The Heart Cries Out
What is the cry of your heart? At the core of you… where your truest self is, what do you want to say to God? Is it a prayer, a request, a grateful song of worship and praise? Whatever they are, you can consider them answered prayers.
God has been reminding me lately that he is in the business of answering prayers.
He’s God, so he doesn’t answer prayers in the exact way or on the timeline that I, a mere human, imagined he would. However, he is steadily, and sometimes imperceptibly, answering my deepest desires.
He gently reminds me of the prayers that I forgot I had even prayed. Desires for guidance, purpose, closeness, fulfillment. Right now, he keeps drawing me back to these old prayers. I hear him say – “See what I did there, Leanna?”
I think Father God loves to remind us of our past prayer requests and how he has come through for us. I’m a librarian, so I picture this in terms of stamping books. Imagine we have a huge book containing all our prayers. And in the back, a due date card where the dates of each prayer are listed. He gets out this gigantic stamp that says ANSWERED in bold red ink and he… Ka-CHUNK…slams it down to indelibly mark a prayer as answered. Done, and Done!
God’s Business is Planting Prayers
God is also in the Prayer-Planting business. I look back at my prayers and I wonder how I could possibly have been motivated to pray such an earnest, pure request for more of God’s presence. These types of prayers can only come from his Spirit living in me, whispering the words to my heart. He is the author, I simply write the words down. I won’t know until a later date how he immediately began working to complete his purpose for me in that prayer.
Early in the pandemic, I did a lot of walking at the park and praying. One of those days, I remember going out early to walk and talk with Jesus. Though instead, I proceeded to ignore my surroundings while I hastily tapped out a poem on my phone. It was the deepest cry of my heart. To be near him, to be used by him, to be found walking hand-in-hand with him at the end of my life.
I cried when I wrote it, I cried when I read it to my gals in Bible study last year, and I cried when the first two lines of it suddenly came to my heart just a few moments ago as I was thanking God for the blessings in my life.
Of course, I am going to share it with you! Before I do, I just want you to know that as I re-read it today. I noticed how the prayer I prayed that day in March 2020 was a prayer for my upcoming season – over a year away. That means He was working behind the scenes long ago to prepare me for today. What an awesome God!
Three Truths Today
God’s Spirit helped me write a prayer in the form of a poem last year. And now, I am currently living in the sweetness of these answered prayers. Three truths are evident today that were part of this prayer:
- I don’t know exactly where I’m going, but I’m ok because he is with me.
- With my writing, I am in a position to boldly share my faith in a way I was never able (or willing) to do before.
- He is constantly purifying me and reworking me. Even last week He placed me in a situation that revealed the purifying process is ongoing. I will always be repenting, learning, and growing.
As you read my prayer, I hope that you will hear your own heart echo your deepest desires for his presence. When you do hear your heart resounding, write it down, dear friend. Then wait for God to answer. You will soon hear the Ka-Thunk of the “Answered” stamp on your Prayer book. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but for sure – God is on the move and working on your behalf!
Walk In His Presence
As I walk in your presence I’m matched step for step Your presence surrounds me I feel it in my chest We’re walking and talking Along this garden path I don’t know where we’re going And I’m OK with that The peace of your nearness Brings joy to my heart While nature surrounds me And sings out like art Other people pass by me I’m not sure if they see The glory that calls out For your Majesty Let me not grow weary Of walking this way My heart has been tested I’ll not walk away I love you, my Savior The delight of my soul Let me share how to find you More precious than gold The time comes to speak Let Bold be my name With what little I offer Set lost hearts aflame Keep me at the the center Of your daily will When the hour comes, Let me be found Walking with you, still I throw all that’s within me On your altar ablaze Purify and rework me Until I resemble Your Name Come quickly my sweet Jesus You won’t tarry long Author, Perfecter Giver of this Psalm
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Beautiful and insightful as always ❤️. Thank you for your heart to share Leanna!