Turning off Negatives through Prayer
How do we turn off the negative voices in our head, the ones we invite there? When we invite negative inner dialogue and voices, is there an inevitability to it? Isn’t negativity just part of life and part of living in a broken world?
The short answer is yes, negativity is part of life. But in reality, a broken world does not rob us of our agency. There can be negative streams of information that inundate our lives and it can appear to be inevitable but more often there are causes that we can control. We have the freedom to make choices, and it is helpful to realize that choices are rarely neutral. They create an impact that moves us either toward or away from deeper friendship with the Holy Spirit.
Is there a way to discern which direction a decision moves us? Yes, it can be straight forward to recognize.
More often, we have already made choices that make those questions a springboard for deeper discussion. I want to suggest that there are two sources of negative inner dialogue in our lives: the narratives that are imposed on us and the narratives that we invite.
Most of us carry narratives that have been imposed on us and those stories often drive a wedge in our relationship with God. Think about when you were bullied, a parent, sibling, or extended family member spoke down or demeaned you, or some incident occurred that created shame. We might have been in grade school but sometimes we spend the rest of our lives with the negative dialogue echoing in our minds.
How can we turn off that negative voice? Is there a way to regain agency so that we are not overwhelmed of persistently subjected to the echo of our minds? Scripture would suggest that this imposed negativity can be submitted to the healing power of the cross. We have the choice to renew our minds. Ephesians 4:23,24 suggests that we can renew our thoughts by practicing right living and being set apart in a way that is inspired by God.
The idea here is that by living rightly, our minds follow suit and we become more whole, both inside and out. Moving towards friendship with the Holy Spirit is something we can choose by living in a way that would make God happy to be in the room with us. Think about that and start with the small choices and changes… the Holy Spirit can use right behavior to spark a mindset transformation.
