At a family gathering for Thanksgiving Dinner little Bobbie, aged seven, was asked to say the prayer. He thanked God for every person gathered around the table naming them one by one. He thanked God for the potatoes, the beans, the gravy, the turkey, the cranberry sauce, the seasoning … on and on he went. The family thought he would never finish. Suddenly he stopped and whispered to his mother, “If I thank God for the broccoli, do you think he will know that I am lying?”

I’m sure God was amused at this child’s child-like faith. But as adults God wants us to be honest in our praying. We may as well be honest because God hears what our heart is saying regardless of what our words say.

One of the major keys to effective praying is to put into words what my heart is saying—what I am truly feeling inside. That’s the kind of praying that God honors—and answers! He may not grant what we want but he will hear and answer in the way that is best for us.

As David also wrote, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to be honest with myself and with You, and express to You what my heart is saying, what I am truly feeling inside, regardless of what it is. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. King David (Psalm 51:6, TLB).
2. Psalm 145:18 (NIV).

Of one thing we can be certain: Jesus was not a “people pleaser.” The reality is that “people pleasers” inevitably end up getting frustrated and angry because they are not getting the response they want from trying to please everybody, and ultimately end up pleasing nobody.

It isn’t possible to please everybody. When we try to, we do it out of our own need for approval—an empty substitute for love. As one person said, “If you have to stand on your head to make others happy, all you can expect to get is a big headache.”

Or as another put it, “If you stand for something you will have some people for you and some against you. But if you stand for nothing, you will have nobody against you—and nobody for you.”

As already noted, Jesus was not a “people pleaser.” He stood for truth and right regardless of what anybody thought of Him. May God help you and me to do the same.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to find inner security both in Your love and that of others so I will not be searching for love and approval by trying to please everybody. Deliver me from this bondage. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Jesus (John 2:14-16, NIV).

I remember reading about a small bridge in a rural area. Its load limit was ten tons. It served its community very well for thirty years until a twelve-ton truck tried to cross it. The added stress was beyond the bridge’s capacity—it collapsed under the extra load.

We’re all like that. Each of us has a limit as to how much stress we can handle before we break. It is well documented that too much stress is a killer. Thus we need to know just how much we can handle and learn to limit the load we carry.

However, even though my load limit may be “ten or fifteen tons,” if I’m not flexible and able to bend with the winds of adversity and learn how to go with the flow of life’s circumstances, I may collapse well below my load limit.

Furthermore, as the Bible taught three thousand years ago, we also need to learn how to have a relaxed attitude in the midst of stressful and pressured situations.

While it isn’t easy, in a nutshell we need to limit the load we attempt to carry, eat right, exercise regularly, work hard but take time to relax, laugh a lot, cry when we are sad, never bottle up negative emotions but learn to express them in healthy ways. And above all, we need to learn to commit and trust our life to God every day!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me in the midst of my pressured and stressful life to learn how to limit my load and, above all, trust You in every area of my life. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

For further help read “Turning Stress Into Success” at: http://tinyurl.com/22zush

1. Solomon (Proverbs 14:30).

Have you ever tried to follow a leader or worked for a boss who tells you one thing one day and the opposite the next, or tried to be involved with a person who could never make up their mind regarding what they wanted?

Christian or otherwise, these people can be crazy-making!

I have asked people many times in seminars or classes how many have a difficult time making decisions? It always surprises me how many answer in the affirmative.

Why is making decisions difficult for many? Some are afraid of making a wrong decision. Some simply don’t know what they want. For quite a few when they were growing up, somebody else always made their decisions for them. Consequently, they were never taught how to make decisions for themselves or learned how to accept the consequences for the decisions they made.

However, as adults, it is much wiser to make our own decisions and be wrong rather than allowing others to make them for us. One of the greatest ways we learn to make right decisions is by making wrong decisions! This is not to say that we shouldn’t seek wise counsel prior to making our decisions.

To put off and end up not making a decision is making a decision by default which is not a creative way to live. Life is a series of decisions that determine the course of our life and future. It pays to learn how to make wise decisions. God has promised to give us wisdom and guidance to help us make wise decisions, but it’s up to each of us to make our own decisions.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to face and overcome the cause/s of my fear of making decisions, learn to seek Your guidance in everything I do, and in doing so learn how to make wise and responsible decisions. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. James 1:8.