Gratitude Day 479

Wed., June 24, 2020

2 Timothy 1:3 – I’m grateful to God, whom I serve with a good conscience as my ancestors did. I constantly remember you in my prayers day and night.

We’ve prayed for a couple extremely specific things for YEARS.

Literally, YEARS.

It’s personal. It’s important. It’s at the top of our prayer list.

Hubby Rick and I feel so committed to these situations that they have been at the top of our prayer list for YEARS.

Every once in a while, we see a glimmer of hope. We’re cautiously optimistic. We wonder if this is the time our prayers will be answered.

Before long, we feel like we’re back where we started. Once again, praying fervently for the situations to change.

And there continues to be long-term, impactful change.

Do we give up?

Nope.

Do we wonder if our prayers are being answered?

We are completely confident they ARE being heard.

Do we start looking for an alternative to prayer and question if another route would be more productive?

Absolutely not.

Prayer is not a spring. It’s a marathon. Prayer isn’t the quick fix. It’s happens at a turtle’s pace with lots of pauses, breaks and backsliding along the way.

Do we question if God has given up on the situation?

Not on our radar screen.

Do we voice if God has stopped listening to us because we’ve prayed this SO MUCH?

No way.

Our only job is to continue to pray and pray. And pray some more.

Prayer is kind of like this. Last evening, I went for a run. It had rained a little earlier. While the temperature had cooled it, there was a heaviness to the air. Part way through the run, my glasses were steamed up. I know the route every well. It’s one I’ve ran hundreds of times. But seeing the actual road was hazy at best.

So, I took off my glasses. While the hazy was gone, everything remained blurry. It was easy to see the road but difficult to decipher any details.

Unanswered prayer is similar. In the middle of continuous prayer, the situation feels hazy. Blurry. Impossible to see what is on the road ahead. Yet a path remains before us. Maybe just how the situation will be resolved is hazy. Whether our preferred outcome will happen is blurry. But we still keep plugging along, committed to lifting the situations up over and over and over.

There’s a story about a woman who developed a relationship with God as an adult. Growing up, she wasn’t exposed to church or God. She went with her friends once in a while. But understanding prayer happened later in this woman’s life. When she discovered prayer’s power, she began to pray for her Mom. She just wanted to Mom to discover a peace in her life that she lacked for years.

The daughter prayed for her Mother for 40 years. Every day. Over and over. Towards the end of the Mother’s life, the daughter pleaded with her Mom to allow her heart to be softened by God. The day came when the Mom realized that she genuinely wanted the peace of passes all understanding.

What would have happened if the daughter quit praying after 39 years? 25 years? 10 years? I’m not sure. What I do know is that I admire this daughter for praying constantly. Every day. Over and Over.

I’m guessing she had more than a few days when everything looked blurry. Hazy. Fogged over. Yet, this woman remained committed to praying for her Mom.

I pray that Hubby Rick and I will remain half as committed to our prayer situations as this woman did to hers.

What is something that you’ve been praying for what seems like a long time? An awfully long time? I’d love to hear so I can make your request part of my prayer time.

For prayer warriors who ever seem to give up, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Often, we question the speed by which you answer prayer. Or whether you are connected to our situation. Assure us that you hear our prayers, even if the answer is quite different from what we would like. Encourage us to keep our prayer lives committed to You. Amen.

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