Spiritual Mindfulness + Breath Prayer

In this fascinating episode, Griselda Lua joins to the podcast to talk about the spiritual practice of spiritual mindfulness attained through the practice of focused breath prayer. Are you ever at a loss for words in prayer? Maybe you get distracted or too overwhelmed in prayer? We are called to love God with all of our minds- but how do we do this practically? Prayer is what helps us be continually aware of the presence of God each moment of our lives and in every breath we take. Griselda teaches on the challenge of dealing with distractions & big emotions so we can effectively set our minds on God and His Truth.

About the Speaker:
As of 2019, Griselda has been married to the love of her life, Rafael Lua, for 24 years. They have three adventurous children: Daniel-20, Adrian-19 and Bianca-16. She’s had the amazing blessing of being reached-out to, raised-up in and is now ministering in the central area of the Los Angeles Church where she was baptized as a college student. In addition to their local ministry, Rafael and Griselda serve as the Pacific SouthWest Church Family Chairpersons and have mentored church leaders in Moscow and Mexico City. She was recently elected by the PSW as their first female delegate. Griselda is grateful to God for His mind-blowing grace & steadfast love.

Episode Notes: 
Spiritual Mindfulness - the practice of paying attention to the presence of God in this present  moment. (Giving your full attention, non-judgmentally, to where God is leading you). 

Jesus expressed this desires for us in John 17:20-23 NIV

Q. How often do we truly stop to reflect on the actual presence of God in our lives?

Q. How would our lives be different if each step we took and each breath we took was connected to the awareness of the presence of a God? 

 Would we respond differently to conflict? Challenges? Temptation?

The scriptures often call us to engage our minds:

• “Be still, and know that I am God”.  Ps.46:10
• “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
• “ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6
• “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is been corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your mind...” Eph.4:22
• “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col 3:2

Q. How much focused time are we really spending to train our minds? This takes intentionality. 

Jesus got up early to spend solitary time away from any interruptions and to concentrate on setting His mind on things above.

Our bodies are connected to our minds; they are one. Each influences the other.

     * without concentration, getting rid of distractions and interruptions, prayer cannot bear fruit.

     * The fruit of prayer is peace, calm, reassurance in our faith, stability and strength, hope, connection to God himself.

      * prayer is not the act of submitting a request and getting an immediate answer. We all know this, but in our hearts and minds do we practice this? 

Q. Or do we become frustrated or discouraged when our sincere request goes unanswered?

Phillipians 4:6-7 reminds us:

“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.”

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