True Positive: Day Seven – Prayer

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Prayer can be the most powerful and positive moments of our day. It is in this quiet time of solitude when we turn our hearts toward God, that we gain strength and direction for the day. E. M. Bounds wrote, “Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”

What could be more joyful than coming before the High King of Heaven each morning and spending sweet time with Him! I encourage you to find a place and a time each day when you can be alone with God. David offers a wonderful example of a man after God’s own heart – a true man of prayer. He cried out to God when he was in anguish; he cast his cares on God when he was in need. He praised God for his attributes and thanked Him for his blessings. He sought God for direction, guidance and help. Truly prayer was a fundamental part of King David’s life and the secret to his success.

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7

True Positive: Day Six – Faith

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Our belief system impacts our overall attitude toward life. When we operate from the belief that a loving, creator God cares about our lives and listens to our prayers, we live with a hope and peace that surpass normal understanding. More than that, through faith in Christ we live with a sense of forgiveness and grace that God has bestowed on us, and we in turn extend a similar forgiveness and grace toward others. Living faith of this nature creates in us a deep and abiding love and joy which can’t help but elevate our attitudes in life.

Even secular psychologists site that faith practices can elicit positive emotions such as joy, tranquility and compassion. It’s one thing to believe in the God of the Bible with our minds, but it’s another thing to lean in with our lives and trust His unfailing love for us. One of the ways we strengthen our faith is by reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer (which we will talk about tomorrow). Consider how Paul encouraged the Roman believers’ faith, and notice the peace and hope that come as a result:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5)

 

Ask God to strengthen your faith in Him today.

True Positive: Day Five – Thankfulness

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Want to become a more positive person? Begin a daily routine of giving thanks, and it will change your perspective and outlook on life. When you take a moment to consider the blessings you have encountered over the last 24 hours and reflect on the things you can be glad about, you begin to see that life isn’t as bad as it may seem at times. There are good things happening to us each day, but we have to be looking for them.

Harvard Health Publications from Harvard Medical School wrote this:

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

For me personally, I write in a journal every morning while I enjoy my first cup of coffee. I intentionally make a list of at least five things I can be grateful for – but my list always goes much longer than simply five! Once I start recounting all the Lord has done or recalling the people I encountered, I can’t help but smile. If I am facing a challenge, I try to consider one thing I can be thankful in the midst of the challenge. This practice can literally transform a grumbly person into a happy one -I know, because that’s what it did for me!

True Positive Day 4 – Stay Healthy

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Our physical well-being plays a part in our attitude toward life. A recent USA Today article entitled “Foods that Make you Happy,” reminds us that diet and exercise play a vital role in maintaining a positive disposition. Not only does exercise provide benefits for our physical bodies, it also releases chemicals called endorphins, which help reduce pain and increase feelings of euphoria. As we consider all the aspects of being a sincerely positive person, we can not ignore the importance of eating healthy and getting proper exercise and rest.

As followers of Christ, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should honor God with our bodies. Think about the construction of Solomon’s Temple in the Old Testament, and how it was handled with precision, honor and care. Let’s pay attention to how we are maintaining our bodies and carefully consider what we put into our mouths, as well as how we maintain our fitness and health. You’ll be glad you did – literally!

True Positive: Day Three – Hope

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Despair comes easily when we find ourselves in a difficult situation. Generally speaking, it is a basic human tendency to defer to the negative. It takes a deliberate effort to look for hope when circumstance seem bleak, but that’s what positive people do. We must be honest and realistic about our pain, but through our grief we can look for glimmers of hope.

There is always hope. It may seem like a small sliver, but God can bring good even through the darkest night. Hold onto hope as you cry out to God. Trust the God of all hope to bring you through and ask Him to infuse you with hope. When Jeremiah lamented his own troubles, he made an intentional turn toward hope. He wrote, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end (Lamentations 3:21-22).”

As we focus on God’s unfailing love, let’s ask Him to give us a bigger picture of hope through the power of His Spirit at work within us. As Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).”