Monday, November 20, 2017

Notes From My Daughter - A Thanksgiving Prayer for Every Day

Notes From My Daughter are occasional notes from my second daughter. I never know what to expect when she writes but I am always blown away. Did this child come from me? Read on!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are some things we never ask God for because it never crosses our minds to do. Before we eat, we’re taught to say grace and thank God for our food. In my lifetime, I’ve never heard a prayer after the meal that went, “Now God, please help me to digest this food as it travels from my esophagus through the rest of my digestive system,” even though that is the process that will take place next. Within us, there are a lot of unseen ongoing mechanisms that sustain our lives that we never acknowledge as God’s handiwork. 
For example:
- Open nostrils that moisturize and heat air as air travels to our lungs
- Skin replenishing itself, maintaining a necessary barrier between our internal organs and the world
- Connective tissue remaining attached to our skeletal frame for efficient movement

As living beings, we are all miraculous simply because of the
detail God has stamped into his creation and yet we often do not attribute these things to God’s faithfulness. We build up beliefs that God is faithful when he provides the material: when we get a house, a car, a spouse, or something that we desired. However, the microscopic miracles, they are just “normal” to us, to the point where we don’t give them a second thought until they are threatened. When we are sick, that’s when we know God as a healer, but when we are whole we are blind to all the ways God has been cultivating our health in every detail of every day.

This is why we must celebrate God in the unseen. I’m not asking that we lock ourselves in our prayer closets and go through the list of things God is doing in our physiology; scientists are still discovering the wonders of this world today so we will never be able to capture it all through our current limited language and understanding. However, I’m petitioning us to understand that our point of view is blurry whether we are going through storms or experiencing sunshine. We do not see it all and that is something to be thankful for because God is still God all the way from the microscopic lens to the eternal bigger picture. God is worthy to be praised for it all. So won't you pray with me right now:
“Dear God,
For the unseen, thank you. You are beyond understanding, you are abundant, you are mine, and I am yours. I submit all to you, Amen.”

"Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?" 
Job 38:36

“Take a look at Behemoth, which I made, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox. See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly. Its tail is as strong as a cedar. The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together. Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its limbs are bars of iron. It is a prime example of God’s handiwork, and only its Creator can threaten it." 
Job 40:15-19


Give thanks to God today for the miraculous creation that is you.

--Nylse

Thanks for reading. Please take a moment to share using the buttons below and also please like my Facebook Page. Don't forget to subscribe. Stay Encouraged!


6 comments:

  1. Hi Nylse! Thanks for the reminder not to take anything for granted. Amen! We are so blessed. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday with your family. I'm visiting from #grit-up collective. ~ Andy

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're right; I don't thank God for the unseen. I loved this: God is still God all the way from the microscopic lens to the eternal bigger picture. I join you in your prayer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I appreciate your daughter's words. We have so much to be thankful for.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amen. Thank You Lord for the seen and unseen ways You take care of us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Nylse for your God-inspired insights. I was searching for prayers this morning, and after praying, this article really spoke to me as I have some complex medical issues right now. This reminded me that the "unseen" in God's hands is also "under control" in those mighty hands.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I also need to thank your daughter whose thoughts and writing for this column inspired me to see a little more of God at work in mhy life today.

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments; but please be kind. Unkind comments will be removed.