The last church I served before retiring had an anesthesiologist in the pew most Sundays. I remember one of the earlier Sundays when I greeted her at the door after the benediction by saying that she was the one who put people to sleep. And then, I reminded her I could do that trick as well. She responded by telling me that while getting people to sleep before surgery was important, what people really paid her to do was to wake them up!
As we pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, we come to that part of it which reminds us that God is the One who wakes us up every morning. "Give us this day...." we pray Sunday after Sunday as we gather with the people of God in worship. (Matthew 6:11) From sleep we are aroused to live another day. How many times have we talked about waking ourselves up, or having someone wake us up. It is God who gives each day and as a fellow said the other day, "I thank God every morning for waking me up!"
He was a man who was far ahead of me in the wisdom category. Too many days have been greeted with no sense of thanksgiving for this precious gift of being awaken by the Giver of the Day. There have been so many, it is easy to take them for granted, or to assume there will be more to come. To live in such a way is to live foolishly. Now is only the moment we have. We do not even have the next moment in our control. It is in the hands of God as is each day. To wake up in the midst of the prayer Jesus taught us and to really pray the words is to live with gratitude for the blessing of the day that He is choosing to give.
As we pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, we come to that part of it which reminds us that God is the One who wakes us up every morning. "Give us this day...." we pray Sunday after Sunday as we gather with the people of God in worship. (Matthew 6:11) From sleep we are aroused to live another day. How many times have we talked about waking ourselves up, or having someone wake us up. It is God who gives each day and as a fellow said the other day, "I thank God every morning for waking me up!"
He was a man who was far ahead of me in the wisdom category. Too many days have been greeted with no sense of thanksgiving for this precious gift of being awaken by the Giver of the Day. There have been so many, it is easy to take them for granted, or to assume there will be more to come. To live in such a way is to live foolishly. Now is only the moment we have. We do not even have the next moment in our control. It is in the hands of God as is each day. To wake up in the midst of the prayer Jesus taught us and to really pray the words is to live with gratitude for the blessing of the day that He is choosing to give.
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