I have prayed to God my entire life. He knows every word I say, even before I pray it. ‘Circle My Dreams’ is a song that came out of a season of sadness, uncertainty, and worry. It too, came from a season of hope, joy, and trust. How can the two be true at the same time? Let me explain…
After my son was born, my husband and I were having some marriage issues. We were unequally yoked and battling wounds from our pasts all while trying to raise a little child. It was then that I found myself chatting with a family member about a devotional she was reading- this devotional was all about meeting God in prayer. Every day I would read a devotion and see how God would answer the prayers of people in the bible, American leaders, or your every day average Joe. God would respond with an answer that worked things out for the good of His children (even if that good wasn’t what he or she wanted or didn’t come in the time frame they expected).
It was then that I began to recognize that my prayer life, although very genuine up until that point, lacked commitment and lacked enthusiasm; it lacked trust and hope. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I didn’t have faith to move mountains before, but I learned that sometimes, in order to get those mountains moved, we first and foremost needed a game plan from our Father that we could only access if we spent time with Him. I was changing my genie image of God into an image of a Lord who knows what is best for me.
That’s when I literally started making blue post-it-notes prayer requests and hanging them all over my closet. That’s when my knees became sore and when I woke up, exhausted, in the dark hours of the morning just to seek God with all my heart, even if I was ‘tempted by sweet sleep’ as the first verse says. That’s when I found some answers, and when I learned it was okay to not get the answers I wanted or thought I wanted. That’s when I found out that even while I was waiting on God’s plan and promises, I could have joy and that even when I was depending on my Father for healing, for provision, for direction and you name it, I could trust in His plan. He is a rescuer, he gives us victory, He heals, He softens hearts of stone, He loves us, He cares about us more than the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, and He knew us before we were formed in our mother’s wombs- I wouldn’t want to put my trust in anyone else. After my devotional book ended I continued meeting God in my prayer closet and one morning, these lyrics just filled my prayer journal and I told God that I wanted to share this song with the world. A few years later, with tears of joy running down my cheeks as I write this, I can say that He is answering that 4 am prayer, as He continues giving me game plans for those blue post-it-note prayer requests.
“Nothing can compare to the promises He keeps when you’re on your knees, so keep circling!”
Sarah Knott of Acoustic Truth