THANKSGIVING!

I think it’s very fitting that Thanksgiving comes just as the last of the beautiful Autumn leaves have fallen and the trees are merely cold, brown sticks stretching up to a gray sky. Anyone can be thankful for beauty, warm breezes, and color that emblazons the woods and enlivens our yards. But to sing praises when the freezing rain begins to pelt the ground, ah, that is truth thankfulness. We all know we are heading into even more financially difficult times than we already have. Perhaps, we will not experience “plenty” again until we are thankful for what we already have. And, just perhaps, the prosperity we once had, was not in our best interest in the first place. The “good times” may have actually taken us away from the face of God and robbed us of the goodness with which we were blessed - the holiness of God’s presence. The holiday books and movies we’ve loved the most haven’t been depictions of rich people spending money but of people rich in spirit who have spent themselves for others. Let us pray that God will use us this season, to be a blessing to someone else, that those we love, and even some we only tolerate, may receive blessings upon blessings until those blessings fill their shoes. My “secret prayer” each day is that God will use me, that he will allow me to say or do something to meet someone’s needs on His behalf, and that I may never know when it happens, with whom, or under what circumstances so that I may not boast. It becomes quite an adventure in prayer. Let us pray:

“Oh loving Father, how glorious is your name. We pray that your kingdom of heaven may begin in our lives even now, so that we may know you more dearly, follow you more clearly, and serve you more completely. We ask to be powerfully and miraculously used by you, oh Father, that today and throughout this Thanksgiving season, you will use us as your servants, speaking your words to those who are lost and comforting those who are in need. We pray that we never know who it is, under what circumstances, or when it happens so that you will receive all the praise, glory and honor that is due you, and so that we may not boast of anything we think we have done. Forgive us when we have not been open to your calling in the past. What a privilege! What an adventure! What a miracle, to actually live in you! We thank you for every gift of life, for it has all come from you. In the power of the name of your son, our savior, Jesus, we pray. Amen”

Doris
Copyright 2008 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”