The beauty of breath prayer is not that it only make us present to ourselves, but that we are made aware of the presence of God. We are meant to be in communion with God, and prayer is the conduit to experience the fulness of his presence.

God does not ask us to be constantly busy, nor do we need to fill our days to prove our worth. In fact, He calls us to the opposite. God reaches out and reminds us our worth does not come from how full our days are, or how important we may seem. Our worth comes from the very fact that He created us.

With the internet and social media at our fingertips, we are constantly bombarded with notifications that interrupt us. We need to purposely tune out the world’s noise and intentionally focus on the Lord. We need to enter a time of silence and solitude, when our phones are on “do not disturb,” and distractions are nonexistent.

So how do we do this? We schedule it.

I used to feel frustrated most mornings. I didn’t need a new schedule or a better planner. What I needed was a flexible routine, a series of habits that didn't have to look exactly the same each day in order to bless my life. I needed to let go of something I thought would be perfect and focus instead on small, doable actions that would breathe life into my whole day.

We live in a confusing and conflicted world, particularly when it comes to the idea of self-care. As Christians, mixed messages tell us to take care of ourselves but also serve selflessly, putting the needs of others above our own. Luckily, we have one who has gone before us, providing the ultimate example of loving others well, including ourselves.

Despite knowing that healing and life can flow through my journal, those empty pages showed weeks since I regularly woke up early to capture my thoughts. We all have stretches where we stare at a blank journal page. We might want to write but are emotionally exhausted by life and only want to distract ourselves from how hard it has been. So let’s talk about how we can ease back into a rhythm while not overwhelming ourselves.

The practice of looking for God’s goodness makes us more aware of what God is doing in our lives. Instead of looking at all that is going wrong, I’ve found joy in looking out for the traces of God. This is necessary to our healing. The connection of us seeing God at work in our lives reminds us of his deep love for us, anchors us to him, and restores our trust in him.

What does meditating on the word of God look like practically? I have good news for you – Christian meditation is ultra-practical and easy to work into your schedule. If you only have five minutes per day, you can meditate on God’s Word for greater peace. It’s that simple.

We all go through seasons of feeling like we are not doing enough for God. We feel the tension of needing something new, the discomfort of feeling far from God, or dwindling mental clarity. We know something has got to give. Is it time to begin a spiritual practice? Consider these three indicators.

Jesus’ example of retreating in order to be close to a Father He was unified with should be a model for how we all live. His coming away from the noise was teaching us how to be human in relationship with the Father.