Prayer Journaling: Having to look REALLY hard to SEE!

Having to look REALLY hard to SEE?

Most people walk on the beach and collect shells.  I walk on the beach and collect heart-shaped rocks.  I keep them in a small jar on my bookshelf and I'll often take them out and look at the uniqueness of each one.  They remind me of many things and right now they help me know how to pray.

There are some very hard things going on in the lives of some people I love dearly.  And, quite honestly, I'm having to look very hard to SEE what God is doing.  I want to know what He's doing because I want to pray in accordance with His will.  I want peace when I pray.  I want to trust God is doing a good work, as He has promised.

No coincidence that my book club just finished reading "Choosing to See" by Mary Beth Chapman".  Love that about our Heavenly Father!  He puts just what we need right where we need it just when we need it.  The Chapman family went through the unbearable and made a decision to see what was unseen - to see what God's word had promised rather than only looking at the situation before them.

I took the photo above weeks ago when walking on the beach.  I almost missed the rock in the sand.  And that has somehow become as important to me as the rock itself.  I mean, how much do we miss everyday because we're so focused on something else?  If I believe God can be found in all circumstances, even those I can't understand or easily accept, am I looking for Him in those circumstances with expectation that He is there?

Even more alarming is the thought that all of us are walking by heart-shaped rocks of our own everyday because we're just to busy to open our eyes and SEE!

My prayer journaling for one situation has been challenging this last week.  Honestly, its been heart-wrenching.  So, I stopped and began looking back through my prayer journal for heart-shaped rock-type surprises and I found several.  Right there, in my journal, already written for my comfort, heart-shaped rocks of God's words of comfort, healing, hope and peace.  And I dated every one of them as a sweet heart-shaped word from the Lord for me to SEE!

May God give you a personal heart-shaped rock today!

"Great peace have those who love your law and nothing can make them stumble." (Psalm 119:165)