#151: Spiritual Health: Praying outside the box with Asheritah Ciuciu

Episode 151 of the Grace In Real Life podcast podcast, hosted by Jill E. McCormick, writer + speaker, titled "#151: Spiritual Health: Praying outside the box with Asheritah Ciuciu" was published on February 21, 2023 and runs 50 minutes.

February 21, 2023 ·50m · Grace In Real Life podcast

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Episode Description

Learn how to cultivate a deep prayer life and pray effectively, including incorporating prayer in your daily rhythms in Grace In Real Life Ep 151 w/Asheritah Ciuciu.

I've been talking to God since I was little. My prayer life started with those basic prayers of mimicking what my parents spoke and saying grace before meals.

I'm pretty sure I went radio silent in high school and college. I told myself God was too busy when I was not even considering talking to Him.

Becoming a mother grounded my prayer life, making it a lifeline and the only way I could come up for air. When I held a newborn and entertained an 18-month-old, my prayers were one word: Help.

Now, I write out my prayers because of all the shiny squirrels in my head. My mind goes rogue if my hands don't remind it why we're here.

Prayer seems like the simplest of practices: talking to God and hearing His voice back. And yet… it's a lot more difficult, isn't it?

Because growing your faith through prayer is a skill that takes practice and creativity, and sometimes grit, I invited Asheritah Ciuciu to the show.

Today, Asheritah walks us through how to cultivate a life of prayer, including how to

Pray outside the box,
Use the REST method of prayer
And overcome these two common prayer challenges.

How to cultivate a deep and effective prayer life

"God, would you meet me here in this moment? Would you show me what it looks like to grow in my communication with you?" - Asheritah Ciuciu
"When your prayers come from a sincere, honest heart, they please God." - Asheritah Ciuciu
"Let us not become complacent or somehow believe this is our destiny to be sub-par Christians who don't know how to talk with God." - Asheritah Ciuciu

If you'd like to learn more about developing a life of prayer, go here:

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Key quotes about prayer

"When we look at what Scripture says about what prayer is, it's almost as common as breathing." - Asheritah Ciuciu
"Instead of believing the lie that we are not disciplined enough to be in prayer, we turn them [distractions] into prayer prompts." - Asheritah Ciuciu
"What if God is bringing thoughts we find distracting because He has a list of things He wants to talk with us about?" - Asheritah Ciuciu
"All of who we are is safe with God." - Asheritah Ciuciu
"If you could hear Jesus praying in the room next door, what would He be praying? How would that embolden you to join Him?" - Asheritah Ciuciu
"We have this problem of individualizing and privatizing our faith." - Asheritah Ciuciu
"You are not meant to walk through your wilderness or your storm alone. That's just not how God designed it." - Asheritah Ciuciu
"When you're in the wilderness, when you're in the storm, surround yourself with community who can pray for you, who can hold you, and you can borrow their faith." - Asheritah Ciuciu

As Mentioned in the Podcast

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About Asheritah Ciuciu

Asheritah is a bestselling author, national speaker, and missional entrepreneur. She's also a wife and mom, daughter, sister, and friend. And a recovering perfectionist.

Growing up in church, she thought spending time with Jesus meant an hour alone each day to study and pray—and this formulaic approach got harder to maintain the fuller her life became. But she's learned that Jesus welcomes us to come to Him with our messy bun, sticky hands, crumby floors, and all.

Her greatest mission is to help busy women like us find joy in Jesus—right where we are.