Happy Thanksgiving…

Peace

I am thankful today for the witness I received from a lady, who is a neighbor of Daughts’ and son’s in the very sketchy block of a flats where they live in Dallas.  A fertile ground for evangelizing if you’ve the courage.

Hubs and I were getting out of the lift with Daughts on our way to look at the feminine touches she’d added to her new home when we heard,

“Have you found your boots hon?”  Daughts turned to the lady and shook her head.

She began to speak to us, total strangers, about the power of thankful prayer, one against three…I’d say she had the courage!

What she said brought me up short about the selfish prayer habit I had fallen into.

I do try to beg forgiveness and worship my Saviour but the supplications trip off my tongue fluently and run off, too fast for me to catch up.

I whine for more time to do all the things I want to do; I ask to be shown the right way to serve; I worry about each child, fourfold nagging it boils down to,

find her a job,

find him a spouse,

help with this,

keep him safe,

let her choose well,

help with that,

turn their hearts,

show them how to serve and,

help with the other!

I want my list of requests to be paired with a list of the right answers…my right answers.

I don’t give God the benefit of being God.  I don’t imagine He can solve anything nearly as well as I can!  It’s a gift and I am frustrated I can’t fix all my loved ones My Way!

I, I, I all the time.  Scant time spent surrendering, trusting, being faithful.

I know God is a higher being but am I treating Him as one?

Oh no!

Do I really pray as if I know my prayers will be answered… by God, not by my own interference?

Oh no, no, no!

If I did then I wouldn’t fret so much, stress out and all the other ailments that come with distrust in the divine.

Let’s face it I do not live the knowledge I have about the Nature of God.

Shame on me!

It took a stranger to remind me again,

“Proverbs reads,” she said,

“The King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water; He turneth it whithersoever He will.” (21:1)

Don’t you love that whithersoever translation…?

She was talking about Daughts’ stolen boots, another story, and told us to pray as if God had already answered our prayer,

“Thank you Lord for bringing Daughts’ boots back.  Thank you for changing the heart of the thief and pricking his conscience into giving them back.”

Maya Angelou says this about gratitude prayer:

“Say ‘thank-you’ right now.  Because your faith is so strong you already know God put a rainbow in every cloud.”

Isaiah says,

“Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.” (65: 24)

I am thankful today and every day, for all God has done, all He is doing and all He is yet to do!

I need these verses constantly at my side otherwise my ego will inch forward from that back seat I’ve relegated her to!

 

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