Real Life. Real Struggles. Real Prayer.

Ever catch yourself wondering if you’re “doing prayer right”? Like maybe it should sound more spiritual, more polished… or maybe the whole idea just feels a little awkward. In this episode of Imagine Yourself, we open up about what prayer really looks like when we drop the pressure and just talk to God from the heart.

Whether you're reciting something familiar, whispering a quick “help” in the middle of chaos, talking to God in the car… or however you find yourself praying—it all matters. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to prayer, and the beauty is that God hears it all.  

If you've ever doubted your prayer life or felt unsure about how to start, this conversation will lift the weight. Let’s ditch the pressure, drop the guilt, and discover how real, everyday prayer brings us closer to God—and to each other.

Press play and imagine yourself praying with confidence, honesty, and freedom—just as you are.

For more info on IMAGINE YOURSELF, visit imagineyourselfpodcast.com. You'll find blogs, inspirational quotes and of course our podcasts!

Join the conversation on our FACEBOOK, or INSTAGRAM pages. Email at imagineyourselfpodcast@gmail.com

Thanks for being part of the Imagine Yourself Family! Follow or subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

"Imagine Yourself" is hosted by Lanée Blaise and Sandy Kovach—two dynamic voices with a passion for inspiring and uplifting others. Lanée, a TV writer, producer, motivational speaker, and podcaster, brings powerful storytelling and insight. Sandy, a radio personality, voiceover artist, and podcaster, delivers warmth and wisdom with every conversation. Broadcasting from the Detroit Metro area, they welcome guests from around the world to share valuable perspectives on health, career growth, faith, and personal transformation. Tune in and imagine the possibilities for your life!

Transcript

Lanee Blaise:
Hello, everyone. This is Lanee here with Sandy. And today we are going to do probably the most relaxed episode we've ever done. It's going to be real, it's going to be casual, and I hope that it inspires everyone who's listening to take the hint that sometimes in this life we need to be honest with ourselves, be honest with God, be honest with our soul, and just let it all hang out. We're human. We're not perfect. And the way that we go to God in prayer, the way that we have God order our steps, maybe needs to be in a more gentle version instead of a formula for everything. Are you kind of picking up what I'm putting down, Sandy?

Sandy Kovach:
I am. And I like that this is casual podcast day and casual prayer day, but every day. Oh, okay. First, let me say before I get into my casual prayer spiel, that if you like formal prayer and that works for you, no judgment. We're not putting it down at all. But what we are saying is that real prayer and real conversation with God is just fine, and for a lot of us, maybe preferable. I want to read a quote to start here. It's a famous quote by Max Lucado.

Sandy Kovach:
He said, our prayers may be awkward, our attempts may be feeble, but since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference. And when I heard that quote, that really hit me. It's like, well, first of all, God knows your heart. God knows what you're going to say anyway. You're showing up to pray. It's not like you have to have a formula or even speak in whole sentences if you don't want to.

Lanee Blaise:
Yeah, it can be as simple as, dear God, I need help. Dear God, this is hard. Dear God, please heal this. Heal me. Thank you for waking me up. I know my son when he was younger, he's 20 now, but when he was a little boy, he used to pray. Dear God and Jesus. Hey, guys.

Lanee Blaise:
You guys are some great guys. Thank you guys for helping me. Have a good day today. I hope that I sleep good. Thanks for taking care of my mom and dad. Amen. And it was the most precious little prayer ever. And he would, you know, pray like that often.

Lanee Blaise:
And one of our family members who was even a little younger than my son then, so, like, jay was like 7 years old, and this kid was like, 5 or 6. He's like, you can't pray like that. You have to, like, say, our Father who art in heaven, and Jay's like, nope, doing it this way. So it's just. We just really need to remember that the one who created us, flaws and all, will accept the posture that we come, whether it's a posture of, you know, when we do want to be formal, like you mentioned, Sandy, or when we want to just lay on our face and just call out to God and to our Father, to our Savior, to our teacher, to our helper, to our friend, and what. Whatever way that looks like, of course we revere God. Of course we have respect. But again, if we're God's children, and even if you're a little kid and you're saying, hey, guys, it's still.

