Getting Psyched

2 Corinthians 10:5 “And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” In Pre-suasion, Robert Cialdini recounts a story about one of his grad school classmates. His name was Alan, and he had attained notoriety by receiving perfect scores on all four of his standardized entrance exams for his master’s program. When asked how he did so well, Alan recounted that he systematically reviewed past successes and enumerated genuine strengths before test day to get himself psyched up. It got me thinking about how the inner healing process has mostly had to do with breaking word curses for me. Somehow false beliefs that God might not have the best in store or that He is not all powerful get lodged into my psyche, leading to less faith, less presence and less than optimal results. The process of remembering when God really showed up is like a believer’s version of reviewing past successes. And declaring that Jesus gave us full access to his victory on the cross is our version of enumerating our genuine strengths. Except that remembering and having faith in God is a lot more powerful than remembering or having faith in oneself. So if I could spend a minute before each important meeting, remember what God had done and meditate on his power bestowed on me, how much more victorious would all my efforts be? Ok God, I commit to be much more intentional about spending just a few minutes with you before my meetings. The goal of course is you, but I know the results will come as a natural outflow as well. Thank you for giving me full access to your presence and your power. In your son’s name, Amen.