Prayer

Every Believer prays....or at least they should.   It's so easy, though, to quickly throw the prayer out and not really ponder whether you mean it; whether you believe GOD will answer it; whether you even acknowledge when HE does.  We have had different seasons in our lives when we've been very purposeful about writing our prayer needs in a journal, and it has been so uplifting to be able to scratch those needs off as GOD answers one way or the other.   We recently realized that we had not done that in a while, so we wrote out our list of needs and wants and have been lifting them up to HIM to allow what HE wants to happen.  

HE has blessed us with showing us how HE cares for all of our needs - big or small - by leading us back to those items and showing us how HE is answering those needs.  We have not had to buy feed in months - which is nothing but a miracle because we have been feeding 3x/day on the same load of feed since February!!   Not only that, but in May, we started doubling the amount we fed each time so we've really fed longer than normal, more than normal, without needing to refill our supplies.   My heart has been rejoicing with the woman and her jars of oil when Elisha asked GOD to care for her needs.  

We had to buy gasoline recently for the tank at the ranch, and we were blessed to order from a company that never would answer our calls on when they would deliver.   So, we went back to the company we had used before.   The reason we didn't go to them to begin with was that they were generally so much higher in price.   GOD cared for us, though, in having a delay in our ordering from them so that we ordered the day they dropped their prices by about 40 cents!!   That's significant when you buy in bulk. 

We received rain yesterday!!  We had 3/10 of an inch over several hours so that the rain was nice and gentle which we needed with our parched land.   In town, you can keep your yard watered so that it doesn't really matter if you get a downpour.   Out in the pasture, if matters because a hard rain after months of no moisture (since late November) usually results in erosion.   GOD answered that minor prayer and is building up clouds for more today. 

We have struggled with our wells keeping up with the cows for the last two months, and now we have all the tanks full with the storage tank almost half full.   No leaks anywhere, and the leaks that had been repaired are holding nicely.

I have a phobia of snakes, and even with this dry weather, the only snakes have been spotted by my much braver children.   That means they deal with them before Mom even has a chance to panic - and this is a HUGE prayer request of mine!

We know that HE's not done answering our prayer needs as we still have many more on our list.   I really just wanted to share a few that HE has answered to encourage you as you have needs that you may be discouraged about.   GOD answers our prayers often before we even lift them up to HIM, but I know that HE desires to be in communion with us about ALL our needs AND wants just as I want to be in communion with my own dear children about all their thoughts.  

Why then do we wait so long to lift them up to HIM or for me, to write them down?  I can vocalize those needs, and HE hears them.   There is something different about writing them down, though.   You are willing to have them be made known to anyone that stumbles across that list.   I also believe that it allows you to be in partnership with GOD in that you are showing more commitment when you are willing to write them down.   We'll be a very minor partner because we can't fulfill ANY of those needs, but we can be in communion with GOD by sharing our wants and needs in a more purposeful way. 

In the end, I know that through the years I have been so blessed not by the answers HE's given to my list of prayers, but by the time that I've spent in a deeper conversation as I DISCUSSED those prayers with HIM.   I'm so very glad that I was reminded of that little thing because the benefits continue eternally......