Episode 33
33 | Feeling Far from God? 3 Daily Habits to Feel Close to God Again
Trigger warning: This episode contains a mention of miscarriage. If you have experienced one, or are in the midst of one, I am deeply sorry for your loss. May God bring you peace and healing during this time.
Feeling far from God? You’re not alone! In today’s chat, we’ll explore three simple daily habits that can help bridge that gap and draw you back into a close relationship with Him. These habits are not just tasks, but transformative practices that invite God into your everyday life.
If you’re ready to draw nearer to Him, let’s settle in and dive into these habits that can transform your spiritual life.
I pray that this episode blesses and encourages you!
Michelle
✨ Next Steps:
- Ready to Discover Your Unique Purpose with Clarity? Book your 1:1 Purpose Coaching Session Here
- Connect with Catholic moms discovering God’s plan in everyday life Here
- Receive Weekly Encouragement and Action Steps to Help You Move Forward with God: Subscribe to the The Inner Flame Here
✨ Feedback or Questions? Contact me at hello@michellebrannam.com
✨ Listen to Related Episodes:
- 02 | Quiet Moments with God: Simple Steps to Hear His Voice
- 20 | Build a Daily Habit of Prayer that Brings Clarity, Peace, and Purpose
🕊️ Scripture Mentioned:
- Luke 15:1–3, 11–32
Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homily reflection mentioned in this episode is from March 27, 2022.
Transcript
That I found another way that's a deeper, more truly deeper experience of coming to know God that I am studying right now.
Speaker A:Are you finding yourself feeling far from God?
Speaker A:In today's episode, we'll be talking about three daily habits to help you feel close to God again.
Speaker A:I hear from other Catholic women that they feel far from God.
Speaker A:This isn't something to be ashamed of.
Speaker A:I have gone through it myself and helped others experience it too.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So God is never far away.
Speaker A:You can feel close to God again.
Speaker A:You need to be willing and start building habits to move you forward.
Speaker A:So if you're ready to start building the habits, grab your notebook and pen and let's dive in.
Speaker A:If you're ready to break free from stuck, gain clarity and take steps towards discerning your unique purpose, all while following God's guidance to become the person he created you to be.
Speaker A:If so, you're in the right place.
Speaker A:Hello, I'm Michelle, a Catholic discernment mentor and spiritual coach who went from lost and questioning my purpose to confident in my unique calling using a Catholic based strategy that places God and the Catholic faith at the center.
Speaker A:Are you ready to dive in, grab your pen and notebook and get comfy, open your heart and mind and invite God in as we get ready to become who God created you to be.
Speaker A:Let's do this.
Speaker A:Maybe you've started praying about your purpose.
Speaker A:You're listening for God's voice and you're even searching what the church says about calling and vocation.
Speaker A:But deep down there's.
Speaker A:There's this fear.
Speaker A:What if I misread the signs?
Speaker A:What if I get it wrong?
Speaker A:I remember feeling that too.
Speaker A:I didn't want to move without knowing it was truly from God.
Speaker A:But I also didn't want to stay stuck, afraid to take any steps at all.
Speaker A:That's why purpose coaching exists.
Speaker A:In our time together, we'll invite the Holy Spirit in and I'll help you begin discerning a God aligned next step that brings clarity and peace, not confusion and fear.
Speaker A:You don't need to figure this out alone.
Speaker A:There's a prayerful and practical way forward and I want to walk you with it.
Speaker A:Go to Bitly Catholic Purpose Coaching and book your session.
Speaker A:Let's take this first step together with God at the center of it all.
Speaker A:In this episode, this might be a trigger to you.
Speaker A:So I wanted to kind of give you a trigger warning that there is a mention of a miscarriage.
Speaker A:So if you have experienced or you are in the middle of a miscarriage, I am sorry for your Loss.
Speaker A:And I just wanted to give you heads up so that you may need to skip when we get to that part or that you may be in a place where you cannot listen to this at this time.
