Alli Prince's Blog

Why Can’t I hear from God? Part Two

Last week, we talked about what hearing from God is like.

There are a couple of different reasons why we won’t be able to hear from God. I really want to emphasize something I said last week. When God is silent, God usually isn’t the problem in the equation.

The more you accept God’s love and realize how much he cares for you, in my experience, the more and more we’ll hear from God.

I was worshiping this past week, and was having a hard time getting into it.

I didn’t want to just go through the motions. I wanted to experience Him. I wanted to worship. But my heart was pretty numb. A tiny voice whispered, “What if there’s something wrong in my heart, and that’s why I’m not hearing God? What if that’s why I can’t fall into his presence? What if I secretly don’t measure up?”

I started to search myself, to find all the ways and reasons I didn’t measure up. Which one was the reason I couldn’t fully surrender? What part of me was keeping me from God’s presence?

I apologized to God, offering up my weakness and asking him to help me through it, when I heard a soft whisper.

“Do you think tearing down my creation is a good way to worship me?” It wasn’t said in a mean or judgmental way. His tone was soft and gentle. It was a reminder. I struggle with not tearing myself down. It’s something God and I talk a lot about. Once I realized that I’d fallen into the old mindset of criticizing myself and repented of it, I experienced a new level of worship that I hadn’t ever experienced before.

But it’s not always like that. Sometimes, we don’t catch on to what’s going on. What happened in the story above wasn’t all me. There was something else at play. Which leads me to my second reason why we can’t hear from God.

Reason #2 – Interference from The Enemy

It’s really clear in scripture that the enemy is seeking to literally destroy you. I have a saying, “Commit arson against the enemy.” And I mean it. (For more on that saying, check out the article I wrote explaining why I recommend committing a felony in this one instance!)

There’s one guy out there who is beyond thrilled when you can’t hear from God. He leaps and jumps for joy at your self-doubt, at your guilt, at your shame. He’s our enemy. Sometimes, I think, we forget that there is something out there actively working against us.

Sometimes we can’t hear from God because there are demonic forces at play.

This isn’t something that’s scary, mind you. It’s pathetic. It’s pathetic and stupid that something is trying to interfere with my relationship with God. The relationship I have with God is sacred. It’s so special to me. So whenever I can’t hear from God because the demonic has the gall to try and mess with it? I think I get justifiably miffed.

What happened when I was worshiping was interference from the enemy. He didn’t want me to inter into the presence of God, so he suggested a tactic (beating myself up) that he knows is a sure-fire way to get me in my shame and focusing on things I shouldn’t (like myself instead of God’s glory).

There was a moment where I fell for it, too. I could spend time beating myself up for that, or I could recognize the enemy’s scheme, repent for the moment I agreed with the lie, and turn my focus back to Jesus.

Sometimes, we help the enemy more than we want to admit. Believe it or not, we aren’t perfect. There can be things in your life that welcome that interference. Things like habitual sin.

So what do we do when the enemy has decided to wage war?

Step 1: Repent

Oooh, spooky big scary word.

Repenting isn’t some terrible thing. God gave us repentance as a gift. We’re told in scripture time and time again to repent and confess to one another. The best example is in James 5:16!

You can just repent in your head, but if the demonic are waging against you because of habitual sin, take that step and go to someone you trust and confess and repent of it. Or if it’s something that’s really bothering you, even if it isn’t habitual, go and repent.

Something strange happens when we confess to a fellow believer and are forgiven of our sins. The enemy can’t torture you with it anymore. He can’t point at that thing and say, “Look! Look! See! This is why you’re a horrible person! You will never be forgiven!”

Well, guess what SUCKER, I have! I have been forgiven! Repentance is so great. (If reading that word “Repent” sent a sick, heavy feeling into your stomach, take a deep breath and ask God to teach you repentance. Ask him to guide you in this.)

Step 2: Focus back on God.

The more you focus on the enemy, the more power you give him in your life. If you’re feeling interference from the enemy, focus back on God. Read your bible. Get involved in your community of believers and surround yourself with like-minded individuals. We weren’t meant to fight this thing alone. Which leads to my final step.

Step 3: Ask for prayer.

Prayer is how we wage warfare against the enemy. Prayer is powerful. When spiritual warfare is happening around you, gather two or more together and pray. This (and worship) are amazing tools when you encounter that spiritual attack.

Next week we’ll dive into another reason why we can’t hear from God, but for now, I hope this gives you some helpful tools to start combating those lies and get connected with God. 🙂 God loves you, keep fighting.

One of the best ways I’ve found to remind myself of the truth is through daily affirmations. For a list of biblical affirmations, check out this free 21-day devotional!

.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content { background-color: #b5b5b5 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container .et_bloom_form_header { background-color: #efefef !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .wedge_edge .triangle { fill: #efefef} .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_fields i { color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_custom_field_radio i:before { background: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 strong { font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; }.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p strong, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form input, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form button span { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; } Did you know it can take up to 21 days to form a new habit?

Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for joining! Your first affirmation is on it's way.

