One of our favorite stories is found in Joshua, chapter 4. After Moses had died and God put Joshua in charge, Joshua leads the twelve tribes to the Jordan river. The priests carry the Ark of the Covenant to the brink of the Jordan river, and it completely splits and creates dry ground for them to walk across. (super cool, right?!) Then, Joshua tells the children of Israel to take up twelve stones from the dry riverbed and keep them so when their children ask why they have these stones, they can tell them how God dried up the river until they had crossed over and so they would know that the Lord is mighty.
"And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” Joshua 4:21-24Last fall I was desperate to have a deeper relationship with Jesus. I wanted to feel His closeness when I felt alone and I wanted to hear His voice in everything that I done. I desperately wanted a revelation of who He was and a closer walk with Him. I started writing down my prayers in a journal, so I wouldn't forget what I had prayed about and what God had answered.
Today, on my nightstand resides a notebook, a pen, and a highlighter. While all the other writing utensils in the house are in a little basket in the kitchen, these two stay close. I use them daily, to write requests and highlight answers.
When I feel like the Lord is not hearing my prayers, when I'm discouraged and feel alone, I can flip back through my prayer journal and see the highlighted prayers He has already answered.
As for that crumbled piece of scrap paper that still resides on our fridge, those are the requests we have prayed and fasted over the last year. They are written in my prayer journal- most of them are all highlighted now.
There are requests in my journal that God chose not to answer in the way I wanted Him to. But I write down the answer anyway. I trust in His timing, and His will.
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
With it being the season of thanksgiving, and only a month left of the year, I encourage you to reflect on this past year. Get a journal. Write your prayers down and go back to highlight the prayers God has answered. Has He brought you out of a desert this year? Keep the stones as a remembrance of His faithfulness and might.