Count Your Blessings rather than Sheep-Psalm 66

                In the church I attended as a child we used to have an old fashioned hymn sing and testimony time every 5^th Sunday for the evening service.  My cousin, Barbara, always had a testimony to give.  I remember one testimony she gave vividly.  Barbara lost her first born child at a very young age.  Her life was marked in some ways by the grief over this deep loss.  She shared that testimony on this night as an introduction to one of her favorite hymns.  You see, like the Psalmist of Psalm 66, Barbara found comfort in her grief by stopping to count her blessings.  When she couldn’t sleep at night, instead of counting sheep she would start counting her blessings.  When she was plagued with the question of where God was and why God had allowed her young son to be taken from her, she remembered the times that God had been with her.  So, she loved to sing “count yourmany blessings name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.  Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.”

                The Psalmist of Psalm 66 did the same thing.  He calls us to “Make a joyful noise to God and sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!” (vs. 1-2).  Verse 5 proclaims:  “Come and see what God has done:  he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.”  Then he begins to list ways God has been victorious and present. 

                Next time you lay awake at night plagued by the questions of life, instead of counting sheep, begin to count your blessings. Remember what God has done in your life. Remember the times that you were keenly aware of God’s presence.  God is always with us. God never forsakes us.  Thanks be to God.    

Take time to Praise-Psalm 65

                Today is Labor Day.  It is a holiday that began in the 1800s as a celebration of the labor unions and labor workers.  A day of festivity giving laborers and their families a day to be together, be fed and to play.  We don’t really think of that today when we celebrate Labor Day.  For us today Labor Day is the mark of the end of the summer.  Last camping trips are taken.  The labor of the harvest for the year is drawing to a close.  Green beans have been strung, broken and canned for the winter.  All the things you could possibly make with zucchini has been made.  Squash has been eaten by the pounds.  Corn has been shucked, silked and frozen.  The lightening bugs are no longer appearing.  A shift of seasons is in the air. 

                I love living in the mountains of North Carolina where we are able to see the cycle of all seasons and experience the miracle of God’s creation.  From the Tulips first bloom in the spring, to the green mountains of summer, the artwork of the colors of fall to the snow-capped pines in the winter, it is all breath taking.  I can sit on the parkway and be amazed at the sunset over the mountains.  I can stand at the edge of the ocean and watch the waves come in and meet together as they arrive to the shore.  I can stand on my cousin’s balcony in Clearwater and take in the glorious painting of the sunset over the Gulf. In each of these portraits of life I see and experience the presence of God. 

                When Jesus taught us to pray he first said we should give praise to God.  The Psalmist of Psalm 65 gives us an example of praise to go to.  The psalmist first gives thanks and praise to God for answered prayers and for forgiveness.  The Psalmist Thanks God for salvation and for hope. Then the psalmist recognizes God as the creator of the mountains and the seas, of the morning and the evening. 

                When you are at a loss for words of Praise turn to Psalm 65 and make this your prayer.  It is my prayer today as I thank God for the harvest of the summer and for the hope for all that lies ahead.  It is my prayer today as I thank God for being with me in a season of overwhelming iniquity.  It is my prayer today as I thank God for being a forgiving God who forgives me when I stop trusting in the one who has all the answers and try to find the answers of my own accord.  It is my prayer today as I stand on my porch and take in the beauty of the mountains that surround me.  Take time out of your day today to be thankful and to give praise. 

Giving it over to God-Psalm 64

                I went to see the movie War Room last weekend.  The premise of the movie is that we shouldn’t try to fight our battles on our own.  We shouldn’t think that we can create change in ourselves or others no matter how hard we try.  The primary line in the movie is “you must fight your battles in the prayer room.”  This is harder than it sounds.  How many times do we put a situation in God’s hands only to find ourselves scheming ways to win the battle.  We are impatient.  We have trouble being still.  We think that we have the answers.  We plot, we scheme, we end up saying things that harm the situation more.  Then after we have be hurt again we realize we have picked the battle back up and taken it out of God’s hands. 

                The prayer of Psalm64 is an example of a prayer we might prayer in our prayer room.  The Psalmist cries out to God with the complaints he has against who he calls his enemies.  He names the behavior of the enemies.  He remembers the times that God has won battles for him.  He then praises God and calls for all to take refuge in God. 

                In the movie the primary character’s favorite room in her house is a closet that she has emptied out.  It simply has a chair in it and on the wall are scriptures that have helped her in her prayer life, and pictures that represent things she is praying for.  It is there that she goes to pray for these battles of her life.  She shares this strategy with a young woman whose marriage is in trouble.  The young woman follows the example.  It is hard at first.  She finds herself easily distracted.  At one point she is sitting in her closet drinking sprite and eating doritos and practically standing on her head.  But she persists in this new habit and before long it is no longer a struggle but it is a sought after time that she thirsts for.  Her young daughter observes this and in turn creates her own prayer closet. 

                I was very motivated to amp up my prayer life after seeing this movie.  I could not identify a closet in my house so I turned my desk into a war station, the place where I take my battles to the Lord every morning.  I went to Staples and bought a clear desk pad.  Under that pad are pictures and bible verses that represent what I am giving over to God.  Under each picture is a prayer.  I pray these prayers every morning.  Like the woman in the movie, It can be a struggle at times and more days then not so far I have found myself picking these battles back up.  It is important to maintain the habit though and before long it will be something that I thirst for. 

                Have you set aside a place where you can take your battles to the Lord.  If you haven’t I encourage you to do so and if you haven’t seen the movie, I encourage that as well.