"God
isn't listening to me."
I
think we all can say, at some point in our lives, that it seems as if God has
either forgotten us or simply stopped hearing our prayers.
We
often approach God with an attitude of "Dear God, if you do this for
me, I'll do this for you." In other words, bartering with God or making deals with God.
It is as if we think God wants to make deals with us. Or, as
if God NEEDS to make a deal with us. God is within us and God is all around
us. If we want to feel God, why don't we instead just SURRENDER to
God. Give it all up! Be GRATEFUL for what we do have.
Yet,
sometimes the best answered prayers are those where the answer is
"no." A child often asks for things in a store. If a
parent says "yes" to each of these things, what happens? Some things
asked for are not in the child's best interest. A parent often knows
this. Perhaps, with God, it is the same.
More
and more, I am learning to approach God with a humble and grateful heart.
And then just listen. I can count my blessings, so to speak, and then when
I am quiet I feel most comforted. It may seem as if God is not listening,
yet, I know that when I surrender to God, God begins to work miracles in my
life. I can see small "signs" around me of conversations, people
who enter my life, events that happen, that are small "coincidental"
yet "purposeful" situations revealing God to me.
The
problems with most conversations with God lie in the way we communicate
with God.
The
solution, therefore, is to pray more purposefully, and with super-clear
communication.
The
purposeful prayer is as follows:
1.
Ask precisely for what you desire. It is not enough to ask for the ability
to be kind to others. Ask for the ability to earn $1 Million dollars so
you can donate 15% to charity. Or ask for three people to meet who have
needs you specifically can meet this day.
2.
Ask once, ask clearly, and ask with expectation and all faith that it will
be answered.
3.
State when you need what you want.
4.
Be grateful for what you have and grateful to talk with God.
So,
if we ever reach that point where we feel, "God isn't listening to me,"
try the approach I just outlined. God will indeed
begin answering your prayers in ways you never before imagined.
We
review the more about our Spiritual Nature and The Purpose Question in our
new Life Purpose Program entitled, "The Keys To Discovering Your
Purpose," featuring our experiential e-workbook, audio CD companion,
and upcoming e-book and hardcopy book on Discovering Your Purpose. People
report that living a life on purpose brings higher fulfillment, raised
self-esteem, increased abundance, and more time to do what they love. Why
not be one of the twenty percent living on purpose?
"I
think that everyone should read and re-read your [workbook articles]
frequently. It is easy to start with much gusto but we
all need a reminder of our direction." - Mary R. (GA, USA)
To
learn more about the Purpose Question and gain additional exercises into
how to discover and live your life on purpose, we have additional
resources for you:
The
Keys To Discovering Your Purpose Audio (74 min. CD) $19.95 US
The
Keys To Discovering Your Purpose, Experiential e-Workbook $24.95 US
Life
Coaching by Scott Andrews, AspireNow Founder
