Happy Saturday morning, 54 degrees here in beautiful Utah, the sun has just topped the mountain and sitting in full shine of it the warmth is amazing. The birds are singing but have changed their song as of late, they seem to be singing a more intense song not the slow and solid melody that normally do, I think they are feeling the fall and trying to make ready for winter.
In prayer this morning as I sat wrapped in my "Betty blankie" I felt so much peace and calm, my head leaned back on the chair, my eyes closed, feeling the sun on my face, the warmth in my heart and hearing the melody of the birds in the background, I thanked God for setting the mood for our morning chat. As I sat in humble conversation with him, I began to pray for all of the usual blessings, for all of the ones who have come to me asking for special, specific prayer, for those who are in such need, for those who are struggling and still do not believe in the power of prayer, for those who wrong others, for those who are weak but still refuse assistance. I was in mid prayer when a thought crossed over my heart that took me aback. I had to literally stop my prayer in mid sentence and define what I was feeling. When there is a tragedy we band together and pray, pray, pray...we plead with God for mercy, for his grace, for healing, for whatever the need be, we band together in prayer and more times than not, I see how him blesse those we are fervently praying for. ( having a hard time trying to put into words the feelings in my heart) ( please bear with me) When we are faced with "our lives flashing before our eyes, I wonder how often it is the first time God hears from us on the subject. In the song by Carrie Underwood, Jesus take the wheel ... do you suppose the driver of the car asked God to take the wheel before she backed out of the drive, asking for a journey without incident, (had been asking him to help her with her troubled life)? Or did she only begin to pray when the her life was put in peril? When the ones who find they have no food for dinner and no money to buy groceries pray for food, do you supposed they have thanked God for all the meals they have had to eat prior to being without? When a person finds they have an illness and they fall on bended knees asking God for a healing, do you suppose they have thanked God every day before for giving them health, for allowing them this blessing? (are you following me? Or am I confusing you?) When natural disaster hits and people lose their possessions, have they thanked him each day prior to the loss for all that they have been given? Do we have to hit a rock bottom and suffer before we begin to pray or do we pray each day thanking him for the blessings of what we have? The feeling that crossed my heart was that we need to thank him for the blessings each day not only when we are faced with tragedy or loss. We need to praise his holy name for the things we have right this moment and not just find "our voice" when we are at threat of losing what we have. If you lost your home, did not have food for your next meal, discovered that a loved one was dying, lost your job, where thrown in the lions den with no weapon...what is the first thing you would do??? PRAY...right??? When you rose up this morning, did you consciously say, "thank you for blessing me with yet another day? When you sat down for breakfast did you bow your head and thank him for the blessing of food? When you were getting dressed and ready to greet the day, did you thank him for allowing you clothing, running water, electricity, a roof over your head, a vehicle to take you from here to there, gas to fuel that vehicle, a job to afford you that fuel? When your children bid you goodbye when they were on their way out or you on your way out, did you stop and hug them and say I love you, then thank God for the gift of them? In a nutshell......DO WE WAIT UNTIL WE ARE IN NEED BEFORE WE GET "on bended knees?" I am sure each of us has felt "used" before, we only get a call when someone is in need!!! How does that make you feel? Does it make you not want to answer the phone when that person calls? God answers all calls does he not???
Let us all, each and every one of us become more mindful of the blessings we are given from the start of each day to the time we lay down to sleep at night. Let us thank him for the little things each day, (wait are they really that little) Let us not take for granted the things we have been given, let us not forget that without him we have nothing anyway! We need to appreciate more our day to day blessings and thank him. ( I pray you can feel through my words what I am feeling in my heart) and when a person asks for prayer, do we say..."I am praying for you and really stop what we are doing and lift the prayer" or do we say "I will pray for you, and then move on without actually asking God to bless them?" Today let us be more mindful that God blesses us every day, he stands at the ready to calm us when we are afraid, comfort us when we are hurting, and give us peace when we are frantic. Are we thanking him for standing at the ready, are we praising him for all he has given us so that we can progress and have eternal life, are we raising our arms toward him and giving our souls to him. He gave the most precious gift of all so that we could have the blessings that we have, he gave his "only begotten son" for us, Have we thanked him for that gift today? Could you give your child so that others could have life? Today I am getting back to the basics, I am acknowledging each of my blessings and I am going to begin by thanking him for all of the "little" things in my life, I am not going to take for granted anything from this point on and never again will I allow him to think I only need him when "I need him" I need him each and every second of the day and I will let him know this! I pray that today you will take time to acknowledge your blessings if you haven't already and you get back to the basics with me!
May this day your blessings continue to be abundant and may you not have to call upon him in the face of tragedy, only in the face of "thank you for blessing me" love in Christ to each of you.
