I am quick to forget. I can remember birthdays and appointments and my friends' favorite flowers and yet, for some reason, I struggle to remember how faithful God has been to me throughout my life.
Because He is. God is faithful. He is the keeper of promises. When the world and people and life let us down ... He never does. When we don’t feel like we can trust anyone—we can trust Him.
In the midst of suffering, confusion, or monotony, we all can forget the works of the Lord. We can forget all the times He has made promises and kept them, as He always does.
The Role of Remembrance in the Psalms
One of the most important things we can do throughout our lives is to remember. Particularly in our spiritual journey, remembrance is key. Saint Ignatius, in his spiritual exercises, talks about the necessity of remembering during times of desolation. He suggests that we store up consolations and tuck them away in our minds and hearts, so that when moments of desolation arise, we can remember the times of consolation and that will help us persevere.
Even before Saint Ignatius, the people of Israel understood the importance of remembering what God had done for them. The Psalms overflow with calls to remember the faithfulness of the Lord, especially in times of distress.
The Pattern of the Psalms
If we pay close attention to the rhythm of the psalms (see Psalms 105 and 106 for examples!), we can see a common pattern emerge amongst them.
The psalmist cries out to God in his suffering, unrealized dreams, or dwindling hope. He relates the longings of his heart. But—and this is key—he doesn’t stay there. He lifts his soul to the Lord by recounting the many times God has proven to be faithful.
Remember when the Lord brought us out of Egypt...
Remember when He parted the Red Sea...
In our prayer, we can often stay stuck in the stage of relating. We share our hearts with the Lord and cry out to Him. We tell Him what's going on, why we're upset, and how we feel hopeless. This is good! God wants to hear it all. But He does not want us to stay there. After the psalmist relates his heart to God, he remembers and lists off all the wonderful things God has done for him in the past. This encourages his spirit and helps him reframe his perspective. This act of remembrance takes the focus off of himself and his problems and places it upon God and His goodness.
Let's Remember Together
Over the next week, we will dive into this theme of remembering together. Each day, we will encounter stories from the Blessed is She Blog Team about times when God fulfilled His promises in their lives—in big and small ways. They will tell us about the times that there seemed to be no answer, no solution, no way ... and then God parted the sea.
Together, we will sit with the Lord in prayer. I encourage you to spend this time remembering all the ways He has proven faithful in your life.
If you would like, we invite you to write your own psalm to help you remember the marvelous works of the Lord. We walk you through it here. Keep this psalm handy. Pray it when life makes it difficult to see Who reigns sovereignly.
Finally, we encourage you to share you own stories of God’s fidelity in your life. These stories are meant to prompt and inspire us to hope. When you share your story, you do the same for others.
Let's begin together today. Let's remember. God is faithful, forever.
REMEMBER Series // Introduction #BISblog //Click to tweet
Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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