Many believers have experienced that frustrating moment—earnest prayers that seem to rise no higher than the ceiling. Knees pressed into carpet, hands clasped together, words sent heavenward with hope and desperation… only to be met with silence.
This experience is so common it has become a standard phrase in Christian circles: “prayers hitting the ceiling.” While various explanations circulate through sermons and Bible studies, there’s one fundamental issue that rarely gets addressed—an issue that lies at the heart of prayer itself.
The Prayer Paradox Most Christians Face
When prayers seem unanswered, typical spiritual advice includes:
“You need more faith”
“There’s unconfessed sin in your life”
“God’s answer is ‘wait'”
“You’re not praying according to His will”
While these responses might occasionally contain truth, they often miss the deeper issue—what could be called the “prayer paradox”:
The more desperately someone tries to reach God through prayer, the more distant He often feels.
This counterintuitive reality isn’t about God’s absence but about a fundamental misunderstanding of prayer’s nature and purpose.
The Hidden Assumption Blocking Prayers
In THE CALL, the protagonist Bob discovers a life-changing truth after years of spiritual striving. While desperately climbing a mountain to reach what he thought was God’s presence, he makes a stunning realization:
He was already standing at the summit.
This fictional moment illustrates the #1 reason many prayers feel ineffective:
People pray as if God is distant, when He is actually within.
The problem isn’t prayer technique. It’s starting position.
The Revealing Question No One Asks
When prayers feel like they’re hitting a ceiling, the revealing question becomes:
“Are you praying TO God or FROM God?”
This distinction changes everything:
Praying TO God: Assumes separation. The person is down here; God’s up there. They must somehow bridge the gap through perfect words, emotional intensity, or spiritual performance.
Praying FROM God: Recognizes union. “Christ in you” isn’t just theological poetry—it’s actual reality. Prayer flows from connection that already exists.
In the first approach, unanswered prayer feels like rejection. In the second, silence becomes space for deeper listening from a position of security.
The Subtle Shift That Changes Everything
Many believers have discovered what Bob learns in THE CALL—they’ve been operating from the wrong map.
They’ve been trying to climb to a God who has already made His home within them.
The shift isn’t about praying differently; it’s about understanding position differently. Here’s what changes:
Before: Performance-Based Prayer
Starts with apologies and unworthiness
Feels the need to convince God to listen
Works to build sufficient faith to deserve an answer
Interprets silence as disapproval
After: Presence-Based Prayer
Starts with awareness of union with Christ
Speaks as one already accepted and heard
Rests in faith already given through Christ
Interprets silence as an invitation to deeper listening
Three Signs of Operating from the Wrong Position
How does someone know if their prayer foundation needs realignment? These indicators reveal the truth:
Prayer feels like a performance—conscious of saying the “right” things in the “right” way
Anxiety persists during and after prayer—wondering if enough has been done to merit an answer
God is approached as if He’s reluctant to respond—as though He needs convincing to act
These signs reveal operation from a fundamental misconception about relationship with God.
Practical Steps to Transform Prayer Life
For those who recognize these patterns, here’s how to begin shifting from performance to presence in prayer:
1. Begin with Declaration, Not Desperation
Before asking for anything, declare the truth of position:
“Father, thank you that I am in You and You are in me. I pray from our union, not for it.”
This isn’t positive thinking—it’s alignment with what Scripture declares is already true (John 14:20).
2. Listen First, Then Speak
Most people jump immediately into speaking, not realizing that prayer is a conversation.
Spending the first five minutes of prayer in silence, with this simple invitation can transform the experience: “Holy Spirit within me, what do You want to show me today?”
One reader of THE CALL shared how this transformed their approach: “I realized I’d been broadcasting at God for years without ever tuning in to receive. When I started listening first, I discovered He’d been speaking all along—I just hadn’t created space to hear.”
3. Replace “If it’s Your will” with “Show me Your will”
Many prayers end with “if it’s Your will,” which often masks insecurity about standing with God.
Instead, praying: “Show me Your will that’s already written within me” recognizes that God’s Spirit lives inside, revealing His will from within, not just from without (Romans 8:26-27).
What Changes When Praying From Union
When beginning prayer from a place of established union rather than seeking connection, everything transforms:
Silence no longer feels like rejection—it becomes an invitation to deeper listening
Answers become less about getting what we want and more about discovering what’s already ours in Christ
Prayer shifts from obligation to opportunity—from trying to reach God to experiencing the God already present
A participant in a prayer workshop described it this way: “For the first time in 40 years as a Christian, I don’t feel like I’m shouting into the void. There’s a confidence that comes from knowing I’m already heard before I speak.”
The Ultimate Prayer Breakthrough
In THE CALL, Bob’s life changes when he stops trying to climb to the summit and realizes he’s already standing on it.
Prayer life transforms when embracing the same truth: We don’t pray to reach God; we pray because He has already reached us.
The ceiling being hit isn’t heaven’s barrier. It’s the artificial distance created by performance-based spirituality.
