Devotional 11-24-11

As I pondered on what to write for a Thanksgiving devotional, I came across this beautiful prayer by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This prayer of Thanks is so welcoming because of all the negative press we have been hearing about regarding unemployment, stock market crashes, Wall Street protestors throughout the world, bankruptcy for both the United States and Europe, selfishness and greed by us, as we well as our Government officials, or violence if one does not get his/her way.

Some of us have forgotten about GOD and the beauty around us, which He gave to everyone through HIS goodness and grace. For this reason, this prayer spoke to me and hopefully will speak to you as well. Let us give thanks to God and concentrate on the goodness of one’s faith.

WE THANK THEE

For flowers that bloom about our feet Father,
we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet Father,
we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee
For all things fair we hear or see
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For blue of stream and blue of sky
Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high,
Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For this new morning with its light.
Father, we thank Thee
For rest and shoulder of the night
Father, we Thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends
For everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gisela E. Kemper

Devotional 9-11-09

Searching for God’s Voice and Love

Have you heard God’s voice? At the same time you are searching for God, he is speaking to you. Billy Graham

I read these words and they struck me because I was searching for God and for answers at a very difficult time in my life. I did not hear God’s voice, much less thought he was speaking to me, or even cared about me. While praying for guidance one day, I realized that HIS voice came through the people he sent into my life. HIS voice came through church members who prayed; HIS voice came from our minister at the time who came to visit my family; HIS voice came from family members; HIS voice came from my next door neighbor who took me to her bible study, However, the most amazing voice of all came from an individual, whom I hardly knew. Through God’s grace and intervention, she just happened to be looking for a prayer partner and now has become a good friend.

For the past two years my friend and I have been getting together once a week for prayer sessions. We get together to pray for people we love, family members, friends, church, country, neighbors. This has been a very special time for both of us. We have a little ritual. Before we invite Christ into our hearts, we light the Christ candle, we have a cup of tea, and we read a devotion out of our devotional for that day. Then we take turns praying for the people, problems, hopes, and dreams that we have written on our lists. We have shared personal stories, happiness, disappointments, but also have given praise for the good things. Looking over these past two years, some of our prayers had been answered, others not. Unlike my friend who is passionate about her love of Christ, her faith, and who never questions God’s love, my faith waivers when my prayers are not answered, at least not when or the way I want them to be answered. We have had discussions about this issue; as to why I felt that God listens to other people more than he listens to me and answers prayers faster for others than for me. My friend always puts my mind at ease by assuring me that God does not work this way; that we must strive to keep our faith no matter what the outcome and never give way to skepticism since such feelings will interfere with our communication with HIM.

Thinking about this, I came across the following quote from “The Language of Prayer” (talk about hearing God’s voice): “Trust in your Faith and know that because of it you will receive answers to your prayers.”

We have to believe that God answers prayers in HIS time and accept the fact that it is not always what we hope or expect. We have to make time to hear HIS voice. In one of the devotionals that my friend and I read, there were the following words:

Fix your heart and mind on me, that you may hear what I have to say to you. When diverting thoughts intrude themselves, send them away promptly without paying attention to them. Return in heart and mind to me, for I desire to hold fellowship with you. Yes, I know you are unworthy and unfit for this. I am acquainted with your faults, even better acquainted with them than you are. But you do not yet grasp the debt of my merciful heart or the largeness of my heart...We still have a long way to reach that goal, but I haven’t given up.

What beautiful words these are that speak of God’s love. He is with us always in good times or in bad and HIS voice can be heard by us in many different ways if we but open our hearts and believe that HE will never give up on us.
Gisela Kemper