“A missionary’s life is in many ways a catalog of answers to prayer.”
I once read this statement in an article by a family member and life-long mission worker. Its truth struck a chord, and I thought over the many, many ways that God provided for our family during the 15 years we were in China. (I also wished that I had kept an actual log of all of these answers to prayer!)
I believe this idea can be expanded to say, “A Christian’s life is in many ways a catalog of answers to prayer.” Our Father truly provides for our needs. He does this in small and profoundly personal ways, and in big and all-encompassing ways. He meets our physical needs, giving us the very air we breathe, but goes much deeper to care for the greatest necessities and longings of our souls. And He does this each and every day.
Certain psalms present a noteworthy pattern for how to view our lives and the lives of other believers throughout history. (Psalm 66, 76–78, 107, 124, and 126 are some of these.) These inspired songs reflect the importance of recording and then praising God in two significant ways—first, for His vast perfection, and second, for the specific ways that He has answered our prayers and helped us.
These psalms point to the necessity of recording, remembering, and reviewing the things that God has done in our lives. Our own accounting of and meditation on God’s work powerfully affects our lives.
1. Meditating on God’s acts when He seems far away helps us to counter unbelief.
Have you ever had a time when God’s promises didn’t seem true? When He seemed distant, uncaring, or nonexistent? One of the psalmists—Asaph—did. Asaph writes in Psalm 77, “My soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints” (v. 2b–3). Thinking about God doesn’t comfort Asaph. Rather, it increases his agony. He asks difficult questions about God, such as “Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?” (v. 8).
But Asaph doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t stay fixated on his current pain and mental distress. He keeps digging. In his moment of anguish, when Asaph feels distant from God, he will pull back further curtains of his memory to reveal the things that he knows are true about God.
He then lists acts of God, a list that goes back to the time of Moses and Aaron. Asaph is comforting himself with the acts of God that happened hundreds of years earlier! We might be tempted to say, “God, you did amazing miracles for them. Why aren’t you acting in my life?” But Asaph’s takeaway from the historical record of God’s actions is different. In essence, he says, God, I may not feel your presence now, but I know that you are a God who saves.
Here is his song and prayer to God:
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.Psalm 77:11–14
These passages help us, weary and desperate people, to step back and see that God’s character and His promises are true. We might be living in a period of leanness or affliction. We may be in the middle of a battle with depression that feels dark and hopeless. But we can embrace the truths that God has spoken through His word and shown throughout history, even if those truths don’t parallel our feelings at this moment.
God welcomes us to pray to Him honestly when we are wading through the darkness. God doesn’t ask us to pretend. He asks us to trust. He asks us to trust that this is not the end, and that He will continue to work in our lives just like He has always worked in the lives of His people.
2. Recording God’s acts helps us to review them with the next generation.
Psalm 77 starts with Asaph’s present pain and then recounts God’s past actions. In Psalm 78, Asaph again looks back at the past, but then shifts his gaze forward. He acknowledges the need to share God’s faithfulness with future generations:
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.Psalm 78:2–4
He recounts once more in greater detail the acts of God to the children of Israel. This recollection starts with their rescue from Egypt and ends 60 verses later with God choosing David to lead His people. The list includes miraculous rescue and forgiveness of sin, as well as punishment for rebellion. This incredibly long song functions as both a warning to be faithful and a reminder of God’s blessing.
How are we communicating these things to the next generation? How are we reminding ourselves of these truths? We must filter all of our experiences and understanding of the world through the knowledge that by God’s grace, He is saving His people. Just like Asaph, our trust in the Lord is bolstered as we remember God’s mighty acts in our lives and in the lives of others around us.
Do we have our own record of His mighty acts in our lives and in the generations of Christians around us? We can strengthen our own faith by recounting these things and we can spread His praise to the next generation.
Is your life a catalog of answers to prayer?
Further Resources:
“With his trademark insights and energy, Keller offers biblical guidance as well as specific prayers for certain situations, such as dealing with grief, loss, love, and forgiveness. He discusses ways to make prayers more personal and powerful, and how to establish a practice of prayer that works for each reader.” (Amazon description)
Read my own review here.
“When we hear that a friend is struggling, it can be easy to say, ‘I’m praying for you’, but harder to know what to actually pray. Through forty carefully chosen Scripture passages, Nancy Guthrie opens up the wealth of scripture to teach us how to pray for those who are hurting. . . . Nancy shows us how God’s purposes are revealed even in our darkest days and encourages us to pray for his will to be done in difficult situations.” (Amazon description)
With the same great resources and organization as the previous prayer journal, this 6×9 journal pairs well with Cultivate & Nurture: A Guided Journal for Christian Growth. It also includes 7 sections to organize your prayers as well as a bonus resource section with lists of key references of Bible verses on prayer. Use this journal to systematically improve how you pray and notice God’s work in your life.
Related Posts:
**This post contains affiliate links, meaning that—at no cost to you—I may receive a commission on qualifying purchases if you link through this site. Thank you for your support of my writing!**