The truth? There is no ceiling. There never was.
We are not separated from God, struggling to make contact through perfect prayers. We are united with Christ, learning to live from a connection that already exists.
This realization doesn’t just change how we pray—it transforms why we pray.
And that makes all the difference.
Want to go deeper? THE CALL workbook is your next step in breaking free from performance-based spirituality and discovering the relationship God always intended. More than just questions, it’s a guided journey from exhausting religious effort to liberating grace. Click here www.graceempoweredliving.com/call to begin your transformation.
Written by, Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.
I stared at my phone, paralyzed. Just yesterday, we’d talked about his recovery plan. The surgery had gone “better than expected.” We were discussing rehabilitation options.
And now? Nothing made sense anymore.
Have you been there? When reality suddenly contradicts everything you thought you knew about God and how He works?
When Your Spiritual Map Fails You
In moments of devastating crisis—whether it’s unexpected loss, career implosion, health diagnoses, or relationship betrayal—our carefully constructed beliefs about God often shatter.
The spiritual map we’ve been following suddenly leads nowhere.
“God protects His faithful” feels hollow when tragedy strikes anyway
“Everything happens for a reason” offers little comfort amid senseless suffering
“Just have more faith” becomes an impossible burden when doubt floods in
This spiritual disorientation isn’t just emotionally painful—it’s existentially threatening. When the God you thought you knew seems absent, indifferent, or even cruel, how do you trust again?
The Hidden Pattern in Spiritual Crisis
In THE CALL, Bob Cooper experiences a similar spiritual earthquake. After following all the “right” rules and climbing the religious mountain he thought led to God, his entire understanding collapses.
His crisis reveals a profound truth: Sometimes what feels like spiritual failure is actually spiritual awakening.
When everything falls apart, something new has space to emerge. But first, we must navigate the painful middle ground between what we once believed and what we’re now experiencing.
The Three Phases of Authentic Trust
Rebuilding trust in God after profound disappointment isn’t about forcing yourself to believe what no longer rings true. It’s about discovering a more resilient faith that can hold both your questions and your hope.
Phase 1: Honor the Disruption
When Naomi lost her husband and sons in the book of Ruth, she didn’t spiritualize her pain. She said plainly: “The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20).
This honesty isn’t faithlessness—it’s the foundation of authentic faith.
Steps to honor your disruption:
Name it clearly: “My understanding of God has been shattered by _______”
Feel it fully: Allow yourself to experience grief, anger, confusion
Share it safely: Find at least one person who won’t try to “fix” your doubt
Instead of pushing doubts down, bring them to the surface. Your questions aren’t an obstacle to faith—they’re the beginning of a deeper one.
Phase 2: Separate the Map from the Territory
One of the most profound revelations in THE CALL comes when Bob realizes he’s been following a map that someone else created—not the actual landscape of God’s heart.
The map is not the territory.
Your beliefs about God are not God Himself.
When life contradicts your theology, it doesn’t necessarily mean God has abandoned you. It might mean your understanding of God was incomplete.
Steps to separate the map from the territory:
Identify your assumptions: What specific beliefs about how God works have been challenged?
Consider their source: Where did these beliefs originate? (Culture? Family? Specific teachers?)
Hold them loosely: Which beliefs feel essential to faith, and which might be human constructs?
As one character in THE CALL explains to Bob: “They build temples in the Valley of Religion and call it the summit.”
Don’t confuse religious systems with the God they claim to represent.
Phase 3: Discover the Relationship Beyond the Rules
The most transformative discovery comes when we realize that God isn’t primarily interested in our adherence to a belief system. He’s pursuing relationship.
In THE CALL, Bob’s breakthrough moment comes when he realizes: “I’ve been trying to climb to something that was freely given all along.”
Steps to discover relationship beyond rules:
Start with presence, not performance: Begin each day with five minutes of silence, simply being with God rather than doing for Him
Search for evidence: Where might God still be present, though in unexpected ways?
Embrace a bigger story: Consider how your current chapter might fit into a longer narrative you can’t yet see
The Counterintuitive Path to Trust
Here’s what’s rarely taught in spiritual circles: True trust grows through honest doubt, not by suppressing it.
When Thomas doubted Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus didn’t rebuke him. He invited him closer: “Put your finger here; see my hands” (John 20:27).
The invitation stands for us too. Bring your doubts, your pain, your confusion—not to an abstract belief system but to a living Savior who meets you in your questions.
What Real Trust Looks Like Now
After catastrophic disappointment, trust looks different. It’s not blind optimism that nothing bad will happen. It’s the quiet confidence that whatever happens, you are held.
As THE CALL illustrates so powerfully, it’s about discovering that:
You don’t have to climb to God; He has already come to you
Your worth isn’t tied to your understanding or performance
Life’s contradictions don’t disprove God; they reveal a deeper truth
One reader described their experience after working through these principles: “I stopped trying to force myself to believe what no longer made sense. Instead, I found God meeting me in my questions. My faith is both smaller and stronger—focused on fewer certainties but anchored in deeper trust.”
