A Tell-all About Your Prayer Life

At a funeral a couple years ago I heard a daughter tell about how touched she was when she read the prayer journal left behind by her mother. It started me thinking about the significance of writing down our prayers. Not just our prayers for others, but also the prayers where we wrestle with God through trials, pain, hurt and persecution. It struck me that this is what makes the Psalms so powerful.

We can readily identify with verses like Psalm 142:2-3: “I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way (NASB).” Or Psalm 118:4: “I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation (NIV).” Within these Psalms you can feel the struggle, the pain, and the hope found in God.

By writing out our struggles and how we wrestle with God, we are leaving a legacy for those who follow us. It will resonate even more with those who know you and the struggles you went through. It will be a witness to the faithfulness of God. Psalm 102:18 reminds us, “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD (NASB).”