Speaker A:That is totally fine.
Speaker A:And I understand because I have been there.
Speaker A:So when from one mother to another, I am sorry for your loss.
Speaker A:And may God bring you peace and healing during this time.
Speaker A:I want to be real with you.
Speaker A:I didn't always put God first.
Speaker A:In my daily life.
Speaker A:Growing up, I'd go through phases where I said my prayers, but it wasn't consistent.
Speaker A:And honestly, I didn't even feel as close to God then as I do now.
Speaker A:It was through a struggle, a trial, that I truly grew closer to him.
Speaker A:My husband had just come back from a deployment, and we were excited to start trying to grow our family.
Speaker A:Month after month passed, and it just felt like I would never get pregnant.
Speaker A:Then one morning, we decided I better take a test, and it was positive.
Speaker A:And we were ecstatic.
Speaker A:We went in for the first sonogram, and then I saw my doctor, as is the protocol.
Speaker A:That's when we heard the dreaded news.
Speaker A:There was no heartbeat.
Speaker A:I felt something was off the whole time that we were at the doctor's appointment.
Speaker A:And sure enough, it was confirmed when the doctor came in and told us the dreaded news.
Speaker A:And it took me weeks to begin healing.
Speaker A:And I remember walking to get the mail with my dog Ellie.
Speaker A:And in my heart, I knew I just needed to speak to God.
Speaker A:And I told him that it was hurting, but I wasn't going to blame Him.
Speaker A:From that point on, I began building the habit of prayer, of talking with Jesus in a way that I knew how.
Speaker A:And that's when my life began to turn around.
Speaker A:I've heard it from many other Catholic sources that God takes the bad and it turns into something good.
Speaker A:I got goosebumps.
Speaker A:The Holy Spirit is with me right now.
Speaker A:I don't like to think about it this way, but through that loss of my sweet baby, God drew me closer to himself.
Speaker A:So when I say, understand what it feels like to feel far from God, I truly mean it.
Speaker A:I've been there.
Speaker A:And it was these three daily habits that helped me feel close to him again.
Speaker A:The Holy Spirit is with me.
Speaker A:I am getting those goosebumps.
Speaker A:I've heard it from many priests that when you get goosebumps, that that is the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:So the Holy Spirit is with me as I'm talking to you and having this conversation with daily habits to help you get closer to Him.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:So habit one is just spending time with God.
Speaker A:I grew up a cradle Catholic learning the traditional prayers, and for many years I thought that was the only way to pray, or as Father Mike Schmitz likes to say, the memorized prayers.
Speaker A:And in middle school during ccd, when which now they call it psr, I believe we were introduced to a Christian meditation one evening during that class and I really enjoyed it.
Speaker A:But later I had a bad experience with it at home and I didn't understand at the time, but Satan came between Jesus and me and I unwillingly let him win until about a year ago.
Speaker A:And I will go into a podcast episode about that with Satan and his tactics and I have in other previous ones, but I probably really need to touch about this here so that he doesn't drive that wedge between you and God.
Speaker A:So just be aware that Satan also is trying to push that wedge between you and growing closer to God.
Speaker A:So as I've been deepening my faith, I've learned the richness of the Catholic Christian meditation.
Speaker A:And now I'm so glad to say that I'm back to practicing it.
Speaker A:And it has helped me with the use of the Catholic app and further studying that I found another way that's a deeper, more truly deeper experience of coming to know God that I am studying right now.
Speaker A:But here's the point that I'm trying to make with this Habit one and spending time with God is that spending time with God, it can take different forms.
Speaker A:I want you to be open to that.
Speaker A:And I still include the traditional prayers in my morning routine.
Speaker A:For example, I pray the morning offering, which I've also shared inside our free Facebook community.
Speaker A:If you'd like to start your day with that and you can come join us over in that Facebook group, Finding youg Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moms.
Speaker A:You can search for it by name or I also have the link in the episode episode notes that you can simply click and it'll be directed to you there.
