Whom do we converse with in our constant inner chatter?
People in the self-help industry or people in the self-esteem industry push the idea of “positive self-talk” on us. We should continually tell ourselves how great we are and push against times when we berate ourselves.
They have the conversation partner all wrong.
The author of the stories of Brother Lawrence, the beloved 17th Century contemplative, said in his first series of conversations that Brother Lawrence said, “That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD’S Presence, by continually conversing with Him. That it was a shameful thing to quit His conversation, to think of trifles and fooleries.”
The book can still be purchased—The Practice of the Presence of God. It is the story of a man who took seriously that admonition of the Apostle Paul to “pray without ceasing.”
Focusing our thoughts on ourselves may temporarily make us feel better, but that is a fleeting experience. Focusing our thoughts on God has the more permanent secondary result of making us feel better about ourselves without trying.
Faith Venture 
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