The post Why Can’t I hear from God? Part Two appeared first on Alli Prince.

Why can’t I hear from God? Part One

A friend asked me this question a few weeks ago, and it really got me thinking.

I’ll pray, and I’ll pray, and I’ll pray, but sometimes it just seems like I’m not getting an answer from God.

Why does that happen? And more importantly, how can we get that part of our relationship with God back online when it seems to be so quiet?

Hearing From God

First, let’s talk about that sentence. What does it really mean to “hear” from God?

For a while, I thought hearing from God was something that only happened in the Bible. I grew up a Christian, but the people around me didn’t “hear” from God. They prayed, and then they made decisions with the best information they had. I didn’t have any examples of people talking with God. I only had examples of talking at God.

But then I met my dear friend, Shelby. We were hanging out in my room, talking about life, when she said something that literally changed my entire life.

“Oh, I was talking to God, and he told me—”

“Wait—” I interrupted her. I sat up, leaning forward. “What do you mean by ‘he told you‘. He actually talks to you?”

“Well…yeah,” she shrugged. “Doesn’t He talk to you?”

That started me on a journey. I wanted to hear God. I wanted to know what He would say to me. I wanted to hear his voice.

Through that journey, I learned that God’s voice wasn’t always audible. That sometimes it was an intense feeling you got in your chest, or a thought that pierced through your mind that could have been yours, but probably wasn’t. That he could speak to me through other people, or in visions with my imagination. But most of all, we learn who God is and what he’s saying by reading and studying His Word. (I’m gonna be real, that wasn’t my favorite revelation ever. I have a hard time understanding the Bible, so sometimes this one feels like pulling teeth.)

But most of all? I started hearing from God because I started asking Him to reveal Himself to me. In prayer and in the quiet moments, I started searching for him. I asked him to teach me how to hear his voice.

That’s the first step. Ask God to start revealing Himself to you, seeking his voice, and reading the Word. Open yourself up and give him permission to speak to you in whatever way he wants, then wait and be ready.

I’ve done that. What now?

Let’s say you’ve done that, and you’ve given it good effort. Or maybe you’ve heard from God before, but he’s suddenly really silent about your life. Maybe you haven’t heard from him in months, or when you do hear from him, it’s once every blue moon, or only when you’re in a spiritually thick place, like a summer camp or a Christian Conference.

What then? When you’ve tried, and you’ve come to the end of yourself, and you still don’t hear from God on the regular…why can’t we hear from him?

The Reasons Why

In my personal experience, and after many conversations with my mentor, I’ve come to recognize four different categories of silence. Now, right off the bat, I want to be clear that this is all from my personal experiences. I’m sure there could be different reasons, or better reasons, but I don’t have those reasons. I just have what I’ve experienced.

Why is God quiet? Trick question. In my experience, it isn’t God that’s the problem.

I serve a God that loves me. A God that is madly in love with me. A God that would (and did) die for me. It just doesn’t make sense that a God who would send his only son to the Earth to die for me would then leave me in silence.

So why can’t I hear him? Well, I’ve found a few different reasons. Today we’ll focus on just one.

1. I experienced something painful and started to believe a lie.

When we believe lies, we shut out the truth of God.

For a long time, I believed that I wasn’t really worth very much. It wasn’t like I thought this, outright, all the time. But, through a series of very painful experiences, it’s what I had started to believe.

I chose to believe that everyone else was worth more than me. In that moment, when I heard that lie and agreed with it, was the moment I shut out God’s voice.

Things like “I’m worthless” or “Everyone probably hates me” will ruin your ability to hear the truth. If you actively think those things, agree with those lies, you accidentally (or maybe even intentionally) shut out the truth.

When you shut out the truth, you shut out God’s voice. Why? Because He is the truth.

Pain is like this. You sit, holding your hands tight over your ears, squeezing your eyes shut to try and block out the pain, to block out the lies of the enemy. But when we do that, we leave ourselves in complete darkness, where we can’t hear or see anything other than the pain and lies. God is whispering to you, just like he was whispering to me. He’s just waiting for you to open yourself up, to remove your hands from around your ears, and to open your eyes and look upon his glory.

So what do we do?

There are other reasons why we won’t hear from God. I’ll expand on those in the coming weeks, but for now, and if this is the particular problem you’re experiencing in your life, I have something that might help. I wrote an article a little while ago about the 3 steps to overcoming a lie. For an in-depth discussion on it, read the blog here!

It sucks when we don’t hear from God. Something I’ve learned since I started this journey is just how sweet his voice is. But once we start taking our pain, and the lies we believe to him, it gets easier. 🙂

Stay tuned for reasons 2, 3, and 4! To get an alert for these articles, sign up for my newsletter here!

A great way to get rid of lies is to start affirming the truth. Check out some great truth here with my 21-day free devotional!

.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content { background-color: #b5b5b5 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container .et_bloom_form_header { background-color: #efefef !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .wedge_edge .triangle { fill: #efefef} .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_fields i { color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_custom_field_radio i:before { background: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 strong { font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; }.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p strong, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form input, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form button span { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; } Did you know it can take up to 21 days to form a new habit?

Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for joining! Your first affirmation is on it's way.

The post Why can’t I hear from God? Part One appeared first on Alli Prince.

Commit Arson Against The Enemy

“Whoa, Alli,” you must be saying. “That’s like…really violent. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to fight fire with fire?”

To which I’d respond with, “Whoa, reader. How are your knees from JUMPING to so many CONCLUSIONS? You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet.”

The enemy is a nasty dude. Straight up. We all know this. Even if personal experience didn’t inform us of this, God certainly does.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

So it shouldn’t be a surprise when the roaring lion tries to devour us. But yet, sometimes, I find myself shocked and completely caught off guard when I run into the dreaded Spiritual Warfare. Sometimes it even takes me a while to figure out that it is spiritual warfare.

What am I supposed to do when the enemy attacks?

This past week, I had a flare-up.

A lot of you know that I’ve struggled with chronic pain my whole life. I’ve seen a lot of healing in this, but sometimes, I still flare up. Sometimes I push my body too far too fast and reap the consequences.

But sometimes my body flares because the enemy is pissed off and wants me to question all the healing I have seen. Sometimes, I’ll be going about life, I’ll fall into an old lie or an old mindset, and that will actually trigger a flare-up in my back.

It used to really upset me. Honestly, it still kind of does. When my back flares, and I can’t do the things I normally can, or pain becomes consistent for a few days again, it’s so easy to fall back into the old lies that the enemy wants me to believe. Things like, “I’m just not good enough,” or “I just can’t,” or “I’ll never get healing.”

What does this have to do with Arson? Great question, I would love to tell you.

Arson · Noun

The criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property.

The enemy is going to attack you. You are a child of God, so that’s just what’s going to happen. You are now God’s property. You belong to Him.

We know that the enemy is going to attack us, yet we do nothing about it. I see so many Christian’s (myself included) living in defeat. We look at the spiritual warfare and we say, “oh, woe is me! The enemy is attacking me! Whatever shall I do?”

What do you mean ‘what can I do‘? You’re a Child of God, seated in the heavenly places! Don’t look at what the enemy is doing. Look at what God is doing. Commit yourself to him. Surrender what’s happening and trust Him. When you (God’s Property) are on fire for God? That’s Arson against the enemy. It’s dedicated. It’s deliberate.

(If it feels like I’m Edna Mode hitting you with a rolled-up magazine, it’s because I am.)

We don’t fight battles of flesh and blood, but of the unseen realm. I know that I’m worthy. I know that I’m capable. I know that God has promised healing. I know because God has specifically told me in the Bible.

So why would I let the enemy convince me otherwise? Why would I even let his voice, his fiery arrows, anywhere near me? Why would I give him the time of day?

There is a huge difference in God’s holy fire, his anointing, his purity, and the flaming darts of the enemy.

Be Active

It’s a lot easier said than done. This past week, my flare-up was bad. I could barely switch from sitting to standing, and I ached constantly. I wanted to give up. But my friends? The community of believers around me surrounded me. They prayed for me, and then they spoke the truth over me. You have been healed. God offers you peace. Be at peace.

I was still in pain, but I made the choice to believe their words over my feelings. I chose to put my faith first, regardless of whether my circumstances matched up with it. I’m still in pain, but it’s nowhere near where it was, and guess what? Those lies, the flaming arts of the enemy that want me to believe things like “I’m worthless” or “I’m not good enough?” They don’t matter because they’re not true.

There’s only one way to fight off spiritual warfare. Stop focusing on the enemy and set yourself on fire for God.

Commit Arson against the enemy.

Do you know the first step to Arson? Planning. Start the fight with a plan in place and use these 21 Daily Biblical Affirmations!

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Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for joining! Your first affirmation is on it's way.

The post Commit Arson Against The Enemy appeared first on Alli Prince.

What Cow Hooves and Jesus Have in Common

I hate crying.

My one consolation with tears is the fact that I have really big, beautiful blue eyes, and when you add moisture to them, they glisten like an anime girl.

(Visual representation of my eyes when I cry.)

Let’s not mention the fact that my eyes also get all red and bloodshot, my nose starts to shine like Rudolph, and I’ll sniffle like I’ve come down with the common plague. Crying is gross. There’s snot, and liquid leaking from your eyes, and most of the time, you can’t really even help it.

Sometimes, I don’t even know why I’m crying, which makes me all the more frustrated, which makes me cry even more.

But God told me something about crying this week that might have just changed my perspective.

Nate The Hoof Guy

Alright, this change in conversation might give you some whiplash, but stick with me, I swear it actually matters.

If you’re in the very niche group of people (like me), then maybe you’ll get Nate The Hoof Guy on your Facebook or YouTube Reels. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me explain it now.

So there’s this guy online who takes care of cows (I love cows), and he mostly carves their hoof’s to help them walk better. Cow hoofs are kinda like fingernails, so the carving doesn’t hurt; it just helps. But sometimes rocks or other stuff get in the hoofs, and so it gets infected and causes a bunch of problems for the cows. The hoof will grow around the rock to try to protect the infected area from outside, but most of the time, that just covers up the problem.

