Too Small To Pray For?

While I was doing my work (as some of you know, I’m a freelance writer and work from anywhere with internet), my client gave me two assignments that were included in the workload of this week. The first was an option to write a blog, on the clock, that I could link to one of the articles published online about the U.S. presidential elections this 2016. The second was to write, for one of the history websites he helps out with, anything on Philippine history.

Two articles in my head had been churning around without anything coming out: a comparison of our presidential elections and those of the U.S., since both are coming up this 2016; and the 200/333 years that we were under Spanish Administration through Mexico. In one beautifully wrapped present, God gave me the opportunity to write both – without either cutting into my weekends or using my time outside of work.

The best part about that was that I’ve been wanting to work on research-writing for The Disinterested Interpreter, but haven’t been able to because I manage to run out of time on the weekends, or my brain just wants K-dramas or books after a full day of writing. (Have you disowned me yet?) I never prayed about it, it’s not on my list for prayer and fasting, but it was a heart-yearning that left me frustrated, as week after week went by without any research-writing to show for it.

July 1 was the second day of Victory Christian Fellowship’s mid-year prayer and fasting, which I participated in. That was the day I got the assignment for both articles. (The first one is coming out on July 4, perfectly timed with Philippines-U.S. Friendship Day). And all I could think of was “desires of my heart,” “desires of my heart,” and I didn’t know the first thing about how to look for that verse either than Googling it (which I actually didn’t think of before writing that sentence).

And if God thought I had any doubts that it was His gift to me, the July 2 devotions included that verse!

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

– Psalm 37:5 (NIV)

That’s exactly how I felt. Sure I’m praying for loads of things. But I hadn’t even thought to pray for something as small as that because it was so, well, small. But God saw the heart-yearning anyway, and wrapped up this gift and dropped it into my lap as a surprise.