’ve experienced toxic faith in our family or religious circles or grown up unfamiliar with the practices, it’s good to begin with baby steps. Let’s start by breaking down Step 11 into three parts so that we can understand what’s required of us in this step.

What is Prayer? Prayer is talking with God about what His will is for my life.
What is Meditation? Quietly listening and focusing on the Power of God inside me.
What is Conscious Contact? Making myself aware of God’s presence with me.

By declaring our spiritual poverty before God through listening prayer we invite His grace into our lives. Trust begins with a childlike attitude; we stop trying to figure things out and become receptive to God’s kingdom–His rulership and will. It is here when we are truly listening to God.

With a quieted mind and spirit the promised knowledge and power become available. As we stop giving directions and start listening for God’s will our relationship with Him grows deeper. We can then receive His wisdom, peace and love. The courage to carry out His will becomes stronger with each step we take.

Putting Step 11 into practice. First find a quiet, undisturbed place where you can have some prayerful meditation. Choose one of the suggested prayers below. Begin the meditation music video I have selected. Repeat your prayer slowly as you fall into your Heavenly Father’s arms. Soak up His presence and listen for His still soft voice.

Prayers of Meditation
The Jesus Prayer: Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.
Words of Praise: Praise you, Lord Jesus.
Words of Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord Jesus.

After a relaxing time of prayer and meditation let’s celebrate progress with our 12 Step theme song: Step by Step by @Bryan_Duncan http://youtu.be/swNgb9ya6WM

Photo Courtesy 123rf.com

Do you feel like no one sees or hears you? People seem to look right through you like you’re not even there?

I’m the invisible middle child born into a dysfunctional alcoholic home, with a handicapped brother four years older and a sister three years younger. Life was unpredictable between daddy’s drinking binges. So to stay out of trouble I usually played alone with my invisible friends: Seebie Crewble and Campbell Mingle. Since I was invisible why not have invisible friends too.

Invisibility brought a drive to act out for attention. This was common for me as a child, as a teenager and even as mid-life adult. It’s easy to see how sex addiction played right into this…dressing provocatively, using shocking language, telling inappropriate stories. As my sexual addiction increased my behavior became more extreme and risky.

The desperate acts we stoop to for love and attention is scary. Over time there was no amount of human attention that could fill the empty whole in my heart. There wasn’t enough affection to keep me from feeling invisible. The spiral continued downward to near self-destruction.

We teach others how to treat us. Because of our lack of self-worth, fear of rejection or simply not wanting to deal with things, we purposely avoid sharing our feelings with others and we don’t stand up for ourselves. By doing that, we teach others that our feelings don’t matter, that we don’t matter. This in turn causes them to not see us other times when we really want to be noticed.

As wives and mothers we often feel invisible, lost in all our family doings and goings. We work hard to clean the house and cook a nice dinner hoping someone will notice how beautiful everything looks or how delicious the food tastes. Then resentment sets in and we begin to feel used and abused.

It all comes down to the heart. Where is my heart focused? If I’m loving and respecting myself like God tells me to, I will stand up for myself, push through the fear of rejection and share my feelings. If my heart motivation is right I will do all my tasks for Him, trusting He will reward me in good time.

The most important One who sees me is God, I’m always visible to Him. It’s a constant challenge — to keep an audience of One. After all, it is because of Him that I am alive and free today. I should do everything for His glory not my own.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. ~ Colossians #:23-24 New Living Translation (NLT)

Do you feel invisible today? Maybe you can relate to the woman in this excellent skit by Nicole Johnson: http://youtu.be/9YU0aNAHXP0