(Here: Check out this video for an example! but fair warning, there is some grossness in it.)

When that happens, Nate has to carve away the hoof to release all the pressure inside. On the surface, it doesn’t look like there’s any problem, but once you start carving away at it, the problem is revealed. You keep carving, and all that pus from the infection that was hurting the cow is released, bringing the cow relief.

You get where I’m going with this?

Sunday Morning Cry-Fest

My family is experiencing a lot back home. They’ve been faced with some pretty big life-changing issues, and I can’t do anything about it. Why? I’m all in the way in Ohio. I’m completely and totally removed from the situation, and even though it’s happening to my siblings and parents, it’s not really happening to me.

But I’m still sad about it. I still care deeply about it. I pray about it all the time.

On Sunday morning, after a long and hard week, I was emotionally exhausted. I had all this pressure inside. I didn’t want to talk about what was bothering me, because it wasn’t really happening to me, and there wasn’t anything anyone could really do about it. During worship, all of it hit me at once, and I started to cry—and I mean like really cry. It was obvious, and I couldn’t stop it.

I was frustrated with myself. Focusing on my problems instead of God during worship? The nerve! But then I heard the whisper of God.

“Alli, I’m Nate the Hoof Guy,” he said. This made me stop crying for a second, cause that’s a really ridiculous thing to say to someone who’s crying. But then, he leaned in and said, “I’m carving away. Crying is how we release that pressure from the hurt inside of us. So please, let me carve and release that pressure. Go ahead and cry. Let it out.”

After that, I didn’t mind crying so much.

And you know what? I hate to admit it, but that pressure did release. Things are still going on with my family, but that pressure is gone. I know God has them, even though it’s scary. I can trust him with them, and I can cry about it when I need to, because it’s releasing the pressure inside so that God can heal the wound.

Do you let yourself cry? Really cry? Or do you hide away and wait until you’re alone? Do you hide your tears from God and the community he’s placed you in?

Crying isn’t my new favorite pastime or anything, but it is important. When you have that pressure inside, and you just need to cry…put on some worship music and get it out. Let God heal you.

A huge way God has healed me is with daily affirmation of biblical truth. Don’t miss out on this free reminder to speak life instead of lies!

.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content { background-color: #b5b5b5 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container .et_bloom_form_header { background-color: #efefef !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .wedge_edge .triangle { fill: #efefef} .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_fields i { color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_custom_field_radio i:before { background: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 strong { font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; }.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p strong, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form input, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form button span { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; } Did you know it can take up to 21 days to form a new habit?

Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for joining! Your first affirmation is on it's way.

The post What Cow Hooves and Jesus Have in Common appeared first on Alli Prince.

Will you make that choice? – Charlie Kirk Tribute

There’s only one thing that God has permitted me to speak on, regarding the events that have happened in the last week.

I’m not someone who is very politically active. I was not a long-time follower of Charlie Kirk. But I did see his videos on my feed. I did watch some of his debates, especially the conversations he’d have with people about Christ.

This past week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. There are a thousand different opinions, and a hundred more angles to look at all those opinions than I have the time or the energy to sort through. But as I was praying this week, and thinking and talking to God about this, one thing really stood out to me in this whole mess.

The Choices We Make

Charlie Kirk didn’t make one choice that led to his assassination. It’s not like he got up that day and randomly decided to go out and speak about the gospel at that university. It’s not like an angel came down and asked him, “Hey, Charlie. Would you give up your life for Christ today?”

It was a constant, everyday decision that he made. Every single day, he got up and had to decide, “I’m going to speak about the gospel because Jesus is the truth.” Every single day, he chose to live out the calling God put on his life, no matter if people got angry at him, no matter if people made fun of him, no matter if people shouted or raved or spewed hate at him.

Sometimes, giving your life for Christ is a moment.

But there were so many moments before that that we don’t get to see. There are moments when we doubt. Moments where we have to grit our teeth and say, “Yes. I choose God above all else.”

Living for Christ isn’t one choice. Sometimes, giving your life is that moment, it’s that one choice where you face death, and you don’t let it intimidate you. You don’t back down. But more often than not, it’s that small, every single day, type choice. It’s literally giving your life, your whole entire life—every day, every hour, every single second—to live the truth of Jesus.

It’s choosing Jesus even when people look at you weirdly. It’s choosing Jesus even when people could throw hate in your direction. It’s choosing Jesus when you don’t get what you want, or when the things he’s asking you to do seem pointless or strange. It’s choosing Jesus no matter what.

Am I making that choice?

Many of us would give up our lives for Christ. If we were faced with that moment, I know countless people who wouldn’t back down. But this past week got me thinking. Am I giving my everyday to Christ? Am I giving up the things he’s told me to give to him? Am I willing to look weird for him? To be shouted at and hated? Am I willing to give every second, every single breath I breathe, to Jesus?

Am I living for Christ?

Are you?