Lanee Blaise:
I just think it is from the heart. Truly. Truly from the heart.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah. And however you're moved, like you're saying, sometimes, you know, things are where you want to be on your face or you want to be on your knees, and sometimes it's just like a quick prayer. You get a prayer request in the email, or somebody texts you, hey, I'm going into surgery. Or, you know, and then you stop right there. Or sometimes it's even, I don't even know this person. I'll see something on social media about someone, and I don't know them, but they're a friend of a friend or whatever. And I'll say, father, I don't know their situation, but you do. And that type of prayer is effective as well, as well as the times where we're praying for, you know, help for ourselves.

Sandy Kovach:
And the Bible does say pray without ceasing. And it doesn't mean, obviously, that we stand there and constantly pray, but keeping up that conversation with God, like, things come up and whether they concern other people in their prayer requests or our prayer requests, or you see an. Or you hear an ambulance. I mean, are you one of those people that just prays for that situation? Whenever you hear an ambulance or when.

Lanee Blaise:
I see, like, down the road, something went wrong, like, you know, there's an accident ahead, definitely you pray for the people. It's. I think this is very good that you brought it up, Sandy, because I think sometimes we get it in our head that we need to, like, almost schedule time to pray. When I have time, when I finish doing this and that and the other, then I can really sit and pray. And like you said, if you're praying without ceasing and praying, when it hits you praying, can you imagine? Can you imagine, Imagine. Can you imagine what this world would be like if many of us did do just like you said before and when we hear an ambulance or when we hear any news or that we begin to pray, even with the understanding that we don't understand, you know, what's going on, and that we just have a flow of prayer, a flow of communion and communication with God. And we sometimes also pause and listen to see if there is something that comes back from God to us also. How about that component?

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah, Praying. Yeah, Sitting in. Sitting in silence, waiting on God to speak. That's prayer as well, right?

Lanee Blaise:
Waiting. Waiting is a word that this society is really no longer familiar with. No, I think. And so waiting, waiting on the Lord was something that is written all through the Bible, especially in the Psalms. And wait, wait on the Lord. Be still, be patient. I had a conversation with my son, same one who's 20 years old now, last night, because he is still on the hunt for internships. And he stopped, like, in the middle of all this strategizing that we were doing.

Lanee Blaise:
He's like, I think I need to, like, pray to God and just ask for some help here. I said, absolutely. And he said, I know that you always talk about God giving you these divine nudges and feelings, but does God, like, ever say, say it to you, like, in words? And I'm like, yes, for me, sometimes I talked about dreams because I know that you've had different dreams where actual words, again, are said to you, Sandy, that really make an impact, that really are speaking to things in your life. And I did want to tell him, though. I don't want you to get caught up in some kind of formula because everybody's different. God tends to give me my biggest messages when I'm groggy at, like, 4am When I roll over and, I don't know, cough or something like that. And then God's like, hey, Lenae, about such and such, you know, because all of this divine information begins to flow through to me. And many times, because I'm so tired, I have to, like, turn on the light real quick, write it on a little sheet of paper next to my bed, go back to sleep, and then look at it the next day.

Lanee Blaise:
And I told him that. But I'm like. With the kind of disclaimer that doesn't mean that that's the way God does for you. I've watched you as a little boy, and you have this flow with God. Like, you know, like, I said the casual prayers with things sometimes turning out right, even when sometimes Jay would completely drop the ball. He, like, was going to the wrong airport one time for a flight, and I'm like, you're gonna miss the flight. And he's like, I'm gonna call the airline and see. And he got the most wonderful little angelic lady on the phone, and she fixed the ticket for him.

Lanee Blaise:
And then the flight was delayed, so he still made it. All was well. So his is just a flow. It's not always necessarily the words that come from him or that come from God. It's that FL. Flow, that constant flow. And I said, don't you ever, for one minute, Jay, think that it's you because you're so awesome. Know that it is God's grace.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah. And just being a person who is in the Word or prays regularly or, you know, in whatever circumstances, and I tend to have my biggest breakthroughs and dreams and things that happen after I have been in the Word and praying. I don't get specific answers, but as you know, I get little signs or little things and dreams. And dreams that were specific.

Lanee Blaise:
Yes.

Sandy Kovach:
And I've had. Definitely had dreams that were specific. One thing, too, I wanted to bring up is I'm still kind of uncomfortable praying in, like, groups. Like, if it was, you know, you and me, I pray with you. But, you know, when. Let's say you're in a Bible study and who wants to pray, I'm never the one raising my hand. And I think I share that with people. And I feel like people shouldn't feel pressure if they don't want to pray in public, but also realize that the people generally, if they're in those groups, aren't judging you.

