Praying for a Sign

Why do people always pray and ask God to show them a sign or a miracle to help them believe in Him or trust Him?

I find myself doing this all the time without even realizing it.
"God just show me that this decision I made was the right one"
"God just give me a sign that you are there listening to my prayers"
"God show me a sign that you care and love me"
"Please God, just one little sign just so I can know and believe"

This past semester I prayed to God asking Him for a sign that everything would be okay. He gave me a sign back, actually gave me 21 signs back in only two weeks. He placed the verse Jeremiah 29:11 into my life 21 times in some of the craziest ways. Here are just some:
1. I googled verses about trusting in God and picked it as my favorite
2. I wrote it down in my journal
3. My friend Amanda's cousin adopted a baby named Jeremiah
4. I opened the book God Girl and the first sentence I read was Jeremiah 29:11
5. A man named Dr. Finch said to a small group of people and I that he loved the verse Jeremiah 29:11
6. I went on a Women's Retreat with CRU and the speaker Kerri quoted it
7. My roommate was talking on the phone and quoted it to her boyfriend
8. I called my friend Evan to tell her this story and she texts me a couple hours later saying she just met a guy named Jeremiah
9. My friend Chandler texts me to tell me she keeps seeing Jeremiah 29:11 everywhere!
10. I called my mom to tell her the story and that day a guy named Jeremiah came to measure our kitchen for new counter top

So while this was happening to me I said to myself I need to trust God. It is time to listen to Him. It took a sign like that for me to believe that God was listening to my prayers and to show that He did care about me. But shouldn't I have trusted Him and known he listened already? Why did it take a sign for me to believe?

Jesus said that humans need signs to believe. 

John 4: 48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

It is not just the humans of our generation who demand signs, I Corinthians 1:22 says, "Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom", so people have always wanted a sign to believe. 

But why do we think this way? Why do we need proof to believe? Isn't the bible enough proof? Why can't we just have faith? 

I wish I knew the answers to these questions. All I know is that God listened to my prayers and showed me that he cares and that I need to trust Him and His plans for my life. So that is what I will do.  

Updated Blog

I first started the JOY Full Circle blog project in 2008 with the goal to inspire others by posting different quotes, pictures, stories, or anything else I could find that would inspire someone. I was on a constant search to not only inspire others, but to find things to make me feel completely happy inside. My plan was when I found things that made me feel that deep eternal happiness inside I would post them and share them with the world to help others also feel that happiness.

Now four years later as I look back on the blog I realize why I ran out of things to post about. I hadn't found the only thing that can bring me that feeling of completeness, and that is a relationship with Jesus. I thought that I understood everything about Jesus Christ just from growing up in a church and going to church camp. I thought I had it all figured out, but during my freshman year of college I soon discovered that not to be true at all. After some rough times, I went on a search for how to find a life of purpose. I stepped down from the throne of my life and I let God step up. I turned to the Bible for the answers instead of turning to Gilmore Girls for life's answers. This is God's life I am living, and I want to spend it praising and living for Him. I am on a journey of faith to continually grow closer to Christ as I learn about how incredibly amazing He is. Now as I find out more and more about my Lord and Savior, I want to share it all with you.

Hope these words touch your heart like they have touched mine. Also know that if the entries are before 2012, they are inspirational posts from the old JOY Full Circle blog. Also know that I am not a seminary graduate, so do your own research before you quote my thoughts as correct.


Love,
Joy

My Personal Experience

What's funny is that this happened to me only a couple days after I came up with the contest idea. What a great sign. =] So I think as I get the stories I'll post them, and then once I get enough to have a vote I'll post them all again and let everyone pick their favorite!

So yesterday I was having a pretty bad day, and at night I was laying in bed praying to God for help. Help with making decisions, help with getting through the hard times, help with all the drama with my friends, and for it all to just go away, and for me to just be happy. I was thinking about the friends I had lost, or aren't as close with now, and how sad that made me feel. How I just wish I could be close with them again.

Then I realized that God is my rock. How unlike some friends, he will always be there for me wherever I go, through good or bad. It empowered me. I know this is strange, but I kinda felt like he was holding me, hugging me saying it will be alright. As I felt this power embracing me I started to cry, and if you know me you'll know that it takes a lot for me to cry. I cried because I realized that friends come, and go, but God will never leave you.

I walk past people in school everyday who were once my best friends, and I think why aren't we still friends? Maybe someday we'll be close again, or maybe we never will, but there are always what ifs. With God there are no what ifs because God is the answer, and he will never leave.
I just wanted to share this with everyone because they should somehow feel how awesome God is. I feel bad for the people who don't know him. It's just so nice to realize that he's my rock, and will always be there for me, and you know, he'll always be there for you too. This inspired me, so maybe it will for you too.

You too can send in an inspirational personal story, it can be any length, about anything, and it does not have to be about religion like mine was. The possibilities are endless. =]

Be strong. Believe.

"When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others." - Unknown

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." - James Dean

Don't think that it's such a terrible thing to get sad or down or to stop believing in sunshine for a while. Don't worry too much if you feel empty or lost or can't make yourself want to smile.
Don't think that it's not okay to want to sit a day out, or to be scared or tired or blue. Everybody gets sad sometimes. And crying and hurting - just like laughing and dreaming - are just things that people do. - Ashley Rice

The Waiting By Kim Warren

We all at some point in our life just want to be in love. We keep looking for it but can't find it. We just have to sit back, and wait. Love will come to us when we least expect it.



What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
Vincent van Gogh




Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
Confucius

"Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as i seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be." - Karen Ravn

Believe - Yellowcard
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Everything is gonna be alright
Be strong. Believe.
Be strong. Believe.

What If
What if I would have done this
or that
What if I would have said this
or that
What if I would have said yes
or no

We all have our what ifs, but we can not let our selfs dwell on them. It is time to move on, and put them in past. What happened happened, and sadly we can not go back in time and change our decisions and actions. Forget the past, and start to live in the present. Do not worry about the future. Just enjoy every moment of the present, because you never know when it could be taken away.

"If we all hold hands and take our problems one step at a time - we will get through it together."
- R. Curls

All you have to do is pray, and God will help you find your way.
I learned this lesson today. I had a couple of bad days in a row, and I felt so confused and unsure of everything. I felt like my friendships were falling apart, and that this blog was getting no where. The past week I hadn't recieved any inspiration, and it didn't help my already slump. So I prayed to God asking him for help in getting the word out there about my blog. And when I came on today after school I had a comment from a fellow blogger who I had told about my blog. Saying " Thank-you Joy! thank-you for finding me and my Blog and welcoming me to yours. It is truly beautiful and VERY inspirational. Stephanie" This truly made my day, and gave me hope that this blog is actually helping people. God really can work magic. - Joy Pedrow

If you also have an inspirational story, send it in! You can help inspire someone. =]

Thanks Joy