Usually, I have something free for you guys to grab at the bottom of these articles. Today, I’m going to ask you for something. Would you take a moment and pray for his wife with me? Would you pray for his children? His friends? His enemies?

The post Will you make that choice? – Charlie Kirk Tribute appeared first on Alli Prince.

God Doesn’t Have Secret Intentions With You

I’ve had my share of nasty friendships.

Believe it or not, there are some people out there who don’t like me very much. Misguided? Yes, I’m fantastic. But the fact remains. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay.

Lately, God and I have been talking a lot about my desperate need for approval. How that need and want shouldn’t be about getting the approval of man, but of God (and how secretly, I already have that approval from him.) But this past week, he showed me something really cool about his approval, and about how I interact with him and everyone else around me.

How you treat others is how you’ll end up treating God.

(And how you assume everyone will treat you.)

I used to have a particular group of friends. They were great, for the most part. I really enjoyed hanging out with them. But after every hangout, I’d hear about the secret things that happened during our hangouts. How Person A looked at Person B wrong, or how Person C and Person D were secretly fighting. I looked around me and realized that every single person had secret intentions with someone else. Secret fights, secret mistrust, secret thoughts and intentions.

It was stressful. Honestly? Looking back, I really hated it. We couldn’t just “get along”. It all came to a head one week, and now that friend group is pretty much gone. No one is really friends with anyone else anymore. Why? Because you can only harbor secret intentions, secret pain, secret conflict, for so long until it gives. Nothing stays hidden forever. One day, the pain, the hurt, the conflict… it’ll rear up and destroy everything.

Back then, I found myself constantly guessing, trying to figure out what the secret intentions of everyone else were, so I could mediate when we were hanging out. So I could steer the conversation to safe topics, to keep the peace. To make sure everyone had a good time so that we’d stay friends. Was that my job? No. (But I’ve written about that before.) I’m just as much at fault for this, too. It’s hard to bring up conflict. It’s scary and intimidating, and sometimes it’s just easier to shove that pain down and pretend it doesn’t exist.

It was just last week that I was sitting on my couch, eating gummy worms and talking to Jesus, you know, as you do, when I realized something.

God isn’t like that—But I’ve been treating him like he is.

When I pray or when I seek God, I hold this stress in my heart, trying to discern what his real intentions are. When he wants me to do something—why? What’s he secretly wishing for me to do on top of that thing? When I get a gift from him (like the chair that randomly arrived at my house—no return address, nobody I know got it for me. A large, reading chair just randomly arrived at my doorstep. A beautiful gift from God), I stress, trying to figure out what it is he wants me to do with it? If I don’t know, then I can’t be obedient. If I’m not being immediately obedient—then I’m disobeying! (Legally: That last one is a complete lie, but that’s a different blog for a different time.)

I can’t just accept a gift. I can’t just be obedient. I spend at least a few minutes every time I pray trying to make sure I’m hearing him right, that I’m discerning his secret intentions that he hasn’t told me. It shows how much I really don’t trust God.

But that’s not what God is like.

That’s what the enemy is like. That’s what the enemy wants you to think God is like.

How I treat my friends (and how they treat me) has a direct impact on my relationship with God. It’s why community is so important. If the community you have is Godly, it’ll teach you how much God loves you. How Jesus wants you and adores you. But if your community is full of secret intentions, it’ll teach you something else.

No community is perfect. We all make mistakes. But if there’s darkness in your community, a consistent issue or problem that doesn’t seem to get resolved ever, then I would really consider how Godly that community really is. (Don’t just take my word for it. It’s put really simply in 1 John chapter 1.)

God loves you. He doesn’t have secret intentions for you. He might have surprises, or plans for your life you don’t need to know yet, but when he wants you to do something, he’ll tell you.

Rest in his presence because he is a good father and a really good friend.

The best way to teach your heart this is to affirm Biblical truth daily! Check out my free 21-day devotional!

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Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for joining! Your first affirmation is on it's way.

The post God Doesn’t Have Secret Intentions With You appeared first on Alli Prince.

Do you play with God?

When I was a little girl, I used to play with dolls. A lot. (Shocker, I know.)

And let me tell you, these games I played were plot-heavy. Missing Queens, attempted murder, evil grandmothers trying to marry off their granddaughters (disclaimer: My grandma never tried to marry me off, so I have no idea why this was always a plot point). Things got intense. There was divorce, death! Shattered dreams and broken friendships.

I don’t play with dolls anymore, but that love for the story and drama never left. Now, I channel that creative energy into my writing. But more often than not, I find myself daydreaming storylines as I drift off to sleep at night.

I mostly catch myself imagining these things when I’m supposed to be praying.

Ever do that? Get distracted when you’re talking with God?

Distracted Prayer

I always feel guilty when I realize I’ve become distracted with prayer, especially when I’ve been distracted by my own fake, imagined scenarios. I should be talking to God, and instead, I’m imagining what would happen if I were launched back through time, or how that conversation could have gone if I’d just said something else—anything else.