Sandy Kovach:
And if they are, God's not judging you. He hears your heart.

Lanee Blaise:
Yeah. I've been in Bible study for so many years. I love it so much. I've done it on Bible study, zooms, Bible studies, where I facilitated some, where I didn't. Somewhere I knew the people there, somewhere I didn't. And of course, there is a level of comfort with the people in the group that you'd have to, you know, come up with. And again, you definitely would want to be in an environment where you. You begin to feel that there is no judgment among these fellow people on how you're going to say it and do it.

Lanee Blaise:
But there is something in my heart. This is my belief that every time someone who. In the groups that I've been in, they didn't really feel confident, they don't be like, oh, such and such. She's such a great prayer warrior, and let's just let her do it every time. And I'm like, let's not have her do it every time. Let's, you know, I don't want to press anyone before they're ready. But when those folks who were reluctant finally let loose, many times they were the most simple but important and spot on prayers that hit directly to something that we had talked about that maybe no one really thought to pray about. I don't know if I'm, if I'm being clear enough, but it's like they may have noticed something during the discussions that some a pain point that one or more of the ladies had and they address it in that prayer in a very simple, direct manner.

Lanee Blaise:
And it was just very life affirming and very blessed. And so I wonder even if more people say it's okay in this Bible study to have prayers of all kinds, to have the very, very proper and kind of illustrious prayer along with the very direct and simple and short prayers everybody loves and then also just the very gut wrenching prayers. It's reflective of the differences that we are as people. Some of us like to be very straightforward and simple. Some of us like to have a little flair, little sprinkles in our, in the way we talk and the way we behave. I would imagine. Can you imagine God receiving prayers from his different children different ways reflective of who they are?

Sandy Kovach:
That's absolutely true. And you know, it's how the Holy Spirit is moving you as well and going back to, you're reading scripture and you're praying just being in that life in general. The Holy Spirit prompts you more. And the Bible also says that he intercedes when we don't know what to pray. So he says it's wordless groans which always kind of, you know, I don't mean it was like funny ha ha, but it's like okay. Wordless groans. Yeah, literally. And just like God knowing your heart and knowing what you're gonna pray before you pray, you can just sit down and I've done this.

Sandy Kovach:
I'll be just like exhausted and kind of blue and sort of a blue mood and I'll be like, God, I have no idea what's wrong with me today.

Lanee Blaise:
Yes.

Sandy Kovach:
But thank you for being here and you know my needs, you know me and amen. So in Jesus name usually it's more.

Lanee Blaise:
Than you can even say, hey, and Holy Spirit, please add whatever I miss.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah, that's what you could, you could asterisk. Could you please please add that I used to like to walk around and just talk to God, like I can only do this when I'm home alone. You Know, because I'm looking like.

Lanee Blaise:
I mean, unless you warn your husband, be like, you know, I'm gonna take in some time over here for a minute. You might hear me talking. I'm not talking to you, sir.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah, that's right. And I know I'm not walking outside talking. I mean, when people have prayer walks, I've always wondered about that. Cause I've certainly had walks where I have had silence and just kind of mindful walks. But I've never had prayer walks. What is that? Do you literally pray out loud on prayer walks?

Lanee Blaise:
I do. I feel like this is what I think. A lot of times people assume that when they see someone walking down the street, they have some kind of air pods or earbuds or something in their ear. So if they see them speaking out loud, I don't think that they're gonna think anything too wonky. They're just gonna think, oh, she is probably talking to someone on the phone. So that's. You're not weirdness factor.

Sandy Kovach:
Okay. If you worry about that.

Lanee Blaise:
Yeah, if you're worried about that. But I. Absolutely. Because being outside in nature is also refreshing. And it stirs different things within your soul and your body and your mind and your spirit that you probably don't get inside of four walls. I love it. I go out there and be walking and talking to God, like, God, I'll even do weird things like God, should I go to the right or to the left today? And you know, many times God is just like, do whatever you do. It's not a big deal.

Lanee Blaise:
But it's just that openness, right? It's that open dialogue of, hey, God, symbolically in my life. I do want you to tell me which pathway I should go in this life. Whether it's to the right, to the left, to the. Go to this town or take this job or take this meeting or whatever, or not. And it just builds that praying without ceasing type of dynamic. I really do. I love talking out loud and just like looking up the sky, saying, thank you, God, for these trees in the sky. I think about people who've passed away.

