managed to run almost half a mile altogether. Before my pregnancy,
I had tried working out off and on for a few years now, and I always would fail at it. I couldn’t figure out why I would fail, especially when there was a time working out was second nature to me. Then on that fateful Monday, that hot, hot morning, I figured out why.
So imagine this—an out-of-shape new mother, pushing a stroller, wearing new sneakers, stocked with plenty of water, and motivation oozing from her very pores. After a proper warm-up, this new mom began to jog for the first time in a very, very long time. I had a marker, about 3/10 of a mile ahead of me, and I began jogging toward it,
pushing the stroller, getting thirsty, and huffing and puffing the entire time. I ran out of steam at 2/10 of a mile, very disappointed in myself. Although no one was holding me responsible, I still felt like I’d let everyone down when I resumed walking.
Then after awhile, I began to jog again. I promised I wouldn’t stop for 2/10 of a mile, since that’s all I could the first time. The first 1/10 went well. Then, as my head began to pound with the heat, I began to fizzle. So I prayed. I said, “Lord, please let me accomplish my goal. I need you. I can’t do this by myself.” So I kept going. With every step, I
tried to compromise with myself (and the Lord) that I could stop and
do better the next day. But the Lord didn’t let me. It was as if He had said, “Carrah, you asked me to help you, now let me.” So I did, and I reached my goal. It was a small goal I had set, but I still didn’t think I could do it. And I wouldn’t have been able to if I hadn’t prayed.
I remembered in that moment that that was how I had gotten in shape
the first time I had, many years ago. I asked God to help me. Then
when He entrusted me with being able to help myself, I no longer
asked him to help me with my workouts; instead, I used the time I
spent working out praying for other things. Prayer worked so well that
I exceeded my goal the first time; I have no doubt that it will work this time as well.
The point of this seemingly self-centered diatribe is to encourage each
of you to pray for what’s important to you. Whether the important
thing is big or small, God is listening. He may not grant it in the way you expect, and He may not grant it in the time you want, He may not grant it at all if He has something better planned, but He will answer
your prayers somehow. Just keep praying. If you’re not in the practice of praying much, well, my friends, it’s a lot like exercise. The more
you do it, the better you become and the easier it gets. Before long, you’ll be in shape with prayer!
Until next time, God bless you all! Submitted by: Carrah Royal
