It is only after a person has truly developed a real habit of prayer, can he then begin to develop a habit of mind, that is a Jesus way of thinking about and reacting to life events. A habit of mind deals with a person’s attitudes and ideas about life, others and self. These are a little more difficult to develop since most people don’t even realize the attitudes or ideas that they have. They are typically in a person’s unconscious and truly control a person’s reactions to life. Among these unconscious thoughts are prejudices, bigotries and judgments that a person has about life, others and self of which they are unaware.

Most people view themselves as not bigoted or prejudiced. And yet, when you listen closely, quite frequently you hear things that support the idea that a person is a bigot.

So in deal with attitudes of the mind, a person has to truly attempt to assess what their thoughts are about life, others and themselves. For example, there are many people who feel that they are not worthy of God’s love. This, of course, is a fallacy since God’s love is not dependent upon us. He unconditionally loves all of us regardless of how we behave. He cannot not love us. We are His creation and He continuously shares His life with us out of love. You can only imagine what this thought of unworthiness does to a person. It skews all of life’s experiences. It makes it impossible for a person to grow in the likeness of Jesus! It makes it impossible for us to have a true and genuine relationship with God.

The prayer habit that has been developed can truly assist a person in truly assessing their attitudes of mind and then finding ways to change them.