Speaker A:And then you can have that morning prayer routine that you could save to your phone so that you could start to do that daily.
Speaker A:Or you can spend time with him through the Catholic Christian meditation.
Speaker A:So when you're building the habit of spending time with God, God will meet us where we're at.
Speaker A:It'll help us to feel close to him as we connect more and more with him through that time that we spend with Him.
Speaker A:And I like to just take a moment here as you're listening.
Speaker A:What's one way you can spend intentional time with God?
Speaker A:This week, you can take that to your journal and you can really sit and reflect and invite God in on that process as well.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So once we've started spending that intentional time with him, the next natural step is learning how to actually hear his voice in our lives.
Speaker A:And that's where habit number two comes in.
Speaker A:Number two, telling God what's on your heart.
Speaker A:When we spend time with God, it's important not only to use traditional prayers, but also talk to him personally, just to share what's really on our hearts and God.
Speaker A:He wants relationship with us, and that includes being honest and open with him about our desires, our struggles, our questions, and even our doubts.
Speaker A:So when something is weighing on me, I just simply talk to Jesus and I tell him what's on my heart.
Speaker A:I admit when I can't do it on my own and I ask him what he wants me to do.
Speaker A:Even as I prepare for this podcast and the episodes that I try to create for you, I ask God, what do you want me to share?
Speaker A:And just yesterday, I told God what was on my heart about this very episode.
Speaker A:I asked him what he wanted me to share and laid out the direction that I was planning for this episode.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:And then this very morning, during my prayer time with him, he confirmed it through the daily minute reflection with Father Mike Schmitz.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:And father Mike shared, the Son is far away.
Speaker A:The Father caught sight of him.
Speaker A:Where is the Father?
Speaker A:The Father is where the Son is.
Speaker A:He's out on the road.
Speaker A:The Father's not back at the farm.
Speaker A:He's not back doing his own thing.
Speaker A:He's not comfortably sitting in a la Z boy kind of living his life.
Speaker A:The Father is where the Son is.
Speaker A:The Son is away from the home.
Speaker A:The Father is also on the road where His Son is.
Speaker A:He's scanning.
Speaker A:He's searching for Him.
Speaker A:The Father's heart is where His Son is.
Speaker A:The Son doesn't know that until it begins to come home.
Speaker A:And through that reflection that he provided, the Holy Spirit impressed this truth on me this morning.
Speaker A:That God's heart is where we are.
Speaker A:Even when we don't feel him near.
Speaker A:He is.
Speaker A:He's waiting for us, scanning for us, ready to rejoice when we turn our back to Him.
Speaker A:Seek Him.
Speaker A:I want you to seek Him.
Speaker A:Reach out to Him.
Speaker A:He delights in you.
Speaker A:He loves you so much.
Speaker A:He endured the cross, his passion for you.
Speaker A:A humiliating way.
Speaker A:And one of the Worst ways to die.
Speaker A:And you can ask yourself, how might God be speaking to me this week?
Speaker A:Through scripture, prayer, or even through someone else's words.
Speaker A:Once we begin to recognize his presence in that way, it naturally leads us into habit number three, which is surrendering our plans and letting him lead.
Speaker A:So habit number three is involving God in your journaling.
Speaker A:Over the years, journaling has been a key part of my mindset routine.
Speaker A:I started small, just jotting down my thoughts and feelings.
Speaker A:And then over time, I began opening my heart to God through this practice and inviting him in and making it more centered with God.
Speaker A:And as I have been journaling to God, this has helped me become more aware of my thoughts and emotions.
Speaker A:It helps me process the struggles, my desires, and the questions and invite him into my daily life in a very tangible way and centering him in my life.
Speaker A:And it's not about perfection or the fancy words.
Speaker A:It's just about honesty and consistency.
Speaker A:So even simple reflections like Lord, I feel overwhelmed today, or Jesus helped me with this decision.
Speaker A:It matters.
Speaker A:So journaling combined with prayer and reflection allows God to join us.
