Before You Ask for More, Remember
Before you ask God for more, make room to remember.
“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”Psalm 77:11–12 • KJV
Remember what He has already done.
How often do we find ourselves praying for the next thing without taking time to acknowledge the last thing God did?
We pray for a new opportunity while standing inside a door we once begged Him to open. We ask for greater influence while managing responsibilities we once dreamed of having. We seek financial stability while overlooking the ways God has already provided when we didn't know how we would make it through another month.
We ask for more peace, more clarity, more growth, and more opportunities.
And there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting more.
God has placed dreams within us, given us gifts to develop, and called us to keep growing. But sometimes, in our eagerness to move forward, we forget to recognize how far we've already come.
The answered prayers become ordinary.
The breakthroughs become responsibilities.
The blessings become expectations.
And before we know it, we're standing in the middle of things we once prayed for, asking God why He hasn't done enough.
In Psalm 77, the psalmist is wrestling with distress and difficult questions about God's presence and faithfulness. Rather than denying his pain, he intentionally turns his attention toward what he knows about God.
He chooses to remember.
Not because his circumstances have suddenly changed, but because remembering God's past works helps him see his present struggle through a different lens.
That's what remembrance does.
It doesn't require us to abandon our hopes for the future. It reminds us that the God we're trusting for tomorrow is the same God who sustained us yesterday.
Think about your life five years ago.
What were you praying for?
What were you afraid of?
What did you desperately want to change?
What seemed impossible at the time?
Now look at your life today.
Maybe everything hasn't unfolded the way you imagined. Maybe there are still unanswered prayers, unfinished goals, and difficult circumstances.
But somewhere within your story, there is evidence of God's goodness.
A door opened.
A relationship strengthened.
A burden lifted.
A lesson learned.
A moment when you received exactly what you needed to keep going.
Before you ask God for more, make room to remember.
Because sometimes the very thing you're overlooking today is something you once considered a miracle.
Where do you see His faithfulness?
What blessings have become so familiar that you no longer recognize them as answered prayers?
Have you allowed your desire for what's next to overshadow your appreciation for what God has already done?
What does remembering God's past faithfulness reveal about how you can approach your present circumstances?
Begin Your "I Remember" Journal
Create a journal page titled "I Remember."
Write five things you once prayed for, hoped for, or desperately needed that are now part of your life.
For each one, complete this statement:
“I remember when I prayed for ______. Today, I recognize God's faithfulness through ______.”
Spend a few moments reflecting before adding another request to your prayer list.
Father,
Thank You for the prayers You've answered and the ways You've provided that I've sometimes forgotten to acknowledge.
Forgive me for becoming so focused on what's next that I overlook what You've already done.
Open my eyes to the evidence of Your faithfulness throughout my life. Help me remember with gratitude, trust You with my present, and approach my future with faith.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Before I ask for more, I will remember what God has already done.
Continue the Remembrance Journey
Remember His faithfulness.Tomorrow, we continue reflecting on the ways God has carried us through our story.
Explore November's Journey