A List A Mile Long

I am a list maker.  Lists are awesome!  Yes, I am one of “those” people.  The organized, alphabetical order, “type A”, follow all the instructions kind of people. My food shopping list is highlighted with four different colors and has check boxes for items that have coupons.  Before folding it into my purse, I attach my coupons with a paper clip.  I have lists of to-do items before holidays, parties, etc.  I make a list of attractions I want to visit on vacations.  I am a list lovin’ girl!

Last fall my to-do list for September included attending the Fall Women’s Ministry Kick-Off with featured speaker, Adana Wilson.  If you attended that night, you might remember Adana mentioning prayer journals when she was discussing being in God’s presence.  She said that she had tried to journal many times but was never consistent in it. It just wasn’t what really what brought her life.  It didn’t help her feel closer to God.

I thought about what Adana had talked about that night long after I got home.  I had my daily quiet time with the Lord but was I really getting into His Presence?  I had a little devotional that I read and I had my prayer time but was I really being in being still and listening for God’s Voice?  I did not know much about prayer journaling but I thought, why not give it a try? If it didn’t work out, there was not much risk or loss involved.  I’d just throw a few pieces of paper in the trash.

I had no idea how to start.  Where there rules? Where there guidelines?  Should my entry be so many sentences long? My first morning, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  Would I do it right?  Could I do it wrong?  Did I need a fancy notebook? Was my pen special enough?

Suddenly inspired, I felt like the best way for me to begin, was to simply list a few things I was thankful for that day.  In the same little notebook I kept in my Bible carrying case, I wrote out the date and then a list.  The heading for my list: Things I am Thankful to God for Today.

For the next few weeks, I wrote a list each day of what I was thankful God had blessed me with.  Some days my list came quickly.  Some days my list took more thought and meditation.  Each day though, I had a list.  Sometimes my list was simple; thanking God for sunshine, good health, and protection.  Other days it was much more specific; thanking God for getting me through a certain situation or answered prayers for a loved one. 

Before I knew it, my list had changed into paragraphs. Those paragraphs revealed the longings in my heart, concerns on my mind, and what God was whispering to my heart.  Soon pages were filled from just one day’s worth of “quiet time”.  Quickly, the filled pages completed the notebook. As the weeks and months went by, I filled another notebook and then another.

When I missed an opportunity to write in my notebook, I noticed it.  My day seemed incomplete.  I was lacking something.  I was missing coming in to God’s presence.  I missed thanking Him, praising Him, worshipping Him, bringing my needs and concerns to Him, and absolutely missed asking for forgiveness from Him for my sins.  I missed hearing from God as well. When I had a day that I failed in making time to be in God’s Presence, I was not whole.

I love writing in my prayer journal these days.  I use a simple notebook and pen.  Nothing fancy but I so enjoy just sitting down and writing out my prayers.  I feel connected to God when I do it.  I feel like I am in His Presence.  It is like I am sitting here just talking with Him across the table from me.  I love taking a scripture and writing it big and bold in my notebook and then just meditating on it.  It is awesome too, when I get to the end of a notebook and look back on all I had written.  When I look back and realize all God has done, how He has moved in my life and in the lives of others, it amazes me.  My heart is filled with joy!

I urge you today, if you aren’t consistently taking the time to get into God’s Presence on your own, please do it.  Maybe a journal or list isn’t your thing.  Why not try just sitting with your Bible, a cup of coffee, and read where you feel God is leading you? Maybe the morning is not your best time to really get with God.  Perhaps in the evening after dinner, or in the afternoon on your lunch hour would be best.  Whatever feels the most natural to you, make the time to be still and quiet your mind.  Let His Presence envelop and overcome you.  It will make such a positive difference in your life.  You will never look back and think that it was a waste of time.  You may just end up with a list a mile long.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:18 NIV