I was talking with my son the other day about some situations in my life which I am currently challenged by. One of these deals was with my job and the lack of positive reinforcement I get from my immediate boss. I am pretty well respected in the company already for my reputation to complete documentation in a timely and efficient manner. I know the other boss in the company has mentioned me to the owner and commented that I am the only nurse who consistently gets the work done on time. She told me this over lunch one day and my immediate boss said, “Just make sure it continues to be on time.”

I could have gotten really upset when hearing this because my immediate boss has worked with me at another company and she was very impressed with my nursing there. She knows that I am consistent with meeting deadlines. That is why she hired me at this company. I decided to just let it roll off of my back because I have no idea how much stress she is currently under and I love her because she is a sister in Christ. It didn’t increase my loyalty though.

My son said that it had been proven that the only way to change someone’s behavior for the better was through positive reinforcement. The thought occurred to me after finishing a wonderful conversation with my son that I bet God wouldn’t mind a bit of positive reinforcement. In fact, it is said that He inhabits praise.

Then I began thinking of my prayer life. I whine and cry about what I don’t have. I go on and on about it some days. There is really very little I want or desire in life. I have a beautiful home, a car which can drive me places, three wonderful and healthy children, I have wonderful friends which include both women and men. I don’t have a husband though and boy does God hear about that more than I think He needs to. I do have a bit of debt that I need to work out of also but to be quite honest and forthright I have way more than most people could ever dream of having.

You would think I should be praising God non stop right? I mean if positive reinforcement works on people shouldn’t it work on God also? In my series on the Lord’s prayer it became very apparent to me that the proper way to pray is to praise God at the beginning and the end of a prayer and to be much more concerned over the prayers accomplishing what He set out to do in my life rather than what I want. I believe that if a person is more concerned with praising God in whatever circumstance they are in that He may be apt to try to answer those prayers with great immediacy. I am at least going to try and work on this. I’ll let you know when Prince Charming comes galloping down my street on his white stallion and in his shiny armor! lol