Your Next Step: From Crisis to Clarity
If your faith has been shaken by life’s contradictions, know this: What feels like the end of your faith might actually be its beginning.
The journey from rigid beliefs to resilient trust isn’t easy, but it leads to a relationship with God that can withstand even the harshest realities.
Don’t rush past the disruption. Don’t cling to maps that no longer lead home. Do listen for the voice that meets you exactly where you are.
Want to go deeper? THE CALL workbook is your next step in breaking free from performance-based spirituality and discovering the relationship God always intended. More than just questions, it’s a guided journey from exhausting religious effort to liberating grace. Click here www.graceempoweredliving.com/call to begin your transformation.
Written by, Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.
Have you ever felt like you’re constantly climbing but never arriving? Like your spiritual life is an endless uphill battle where the summit keeps moving just beyond reach?
You’re not alone.
I remember sitting in my car after another exhausting church service, wondering why faith felt more like pressure than peace. I’d done everything “right” – attended every prayer meeting, volunteered in multiple ministries, read my Bible daily – yet something profound was missing.
Then it happened. A truth so simple yet so revolutionary that it changed everything in just three minutes.
The Exhausting Climb We Were Never Meant to Take
Most believers are unknowingly trapped in what I call the “performance paradox”:
The harder you strive for God’s approval, the less you feel it
The more you try to earn His love, the more distant it seems
The more you work to be “enough,” the more depleted you become
Sound familiar?
This paradox isn’t just frustrating – it’s the exact opposite of the freedom Christ promised. Yet millions of Christians wake up every day, lace up their spiritual boots, and continue climbing a mountain they were never meant to climb.
The 3-Minute Revelation That Changes Everything
The breakthrough came when I realized a single, life-altering truth:
You don’t climb toward God’s approval – you live from it.
This isn’t just a theological nicety. It’s the difference between exhaustion and energy, between striving and thriving, between religion and relationship.
In THE CALL, the main character Bob experiences this exact revelation. After years of climbing an endless mountain, desperately trying to prove his worth, he discovers that he had been chasing what was already freely given.
The paradigm shift happens in this powerful moment:
“Bob’s heart stopped. The words hung in the air like a thunderclap. Peak Sozo? The greatest climb in human history, the peak that millions had spent their entire lives trying to reach… And he was already standing on it? ‘No,’ Bob whispered. ‘That’s not possible. I didn’t earn this. I didn’t finish the climb.’ Kinsman simply watched him. ‘You’re right. You didn’t.’ ‘Then how—’ Kinsman stepped closer, his voice gentle but firm. ‘Because you were never meant to.'”
Three Signs You’re Climbing Instead of Living
How do you know if you’re caught in the endless climb? Look for these warning signs:
Spiritual fatigue: Faith feels more like work than wonder
Approval addiction: Your worth fluctuates based on your performance
Constant comparison: You measure your spiritual “progress” against others
Each of these indicates you’re operating from a fundamental misunderstanding about how God’s Kingdom works.
From Climbing to Thriving: The Practical Shift
This 3-minute revelation isn’t just beautiful theology – it transforms how you live your faith daily. Here’s what changes:
Prayer shifts from obligation to conversation. Instead of reciting formulas to earn God’s ear, you speak confidently as a beloved child.
Bible reading transforms from duty to discovery. You’re not mining for rules but uncovering the heart of Someone who already loves you completely.
Service flows from fullness, not emptiness. You give not to earn approval but because you’re already approved and overflow with gratitude.
One reader described it this way: “After reading THE CALL, I realized I’d spent 20 years trying to become something I already was. The freedom I’ve found is indescribable.”
The Key Question That Changes Everything
Here’s a 3-minute exercise that can transform your entire approach to faith:
Ask yourself honestly: “If I truly believed I was already fully loved, fully accepted, and fully equipped by God right now – how would I live differently today?”
Let that question sink deep. Your answer reveals the gap between what you intellectually believe and what you’re functionally living.
Breaking Free From the False Map
In THE CALL, Bob discovers he’s been following a “false map” – a set of directions that never lead to the destination they promise. Many believers are doing the same, following religious systems that claim to lead to God but actually lead to exhaustion.
The truth? You don’t need a map to find what’s already inside you.
Christ in you isn’t a distant goal to pursue – it’s a present reality to awaken to. This realization doesn’t diminish your spiritual journey; it transforms it from desperate climbing to joyful exploration.
The Path Forward
If this resonates with you, here are three immediate steps:
Release the pressure of performance-based spirituality
Reconnect daily with the truth of your complete acceptance in Christ
Realign your practices to flow from identity, not for identity
This shift doesn’t happen overnight. Old patterns of striving are deeply ingrained. But every time you catch yourself climbing, you have a fresh opportunity to remember you’ve already arrived.
Your life wasn’t meant to be an endless uphill battle. It was designed to be an unfolding adventure of living from the fullness already placed within you.
