Making My Requests Known

I love how God uses my blogging to teach me even as I write.  As I was just now looking for a verse on prayer to begin tonight's post, tears came to my eyes as I read these very applicable verses:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:6-7)

I was sitting down at the computer tonight to share about how as the weeks continue to pass by I am beginning to feel anxious at times about the way my twin pregnancy and delivery will all play out.  Despite the fact that I have complete faith and trust in God and the fact that I believe with all my heart that His purpose will prevail, I still fight these anxious thoughts as I wonder how in the world all the factors necessary for me to have a twin VBAC could ever line up just so.

I was also sitting down at the computer tonight to share all the specific prayers I have lifted up to God over the past several months regarding this situation.  I was thinking it would be neat to chronicle my prayers, not only so that others can pray in agreement with me, but also so that one day I can look back and see exactly how it was that God answered those prayers.

And then, just now--at the end of a day that was tainted with anxiety--God showed me Philippians 4:6-7:  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

As I read these verses again I sit here amazed at how God speaks through His Word.  He knew the anxious thoughts that filled my day, and He cares enough to remind me that I am to lift those things up in prayer.  Praise You, God.  Thank You for the promise that as I make my requests known to You, You will grant me peace that passes understanding.

Let me say, God definitely knows my requests.  I think I have been making them known to Him daily.  (Sometimes I feel like the widow in Luke 18.) :-)  But I will continue to lift them up to Him with thanksgiving (and I hope that if you feel led you will join me in agreement), and all the more when the anxious thoughts start rolling in.

Dear God,

• I praise You that You are forming these two babies in my womb and that You already know everything about them.  I pray that Your hand will be upon them as they continue to grow and develop and that every cell, organ, limb, and appendage will develop fully and perfectly.
  
• I thank You that You have seen fit to bless me doubly with twins.  Please give me wisdom as I care for my body, that I may be strong and well-nourished for the sake of the lives within me.
• I praise You for Your wondrous design for pregnancy and for the ability of the female body to be with child(ren!).  I ask, God, that You would enable me to carry these babies to full term and that they would be born of sufficient weight and in perfect health.
• I praise You for Your wondrous design for childbirth.  I beg You, Lord, to enable me to deliver both of these babies vaginally and with no complications.  May my uterus, though scarred, be as strong as if not.  And may both babies become perfectly positioned for a safe and successful vaginal delivery.
• I praise You, God, that You are not bound by a date on the calendar.  I pray that even though we will probably have to schedule a cesarean, You will allow my labor to spontaneously begin in Your time and in such a way as to avoid the "planned" surgery.
• I thank You, God, for the peace You have given me in sticking with my current OB group.  I pray that in spite of the odds You would cause the right doctor to be on call on the birth day of my babies and that You would fill that doctor with divine wisdom concerning our care.
• I thank You, God, that You have blessed Travis and me with a beautiful family.  Lord, for the sake of all my children, please allow that these babies be dismissed from the hospital within a couple days of delivery.  May there be no need for a stay of any length in the NICU which would undoubtedly tear me either from my home and my family or from my new babies.

Oh, Lord, these are some lofty requests, and how my hearts aches for them each to be fulfilled.  God, I know that You can do all things.  I know that You hear my prayers, and I know that You are faithful to answer them.  I believe with all my heart, God, that You are able to do these things.  As Jesus prayed, so I pray: "Abba!  Father!  All things are possible for You... yet not what I will, but what You will" (Mark 14:36).

In Jesus' Name I pray with a heart full of thanksgiving.  Amen.