Write down for the coming generations what the Lord has done so that people not yet born will praise him. Psalm 102:18 

I have a small, bright yellow notebook that I keep on my bedside table. I have had it for decades. It has a delicate shantung silk cover. Little pieces of flowers and herbs are pressed into the handmade paper; fresh blank pages, just waiting to be written on. You can feel the care and love that went into making this beautiful little book, and I wanted to honor that by carefully choosing what was written on the leaves. It has become a record of how God has answered prayer in my life, as well as the people He has sent to walk alongside me and encourage me in my faith journey.  

I inscribed two verses on the inside cover, the one above and this one:

Only pay attention and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your grandchildren [impressing these things on their mind and penetrating their heart with these truths.] Deuteronomy 4:9 (Amplified) 

A Legacy of Faithfulness

I started writing in this portfolio many years ago when I first became a believer and started to boldly pray for the audacious. Someone suggested I record my prayer requests and how God answered them. As a new believer, God stunned me by somehow honoring my prayers in extraordinary and miraculous ways. 

Could he really be honoring MY prayers? Was he actually able to interpret my awkward, inarticulate, unintelligible prayers, which were often steeped in pain and anxiety? We’re talking about requests so confused, even I couldn’t understand them! Yet He heard my groans and made sense of them, and found a way to encourage me and help me grow. His intercessions often astounded me. I wanted to remember how He was always there for me, so I wrote these blessings in my yellow notebook. 

I recently reviewed this journal of prayer and felt overwhelmed by God’s continued faithfulness. There I saw the times He pulled the weeds out of my life so that new growth could start. And that reminded of the scary leaps of faith I made before I really knew who He was, and the ways He answered prayers I never thought possible.

A New Take on Prayer

I realize that when I made these prayer requests, I was often just doing my worrying out loud to God; reviewing my anxiety in His presence. I once read that prayer is simply shifting your audience from yourself, to inviting God into your anxiety and worry.   

Instead of sending up a laundry list of demands, my time in prayer led me to reflect on where God was working in my life as opposed to where God was NOT working in my life. Instead of fixating on the problems, my focus turned to gratitude for what God was already doing. 

With answered prayer requests, I learned to pray for changes in my own heart, rather than just changes to my situation. Like Mary, I stored these things in my heart and pondered them. I treasured them. Almost every prayer was answered. And I can’t wait to see what He will do with the petitions that are yet to be answered! 

Ultimately, I came to understand that Christianity is a long-term walk of obedience. His timing, not mine.  His way, not mine. Each time I chose to be obedient, it led to a deeper, closer relationship with Him, and an appreciation for how He answered prayer, even if it wasn’t the way my mortal mind would have resolved the issue.  Especially since it wasn’t the way I would have written the story!

Your Turn

Looking back at this yellow journal reminds me that God doesn’t need perfect words; He just wants our hearts. If you are struggling to find the right words to pray today, remember that you can always just worry out loud to Him. Do you keep a prayer journal or a record of God’s faithfulness in your life? I would love to hear how shifting your focus to gratitude has changed your own walk of obedience in the comments below.