PRAYER DOESN’T LOOK AT THE CALENDAR

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)

(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

The man was depressed, and that word does not even begin to describe how low he felt.

A thousand pounds of problems were pulling his soul apart. He had lost faith in himself, in his God and in all the people around him in the restaurant.

The meal he had just ordered tasted to him like ground-up paper and re-fortified sawdust. And to make the moment even worse, a little girl across the restaurant was loudly complaining to her mother.

He tried to ignore the situation but could not help overhearing her repeated words. “But, mamma, why can’t we say a blessing before we eat?”

The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned back to the table and said, “Why, of course, we can say the blessing, little one.” Turning to all the rest of the people she said, “Can we all bow our heads in prayer?”

Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, everyone stopped eating and bowed their heads. The little girl in a voice loud and clear exclaimed, “God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen.”

That simple prayer, that well meant moment of thanksgiving, changed the entire atmosphere. The customers began to talk to each other. There were more smiles. And the waitress, loud enough for everyone to hear, said, “Maybe we should do this more often.”

The man who had been so depressed didn’t raise his head after the little girl’s “amen.” He continued praying and thanking God for all his blessings, rather than majoring in complaining to himself about all the things he didn’t have and couldn’t do.

Sometimes simplicity speaks with such eloquence. Such as the little fourth grader who, when asked to write about Thanksgiving Day, wrote, “The Pilgrims came here seeking freedom, of you know what. When they landed they gave thanks, to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where.

Psalms 4:1 (NIV)
“ Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.”

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