Prayer Changes Things

God answers prayers all the time. I forget that a lot. Usually because He doesn't answer the way I want Him to. But today my prayers were answered exactly the way I wanted them to be. Here is a list if things that I think contributed to that:

1)I prayed.
And when I say I prayed I mean it wasn't a fleeting idea that floated in and out of my brain in the same nanosecond. I prayed for two whole days practically non-stop. The kind of praying that was very honest and gut wrenching. I told God exactly what I wanted, why I wanted it, and asked Him to change my desires should they not be aligned with His.

2)I humbled myself.
I was praying about a confrontation that I was going to have with an ex-boyfriend. Now, there's a lot of baggage that comes from ending a relationship. There's a lot of finger-pointing that can happen, a lot of bitterness, and words spoken without thinking. I realized that what I thought was righteous anger was not righteous at all. I had to apologize for a few things that I had said. That took a lot of time for me to realize, but once I did I felt a huge weight lifted from me. It's so weird how when we think we are right about something that "righteousness" can become more of a burden than a jewel on our crowns so so speak. Humbling myself hurt my pride at first, but in the end I know it was for the best. God desires a humble heart. That's the kind of heart He can mold and work with.

3)I talked to people about it.
I am a very confidential person. (Which is probably weird to say since I keep a blog that goes into detail about very personal stuff) But on the other hand, I know I have a hard time opening up to people WHILE I am going through something. I usually inform people at the tail end of a trial just to let them know what was going on. I can't tell you how many times people have said to me "I wish I would have known, Jen. I would have totally been there for you!" But this time I let out my frustrations to a number of people and with that came a lot of insight. I guess this can be linked to the whole being humble thing. Hearing other people's points of view on a situation brings in support, prayer, sympathy, and correction. I can't get anything like that by musing over a situation all by myself.

So here's to another lesson learned in the year 2011.

Thank you Lord for Your consistency!