Brandon and Stephanie are needing a car. A couple of weeks ago Stephanie's car came to its end. It just quit. The little engine that could is now the little engine that can't. So it just sits there on the driveway. They've been looking for a car that they can afford, and they thought they had found it. They test-drove the prospective car on Wednesday, and yesterday got their mechanic's opinion about it. His advice was a resounding "no" on that car. That's a disappointment. "No" was not the answer they were hoping for. But there's a "yes" coming.
Christopher woke up with a nasty red rash yesterday morning, so Emily took him to the Emergency Room. A new hospital has just opened very close to where they live, so she got to check out their emergency room! That nasty rash looked a lot like measles. Thankfully, that was ruled out. The diagnosis is something viral or perhaps an allergy. Bring on the Benadryl. But how do you avoid an allergen when you don't know what it is?
Parenting parents is a challenge. As they get older. And they're stubborn. And their health is not nearly as good as they would like to pretend or like you to believe. And when there's Alzheimer's in the mix. What to do. When to do it. How to handle the situations that come up. All these things are part of this season of our lives.
And there's the on-going "house situation", as I have come to refer to our efforts to get this house sold. Keeping it clean. Waiting for a showing. Thinking there's a buyer. They decide "no". But another showing is set. And then they don't show up. And on and on and on it goes. It really is a roller coaster ride! (And I have never been a big fan of roller coasters!)
All that just scratches the surface of the situations that need praying about. It's hard to keep up. It's hard to remember. I found myself the other day asking God to forgive me because I had forgotten to pray for a situation that really needed praying about. But I just forgot!
Maybe it's that I'm getting older. (Yes, I admit it.) Maybe it's that there are so very many situations that need prayer. Family. Friends. Our nation. Our world.
I just can't keep up! I can't always remember. So, I write it down. The requests. The on-going needs. The answers. Especially the answers! What a blessing to go back and see how our faithful God has answered prayer!
Over the years I have been a sporadic journaler at best. And even more sporadic about writing down prayer requests or keeping a "prayer list". But I've finally found a system that works for me, and what a blessing it has been.
One of the greatest benefits of this prayer journal is being able to see when and how God answers. Some times the answers come quickly; sometimes not. Sometimes the answer is "yes"; sometimes not. Sometimes the answers come just as you prayed; sometimes the answer is better than you could ever have imagined. But whatever the answer is and whenever it comes, the blessing of the prayer journal is that you have your own personal written record of the faithfulness of God. His faithfulness toward you! What could be better than that!
If you're not keeping a prayer journal, you might want to try it. You don't need anything fancy; just a spiral notebook will do.
But write it down. And then get ready to be amazed as you see how God answers!
"Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." (John 16:24b NASB)
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