Rereading your prayer journal and noting the answers
Keeping a prayer journal is good. Rereading it is where it becomes precious. Many discover, as they turn the pages, that God answered things they had almost forgotten. This monthly quest invites you to take stock calmly and with gratitude.
What it looks like in your day
Take thirty minutes, in a quiet place, with your journal and a pen. You can proceed in four steps:
- Reread the whole month, without rushing. Read the requests one by one.
- For each request, note the current situation. Is it resolved? In progress? Changed? Forgotten? No apparent answer?
- Write down the answers. “May 14: Julien found a job.” “May 22: the tension with my mother has eased.” Write down even partial answers, or ones different from what you had asked.
- Give thanks. Out loud if possible, request after request.
For the requests that have received no visible answer, don't cross them out too quickly. Note “still waiting” or copy them onto a new page. Some prayers are marathons.
If you haven't kept your journal very regularly, it doesn't matter: reread what you have, and note what you can. If you are short on time, go over only the three requests closest to your heart. If you are a beginner, a five-minute review is enough.
What the Bible says
Remembering God's works is an ancient practice that runs through the whole Bible. When Israel crosses the Jordan, Joshua has a monument of stones set up:
“That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.”
The stones are a “sign”: you look at them to remember. Your journal is a monument made of paper. In the same way, Samuel sets up a stone and gives it a name that says everything:
“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben–ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us”: not “he has given us everything,” but “up to now, he has been there.” Rereading your journal means saying in turn: up to now, he has helped me.
Moses urges the people to remember “all the way” they have come (Deuteronomy 8:2), including the trials. And the psalmist makes memory a weapon against discouragement (Psalms 77:11).
Pitfalls to avoid
Seeing only what hasn't been answered. It is easy to focus on what is lacking. Start with what has happened, even small. Gratitude reorganizes your outlook.
Interpreting too quickly. Not everything that happens after a prayer is necessarily an answer. Stay careful, humble: “It seems to me that God answered” is better than “God did exactly this.”
Getting discouraged by the slowness. Some prayers wait for years. It is not a sign that God doesn't hear you. Persevere, reread, keep going.
Forgetting the negative answers. Sometimes the answer is “no,” and later we understand it. Note those too: they are often the richest pages of your journal.
Keeping everything to yourself. If you wish, share an answered prayer with someone: it is an encouragement for them and for you. An answer told aloud becomes a testimony.
This month, open your journal. Look for three answers, big or small, and say thank you for each.