I am so encouraged by all of the ladies who are excited about praying and growing in God. Each and every one of you are an answer to my prayers. I am thankful to have you as my SISters!!! I am especially excited that so many people are talking about prayer, excited about prayer and promoting prayer on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. I love promoting God!!!! As you promote God, He will promote you!!!! Please keep me posted on your testimonies and the great things God does during these 40 days and even after!!!
At the beginning of the challenge, we recommended that everyone get a journal and write in it daily. In this chapter, Batterson discusses the importance of journaling. He says it is a way to document what God is doing in our lives. According to Batterson, journaling "is on a par with praying, fasting and meditating." Often, we forget about things we have prayed for in the past. Therefore, when God answers the prayer we fail to give Him the honor He deserves simply because we forgot we even prayed for it.
For instance, I was recently looking through my prayer journal from 2013. On July 31, 2013 (to be exact), I wrote a list of things I was believing God to do for me. I was doing the Draw The Circle prayer challenge for the first time and I was on Day 23. I labeled my journal entry, "Greater Thoughts" because this book was helping to open my mind to receive God's greatness. I purposed in my heart that I would think greater thoughts and pray bigger prayers. As I traced back through my journal entries, I realized God literally answered every single prayer or sent confirmation that the answer was near. I had totally forgotten about those prayer requests. I would have missed out on an opportunity to give God praise for answering my prayers if I had not used my journal. I am able to give you specifics about what my prayer time with God consisted of on July 31, 2013. I wouldn't be able to remember anything about that day, especially a prayer I prayed if I had not documented in my journal. Journaling is powerful. Batterson says, "Journaling is the best antidote, maybe the only antidote, to spiritual amnesia."
I will end with a statement by Batterson that I love, "I can trace many of the blessings, breakthroughs, and miracles back to their genesis prayers. As I look back through my journals, I'm able to connect dots between my prayers and God's answers. Connecting these dots inspire my faith like nothing else because it paints a picture of God's faithfulness."
As an example, here is a excerpt from my 2013 Journal.
I usually start my prayer time with a scripture to direct my prayers for the day. On December 18,2013, my scripture for the day was Acts 10:38. After prayer, God told me there would be a "RELEASE ON TODAY." At the end of the day, I usually go back to my journal and document any testimonies or significant events that occurred on that day. It was on this particular day that the ladies of Saved In Style decided to begin praying every morning at 5am. I can trace the genesis prayer for the #TagTeam Prayer Challenge to December 18, 2013. It was because of our 5am prayer that we developed this whole #TagTeam concept. It is so incredible to trace your blessings back to their original prayers!!!!
Prayer For Today:
Father,
I come before You in awe of who You are. You are such a great God and there is no one like You. Lord, thank you for opening the eyes of my understanding over the last 5 days. As I learn more about You, I want to experience more of You. Lord, as I draw closer to You I ask that You draw closer to me according to Your Word in James 4:8. Lord, nothing is impossible for You and I recognize that You can do anything. You can fix every problem in my life. You can heal my every wound. You can bring peace to my storm. You can mend my broken heart. As long as I stay close to You, I know I can do anything because You give me strength. Lord, give me strength to complete this prayer challenge. Lord, give me endurance to live for You for the rest of my life. Lord, I cannot do this alone, I acknowledge that I need Your help. Help me to become the woman You created me to be. I am not perfect but You are, so I rely on You for guidance, instruction and inspiration. Lord, thank you for being patient with me. I am so thankful to have you as my Father. I love You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Post Written By: SIS De'Nisha Sh'Lene
Post Written By: SIS De'Nisha Sh'Lene
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