The Power of A Prayer Journal

I always worry that God doesn't hear/answer my prayers. I keep thinking, I'm doing this wrong, or, I'm not asking for the right thing...my prayers are too selfish, etc. It always seems to me that I don't pray often enough, or long enough, or in the right way. And all of these may be true, but what I've learned is that God answers my prayers anyway. They're not perfect prayers but God's perfection more than compensates where I am lacking.

About five or six years ago I decided to start writing down my prayers in a journal. [I've been kind of inconsistent with this over the years, but that is irrelevant here.] I started the journal because at that time, I realized that God had answered a prayer that I'd fired off in a moment of frustration. That prayer was one of those sighs that you send heavenward in the moment, and it took several months for me to realize that that prayer had been answered. It wasn't until I faced a similar situation, and responded to it very differently, that I remembered that I'd prayed about it, and I simultaneously realized that my prayer had been answered! That prompted me to start writing down my prayers so that I could have a tangible record of what the Lord has done, and does, and is doing in my life and in the lives of the people I care about. I think this is part of what David meant when he encouraged us to "taste and see" (Ps 34).

Since then I've seen lots of my prayers, big and small be answered, sometimes in unexpected ways. Some of these were wishlist prayers -- the "God I would like" prayers that are fulfilled by tangible things: jobs and opportunities, money where needed, etc. But the ones that have blown me away are the prayers that answered needs that I couldn't properly articulate in words. Here's an example: At around age 24/25, I kept feeling like I didn't have great, solid friendships, the ones that I truly longed for. I wanted to ask God for those kinds of friendships, but the best I could come up with was, "God, make me a better friend." I have seen transformation in my friendships since then (including with friends that I had before that prayer), and those friendships have transformed my life.

Sometimes all we need to see the goodness of the Lord, is to find a way to make us pay attention. Life is busy, and we forget (or don't notice) that God is continually, consistently good. My prayer journal has been this reminder for me, and an encouragement to pray more boldly, and as specifically as I can. I've seen how God says yes, and how God says no to my requests and petitions. My prayers, written down, have taught me more about the God that I choose to serve, because I can see God's hand at work throughout my life.

Be blessed and keep praying!
Shanique

Subscribe to The Journey Deeper by Email

Hymn-ful Sundays! "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"

This week's hymn is, once again by Charles Wesley! Charles and his brother John were founders of Methodism in the eighteenth century, and Charles was a prolific hymnwriter, writing many of the great hymns of the faith. This hymn of his is generally sung at Advent, which makes it a wonderful choice for today, the second Sunday of Advent!

The Fourth Candle: Anticipating Peace

For the final week of Advent, we are anticipating peace.

It doesn't escape my notice that peace is the focus of the fourth and final week of Advent. I think it's quite appropriate to take THE most hectic week of the year and make its focus peace. Even as we run around, doing all the last minute things that seem to magically come up in the last few days before Christmas, we are to remember that Jesus came to the earth as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

The Third Candle: Anticipating Joy

This week, we anticipate joy.

When the Son of Man came to this world, he brought with him joy. The angels knew it. When the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, the angel told them, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11). After that, the whole host of angels began to sing!

The Second Candle: Anticipating Love

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine,

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and Angels gave the sign.

-Christina Rossetti

This week, we are anticipating love.

The promise of the Christ-child, coming to the earth, was a promise filled with love. Jeremiah tells Israel that the Lord has loved them with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). In that same chapter, Jeremiah tells them of the new covenant that God will establish with his people. God was saying, I have loved you always, and from my love and mercy, we will establish a covenant.

The First Candle: Anticipating Hope

This week, we are anticipating hope.

In the time of King Uzziah, Israel was a wicked place. The people had turned from the laws of their God, and were participating in every idolatrous religious practice of the nations around them. But in the midst of all this, a man called Isaiah received a prophecy from the Lord,

“There will come a time in the last days when the mountain where the Eternal’s house stands will become the highest, most magnificent – grander than any of the mountains around it. All the nations of the world will run there, wanting to see it, feel it, fully experience it. Many people of all languages, colors, and creeds will come.” (Isaiah 2:2-3, The Voice).

Anticipating Christ

One of my absolute favourite times of the year is Advent. Not just Christmas itself, but the four weeks leading up to it that the liturgical church celebrates as Advent. There's something in me that just loves the idea of eagerly anticipating and celebrating the birth of our Saviour.

Each week, a candle is lit, and each candle signifies a word that is the focus of that week: hope, love, joy, peace. (A fifth candle is lit on Christmas day to represent Christ, and the light that he brings to the world.) We sings songs that tell of the coming of the Christ-child, and read some of the greatest passages in the Bible: prophecies of the Messiah coming to earth, that were spoken hundreds of years before his birth.