Want to go deeper? THE CALL workbook is your next step in breaking free from performance-based spirituality and discovering the relationship God always intended. More than just questions, it’s a guided journey from exhausting religious effort to liberating grace. Click here www.graceempoweredliving.com/call to begin your transformation.
Written by, Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.
“I’m doing everything right. Why do I feel so empty?”
The question came from Sarah, a devoted church member who hadn’t missed a Sunday in fifteen years. She served in three ministries, tithed faithfully, and knew her Bible inside out.
Yet behind her perfect spiritual resume, she was exhausted, joyless, and secretly questioning whether any of it mattered.
Sarah was trapped in what I call “toxic faith patterns”—religious habits that appear godly on the outside but actually separate us from the vibrant relationship with God we were created for.
The Hidden Epidemic in Modern Christianity
As someone who has worked with thousands of believers, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: many of the most committed Christians are often the most spiritually depleted.
Why? Because they’ve substituted religious performance for genuine relationship.
In THE CALL, the main character discovers this truth through a powerful metaphor: he’s been climbing an endless mountain, desperately trying to reach God, only to discover that God had been within him all along.
Let’s examine the ten most damaging patterns that might be stealing your joy—and more importantly, how to break free from them.
1. The Approval Addiction
The Pattern: You serve, give, and participate in church activities primarily to be seen as “good” by others and by God.
Why It’s Toxic: When your worth becomes tied to spiritual performance, you’re no longer motivated by love but by fear of disapproval.
The Breakthrough: You are already fully approved in Christ (Ephesians 1:6). Your service should flow from acceptance, not for it.
Practical Step: Before serving in any capacity this week, declare: “I serve from God’s love, not for it.” Notice how this shifts your motivation and experience.
2. The Comparison Trap
The Pattern: You constantly measure your spiritual growth against others, feeling either pride or shame depending on how you stack up.
Why It’s Toxic: Comparison destroys joy by keeping you focused on others’ journeys instead of your unique relationship with God.
The Breakthrough: God’s work in each person is custom-designed (Philippians 1:6). Your path isn’t meant to mirror anyone else’s.
Practical Step: Identify one person you frequently compare yourself to. When the comparison urge arises, pray blessing over their journey and gratitude for your own.
3. The Certainty Obsession
The Pattern: You need absolute certainty about every theological question and become anxious when faced with mystery or ambiguity.
Why It’s Toxic: Faith requires trust in what isn’t fully seen or understood (Hebrews 11:1). Demanding complete certainty leaves no room for growth.
The Breakthrough: Mature faith embraces both conviction and mystery, holding truth with both confidence and humility.
Practical Step: Identify one area where you’ve demanded absolute certainty. Practice saying, “I don’t have to understand everything to trust God in this.”
4. The Checklist Christianity
The Pattern: Your faith has become a series of boxes to check: daily devotions ✓ church attendance ✓ avoided sinful behavior ✓
Why It’s Toxic: Relationship gets reduced to routine, and connection with God becomes mechanical rather than meaningful.
The Breakthrough: God desires relationship, not religious ritualism (Hosea 6:6).
Practical Step: Replace one “have to” this week with a “get to.” Instead of “I have to read my Bible,” try “I get to hear God’s voice today.”
5. The Hyperactive Conscience
The Pattern: You feel constant, low-grade guilt even when you can’t identify any specific sin, believing God is perpetually disappointed with you.
Why It’s Toxic: A hyperactive conscience keeps you focused on your performance rather than God’s presence.
The Breakthrough: In Christ, condemnation has been removed (Romans 8:1). God’s conviction is specific and restorative, not vague and shaming.
Practical Step: When generalized guilt appears, ask: “Is this God’s specific restoration or shame’s general accusation?” Reject vague shame while responding to specific conviction.
6. The Emotional Suppression
The Pattern: You’ve been taught that negative emotions (doubt, anger, grief) are unspiritual, so you suppress them to appear “strong in faith.”
Why It’s Toxic: Suppressed emotions don’t disappear—they go underground, eventually erupting in destructive ways.
The Breakthrough: The Psalms demonstrate that authentic faith includes expressing the full range of human emotion to God.
Practical Step: Write an “uncensored prayer,” expressing exactly what you feel without religious filtering. Remember, God can handle your real emotions.
7. The Blessing Bargain
The Pattern: You believe that if you do everything right, God is obligated to bless you with health, wealth, and protection from suffering.
Why It’s Toxic: When inevitable hardship comes, your entire faith foundation crumbles because it was built on a transactional relationship.
The Breakthrough: God’s love is covenant-based, not contract-based. His presence remains in both blessing and trial.
Practical Step: Identify where you’ve been making “if/then” bargains with God. Replace them with “even if” declarations (Daniel 3:17-18).
8. The Spiritual Classification System
The Pattern: You mentally rank believers (including yourself) based on perceived spirituality, creating a hierarchy of “more spiritual” and “less spiritual” Christians.
