From Jesus with Love
When you want to target your prayers in order to bring about the best results, try to shut everything else out of your mind. You can do this anywhere, anytime, even in a crowded public place—a busy airport, while riding on the bus or train, anywhere you happen to be. Just stop for a few moments, close your eyes, and concentrate on Me, and I’ll help you to focus your thoughts enough to target your prayers.
The cares of this life and its many burdens and worries can easily distract you from your close fellowship with Me, and fear of failure can cloud your ability to look to Me and have faith that I hear your prayers and love you and want to bless you. I want to raise you up from your burdens and give you a new start. I want to make you a testimony and a witness of My love.
I am not a fabrication, a figment of the imagination, or a fable. I am real—and I am what you need. I can give you comfort in place of anxiety, faith in place of fear, rest in place of struggle, peace in place of worry, happiness in place of sadness, and answers to your questions. I can be your strength, your help in time of need, your friend and companion. That doesn’t mean you will never have another problem or challenge in life, but I can help you with life’s problems.
I’m in the business of helping you take the good things in your life and improve them, making them even better. But if you never take the time to think about these things, maybe because you consider the way you go about it “good enough,” something that works well for you—you’ll lack the motivation to strive for something better.
Never think that I’m far from you. Never think that I’ll tire of you. I don’t judge you by how much you accomplish or by what good works you do. I don’t compare you with others. I look at your heart and the love you have for Me and others. Those are the important things in My eyes—not your good works or efforts for self-improvement.
I do not force anyone to walk through the doors I lead them to, because I want My children to make their own choices. But the door is there, and if you walk through it, you’ll find a great light, for I am the way, the truth, and the life.1
So don’t be afraid to push the door open and walk in. As you take the first step, I will give you the faith to take another step, even if you can’t see where the path is taking you. If you’re walking down the road that I have for you, there is no higher calling or greater fulfillment.
Christmas is always such a busy time. You have more to do than usual. Your to-do list seems never-ending, the hours in the day seem shorter than normal, and the tendency to push yourself is compounded.
The more you speak words of gratitude and praise Me for the good things in your life, the more you’ll develop a positive outlook, even about things you’re tempted to feel negative about. The more you cultivate a positive outlook, the more you will realize that I can use all things in your life to work together for good, to be a blessing to you in some way, and to help you to learn something important or gain a new skill.