What-ifs and could-have-beens swirl around my head as I drift to sleep. If it’s not that, it’s the next plot point for my story or a new character that I can write about.

God deserves my attention. He deserves the best conversation I can give him, right? How easily swayed am I to be so easily distracted! Woe is me! Guilt and shame crowd my head as I snap out of my daydream and realize I had been in the middle of talking to God.

This used to be how every night was for me, until one day God said something I wasn’t expecting.

When God Says Different

I was in a daydream, imagining different characters (and having a grand old time daydreaming) when I realized I had been praying. I sat up in bed, shook my head, and immediately apologized.

“God, I’m so sorry! You deserve better than this. You deserve better attention,” I whispered.

And then I got a very strong image in my mind. It was of me, a little girl, playing with my dolls. Except this time, instead of being alone, God was sitting behind me, smiling from ear to ear at the stories I was coming up with.

“All you have to do is invite me in,” I heard him whisper. Slowly, I set my head back down on the pillow. Tentatively, I invited God into my daydreams.

All at once, so many things became clear to me. It isn’t just me playing by myself in my imagination. I’m playing with God. Just as we can learn a great deal about a child by what they play, I was letting God into a very vulnerable and special part of myself that I had deemed unworthy of Him. A part of me that I was…honestly? A little embarrassed by.

That night, as I imagined, I could feel God’s presence. But more than that, I realized a ton of stuff about myself I didn’t know before, and also realized I was stressing about something that I hadn’t given to God. By inviting God in, I was able to recognize where I needed to further surrender my life to him and had the opportunity to do so.

A challenge

There’s a time and place for this, of course. Sometimes, when you’re distracted by prayer, it can be a sign that something is wrong or that the enemy is trying to distract you from hearing from God.

But the next time you’re drifting off to sleep, and you’re letting your mind run wild, I challenge you to do this: Invite him in.

Just ask him in. Invite God to listen to the story your mind is coming up with. Let him see that vulnerable side of you, and then see what happens. 🙂 You might just learn something new about yourself, or about God.

Talking about daydreams…that’s how I came up with this short story. What if I could talk with my past and future self?

What would I say to them? Would teen angst get the best of me, or would I overcome?

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The post Do you play with God? appeared first on Alli Prince.

Can God Heal Your Depression?

Big question for a Wednesday, isn’t it?

But it’s a good day as any to ask it, so I’ll ask it. This is a question I’ve had for most of my life. Depression is deep and ugly and a completely different experience for everyone who feels it. The depression I feel is going to be way different than the depression you feel.

I asked God what he wanted me to blog about two weeks ago, and this blog popped into my head. Clearly, I didn’t write it two weeks ago (I wrote about my time at Realm Makers), but the idea didn’t leave me. Why didn’t I write it? I really care what other people think of me. Like, a lot. I like being happy, and I like making other people happy.

God is a pretty big God. If you’re like me, then you believe that God can do anything he wants to. So, the question for this blog isn’t really the right question. It’s an easy answer. Can he? Yes. Yes, he absolutely can.

But will He?

Now, that’s a harder question.

My journey

I’ve experienced depression since I was about ten years old. The first time I remember thinking, “I want to die,” was when I was sitting by the windows in our family room, back in California. I was staring at the empty street, sitting alone. The rest of my family are real introverts, and back then, we lived at least 45 minutes away from anyone I knew. I’d already finished school for the day, had nothing to do until dinner, and the rest of my family was squirrled away doing their own thing. I sat, looked out the window, and felt so alone that I really wanted to die.

Other things were happening at that time that significantly added to it, of course. It wasn’t like I just woke up one day and felt depressed. I’d hurt my back and was in constant physical pain, doctors told me I was crazy and was making up the pain for attention, we’d had to leave our bible study, and we left the homeschool group I was part of, etc. etc. etc.

Isolation + pain = A perfect opportunity for the enemy.

We went from seeing people once or twice a week consistently to just…nothing being consistent. And when I wasn’t around my friends, and I was in constant physical and emotional pain…well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the enemy took the opportunity he saw. (In case you haven’t noticed, attacking God’s children is like, the enemy’s favorite thing to do.)

Flash forward fifteen years, and the journey has been long, tiring, and full of constant ups and downs.

I’d have seasons where I’d feel less depressed, but it never truly went away.

I was talking on the phone with a friend once, and we were chatting about life. I don’t usually talk about depression, but that had been a really down week, and it sort of just slipped out. He told me that I should bring it to God, that God could heal me.

“I’ve been depressed since I was ten,” I remember laughing in a really sad, not at all funny, kind of way. “It’s not going to just go away.”

“He can!” My friend shouted—physically raised his voice at me. “Alli, He can heal you!”

I dismissed it at the time, but the conversation stayed with me. It stayed with me so much, in fact, that I did start bringing it to God.

Newsflash: I didn’t get a snap-of-the-fingers, immediate healing. But I started asking for it. I asked God to show me where this was coming from, so that I could move past this. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a day that I woke up and my first thought wasn’t, “Man, I wish I could give up on life. Oh well, let’s put some pants on and try to get through this day.”

