Looking Back

Pastor Tim opened our Lenten study talking about journals; I would like to dovetail today’s devotional into that teaching. Years ago, I began keeping a prayer journal which included a passage from my daily Bible study that spoke directly to me. I also included prayer requests and praises. I would use these elements to guide my intentional daily prayer. During a study on gratitude, I realized my prayer life was very “me centric.” I would have so many more requests than praises. I never took the time to praise God for His constant blessings and presence in my life. I was lacking gratitude. To address this, I forced myself to find two things for which I was grateful in my life for every request I made to our Father. This practice changed me; I began to feel more peace and contentedness in my life.

 One day, on a whim, I looked back at the prayers in my journal. It was a blast from the past, if you will. I began to see how God responded to my requests. I began to see that His answered prayers were never answered in the way I would have answered them. His response to my prayers always seemed to be focused on something greater than just myself. It was incredible! I began to see how God worked in my life and that, in turn, helped me to see and feel God’s presence in real time as I went through things day to day. Currently, I keep two paperclips in my prayer journal: one is clipped on the page for the current day, the second is on the prayers from six weeks before. Currently, before I put pen to paper, I reflect on the previous prayers. This helps put me in the right place to come before our Father, seeing his love and care for me in all things, in all times.

 In today’s passage, Psalm 119:2 states, “blessed are those who keep His statutes, and seek Him with all their heart.” Our prayers, themselves, are an active means in which we seek our Father by communicating with our Father. Looking back at these conversations allows us to know Him more fully, and knowing Him more fully allows us to love Him more fully, and this, in turn, allows us to love everyone around us more fully.