Lanee Blaise:
I think about, like, my grandmothers, my grandparents. I'm like, if you all see me, hello. You know, I don't know exactly what happens after we pass away, but if there is any way that you are hearing this communication, of course to God first, but then also to my different folks who've passed on, I want to let them know that I'm here. Just hello. And again, that casualness, right? Just that casual Like, I would like, hey, telephone call. It's just, I mean, I know my mom, she had struggled for a while with really trying to be diligent about praying. Very specific, written out prayers, proper prayers. And she actually was told, you know, by the Holy Spirit, you don't need to do this anymore.

Lanee Blaise:
You're doing repetitive, repetitive, repetitive prayers. I get it. I am the creator of all. I have vast knowledge. You can come to me in a different way. It doesn't have to be such a specific, repetitive, proper, formal prayer.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah. Now it's some part of some people's faith, if they're Roman Catholic, for example, that they want to do the Hail Marys and Our Fathers and. But in addition, you can also do the other prayers.

Lanee Blaise:
That's actually a good point. True. Because there is a beauty to saying the Lord's Prayer the way that Jesus intended for us to learn it in Matthew. And even like you and I, Sandy, before this episode, we were talking about like kind of the, the King's English and the. Or the, you know, the King James Version. Do you notice, Sandy, that some Bible verses stick in your head with the thou in the King James Version in a more concrete and heartfelt way? Because maybe because we learned it that way when we were kids.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah. Psalm 23, I have it memorized in King James because that's how I learned it. Yeah. And when I hear the other versions, I get it and I like it. And I've actually done a thing where you go through the different Bible translations. Translations. Yeah. And you can do that online really easy now of Psalm 23.

Sandy Kovach:
And it's all very beautiful. Yes. But I memorized it in King James.

Lanee Blaise:
And that's the part where we're kind of like saying, you can be casual. But we are reminding those two for those who find that beauty, because remember, we are all different. God has different individual, special relationships with all of us. And if God knows that you are a, A lover of words and language and there's a beauty to it, then that part is encouraged. Even getting back to what you're saying, like in the Bible as well. When I'm trying to learn new concepts, sometimes I like the new living translation because it's my version of the most. The way I talk and so that I can get the understanding of it. But there is, especially in the, let's say the New Testament, there is a place of just flipping through and reading like a whole page or a whole chapter and just soaking it in and really understanding it and then waiting even till the next day.

Lanee Blaise:
And seeing how these things are actually applying in our lives today.

Sandy Kovach:
Absolutely. Yeah. I went through all the Gospels and some of the other books like that. One verse a day. Not one verse, one chapter a day. That would take a long time. The Lord's my shepherd. But yeah.

Sandy Kovach:
And then, of course, you know, in the Gospels or the book of Acts and some of these other books that you get caught up in the story, too, or you read the book of Esther, or you read the book of Ruth or something like that. If you want to read through the whole Bible as a book, of course. But the most important thing is my pastor was just talking about this is don't feel like you're having to rush through it. Like, I'm going to read the Bible in a year. You know, read what you can and soak it in exactly like you said and see how that affects you. One other thing I wanted to add before we wrap up is I've heard this as a CS Lewis quote, and I don't know exactly what the quote is, but it's basically prayer doesn't change. Well, it might not change the circumstances, but it definitely changes you. So that's one of the things that we are accomplishing through prayer, is not only communication with God and not only trying to get our prayers answered.

Sandy Kovach:
We change through the process.

Lanee Blaise:
We change. And that collective prayer, if you start thinking about all the different people in their homes, in their cars, at work, praying, it lifts the whole universe, literally, spiritually, and we can all be a part of that. I love what you're saying is changing us. It's changing us. It's changing things. And a lot of us, too, have this thought, well, I'm not biblical enough. I don't know enough Bible facts, Bible theology. Please, please don't let that thinking take root too strongly.

Lanee Blaise:
Because, I mean, of course we can all read the Bible more. We can all fellowship more, we can all worship more. But I do believe that all of us has something to give as well. And we could end up not blessing others by thinking that our contributions, our points, our questions even, aren't valid. Because the Bible lets us know God will let us question. Gideon questioned Job, questioned doubting Thomas. You know, it's just. It's okay to learn, it's okay to question, and it's okay to not have a PhD in theology.