Why It’s Toxic: This creates pride or discouragement and prevents authentic community where all believers recognize their equal need for grace.
The Breakthrough: In Christ, there is no spiritual hierarchy—only one body with different functions (1 Corinthians 12).
Practical Step: Look for what you can learn from someone you previously classified as “less spiritual” than you. Their perspective may be exactly what you need.
9. The Perpetual Penance
The Pattern: After moral failure, you punish yourself with extended guilt, believing you must “pay” for your sins before accepting God’s forgiveness.
Why It’s Toxic: This pattern subtly suggests that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t sufficient—your additional suffering is needed.
The Breakthrough: Forgiveness is a gift to be received, not a reward to be earned through sufficient self-punishment.
Practical Step: If you’re carrying shame from past sin, write it down, speak forgiveness over it, and physically destroy the paper as a tangible act of receiving what Christ already purchased.
10. The External Focus
The Pattern: You focus almost exclusively on external religious behaviors while neglecting the interior life of the heart.
Why It’s Toxic: Jesus reserved his strongest rebukes for those who maintained perfect exteriors while neglecting inner transformation (Matthew 23:25-28).
The Breakthrough: True spirituality flows from the inside out, not the outside in.
Practical Step: Spend ten minutes in silent reflection, asking, “What am I trying to prove with my religious activity?” Listen for the gentle conviction of the Spirit.
The Common Thread: From Climbing to Resting
In THE CALL, the protagonist makes a life-changing discovery—all his exhausting efforts to climb to God were unnecessary because God had already come to him.
This is the foundational shift that liberates us from all ten toxic patterns. We move from:
Striving to earn → Resting in what’s given
Proving our worth → Discovering our value
Performing for God → Partnering with God
As one reader of THE CALL shared: “I realized I’d spent thirty years trying to climb to a God who had already come down to me. The freedom I’ve found in this truth has transformed everything.”
Your Journey to Freedom Starts Now
Breaking toxic faith patterns isn’t accomplished through more effort—that’s just exchanging one form of striving for another.
True freedom comes through awakening to what’s already true:
You are already loved completely
You are already accepted fully
You are already equipped sufficiently
Your spiritual journey isn’t about becoming worthy of God’s presence. It’s about becoming aware of the God already present within you.
When this truth takes root, joy returns—not as a fleeting emotion, but as the natural expression of a life lived from divine fullness rather than human emptiness.
Which of these toxic patterns resonates most strongly with you? Your awareness is the first step toward freedom.
Want to go deeper? THE CALL workbook is your next step in breaking free from performance-based spirituality and discovering the relationship God always intended. More than just questions, it’s a guided journey from exhausting religious effort to liberating grace. Click here www.graceempoweredliving.com/call to begin your transformation.
Written by, Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.
Are you exhausted from climbing the spiritual mountain? Discover five powerful exercises that shift you from striving to thriving in your relationship with God.
I remember the moment clearly.
We had just returned from the Philippines where we had been living. We were sent out by a well-known ministry and missionary training school. While there as pastors, we witnessed many miracles and saw beautiful fruit from our time serving.
Little did we know, the enemy had an agenda to stop the move of God. The previous pastor began to write negative letters to the ministry that had sent us. This was crushing for me because it created unexpected confrontation from those who had commissioned us. We ended up returning to the U.S. sooner than expected.
My response was not a good one, and it cost me four years of anger and distrust—four years of questioning why others would take the words of a stranger over ours. Later, I came to understand that I had wrongly built my identity in a ministry and in the person who had sent us. The painful truth is that our identity can be built and placed in anything—your position in life, what you own, your achievements, or even the ministries you serve.
And that’s when I realized I had been climbing the wrong mountain all along.
Maybe you can relate.
Perhaps you’re doing all the “right things” but feeling spiritually dry. Maybe you’re new to faith and already overwhelmed by expectations. Or perhaps disappointment has left you questioning everything you once believed.
This is exactly why I wrote The Call—to help believers discover the freedom that comes when we stop climbing for God’s approval and start living from His acceptance.
Let me share five transformative exercises from The Call and its companion workbook that have helped thousands break free from religious performance and discover authentic faith.
1. The Identity Declaration: Breaking Agreement With Religious Striving
The Problem: Many of us unconsciously believe God’s love depends on our spiritual performance. This lie keeps us trapped in exhausting religious striving.
The Exercise:
Each morning for seven days, stand in front of a mirror and declare these three statements aloud:
“I am already complete in Christ.” (Colossians 2:10)
“I live from God’s acceptance, not for it.” (Ephesians 1:6)
“I am loved by God apart from my performance.” (Romans 5:8)
Why It Works:
This exercise directly confronts the performance lie with truth. By speaking these declarations aloud, you’re rewiring neural pathways that have been shaped by religious conditioning.
As Sarah, a mother of three who felt invisible to God despite years of faithful service, shared: “After just a week of these declarations, I found myself catching the old thoughts of ‘not enough’ and replacing them with the truth. The weight I’d been carrying began to lift.”
