---
title: Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield
description: Explore the transformative power of prayer and the journey of faith in overcoming life's challenges, anxiety, and seeking genuine connection with God.
---

[Intentionally: Mindset & Performance Blog | Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog)

# [Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/praise-repent-ask-yield)

 Written by [Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini) | Nov 13, 2026, 12:01:00 AM

Pray like a champion.

Individuals tend to like conversations with friends yet dislike the topic of therapy. Everyone loves a trustworthy relationship yet lots of people question the reliability of religion. Many people buy into setting goals, making mission statements, and creating vision boards yet a large portion of the global population refuses to acknowledge the power of prayer, except when emergencies arise.

Above-average performers consistently nourish their bodies.

Great performers consistently nourish their bodies and minds.

Phenomenal performers consistently nourish their bodies, minds, and spirits.

———

## Prayer means to ask earnestly.

It requires honest humility, open curiosity, and spiritual surrender. It’s not flippantly requesting something from an esoteric genie that grants wishes; it’s sincerely and fervently submitting to a higher power who responds to individuals with integrity. Do we maintain a right relationship with who’s most righteous? When so, we create heaven even out of hellish situations, here on earth.

> ## The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective… Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you receive… Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be yours.
> 
> ## — James 5:16; Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24

——

*I was born and raised in the Catholic religion. I was baptized as a baby, received First Holy Communion as a kid, and went through the Sacrament of Confirmation as a young teenager.*

*I remember walking away from the dogmatic traditions of Catholicism during the end of high school.*

*Anger, pain, and sadness triggered my journey into the wilderness and away from God.*

*Though I could make excuses about schoolwork being time-consuming and life events being distracting, here’s the truth: I was frustrated I had stress fractures in my lower back, which led to a perceived loss of identity as an elite athlete. I was mad my mother was battling cancer. I was stunned many priests had taken advantage of vulnerable children and adolescents.*

*I was questioning the best way forward…*

*\[Also, a large part of me knew some of my behaviors had to change if I were to truly commit to a strict religion that requires devotion, consistency, and unhidden honesty. Many people seem to refrain from fully embracing Christ (or any serious spiritual discipline, for that matter) because deep down they know they would have to adjust their actions if they really identified as a true believer… and they are not ready to do that quite yet\].*

*After several years of frequent justifications, bouts of anxiety, and sins of iniquity, I consciously **re-committed** to Catholicism. Why? Like the seed and root of a tree, I learned the Catholic religion was the birth of all other Christian denominations. It remains a punitive-yet-promising path to discipline, humility, and lasting peace. Between nowhere and now here, I made more space for prayer.*

*Who am I to think I know what’s more true than the Bible, the Word, the Truth?*

*Why has the Scripture survived the test of time through 100+ generations?*

*Which argument against Christ holds more water than the streams of liberty that provide the freedom, independence, and world of opportunity I walk in daily?*

*Yes, I will sin again. Yes, I will say wrong words and think wicked thoughts, from time to time. But no, I won’t wonder why I am here and how to live with joy. When I miss the mark, I will confess, seek forgiveness, and give thanks. Through prayer, I will shrink my ego and stretch my blessings.*

*EGO: Edging God Out*

*PRAY: Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield*

*Yield: to stop resisting and start surrendering…*

*When someone asks me, “Mark, why are you Catholic?” I no longer hesitate. My answer acknowledges how I have tried other ways. I have attempted to somewhat care while somewhat doing whatever I wanted. I have lived without God placed at the center of my life and put most high; adoring hedonism and other idols above Him instead. Those ways are full of anxiety, double-mindedness and doubt. They hurt, me and others. Those ways of living are not wholesome for me. I could make a strong argument those ways are suboptimal for any human being.*

*Catholicism provides me with a daily depth, a sustainable structure and a connected community to courageously strive, consciously recognize, and feel fully alive.*

*That’s a snapshot of my own monomyth, personal “hero’s journey,” departure-initiation--return.*

*——*

A person’s god is whatever he or she puts first. God is the highest conceptual good. The Biblical and canonical God is seen in what’s beautiful, felt in what’s loving, and said in what’s true.

The opposite of what’s openly beautiful, good and true is what’s closed-off, ugly, evil and false.

Shame grows in the spurious aspects of secrecy.

Love grows in the honest waves of openness.

> ## Honesty is essential to recovery… The relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain… The spirit of science is a spirit of open curiosity, and the spirit of open curiosity is at the core of spiritual surrender.
> 
> ## — Anna Lembke, MD, a lead authority on addiction, a renowned psychiatrist at Stanford University, and the author of Dopamine Nation & Radical Surrender

——

This past weekend, I attended Eudēmonia, one of the largest health and wellness conferences in the world. Dr. Andrew Huberman was one of the keynote speakers. He spoke about his new book, Protocols, which contains systems for sustainable health, high performance, and longevity.

He opened up about cutting-edge technologies, discussed the ins-and-outs of optimal sleep, and shared his story. What fascinated me most, however, was his answer to this question: “Which parts of your book were your favorite to write?” After highlighting notes about neuroplasticity, learning, and the vitality that comes from setting goals, he pointed to grief and to prayer.

Grief, he shared, involves a feeling as if we have lost someone and not yet found them; therefore, we painfully continue to look — places, scents, and scenarios continuously make us feel as if a loved one whose physical body will soon show up around the next corner. By **remapping our feelings**, we can mitigate the agony typically caused by grief. Said differently: we do not miss a loved one as much as we miss the kind of person we were in the presence of that loved one; by understanding how a loved one made us feel, we can dearly hold them in our hearts while re-creating similar relationships and communities of belonging, adoration, and admiration.

Then Dr. Huberman emphasized the benefits of prayer, how **calling on a higher power** (the Holy Spirit) allows us to receive answers to questions, to ease our anxieties, and to feel constant senses of equanimity by simply knowing we are small beings inside a vast universe.

Through prayer, we gain wisdom and let go of worry.

Through prayer, we spiritually surrender an outcome and trust our process.

Through prayer, we do not give up… we give over to.

———

Therapy provides a psychological peace via emotionally-connected and insightful dialogue with a loved one we trust. Religion is whatever we celebrate, ritualize, and worship as most important in our lives. Our best relationships are there for us in emergencies and throughout everyday endeavors.

**Prayer** imitates a praise-filled repentance, an earnest request, or a peaceful conversation with God, the Creator who **made us**. The amount of relief we receive remains commensurate to the seriousness of our prayers. There’s a time and a place for everything, from a jester with a joke to a believer who’s **equally yoked**.

Who do you trust the most?

What do you worship?

Which is the best way forward for you?

If you know those answers, God bless.

If you have more questions than answers, consider prayer.

> ## Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
> 
> ## — Philippians 4:6-7

And, when we pray, let’s do it like champions, intentionally.

— MG

 

🎙️[Click here to listen to Mark Glicini’s monthly episodes of his podcast, ***GRATEFUL*** *and Full of Greatnes*](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518)

[View full post](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/praise-repent-ask-yield)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Mark Glicini"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-11-13T00:01:00.407Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-11-13T00:01:00Z",
  "headline" : "Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1080,
    "url" : "https://21051743.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/21051743/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGF%20Praise%2c%20Repent%2c%20Ask%2c%20Yield.png",
    "width" : 1920
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.markglicini.com/blog/praise-repent-ask-yield",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Blog"
  }
}
```