In November of 2014 I started a prayer journal for a friend of mine. We weren’t speaking to each other and honestly didn’t really want to talk at all. I was so angry and upset about everything that had happen in our friendship and I hated the way they were treating me. I knew the lord was calling me to pray and so the journal was created.
I only told one person I was starting this journal. Honestly if more people knew they would have thought I was crazy. But I wanted one good friend to know, to keep me accountable.
I saw in the beginning I was just getting all my angry out. I wasn’t able to and wasn’t going to say to their face what I was writing down but I knew if I didn’t write it down the anger would have just built up inside.
As months went by my prayers went from me sharing my emotions with the Lord to anger towards the Lord. “Lord how could you let this happen? Why are they treating me this way? God, fix them!?” I believe prayers like this happen all the time! We only see the other person’s mistakes and want God to “fix them” and work in them, not realizing God is trying to do something in our life.
God began to do a work in my heart and my prayers went from “fix them” to God “fix and help me.” Soften my heart. Show me your compassion so I can display it in my own life. For months this was a hard prayer to pray. I think what made it even harder is the fact that I started to think I was better then the other person, another thing that happens all the time. We begin to see “the change” God is doing in our life but see no change in the other person’s life, like God isn’t doing anything.
So, there still needed to be a heart transformation. I began to pray in a new way. I prayed verses over their life. I began to pray for blessing in their life. I began to pray that God would put people in their life to encourage, strength, and be there for them. I started wanting the best for them, knowing the amazing person they could be through Christ. The Lord started transforming my heart but one day everything changed…
God called be to stop praying. This upset me but I stopped. God was trying to tell me that I had done all I needed to do. I began to have peace knowing that God was going to take care of them. God loved them more then I ever could, He cared for them more then I ever could and Jesus prayed for them more then I ever could.
My reason for sharing this is not to make myself look like a great person but to show you how good MY GOD IS:
- This past weekend I got to see first hand, after just about two years later, God answers every pray in that prayer journal!! I got to see God soften their heart, to seek forgiveness and begin to be set free all the pain from the past two years. In His perfect timing he worked out everything for the good. I got to see the fruits of my prayers and I couldn’t praise Him more.
- This isn’t the first prayer journal I have written. All are filled with pain and joy, sadness and happiness, hatred and love. God was with me trough every stage of my prayers. I’ve seen him answers prayers right away but I’ve also seen it take years to see them answered. He wants to hear from you, the good and the bad, the ugly and the pretty. Start your own prayer journal so you can see for yourself the goodness of the Lord. He will call you to things that aren’t comfortable. He will call you to something greater then yourself.
- I want to encourage everyone who is reading to remember that God hears all your prayers. He is waiting for you to share your heart with Him, all your feeling and emotions. Don’t hold anything back from Him but surrender all.
- Know that when you pray for people God is not only going to do something in their life but He is going to do something even greater in your own life. I have learned through my prayer journals that God is so much greater. He cares so much for all His children and wants to do greater things then what we could ever ask for!
My prayer for you is to get out of your comfort zone,
pray big prayers and see the Lord do unbelievable things.
U N L E A S H 