2. The Release Ritual: Letting Go of False Maps
The Problem: We’ve all been handed “maps” that promise to lead us to fulfillment—achievement, approval, religious performance—but they’ve left us exhausted and empty.
The Exercise:
On a piece of paper, write down the “maps” you’ve been following (e.g., “If I serve more, God will answer my prayers” or “If I have perfect quiet times, I’ll feel God’s presence”).
Read each one aloud, then say: “This map has not led me home.”
Tear the paper into pieces.
Write this truth on a new sheet: “Christ in me is my hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
Place this somewhere you’ll see it daily.
Why It Works:
Physical rituals create powerful emotional anchors. This exercise provides closure with false beliefs while establishing a new foundation.
Marcus, a former worship leader who experienced a faith crisis after losing his job and health, found this exercise particularly powerful: “Tearing up those papers felt like breaking chains. I realized how many false promises I’d built my faith on.”
3. The Inside-Out Practice: Living From Fullness
The Problem: We’ve been taught to seek fulfillment externally—through achievements, relationships, or religious activities—rather than from the fullness already within us.
The Exercise:
For this seven-day practice:
Set a timer three times daily (morning, noon, and evening).
When it sounds, pause whatever you’re doing.
Place your hand over your heart and take three deep breaths.
Silently or aloud say: “The Kingdom of God is within me. I have everything I need for life and godliness.” (Luke 17:21, 2 Peter 1:3)
Continue your day from this place of inner abundance.
Why It Works:
This simple practice interrupts the external searching pattern and redirects attention to the inner reality of Christ’s presence. It builds a new habit of living from fullness rather than striving from emptiness.
Tasha, who felt overwhelmed as a new believer trying to “catch up” to more experienced Christians, shared: “This practice changed everything. Instead of feeling behind, I began to sense God’s presence already with me, regardless of how much I knew or did.”
4. The True Summit Visualization: Recognizing You’re Already at the Top
The Problem: We believe we need to climb higher, do more, and be better to reach spiritual “success.” This endless climb exhausts us and distorts our view of God.
The Exercise:
Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Then:
Close your eyes and visualize yourself climbing a steep mountain, struggling with each step.
As you climb, notice the weight of expectations, comparison, and religious performance on your back.
Now visualize Jesus standing before you, stopping your climb with gentle hands on your shoulders.
Hear Him say: “The climbing is over. You’re already at the summit with Me.”
Visualize yourself looking around to discover you’ve been at the top all along.
Feel the weights fall away as you rest in this truth.
Why It Works:
Visualization creates new mental pathways that bypass intellectual resistance. This exercise helps you experience the truth that in Christ, you’re already complete—no more climbing needed.
“I wept the first time I did this exercise,” shared one pastor’s wife. “I realized I’d spent decades climbing toward a God who was already holding me.”
5. The Upside-Down Prayer: From Asking to Receiving
The Problem: Our prayers often reflect a climbing mentality—we’re always asking God for more, rather than recognizing what we already have in Christ.
The Exercise:
Transform your prayer life with this approach for one week:
Begin each prayer with: “Thank You that I already have…”
Instead of asking for peace, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your peace that surpasses understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)
Instead of asking for strength, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your power working in me.” (Ephesians 3:20)
Continue this pattern for each need or desire.
Why It Works:
This exercise shifts your perspective from scarcity to abundance, from future hope to present reality. It aligns your prayers with the truth that God has already “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
As one reader put it: “I’d been praying desperate prayers for years. This practice showed me I was like someone dying of thirst while sitting next to a flowing river. Everything changed when I started receiving what was already mine.”
Beyond Religious Performance
These five exercises are just the beginning of the transformation journey outlined in The Call and its companion workbook. They’re designed to help you:
Break free from religious performance and striving
Experience God’s presence without spiritual gymnastics
Live from divine fullness rather than human emptiness
Find authentic faith beyond religious systems
Discover the freedom of your true identity in Christ
The journey isn’t always easy. Letting go of familiar climbing patterns takes time. You may occasionally find yourself reaching for old maps out of habit. But each time you practice these exercises, you strengthen new neural pathways that align with truth.
This is not about doing more or being better. It’s about waking up to what’s already true about you because of Jesus.
As I wrote in The Call: “The climb was never the point. Your transformation? That changes everything.”
Despite all my spiritual activity, I felt disconnected from God. The harder I climbed, the further away He seemed. My faith had become an exhausting performance, and I was burning out fast.
Maybe you can relate.
Perhaps you’re doing all the “right things” but feeling spiritually dry. Maybe you’re new to faith and already overwhelmed by expectations. Or perhaps disappointment has left you questioning everything you once believed.
This is exactly why I wrote The Call—to help believers discover the freedom that comes when we stop climbing for God’s approval and start living from His acceptance.
Let me share five transformative exercises from The Call and its companion workbook that have helped thousands break free from religious performance and discover authentic faith.