Sandy Kovach:
Oh, goodness. Yeah. I mean, we're supposed to come to him like little children, be like little children. He says that more than once, so don't worry about that. And sometimes when you're overthinking and there's nothing wrong with studying theology or getting degrees. And of course there's not. But sometimes if you get too far into the intellectual side of things, you know, you can really miss out on what God is doing. And the thing is, we're going to never totally understand anyway.

Sandy Kovach:
It's great to study and great to listen to different people and what they think about it, this and that and the other thing. But everybody's going to be wrong about a lot of stuff.

Lanee Blaise:
That is the best point of all, I think God's ways are higher than our ways. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We are absolutely. No matter what we think. Even with the Bible, literal, figurative, all things, we're going to get some stuff wrong. We're going to misunderstand, we're going to incorrectly translate. We're going to miss the point. It's going to go over our heads and other people's, too.

Lanee Blaise:
So the best thing is to hold God in your heart and to listen for that wonderful communion and voice or nudge from the Holy Spirit to learn. That's our teacher. That's who's been left behind to teach us as much as possible to open our eyes when different things from the Bible, from this world are revealed to us divinely, not on our own method. Just like my son. It's not because you're so great, dude.

Sandy Kovach:
I like that.

Lanee Blaise:
Yeah, just God's grace.

Sandy Kovach:
Just say that to yourself. It's not like you're so great, dude. And feel free to call yourself dude.

Lanee Blaise:
Because we're doing casual day today.

Sandy Kovach:
Yeah, we're doing casual day. I say that word way too often and I probably need to stop.

Lanee Blaise:
But it's the perfect word sometimes.

Sandy Kovach:
Sometimes it's the perfect word. But God understands his children in different ways. And he hears their voice and we hear his voice. If we, you know, if we're following him. My pastor was talking about sheep and shepherds and how it's more than just we recognize God's voice. They're literally talking about sheep's. Sheep's. Sheep.

Sandy Kovach:
They do recognize their shepherd's voice. I don't know how or, you know, but they do. They get it. It's like, I guess, our intonations and.

Lanee Blaise:
Yes, and I've heard sheep are not very bright also and they can fall off the cliff and stuff. This sounds just like humans. And again, it is because that shepherd is way smarter than them and knows the path and knows what to look out for where we don't. So when we think of God Leading us. And we are the sheep. God is the shepherd or even a parent child type of relationship. I think it makes it a lot smoother for us.

Sandy Kovach:
Yep. So either way you want to think about it, sheep dude, you know?

Lanee Blaise:
Yes. That's all we are.

Sandy Kovach:
Or thou art. Yes.

Lanee Blaise:
Which again, can be very beautiful language that might make certain components of God's word really stick in your heart better.

Sandy Kovach:
I'm really glad that we're talking about this subject and I'd be curious for other people, especially people maybe from different denominations or maybe they're not even going to church, whatever, but they still pray. Or, you know, we, we love for people to go to church, but no judgment here. We're just here to talk about it. Point is, whatever your situation is, we'd love to hear from you and how you pray and if you have any issues or you have anything you want.

Lanee Blaise:
To share with us, I think that's important to say, especially in our current climate and society right now, that any praying that's being done is beautiful. Any inching closer and closer to God that a person can do is welcome and is wonderful.

Sandy Kovach:
Maybe you're just turning on this podcast and you believe in God, but really that's as far as it goes. Maybe this is an open door for you to start that conversation. God loves everybody.

Lanee Blaise:
Yes, we are all the children of God. So yeah, on that note, I think we will let everybody go about their day, whether they're having casual day like us today or whether. Whether they are having a, you know, more sophisticated day. Darling, Darling. Overall, we want to say, imagine yourself really believing that we're all blessed by God, that we all have and can continue to have a closeness with God and that we can come to God as we are and be accepted, loved, cared for and blessed. Take care.

Sandy Kovach:
Thank you so much for spending time with us today. We hope this episode gave you something to hold on to. Something encouraging, real, something that maybe reminds you you're not alone on this journey. If you found it helpful, we would love for you to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you feel led rating and leaving a comment is a great way to help others find us too and to give us some of the feedback that we need. You can always reach out. We'd love to hear from you. Use the text feature in the app.

Sandy Kovach:
Visit imagine yourself podcast.com you'll get more faith filled encouragement and content there too. And also ways to connect. We're on Instagram, Facebook and all the links are waiting for you in the show. Notes until next time. Take a deep breath. Keep the faith. Imagine yourself growing. Growing in your relationship with God.

Sandy Kovach:
Healing and becoming all you are meant to be.