Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. [Romans 12:12 (GW)]
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)]
“Let Christ be first in your thoughts in the morning and last in your thoughts at night,” were the words at the bottom of an Our Daily Bread devotion. A great way to bookend our day, it makes sense to have our first thoughts of the morning and the last at night to be of Christ. Nevertheless, I wonder about all those hours between the opening and shutting of our eyes. What should be first in our thoughts then?
I recently met a woman who said she’s been saying a short prayer before she starts any activity throughout her day, be it thanking God for the privilege of having clothes to launder, asking Him for patience while helping her son with his homework, or keeping her awake during a boring business meeting. Her prayers aren’t fancy; they are, however, heartfelt. “Help me… patience please…direct me…give me understanding…make me strong…show me how to share your love… inspire my words” and “Thank you, Jesus,” are all we need to keep Him in our thoughts all day long. One I frequently say is, “Lord, put your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth!” I only wish I used that one more often.
Jesus, as we move through our day, may your Holy Spirit keep our thoughts centered on you—whether we’re in the “ten items or less” line behind someone with a cart full of groceries, on hold while trying to reach a real person at Comcast, struggling to stretch our dollars to the end of the month or sitting in the doctor’s office hearing news we never wanted to hear. Thank you for the privilege of coming to you in prayer.
I need Thee every hour, Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine Can peace afford.
I need Thee every hour, Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power When Thou art nigh.
I need Thee every hour, In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain.
I need Thee every hour, Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises In me fulfill.
I need Thee every hour, Most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior! I come to Thee.
[I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Sherwood Hawks)]
The gardenias were blooming. The aroma of those beautiful flowers filled the air as I walked that morning and I paused in my walk just to inhale and relish the pleasant scent.
I’m in the midst of reading a series of seven children’s fantasy novels, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Some of them, like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I read as a girl but others are new to me. The world of Narnia is a world to which one wants to return again and again and I’m enjoying my visit ever so much. C.S. Lewis, however, was much more than a writer of fantasy, non-fiction and poetry; he was a well-known lecturer, a brilliant scholar and a renowned Christian apologist.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. [Psalm 19:1-4 (NLT)]
I found an odd synchronicity in my morning’s reading. The verse for the day was Matthew 7:12, the Golden Rule: “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” Following that was a story by Christian author and speaker Lysa Terkeurst. She wrote about speaking to a group when a woman walked up on stage, stood next to her, and then leaned into her. Standing before an audience of 6,500 women, unsure of what to do, the author simply put her arm around the woman and continued speaking. The woman later said she needed God and thought if she got close enough to the Christian speaker, she just might feel Him. The third portion of my reading included the above selection from C.S. Lewis’ writings.
