With Ever Growing Confidence

by
St. Paul on the Lake

“With ever growing confidence we pray for heavenly defense.”

These words from the morning hymn from the Magnificat kicked me in the stomach today. Ever growing. Is my confidence in the Lord ever growing?

The honest answer is no. My confidence in the Lord, like my faith, can easily stagnate if I let it. Sometimes I can sort of get into this cruise mode where I rest on my laurels a bit.

So when does my confidence in God grow?

It grows when I am steeped in Scripture. When I take time each and every day to read His word, I am reminded of His promises, His generosity, His glory.

It grows when I take time each day to sit down and pray.

It grows when I am in the habit of having conversations with Jesus and Our Blessed Mother throughout the day.

It grows when I ask for grace in the moments when I need it.

All of these things put me in a position to notice and receive with gratitude God’s responses to my prayers. All of these put me in a position to receive what He desires to give me in a day. All of these build my confidence in God because they build my relationship with God. These areas are where my focus lies, these are the areas I’m leaning into.

Practical Tips for Growing in Confidence

Keep a Spiritual Journal

I’ve been keeping one since college, and it is such a fruitful practice. Each time I sit down to pray, I make sure my journal is beside me. When I’m praying or reading or listening, if a word or thought jumps out at me, I write it down. I write down my prayers, the people I’m praying for, the areas I’m asking God to move.

Having a spiritual journal gives me a record of my growth. A record of all the times I’ve turned to God and saw Him answer, of the areas that were once my weaknesses but aren’t any longer. Keeping a journal brings me hope.

It also holds me accountable. In it are my vows to God- the areas I’m striving to do better in, the sources of struggles. Blank pages are an indication that I haven’t been going deeper, haven’t been listening, haven’t been taking my concerns to God.

Pray the Liturgy of the Hours

I first encountered the Liturgy of the Hours as a missionary. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about praying the same sets of prayers 3 times a day over and over again. I thought I grew best with flexibility and change and newness. But oh how wrong I was. How comforting those scripture passages became to me, how much a part of me they are now. Repeating them day in and day out for a whole year was a gift beyond measure, because oftentimes when I am upset or angry or worried, the words that spring first to my mind are words of a psalm.

The words of the Bible are ever-new. Even the most well-read passage will show us new layers of meanings, will speak to our hearts in different ways, if we let it. Leaning into the liturgical life of the Church by praying the liturgy of the hours has helped me to understand how I have changed and grown in confidence. The passages are the same, but I, I am not. New phrases stick out, new lessons are learned, my heart is changed again.

Pick up a Spiritual Read

Here are a few of my favorites:

For more on spiritual journaling, you can check out my post on the topic over at the Catholic Writer’s Guild. And for more on prayer, you can check out this post from the archive, On Adoration.