1. The Identity Declaration: Breaking Agreement With Religious Striving
The Problem: Many of us unconsciously believe God’s love depends on our spiritual performance. This lie keeps us trapped in exhausting religious striving.
The Exercise:
Each morning for seven days, stand in front of a mirror and declare these three statements aloud:
“I am already complete in Christ.” (Colossians 2:10)
“I live from God’s acceptance, not for it.” (Ephesians 1:6)
“I am loved by God apart from my performance.” (Romans 5:8)
Why It Works:
This exercise directly confronts the performance lie with truth. By speaking these declarations aloud, you’re rewiring neural pathways that have been shaped by religious conditioning.
As Sarah, a mother of three who felt invisible to God despite years of faithful service, shared: “After just a week of these declarations, I found myself catching the old thoughts of ‘not enough’ and replacing them with the truth. The weight I’d been carrying began to lift.”
2. The Release Ritual: Letting Go of False Maps
The Problem: We’ve all been handed “maps” that promise to lead us to fulfillment—achievement, approval, religious performance—but they’ve left us exhausted and empty.
The Exercise:
On a piece of paper, write down the “maps” you’ve been following (e.g., “If I serve more, God will answer my prayers” or “If I have perfect quiet times, I’ll feel God’s presence”).
Read each one aloud, then say: “This map has not led me home.”
Tear the paper into pieces.
Write this truth on a new sheet: “Christ in me is my hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
Place this somewhere you’ll see it daily.
Why It Works:
Physical rituals create powerful emotional anchors. This exercise provides closure with false beliefs while establishing a new foundation.
Marcus, a former worship leader who experienced a faith crisis after losing his job and health, found this exercise particularly powerful: “Tearing up those papers felt like breaking chains. I realized how many false promises I’d built my faith on.”
3. The Inside-Out Practice: Living From Fullness
The Problem: We’ve been taught to seek fulfillment externally—through achievements, relationships, or religious activities—rather than from the fullness already within us.
The Exercise:
For this seven-day practice:
Set a timer three times daily (morning, noon, and evening).
When it sounds, pause whatever you’re doing.
Place your hand over your heart and take three deep breaths.
Silently or aloud say: “The Kingdom of God is within me. I have everything I need for life and godliness.” (Luke 17:21, 2 Peter 1:3)
Continue your day from this place of inner abundance.
Why It Works:
This simple practice interrupts the external searching pattern and redirects attention to the inner reality of Christ’s presence. It builds a new habit of living from fullness rather than striving from emptiness.
Tasha, who felt overwhelmed as a new believer trying to “catch up” to more experienced Christians, shared: “This practice changed everything. Instead of feeling behind, I began to sense God’s presence already with me, regardless of how much I knew or did.”
4. The True Summit Visualization: Recognizing You’re Already at the Top
The Problem: We believe we need to climb higher, do more, and be better to reach spiritual “success.” This endless climb exhausts us and distorts our view of God.
The Exercise:
Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Then:
Close your eyes and visualize yourself climbing a steep mountain, struggling with each step.
As you climb, notice the weight of expectations, comparison, and religious performance on your back.
Now visualize Jesus standing before you, stopping your climb with gentle hands on your shoulders.
Hear Him say: “The climbing is over. You’re already at the summit with Me.”
Visualize yourself looking around to discover you’ve been at the top all along.
Feel the weights fall away as you rest in this truth.
Why It Works:
Visualization creates new mental pathways that bypass intellectual resistance. This exercise helps you experience the truth that in Christ, you’re already complete—no more climbing needed.
“I wept the first time I did this exercise,” shared one pastor’s wife. “I realized I’d spent decades climbing toward a God who was already holding me.”
5. The Upside-Down Prayer: From Asking to Receiving
The Problem: Our prayers often reflect a climbing mentality—we’re always asking God for more, rather than recognizing what we already have in Christ.
The Exercise:
Transform your prayer life with this approach for one week:
Begin each prayer with: “Thank You that I already have…”
Instead of asking for peace, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your peace that surpasses understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)
Instead of asking for strength, pray: “Thank You that I already have Your power working in me.” (Ephesians 3:20)
Continue this pattern for each need or desire.
Why It Works:
This exercise shifts your perspective from scarcity to abundance, from future hope to present reality. It aligns your prayers with the truth that God has already “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
As one reader put it: “I’d been praying desperate prayers for years. This practice showed me I was like someone dying of thirst while sitting next to a flowing river. Everything changed when I started receiving what was already mine.”
Beyond Religious Performance
These five exercises are just the beginning of the transformation journey outlined in The Call and its companion workbook. They’re designed to help you:
Break free from religious performance and striving
Experience God’s presence without spiritual gymnastics
Live from divine fullness rather than human emptiness
Find authentic faith beyond religious systems
Discover the freedom of your true identity in Christ
The journey isn’t always easy. Letting go of familiar climbing patterns takes time. You may occasionally find yourself reaching for old maps out of habit. But each time you practice these exercises, you strengthen new neural pathways that align with truth.
