Recap of Part 2

In Part 2, we looked at the unparalleled benefits of praying with your heart: 

• why praying with your heart always works and why it can offer you such strong support when you’re dealing with bad news
• how this way of prayer benefits you mentally, physically, and spiritually
• how this way of prayer enables you to journey from your stressful, ongoing, constant-thinking ‘monkey mind’ to stillness and peace of mind, body, and spirit
• how it gives the Lord some needed ‘space’ inside you

where you can receive His love so much more easily and where you can hear Him ‘speak’ to you far more clearly

We also covered

1. 8 amazing rewards of praying with your heart
2. the unquestioned benefits of persevering even when nothing seems to be ‘happening’
3. the fact that there is absolutely no success or failure in this simple way of prayer
4. the critical importance of not judging your prayer by how you ‘feel’ afterwards
5. why you should not be put off when you feel ‘dry’ after your few minutes in the Lord’s presence

I also recommended that, at this stressful time, you

• get some form of spiritual guidance
• start to journal
• learn to wait for the Lord’s guidance and not try to rush matters along on your own timetable

Now, let’s dig into the final part, Part 3.

 

Surround Yourself with People Who Share Your Christian Faith

When you’ve received shocking news, you inevitably experience mental and emotional confusion as you try to grasp what’s going on.

You don’t think as clearly as you would normally.

It’s therefore extremely important that you surround yourself with people who share your Christian faith and values.

Folk who are well intended but who don’t share your Christian faith can easily set you off in the wrong direction.

It’s also important that all the other people you spend time with are positive folk with a positive life outlook.

I can’t stress this enough.

And avoid well-meaning folk who are more than ready to give you unasked-for ‘advice’. This does not help. It confuses.

 

Making Important Decisions

When you’re in a state of shock, or experiencing any kind of loss, your mind and heart can become somewhat disoriented.

My diary entry of August 11, 1996, three months after my dearly loved husband’s sudden departure from our marriage, records my feelings of severe disorientation:

‘This journey of mine is definitely uncharted territory.’

You have, therefore, to be particularly careful about making important decisions which can affect you, as well as all the significant others in your life, for good or ill.

Another Example from My Own Life

 

The situation in which I found myself in the months that followed my husband’s shocking departure soon became humanly impossible for me for many reasons.

I knew that it was the Lord’s will that I and our children should not merely ‘survive’ these times but should continue to live a high-quality life.

I knew that the Lord did not want us to cede our inner peace and joy and wellbeing to my husband and his decision.

Much as I wanted my husband’s healing and his return to our family, I nevertheless knew that it was far more important that I retain my equilibrium and general wellbeing.

To do this, I knew that I would somehow have to separate myself from him.

To my limited human reasoning, divorcing my husband became the only realistic option.

Thankfully, I also knew that in this and in all my decisions, it was absolutely vital that I first seek the Lord’s wisdom.

I knew that the Lord loved me unconditionally, that I was His daughter and Jesus’ sister, and that He wanted only the very best for me and for our daughters, and, for that matter, my husband as well.

So, I decided to retreat for 3 days to a place where I’d be undisturbed and quiet, a place that also had a tiny chapel.

Two or three times each day for 20 minutes, I connected to the Lord’s presence, love, and rest using the simple way of praying with my heart, deliberately choosing to let go of words and thoughts.

In the ongoing silence, I was able to ‘listen’ to the Lord with my heart, my entire being, deliberately refraining from words and thoughts.

 I knew that doing this would free up my mind, body, and spirit from enough of their ongoing clutter, noise and baggage to enable the Lord to penetrate them!

And here’s what happened:

At the end of the 3 days, the Lord impressed upon my spirit that I was NOT to divorce my husband!

Had I not taken special time to listen with my heart, life would have become far worse for me than it already was.

The Lessons Learned

The lessons learned?

 

1. Deliberately invite the Lord not just into all of your life experiences but all of your decisions.

2. Always make time to pray with your heart when you wish to receive this kind of very clear guidance from the Lord.

3. Don’t be tempted to rush matters along on your own timetable.

4. Remember that praying with your heart, your whole being, is the simple way Jesus himself taught you and me to pray!

5. Praying with your heart anchors you deeply in the One whose love, power, wisdom, and authority alone can empower you to make with confidence the tough decisions that must be made in times of bad news.

 

Additional Tools to Support You

Whenever you’re in a crisis of any sort, it’s vital to look after yourself very, very well. 

Receiving bad news is no exception.

The Lord WANTS you to look after yourself very, very well.

Here are some things I did to look after myself.

You’ll find that they can make a big difference to maintaining your identity and your dignity when you’re feeling especially vulnerable.

1. Get sufficient sleep

2. Eat as healthily as possible (it helps to buy a nutritious, ready-to-eat meal now and again if at all possible, or ask a friend to cook you one)

3. Enjoy sufficient leisure time

For example:

• enjoy a much-loved hobby
• read a good book
• listen to your favourite music
• receive hospitality from close friends
• give hospitality to good friends
• Take regular time to worship and praise the Lord

Here are some other things I did that you can too:

• walk on the beach
• dance
• enjoy your or a friend’s garden or a public park
• play a favourite sport
• swim in the ocean, go for a run, climb a mountain, hike, snow-ski, or do whatever sport you love and have the required fitness level for!

Teresa of Avila

Here’s what the Lord taught a sixteenth century woman of God through the many episodes of bad news she had to face:

Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing affright you
All things are passing:
God never changes.
Patient endurance attaineth to all things.
Who God possesses doesn’t lack anything;
Alone God suffices

And here’s what the psalmist said about bad news:
He (She) is not afraid of bad news;
his (her) heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112: 7   English Standard Version

When you discover how to pray with your heart for a few minutes each day, the time will come when YOU, too, will be able to agree with the psalmist.

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Take advantage of my training and experience over 38 years.

Get help dealing with bad news. Watch my webinar teaching on Saturday November 19:

 

How to Let God Find You When You Need His Help Urgently