This show centers faith-filled, honest conversations about the season between prayer and fulfillment—where God is faithful, growth is happening, and purpose is unfolding.
Hosted by Laneice Runnels, this podcast is for anyone navigating the in-between—learning to trust God, find strength in waiting, and recognize that purpose is still being revealed.
Are your thoughts strengthening your faith… or quietly sabotaging it?
What if the hardest part of waiting on God isn’t the silence—but the thoughts you replay while you wait?
In this powerful episode of Between the Prayer and the Promise, we dive into the connection between faith, mindset, and self-sabotage. You can be moving forward in obedience, and one negative thought can suddenly make everything feel uncertain. This conversation helps you identify the hidden agreements shaping your decisions, confidence, and spiritual walk.
We unpack how negative self-talk, fear, and past experiences can disguise themselves as “wisdom” or “waiting for the right time.” But not every thought is from God. Some are rooted in insecurity, past pain, or spiritual opposition—and learning to discern the difference is key to walking in purpose.
Grounded in The Bible scriptures like Proverbs 23:7 and Romans 12:2, this episode will help you renew your mind and align your thoughts with truth.
✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:
How to recognize self-sabotaging thoughts
Why mindset is critical in your faith journey
A simple, practical tool: catch it, challenge it, replace it
How to overcome fear disguised as wisdom
Why God is calling you to progress, not perfection
We also close with a powerful prayer and a weekly reflection question to help you stay aligned with what God says about you.
If you're in a waiting season, struggling with doubt, or working to grow in faith and purpose—this episode is for you.
🎧 Subscribe to Between the Prayer and the Promise for more faith-based encouragement 💬 Share this episode with someone who needs it ⭐ Leave a review to help others find hope in their waiting season
What if the very thing you've been praying for is being delayed, not by God, but by the thoughts you keep agreeing with. Have you ever noticed how you can be moving forward one moment and then one thought shows up and suddenly you are questioning everything?
Welcome back to Between a Prayer and the Promise. This is Between the Prayer and the Promise, a faith-centered podcast for anyone who's ever found themselves waiting on God. You've prayed, you've believed, you've stood on his word, and yet you're still waiting, still trusting, still holding on to what he's promised, even when you can't see it yet. We gather here once a month to share real stories from real people, navigating that sacred and sometimes the lonely space between what we've asked God for and what we're still believing him to do. This is a place for honest faith. The kind that admits God, that wrestles with that. But in spite of all that, we failed. The way is not wasted. God is faithful in every season, especially the ones that test us the most. So if you're listening and you're in that in-between season and you're holding on by a thread of faith, know this. You are not forgotten, and you are not alone. Welcome. Let's trust him together. Right here between the prayer and the promise. This is a space where we talk about what God is doing in us while we're waiting on what he has promised to us.
Today we're gonna talk about something that we don't talk enough about. But it impacts everything. Our thoughts. And not just the ones that we talk about out loud, right? But the ones that we silently agree with. Let me ask you something. What if the very thing that we've been praying for is being delayed, and not by God, but by the thoughts that we keep entertaining? Pause right there. Because we don't think of ourselves as the one that's standing in the way. But if honest, sometimes we are, right?
I remember a time in my life when I was just praying for more, more clarity, more purpose, more opportunity. And it felt like doors were just not opening like I expected them to. I mean, all of these thoughts of defeat, right? Even though I'm praying to do it. So here I am, right here, asking God for more. As I'm asking God for more, every thought I had also was the opposite of what I was asking for, pulling me back, pulling me away. And I didn't even realize it. Have you been there? Have you been in that space asking for more? But your thoughts were the opposite of what you were speaking.
