I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? (Psalm 77:11 NIV)
I like to keep a prayer journal. I keep it on my computer, now – and I discovered something that helps encourage me when things get tough. I write down my prayer requests – one to a line – and when they are answered, I write out the answer and go back and highlight the answer.
I keep the same pages for a long time and read through the prayers each day that I can. What a blessing it is to go back and see answered prayer after answered prayer! Some prayers seem to be answered quickly. Some prayers are ones I have been praying about for a long time, then suddenly (or so it seems), I get an answer.
Other prayers are ones I’ve realized God has said “No” to. Some prayers are ones I continue to pray. Yet, looking back on all of the answered prayers gives me hope. Some seem to be out and out miracles to me. Some are “tiny” answers that might get overlooked if I wasn’t keeping track.
While I believe that God wants us to remember all He has done for us throughout history, it is also so encouraging to see how He is at work in our lives and the lives of those we pray for. Prayer is such an amazing gift that we have been given. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to pray on the days when I can do little else. It is also so wonderful to have the opportunity to remember and to say, “Thank You!”
Father God, May we never forget all you have done in our lives and the lives of those around us. Help us to remember to look to the “wonders of old.” What a great God we serve! Thank you that in the difficult times, we still have the gift of prayer. Amen and amen, So be it, Lord!