This is not about doing more or being better. It’s about waking up to what’s already true about you because of Jesus.
“The climb was never the point. Your transformation? That changes everything.”
Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.
Have you ever sat in church, singing worship songs with passionate believers all around you, while a small voice inside whispers, “If they only knew how much you doubt… how often you fail… how little you actually pray”?
That nagging feeling that you’re somehow faking your faith—that you don’t measure up to what a “real Christian” should be—has a name: Christian Imposter Syndrome.
It’s the persistent suspicion that your relationship with God isn’t authentic enough, deep enough, or consistent enough to qualify you as a genuine believer. And despite what your Instagram feed might suggest, you’re far from alone in this struggle.
The Signs You’re Living With Christian Imposter Syndrome
How do you know if you’re experiencing this spiritual identity crisis? Watch for these common signs:
You feel unworthy despite intellectually knowing about God’s grace – You can recite verses about forgiveness but can’t seem to apply them to yourself
You compare your faith journey to others – Constantly measuring your spiritual disciplines, knowledge, or experiences against those around you
You hide your struggles – Fear of judgment leads you to maintain a “perfect Christian” facade while battling alone
You’re afraid of being “exposed” – You worry others will discover you’re not as faithful, knowledgeable, or spiritual as they believe
You diminish your contributions – When you serve or share insights, you discount their value or attribute them to luck rather than genuine spiritual gifts
The core of Christian Imposter Syndrome is the belief that you must earn what has already been freely given.
Why We Feel Like Spiritual Frauds
This phenomenon doesn’t emerge from nowhere. Christian Imposter Syndrome often stems from following what author Scott Johnson calls “false maps” in his novel THE CALL.
These false maps tell us we must climb a spiritual mountain of achievement to reach God’s approval. We believe we must:
Read enough Scripture
Pray the right way for the right amount of time
Serve in enough ministries
Feel the correct emotions during worship
Never struggle with certain temptations
Sound familiar?
The problem is that these performance-based metrics create a spiritual treadmill where you’re constantly running but never arriving. As THE CALL illustrates through its protagonist Bob, many of us spend our lives climbing the wrong mountain entirely.
“Bob had spent his entire life chasing security, stability, and approval. But maybe he had been looking in the wrong place. What if the truth wasn’t written on a map at all? What if it was… a person?”
The Truth About Your Identity in Christ
The gospel offers a radically different message than our performance-based instincts: you are already fully accepted in Christ.
This isn’t just positive thinking—it’s the foundation of Christian faith. Consider these truths:
You don’t work toward righteousness; you work from righteousness already given (2 Corinthians 5:21)
You aren’t climbing toward God’s acceptance; you already have it (Ephesians 1:6)
You aren’t trying to become complete; you already are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10)
I remember struggling with this concept during a particularly difficult season. Despite years in ministry, I felt like a fraud because my private doubts and struggles didn’t match my public faith. The breakthrough came not through trying harder, but through surrendering the need to prove myself worthy.
As I learned to live from my identity rather than for it, the exhausting performance pressure began to lift. My service became a response to love rather than an attempt to earn it.
Practical Steps to Overcome Christian Imposter Syndrome
If you’re ready to break free from spiritual imposter syndrome, start with these practical steps:
1. Identify the false map you’re following
What specific metrics are you using to measure your spiritual worth? Write them down, then honestly assess whether they come from Scripture or cultural expectations.
2. Embrace the reality of grace
Grace isn’t just a theological concept—it’s your daily operating system. Start each morning by acknowledging: “I am completely loved and accepted by God today, before I do anything.”
3. Practice living from acceptance rather than for acceptance
When you serve, give, pray, or worship, pause and check your motivation. Are you trying to earn something, or responding to what you already have?
4. Find authentic community
Surround yourself with believers who are honest about their struggles. Vulnerability breaks the power of imposter syndrome.
5. Challenge your internal dialogue
When you hear that voice saying “you’re not enough,” counter it with truth: “In Christ, I am enough—not because of what I’ve done, but because of what He’s done.”
Freedom From the Need to Perform
The journey from performance to grace isn’t easy. Our minds have been conditioned by years—sometimes decades—of believing we must earn God’s favor.
But as THE CALL powerfully illustrates, there comes a moment of awakening when we realize we’ve been climbing for something that was already freely given.
The truth is, you don’t need to fake your faith. You don’t need to hide your struggles. You don’t need to perform for God’s approval.
What you need is to recognize the truth that has been there all along: in Christ, you are already accepted, already loved, already enough.
Your life can flow from that truth rather than desperately reaching for it. And in that space—where striving ends and peace begins—you’ll discover what genuine faith has always been: a response to grace, not a performance for approval.
Scott Johnson is an author of thirteen books who helps people break free from performance-based spirituality. Drawing from over four decades of ministry experience, Scott empowers others to move beyond obstacles toward a fulfilled life through God’s grace. His passion is helping people discover they are already approved, already loved, and already complete in Christ—no exhausting religious performance required.