Speaker A:It's a way of surrendering our thoughts and concerns to Him.
Speaker A:And often insights or peace arise naturally as we write.
Speaker A:And I have a optional but yet bonus habit that I also like to do is a habit that I do on a daily basis is reading a devotional.
Speaker A:It can complement your journaling.
Speaker A:I love devotionals because they combine scripture, reflection and and prayer.
Speaker A:And they help me to hear God's voice and invite him in to guide me.
Speaker A:For example, I provide a weekly devotional, the Inner Flame, to help listeners start building that devotional habit.
Speaker A:And if you're interested in and this speaks to you, I also have that in the episode notes where you can simply click to subscribe so that you can receive these weekly devotionals to help you take action as well.
Speaker A:How can you start applying this habit is opening your journal.
Speaker A:Spend a few minutes writing to God today.
Speaker A:Tell him what's on your heart.
Speaker A:What do you need his guidance on?
Speaker A:And once we bring God into our journaling and reflection, these three habits together help us to feel close to him again, moving from the knowledge to action and from feeling distance to feeling his presence every day.
Speaker A:Okay, so we covered three daily habits to feel close to God again.
Speaker A:And that is habit number one is spending time with God.
Speaker A:And this is through traditional prayer or a Catholic Christian meditation.
Speaker A:And he meets you where you are.
Speaker A:And then the habit number two is telling God what's on your heart.
Speaker A:Just be honest about your struggles Your desires, your questions, anything that you want to bring up that's heavy, weighing heavy on your heart.
Speaker A:And remember, he listens and he sometimes responds through scripture or reflections.
Speaker A:And then the habit number three is involving God in your journaling.
Speaker A:You want to write your thoughts, your feelings and your prayers to him, just simply talk to him, but you're actually writing that on a journal.
Speaker A:And an optional and bonus habit that I also do daily on a base is using a devotional to just reflect on the scripture and guidance.
Speaker A:But the most important thing I want you to anchor to from this episode is God is always near, waiting for you to invite him in.
Speaker A:Let us pray in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:God, I know that you are always near.
Speaker A:You are never far from me.
Speaker A:You are a gentleman waiting to be invited in.
Speaker A:Even when I feel far from you, I trust that you are close.
Speaker A:Help me grow closer to you each day, Lord.
Speaker A:Guide my thoughts, my words and my actions in Jesus name.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Okay, let's take this from head to heart.
Speaker A:Knowing the truth is powerful, but that real change comes when we act, when we take that one small step at a time.
Speaker A:So inside your notebook or grab your journal and reflect upon which habit will you start to build first today to feel close to God?
Speaker A:Which one do you sense the Holy Spirit is nudging you to start putting into action today?
Speaker A:And come on over to the Facebook group Finding youg Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moths.
Speaker A:I would love for you to share which habit you'll start working on.
Speaker A:This is a supportive, safe space and this is not a place for guilt.
Speaker A:And I want you to remember that small, consistent steps help you reconnect with God and just spend time with him, talk to him, journal with him and watch your relationship grow.
Speaker A:Remember, my beautiful sister in Christ, that God uniquely created you for a unique purpose.
Speaker A:You were made to do great things.
Speaker A:God is within you and you will not fail.
Speaker A:I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Speaker A:I'll meet you next Tuesday for another conversation.
Speaker A:Until then, may God bless you and bring you peace.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker A:I pray that today's episode blesses and encourages you.
Speaker A:If so, would you please share it with someone you know that would be blessed by it.
Speaker A:If you felt inspired or learned something Today, please take 30 seconds to leave a written review on Apple Podcast.
Speaker A:This is the number one way to let me know that you are liking the show and for me to reach other Catholic women like yourself.
Speaker A:If you're feeling uncertain or lost on your discernment journey, you're not alone.
Speaker A:Join us over in the free Facebook community, where Catholic women just like you are sharing, supporting, and growing together in faith.
Speaker A:I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Speaker A:God bless you.
