The Bookmark

8/9/2020

John 11:41 “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.”

When do I pray? Am I in constant conversation with God, or I am easily distractible? I know I can come to God with anything and everything, but is going to Him always my first response? I have had God answer my prayers immediately, and I have had God answer my prayers over time; but He always answers. Chambers writes, “God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God is formed in me the Father will always hear my prayers.” These are comforting words indeed. Again, we know that Jesus is the bridge.

Sometimes we may feel that God is too busy for the minor happenings in our lives. I mean, the world has a lot of hurt and heartache right now, and many people need His healing hand. Yet even within these turbulent and uncertain times, God hears even our smallest prayers. The thing we must do is develop a habit of inviting Him in to every situation, whether big or small.

Just this morning, my husband decided to take some times to go out on our front porch and read for a while. In his book was a beautiful leather bookmark with encouraging words about being a man of God. After opening the book, he thought he placed the bookmark on the small table next to him, but when he was ready to put his book down, he reached for the bookmark and it was gone. Perplexed, he began to look all around, moving the cushions and furniture. Our son and I came out to help him search to no avail. My husband knew it had to be somewhere, so after coming in for a few minutes, he was ready to look again. I encouraged him to take some quiet time to pray for God’s help. After a few minutes in quiet prayer asking God to reveal where the bookmark was hidden, he lifted the cushion of his chair (where he and I had already looked several times), and he saw it immediately. When we talked about what had happened, he confessed that he had originally asked God to help in that quick and frenzied way we do when we are a bit frustrated, but it wasn’t until he was still and focused that he received an answer.

I share this story to express that we can come to God with even the smallest request, for He is always listening and always caring. He has time for us because he is not constrained by it. God is omniscient, eternal, and all powerful, and He is limited only by our own thoughts of Him. So, we can come to Him with anything that is on our hearts, whether it is finding a beloved bookmark, or asking for comfort and healing for a beloved person in our lives. Nothing is too small or big for our Savior.