When I was in high school, I hated taking notes.
I remember having a lot of notes and diagrams to copy off of the projector in biology class. A semester worth of notes was almost an entire single subject notebook, and we had to turn it in each six weeks for the teacher to review and then grade.
I usually got a decent score but because I didn’t have the neatest handwriting and I didn’t take the time to go back and use colored pencils to make the diagrams look pretty (which I thought was pointless) or recopy the notes like some of the others did, I didn’t get the high grade that I felt I should have. I thought that since I had the same basic notes that it was good enough…but it wasn’t. I didn’t follow through and do the whole assignment for the notes.
As I have gotten older, I’ve realized the importance of notes and their details. I have become a great note taker and maker. I have notes for meal planning so that I have all the ingredients on hand and know what I am making for dinner, so the kids don’t have to eat cereal or order take out. I have notes/lesson plans for homeschool subjects, so the school day is efficient. I make notes for important meetings and appointments. At the urging of my kids, I even switched from paper notes to electronic notes.
I opened my Bible as I sat down to write this blog, and I noticed all the notes inside of it. I had sermon notes from last Wednesday’s service and prayer requests from my friends on our ‘Mopping up the Blessings’ group page. I also found the little cards that you get with flowers that my husband and kids have sent me. I also noticed how the pages in the front and back were worn and partially torn from when the kids were younger and would pick up my Bible by the cover and bring it to me. But the one thing that stuck out the most was the sticky notes of prayer requests from my friends.
These notes caught my eye because of the importance of these requests to the person who gave them to me. They have entrusted me to pray over their friends, themselves, and their families. I do take these seriously and Jesus does as well. I will admit that people posting ‘thoughts and prayers’ on social media really does irk me. It isn’t just a trendy thing to say and I feel you are better off not saying it if you don’t really mean it, because you are telling someone you are going to do this for them and if you don’t pray for them, you are not keeping your word to them. My daddy always said, “A person is only as good as his word.”
James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Just like in high school, it is important to follow through with the whole assignment. If you tell someone that you are praying for them, write down the request and make a note of it to remind yourself to actually do it. Please follow through with your promise to pray and say those prayers from your heart.