The Results

That conversation started me on a journey of figuring out why I felt this way. Let me tell you, it’s more complicated than can ever be fully put into words. But I started seeking help. I started asking God again. Instead of just dismissing the way I felt, I started considering the why, and I started seeking advice from my mentors.

I started studying the word and learning about my identity. I started to make sure what God says about me wasn’t just in my head, but really impacting me in my heart, too. (I highly recommend going through Ephesians 1 and highlighting everything it says about you, and then memorizing that list. Here’s my list!)

I started asking God to help me take captive those thoughts that encouraged depression. Thoughts that, I realized, were actually lies disguised as my thoughts. I started trying to get outside more and move around a little. (Unfortunately, exercise does actually help. Won’t cure it, but it’s worth doing.)

The biggest change was the prayer I started asking for. When an altar call happens at Church, I go and ask for a prayer for the depression instead of just sitting in my seat. I’ve pulled two or three particular people together to pray for me, and when I’m having a down day, guess what? I reach out. I ask for more prayer. Because it’s become increasingly obvious to me that God can…and He wants to. It just might not look like how I think it should look. Maybe it’s not an immediate, snap-your-fingers type healing. Maybe it’s a day by day, work with Jesus, type healing…

And one day I woke up and my first thought was, “I can’t wait to write today.”

Ladies and Gents, that’s what we call ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁progress . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Can God Heal You?

Yes. Yes He Can.

Will He? Well, he started healing me, and I assure you, I’m not any more special or loved by God than you are…so maybe it’s time to start asking Him to. 🙂

One of the biggest impacts of taking control of your thoughts is replacing them with truth. That’s why I made this 21 day devotional! Check it out, because guess what, it’s free!

.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content { background-color: #b5b5b5 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container .et_bloom_form_header { background-color: #efefef !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .wedge_edge .triangle { fill: #efefef} .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_fields i { color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_custom_field_radio i:before { background: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #f594af !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container h2 strong { font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, Lucida, sans-serif; }.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container p strong, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form input, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_18 .et_bloom_form_container form button span { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; } Did you know it can take up to 21 days to form a new habit?

Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for joining! Your first affirmation is on it's way.

The post Can God Heal Your Depression? appeared first on Alli Prince.

What to do when you’re stuck!

I got stuck in a tree once.

Back in the day, I was a big self-proclaimed “tomboy.” Maybe it was because all of my friends my age were guys, or maybe I really did have an adventurous spirit. Either way, there was this tree, right? It curved all the way to the right, so low and steep that you could literally walk up. My friends and I took turns trying to climb higher and higher. I’d climbed fairly high (higher than anyone else 😎 ), and suddenly realized that I was actually terrified of heights and couldn’t come down at all.

Ever been there?

Maybe you haven’t been in that exact scenario, but I’m sure you can relate. You do something, get halfway into it, and then realize that you’d really rather be doing anything but that thing. You realize with startling clarity that this is actually the most terrifying thing you could be doing with your life, and you’d really like to come down now!

Sometimes, I feel that way with writing—especially this particular project I’m working on. I’ve spent over 30 hours working on it, and I’ll be honest, I have no idea if it’s publishable. I want to give up on it. I want to work on something else. You could say that this project makes me feel like I’m stuck in a tree…so what should I do?

I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a situation like that, my first instinct is to hold onto the tree, screw my eyes shut, and scream bloody murder.

Stuck in a Tree

So that’s what little seven-year-old Alli did. I clung to that tree, limbs shaking, the bark biting into my skin, and shrieked. My dad came running. I remember staring down at him and thinking he seemed so tiny (for reference, my dad is 6ft 1″). I told him I was stuck and couldn’t get down.

My Dad told me he couldn’t reach me, and I would have to climb down on my own.

Seven-year-old Alli said some choice words in her head about that.

Mostly things like “stupid” and “ugly”, all of course directed at the tree I’d decided to climb.

So, what did I do?

Obviously, because I’m writing this, you can probably guess that I didn’t stay in the tree.

My Dad talked me down, literally. He told me where to step, where to scooch down, and directed me calmly down the limb of the tree until my feet were on the ground.

I hadn’t recalled that memory in a long time. I’d actually forgotten about it until I went on a walk this week and passed a tree that looked so similar to the one I’d climbed all those years ago. As that memory flashed in my mind, I felt God put a hand on my head.

My novel, that I feel stuck with? The one I want to shriek for God to snap his fingers and fix or to give up entirely on? God is like my Dad in that situation. He’s standing next to me, ready to catch me if I make a wrong move and fall, but he’s encouraging me on where to step, where to go.

There’s this one verse in Exodus that always stands out to me. It’s when the Israelites are crying out for God to save them from their slavory. It reads as this.

And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Exodus 2:24-25

God saw them. He knew their suffering. He pulled them out of Egypt.

But they still had to walk, didn’t they?

They still had to be obedient to the things He called them to do. Even when they were scared. Even when they didn’t want to do it anymore.

