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On Senior Day at my high school way back in 1985, I won an honorary award. It was not Most Likely to Succeed or the Most Likely to be Famous, but…wait for it…Most Absent-Minded. Yep, that’s me.
Unless you have this problem of being naturally scattered-brained you will never understand how hard it is to overcome. I find that those who consistently fire on all cylinders are under the impression that overcoming absent-mindedness is like flipping a light switch. But, I beg to differ.
Is there a remedy to my dilemma?
Maybe.
Perhaps it is mindfulness.
Merriam-Webster defines mindfulness as a, “state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis”
Although, I cannot say that I have vanquished absent-mindedness, I have become somewhat successful at it in prayer, thanks to the aid of the Holy Spirit. When I send up my prayers I use the discipline of structured prayer journaling to capture any and all movement regarding my prayer requests.
There is some divine stuff going on, and if we capture it, we can catch a glimpse into to what God is doing. How much better off would we be if we paid attention to every little detail that God is orchestrating? And how much more exciting! With this approach, I find that I am never disappointed by His answer.
Try my process:
- Write down your individual prayer requests
- Every day, think through your day and make notes of anything that happens that relates to your written prayer requests
- Prayerfully ponder them
- Allow God to show you the why and what in the developments you have noted
- Take note of what you believe the updates mean
- Wait for it…See what God does
- Record the answers
- Assess the reality with spiritual eyes
- Thank God for His gracious insight
- Repeat.
This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 1 Corinthians 4:1 NIV
Gina Duke is the award-winning author of Organizing Your Prayer Closet: A New and Life-Changing Way to Pray (Abingdon Press), that introduces the gift of structured prayer journaling. You can enjoy her weekly #ShePrayerJournals weekend workshops on YouTube, and follower her on Twitter and Instagram at @TheGinaDuke.
If you have a dream to publish a book someday, check out my latest release!
