Focus (Episode 4 - Archive)Focus (Episode 4 - Archive)
Relational Recovery
This conversation focuses on prayer, honest self-reflection, and four simple questions as tools for impulse control in addiction recovery. Wes Thompson and Austin Hill connect Christian spirituality, psychology, and everyday struggles with urges and illusion-filled thinking.
7:04•21 Oct 2026
Slowing Down with God: Prayer, Impulse Control, and Honest Questions
Episode Overview
- Stopping to ask what you believe, what is true, why it matters, and what you want to do can act as real-time impulse control.
- Prayer is presented as a way to slow down, come before God, and honestly name difficult impulses and emotions.
- Social media is described as an illusion that can distort reality, making reflective prayer even more important.
- Scripture, especially the Psalms and Matthew 21, offers language for those who feel unsure how to pray.
- Getting to know your true self is linked with better recognising who God is and how deeply he loves and wants you.
“God hides himself in the nooks and crannies of our soul, and the more we get to know who we are, the more he reveals who he is to us.”
How can compelling narratives motivate and inspire others? This instalment of Relational Recovery centres on the gritty, everyday work of staying present with God when impulses and illusions are screaming for attention. The conversation between host Wes Thompson and co-host Austin Hill circles around one core practice: prayer that actually slows you down. They talk about how most people rarely pause long enough to ask themselves simple but brutally honest questions like, "What do I believe about this?
What's actually true? Why does it matter to me? What do I want to do about it?" You’ll hear how these four questions can become a kind of impulse control, even in moments when someone feels pulled toward something as serious as using heroin.
A striking moment comes when they quote author David Benner: "God hides himself in the nooks and crannies of our soul, and the more we get to know who we are, the more he reveals who he is to us." From there, the discussion turns to how Christian spirituality and psychology meet in recovery, with prayer acting as a way to hand over the parts of ourselves that feel captive and misunderstood.
Social media gets called out as a "version of the world" that’s filtered through other people’s agendas, leaving many stuck in illusion rather than reality. Prayer, they argue, pulls you back to what’s real: Who am I? Who is God? How do I actually feel and think? They draw on Psalm 61 and Jesus’ words in Matthew 21 to show how Scripture offers language for people who don’t know what to say but desperately want help.
The episode speaks to anyone who finds reflective questions uncomfortable yet senses that avoiding them hasn’t worked. If slowing down with God might change how you face your impulses, this conversation is worth your time. What would shift in your recovery if you gave yourself permission to pause and actually ask those four questions?
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