The human mind has a propensity to forget.
Although life with God is wonder-full, brimming with spectacular gifts, we must be intentional about remembering—otherwise, we risk letting it all slip away. It is an amazing thing that we forget amazing things, but we do.
For context, my group was facing more than their share of unexpected and challenging circumstances. This included:
- heartbreaking conflicts with parents
- layoffs at work
- surprise pregnancies
- health crises
The godly people in my group regularly wipe away tears, sit in solidarity with one another, and offer loving embraces as we pray. We’ve laid hands on one another, bowed heads in solemnity, cried, ranted, and celebrated together. Every gathering is a testament to God’s faithfulness, the necessity of Christian fellowship, and the that way prayer becomes both action and encouragement.
Prayers Get Answered
At one point, someone in our group asked us to pray for his brother. Three weeks later, that brother came to know Jesus. Next thing we knew, our group grew by the size of a whole family!
All because of prayer.
This new believer invited a friend to our church. The friend connected us with a group of men from the nearby homeless shelter. Within weeks, this new believer was regularly dropping by the shelter on Sunday mornings and driving a whole group of men to our service. Their humble abandon in the front row changed the atmosphere of our church—they electrified our worship!
All because of prayer.
On a trip overseas, a group member faced a life-threatening infection. They rushed him to a less-than-ideal hospital. Our group got the report—and quickly started praying. Not only did he recover and successfully make it home, but he is also currently leading his doctor to Christ.
All because of prayer.
Consistently, as our meetings wind down and we hug our last friends goodbye, a remnant presence of the Holy Spirit lingers, fellowship echoes throughout my home.
We prayed for college scholarships.
Granted.
We prayed for peaceful ends to lives.
Given.
We prayed for desperately desired children.
Provided. All because of prayer.
Human Forgetfulness
But the crazy thing is, even though these accounts are true—even though we keep asking God for things, and God keeps answering us—we completely forget.
Even though we keep asking God for things, and God keeps answering us—we completely forget.
We forget that God saved Jan from cancer.
We forget that Tom was healed two years and nine months ago.
We forget that God fixed Ted’s debilitating back issues and that Dak’s kidney issues miraculously resolved.
We forget that Hal escaped the tortures of alcoholism—somehow the memory just fades in the rear-view mirror.
We take for granted that I asked God for the chance to hug our late son Aiden . . . and the very next day witnessed a homeless man saved in a Seattle park. Before getting into the car for treatment, he hugged me. His name was Aiden.
Somehow, the miraculous becomes commonplace, and we lose our wonder.
Remembering Our Prayers
Remember that brother we prayed for? The one who accepted Christ a few weeks later? Now we expect him to be 100% down for any ministry idea—from busking in Pike Place Market to coding an app to share the gospel through a photobooth.
He’s our scrappy little church plant’s best guitarist, software engineer, and audio technician. But two years ago, this past October, he was an atheist.
This weekend, I watched Pastor Mike pray before communion. We forgot that his last stroke left him hospitalized for three months . . . until we reopened our prayer journal to record a new request.
It never fails: When our Google Doc keeper scrolls back up to the top, God’s answers come rushing back to us in wave after wave of worship.
Gratitude.
Remembrance.
Peace.
Keep a Prayer Journal
I cannot recommend it enough: Keep a prayer journal for your group!
Reviewing our group’s document revealed that God has answered 97% of our prayers. There’s no way we’d know that staggering statistic without it.
We pray God’s will, and God responds. We pray for God to glorify himself, and he does. I urge you, keep record of what God has accomplished for you—for his glory and according to his will. It’s the most powerful testimony you will ever have.
So, let’s cover some logistics. First, preempt forgetfulness by programming reminders into your phone. Remember to record and remember to review. But what kind of record is right for you?
The Case for Cloud-Based Prayer Journals:
- Multiple people may edit the files, so you may update them if even your usual record-keeper is not in attendance.
- Cloud-based links may be included in your calendar reminders and set for years into the future.
- Electronic records are backed up; they never fade or spoil and cannot be physically lost or destroyed.
- You may access cloud-based files from almost anywhere at almost any time.
The Cons of Cloud-Based Prayer Journals:
- They lack sentimentality because they are simply digital word-processor documents. For example, there are no tactile sensory components—some people prefer journals that feel and smell like fine leather, etc.
- Sometimes, sharing access to cloud docs requires email verification on both sides of the share, which can get time-consuming or messy.
- With shared files, it is possible that someone could absent-mindedly delete all your journal entries. (Warning: This did happen to another group.)
Gratitude Combats Forgetfulness
Regardless of the method you choose, fight forgetfulness with purposeful records, calendar reminders, and reminiscence. Write down what God has done. Record your milestones and celebrate God’s goodness regularly.
Admittedly, our group sometimes hits dry spells. We get tired, overwhelmed, or feel like we have no words. Life gets the better of us, and we don’t feel like praying—not with the faithful fervency of the miraculous. But a trip down “memory lane” often makes a difference. Going through “God’s greatest hits” in our history gets us inspired again.
If you want to pray specifically with our group, we are currently asking God to bring revival to the Seattle area: Ava is sharing the gospel with her coworkers, Tom is praying for the salvation of his best friend, and I am sharing the gospel with the best bassist in Seattle.
Oh yeah, and Ben is thriving at his new job—one that our group prayed for very specifically last January—so we thank God for that.
I almost forgot.
