Maybe you’ve heard one person say to another person, “Just stop and listen! Do you hear what you’re saying?”

I had such a conversation with myself the other day. It was a wake up call when I had an onslaught of negative thoughts pound through my head and I realized it was easier to just give up and listen to the negative thoughts than to actually pay attention to what I was saying to myself… to what I was believing in my heart as a result.

When I really stopped to pay attention, however, I recognized it was a little bit like the warning light that flashes on my dehumidifier when the machine is telling me that the filter needs to be cleaned.

But even though I was starting to pay attention and hear more clearly, I knew I needed help with cleaning the filter. And I knew it couldn’t be a one time deal. Just as the filter on the dehumidifier needs to be cleaned every certain number of working hours, the filter of my mind and heart need to be cleaned on a regular basis too.

It’s vital, if I want to maintain a healthy perspective.

So I wrote this short prayer that I want to start reading every morning, as a way to reset my mind for each day ahead. And I’m praying that the power in God’s response will help me to hear and catch those negative thoughts more quickly in the future, so that they don’t become such a snare for my heart as each day rolls along.

“Lord, thank You for every need You’ll fill today and every good gift waiting for me. Even the ones I can’t see. I receive them in advance with gratitude. Thank You for the protective filter You’ve set over me. If anything hard comes, You’ve approved it for a reason You know. I trust You and Your wisdom. Please clean the filter of my heart and mind so that I can see and choose to respond to those hard things in life-giving ways. Teach me how to see and how to choose. Today is good because You are good. No matter what, You are good.”