The truth is that our thoughts are not just passing ideas, they are actually agreements, and whatever you constantly agree with is what eventually you will live out. Proverbs 23 and 7 reminds us: as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So tell me, how are you thinking? It doesn't say as we hope, as he prays, it says as he thinks, which means your life always moves in the directions of your throne, your strongest thoughts. What is your thoughts today? And self-sabotage doesn't always look like destruction. Sometimes it looks like hesitation. Sometimes it can sound like you know what, I'll do it later. I just need a little more time. You know what, it's not the right season. And listen, sometimes that is wisdom, right? But sometimes it's fear as a disguise, right? Sometimes it's a voice of past disappointment trying to
convince us that your future will look like your past. We have to have the wisdom to know the difference. Here's what we really need to understand. Not every thought that enters our mind comes from God. Some of our thoughts are from our past, from our pain, from our insecurity, and yes, sometimes from the enemy. Right, not some thoughts, but every thought. We gotta hold them captive, right? Because if we don't take control of our thoughts, your thoughts will take control of you.
And I know I've been there. I'm speaking what? Not from what I think I know, I'm speaking from what I know. There are people, people, excuse me, listening right now. Look, I'm making mistakes, but I'm gonna keep going. Everything in me wants to stop and just re-record this right now, but I'm not, I'm gonna keep going because what I'm not looking for perfection, I'm just looking for progress, right? I'm gonna keep going because my message right here to you is to stop looking for perfection, look for progress, keep moving forward, right? Your message is is important. What you have, your gift is important, right? There is someone listening right now. You are so gifted, you are so caught, you are so capable. There's someone listening that needs to start a podcast. You are you're listening, you're like, if that lady right there is on a podcast, I know I can be on the podcast, right? Yes, you can, you can do it, right? There is someone out there that that has so much to give, but you are talking yourself out of it. Stop it, don't do it. Today is your day. You keep talking yourself out of what God is trying to walk you into. You start and then you stop, you move and then you retreat, you believe, and then one thought shows up and then everything shifts. And not because God changed his mind, but you did. So, what are you gonna do?
How do we stop sabotaging ourselves? I want to make this real simple. Number one, catch the thought. Pay attention to what you are saying about yourself because some of us have been thinking the same negative thoughts for too long. We don't even question them anymore, right? We just think they're true, right? Number two, challenge that thought. Ask yourself, is this actually even true or is this fear talking? Number three, replace that thought. This is where the true transformation happens. Romans 12 and 2 says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Oh, I love the word. God's word is so good, right? Not by changing the situation, but by changing our thinking. We gotta change our thinking thinking, right? So instead of I'm not ready, we're gonna say God is preparing me, right? We're not gonna say I can't do it. We're gonna say I can do all things through God who strengthens me. I can do what God has called me to do. God has equipped me for this, or He's equipping me for this. I'm not going to fail. Even if I do fall, God is going to help me get back up again, right?
You cannot walk into purpose while thinking yourself out of it. Right? You cannot walk into purpose while thinking yourself out of it. God is not waiting for you to be perfect. Progress again over perfection, right? He's waiting for you to come into agreement with who he's already called you to be, who he said you are. Because the moment your thoughts align with his truth, everything begins to shift. Your confidence shifts, your action shifts, your obedience shifts, and suddenly the doors that fell closed, guess what? They start to open. They're waiting for you. God is waiting for you. I hope that something I share today has shifted for you. I hope that you're ready to walk through what God has called you
in. Dear Heavenly Father, help us to recognize the thoughts that are not from you, the ones that are rooted in fear, the ones that are shaped by our past, the ones that keep us stuck. Give us the courage to release them. Renew our mind, Father God, Lord, so that we can walk in your truth and not in our doubt. So we can move forward and not shrink, Father God, Lord, so that we can become everything, Father God, Lord, that you already called us to be. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.
So this week I want you to pay attention. What thoughts are you agreeing with? And are those thoughts leading you closer to your purpose, closer to what God has called you to do, or they pull you away from what God wants you to do? Because awareness is the first step. But this time, we're not just gonna recognize it, we are going to change it. Thank you and be blessed.
Thank you so much for listening to Between the Prayer and the Promise. If this episode encouraged you, we love for you to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us reach more people who are walking through their own season of waiting. But here's what matters most. Remember to trust God, not just when the answers come, not just when the blessings show up, but right here in the waiting, right here in the silence, right here in the in-between. He is faithful. He sees you and he's working, even when you can't see it yet. Until next time, keep believing, keep trusting, and keep holding on. I'm Lenny Sleeds, and I promise you, God is faithful.
