Have you ever refrained from praying for/about something because it feels too little for such a big God? I have… Someone once told me “If it matters to you, it matters to God.” I decided to test that out. I started praying for little things like, to see a red bird, butterflies or a cloud a certain shape. I didn’t always see these things right after I prayed, but they always came around. Ever since then, I started asking the Lord about everyday things. “Jesus, what should I eat? What should I wear? What coffee shop should I go to?” I would just decide to follow in faith the direction I felt like He was leading me to. This built my relationship with Him and allowed me to walk out 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”.
One summer I took a beach trip, I made up my mind that I wanted to see a starfish so bad, so I prayed. “Lord if it’s your will, please can I see a starfish on this trip?” I prayed something along those lines everyday I was there. It got to the last day of the trip and I was practically begging the Lord to show me a starfish. I had a great trip, I saw so much wildlife, the waters were beautiful, I spent time with my husband and enjoyed the trip but, no starfish. After leaving the beach for the last time I wrested with the thoughts that God must have not cared about my desire. I kept praying asking Him why I hadn’t seen a starfish and what the issue was. Then it hit me, satan was sowing doubt into my mind, encouraging me to believe that Jesus doesn’t care about me or my silly desires. I prayed again, but this time it was different. “Lord, I understand that you care about me and you know what’s best for all of the little starfish.” I needed to surrender and trust that the Lord knew what He was doing, even if I didn’t get my way.
On the lengthy drive home we passed a state park sign, my husband and I decided to stop in and check it out. To our knowledge it was just a campground. Once we got there we discovered it had beach access. An empty, beautiful, calm, ocean with a perfect sunset allowed me to reflect on Gods goodness and beauty. As my husband and I walked the beach I was picking up as many shells as I could hold when I spotted something floating right beside my foot, about ankle deep in the water……. A starfish. A beautiful, large, starfish. I immediately burst into tears of gratitude. Not because I care about starfish deeply, but because I realized truly how deeply the Lord cared for me. His perfect timing. He knew I wouldn’t be able to refuse a state park so He showed up and showed out. Not only was I able to see that starfish but I actually was able to see over TWENTY! I found shells, sand dollars and more starfish than there was people on the beach. We continued to walk and every couple of steps id see another, over and over. I was overwhelmed at the amount of starfish!
Moral of the story is, He does care, deeply. Sometimes we feel forgotten because our prayers aren’t answered on OUR timeframe, but He knows the perfect time. He knows us so intimately that He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Ask Him the silly questions, pray the small prayers, and when you feel forgotten, remember His timing is perfect and His will is always the best for you.
