Theme for week: Prayer Teaches Us About God
November 11, 2021 Thursday)
(Be sure to read this blog all the way to the end.)
The Model Prayer given to us by Jesus (Matthew 6:8-11 KJV): “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.”
The Model Prayer teaches us lessons about God: We are relatives of God (He is our Father). We are reverent before God (His name is holy). We are relevant to God’s will (Thy will be done). We are recipients of God’s gifts (Give us..bread). We are redeemed by God’s love (Forgive us our debts).
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17 KJV).
God blesses us in many ways, materially and spiritually. The model prayer by Jesus thanks our Heavenly Father for our daily bread. I am told the original language says, “Give us our bread day by day,” or, in other words, give us what we need when we need it. That wording means that we are being told to live our lives one day at a time, not worrying about our next meal, but trusting God to supply it when the time is right.
This prayer teaches us to trust the Lord, remembering the words of the Apostle Paul, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19 KJV). God supplies our needs. That’s the reason we have been taught to bow our heads and say a prayer of thanksgiving before each meal. It is simply a recognition that everything we have in this life is a gift from our loving Heavenly Father.
Jesus taught us, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8 KJV). We make no demands upon God; we simply ask, seek and knock and God responds. His response may not be giving us what we want, but what we need, and that is His gift to us.
The hymn tells us to “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.” We know that eternal life is the gift of God, but so is every material gift and every spiritual gift throughout our lives.
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
Words, Johnson Oatman, Jr.
Music Edwin O. Excell
1897
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
Refrain:
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
Refrain:
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Refrain:
______________________
More
Today is Veterans Day
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
What is America to me?
A name, a map, or a flag I see?
A certain word, “democracy”?
What is America to me?
The house I live in, a plot of earth, a street
The grocer and the butcher, and the people that I meet
The children in the playground, the faces that I see
All races and religions, that’s America to me
The place I work in, the worker by my side
The little town or city where my people lived and died
The “howdy” and the handshake, the air of feeling free
And the right to speak my mind out, that’s America to me
The things I see about me, the big things and the small
The little corner newsstand and the house a mile tall
The wedding in the churchyard, the laughter and the tears
The dream that’s been a-growin’ for a hundred and fifty years
The town I live in, the street, the house, the room
The pavement of the city, or a garden all in bloom
The church, the school, the clubhouse, the millions lights I see
But especially the people
That’s America to me
Listen as Frank Sinatra sings this 1944 patriotic song
This RKO short film has Frank Sinatra in the recording studio. Taking a break outside, he sees a bunch of boys chasing someone. He intervenes when he learns that they were going to beat the boy up because of his religion, He takes the opportunity to tell a little about American history and how the country is made up of many ethnic groups, all of which now have one thing in common – they are all now Americans. He reminds them of the sacrifices everyone has just made with World War II and the reasons they did it.