I want to be careful here, because I think this can be taken way out of context. So, let me be clear: You can be obedient, you can do what God has called you to, even when you’re scared. Maybe it won’t look like God coming and swooping you out of a tree, or maybe it will. I don’t like to put God in a box.

All I know is this. For me, that memory and that verse combined into one beautiful situation in which I felt seen by God, my fear of the future, of doing what He’s called me to do, was gently called out, and I was given a promise from God.

God sees. God knows. God is there.

So, what do you do when you’re stuck?

Scream for God. In all honesty, he’s probably already there. Scream for God, and then listen and be obedient to what he says—even if you’d really rather he snap his fingers and fix the problem.

I don’t know where this novel will end up. Maybe it’ll be a bestseller, or maybe my editors will tell me it was a good try but ultimately unpublishable. Regardless, God is with me, directing me where to go. I can trust his voice, no matter how high up I feel. No matter how scary the situation.

And then, I can be obedient to what he calls me to do. 🙂 Because God sees and God knows.

Relate? Comment below and tell me where God sees you!

Do you feel unseen by God? I think sometimes fiction can help us feel the most seen. Check out this short story I wrote for you!

Check out Yesterday’s Self, a coming-of-age, sci-fi, Christmas-Carol-esque short story about a young boy wrestling with the pain of his past and his terrifying, unknown future. Can God see his pain? More importantly, can God fix it?

.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_content { background-color: #aaaaaa !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container .et_bloom_form_header { background-color: #0a0404 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #494949 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_fields i { color: #494949 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_content .et_bloom_custom_field_radio i:before { background: #494949 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_content button { background-color: #494949 !important; } .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container h2, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container h2 span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container h2 strong { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; }.et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container p, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container p span, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container p strong, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container form input, .et_bloom .et_bloom_optin_9 .et_bloom_form_container form button span { font-family: "Lora", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; } Yesterday's Self: A short story

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The post What to do when you’re stuck! appeared first on Alli Prince.

You Don’t Belong*

I went to Realm Makers this past weekend!

For those of you who don’t know, Realm Makers is one of the biggest Christian Writing Conferences in the States. A whole bunch of nerds get together and do nerdy things like dress up, go to sessions by real authors and publishers, and most importantly, have the chance to pitch or sell their books. It’s great fun!

This was the first year I was able to attend because my school, The Company, had a booth at the expo. A single thought pierced my brain as I strolled into the conference center. I took in the large booths with impressive displays, saw fellow writers dressed to the nines in costumes and stylish outfits, and thought, “Wow. I don’t belong here.”

Ever have a thought like that?

You Don’t Belong Here.

I’m not as stylish as some of my friends. I don’t have cool costumes, or enjoy dressing up very much. All the way leading up to the conference, anxiety pushed and pulled at my stomach. It was like a thousand little bugs were crawling inside my intestines.

I’ve only been doing this whole “author thing” for a couple of years now, and more often than not, I feel a little bit like a fraud. “Sure, you’ve produced a book or two,” says the enemy. “But what makes you think you could ever do that again? These people around you, they’re the real authors. You don’t belong here with them.”

I got to the conference, and I looked around, and I couldn’t help but compare myself to the dozens of different authors that were already there. The ones with the cool displays or the big signs with their name printed in bold letters. I didn’t have any of that. What good was I? How do you combat a lie so potent? So real?

Prayer Meeting

Our mentor, Brad Pauquette, sat us down before the expo started for a meeting and to pray. In the meeting, he looked each of us in the eye and he said, “You belong here. You have earned your spot at this Expo. So say it. Say that you belong here.”

I’ll admit, I didn’t quite believe him. It felt like a nice sentiment, but these authors were so cool. Literally so freakin’ cool.

But then the Expo started, and we began talking to the other authors, and I realized something.

Everyone else was just as awkward as I was. (It’s a Christian conference of writers with a large homeschool population. Let’s be real, it doesn’t take long to find out how awkward everyone is.) We laugh at the wrong times, we misunderstand and say the wrong thing. We were all just trying our best to do what we love, and put out the story God placed on our hearts.

How cool is that?

Everyone was a person, just like me. Someone loved and adored by God. Even the “big-name” authors were just people, like me. And if everyone else was loved by God, what would make me so special to be the only person there who wasn’t?

Newsflash: I did belong there.

The lie “I don’t belong here” is bold in the fact that it’s pretty much completely untrue. Everyone feels it at some point. It’s not a unique experience. I’m sure that every person at Realm Makers at one point or another has felt like the odd man out. But God has called you by name. He died for you. Because he loves you, you belong with him.

No matter where God calls you, or what he has you do, guess what? If he’s with you, you belong. It’s just that simple. 🙂 So take a breath, and repeat after me.

“I am loved by God. He has called me into his family. I belong here.”

Want help overcoming lies like “I don’t belong here”? Check this out!

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Each time you think a thought, you reinforce it. That's why it's so hard to fight the enemy's lies on your own.

 

Each day, for 21 days, you'll get a short email with a biblical affirmation or truth! So let's break those nasty lies and start walking in the freedom God has called us to!

 

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